An Evening at Allt-y-bela

Arne is one of our foremost garden designers, so his own garden – tucked away in its own private valley – is somewhere pretty special and the opportunity to visit it is not to be missed. We were invited by friends to a performance of Much Ado About Nothing staged in his new Green Theatre – with time to wander and admire the garden before the performance. The characterful medieval farmhouse with its Renaissaince tower is the perfect centrepiece around which the garden revolves with its mixture of structural topiary, soft romantic planting, envy-inducing potager and brimming wildflower meadows. The garden is not open to the public, but there’s a series of gardening courses that run until September and B&B is sometimes available (but not when courses are running). Prices are top end – but so is the tuition and accommodation. www.arnemaynard.com

The front of Allt y bela with pleached crab apples and immaculately trained wisteria

The rear elevation of the house

Potager perfection

The potato and feather bird scarer moves gently in the wind – definitely worth copying

One of the birch, willow and hazel arbours in the potager

Borders overflow with flowers

Roses tumble down walls

The audience watching the performance with the stage the other side of the walled stream that prevents the garden flooding in winter

Wildflower meadows edge the garden

Arne has planted Iris ‘Bronze Beauty’ in the meadow above the Green Theatre