Last week I went to a wedding in the north, so on my way home, I decided to stop off at Arley Garden, in Cheshire.

I had been before, but I was keen to see how it had progressed since the last time I visited.

The reason the garden is so famous is its herbaceous border, which is the oldest in the country having been started in 1846, so that is where my party headed first. It was no disappointment.

There is a double border with a grass walk inbetween. There are vast yew hedges which have buttresses carved into them.

These do keep the plants standing up pretty well which has proved to be a necessity with the weather this year when torrents of water have smashed down many tended gardens.

Most of the borderat Arley is staked to stout canes, in the old fashioned way, and has stood up to the weather really well.

The border is thickly planted with large groups of tall plants at the back and smaller ones at the front.

However, things like verbascum lead to the front at times which helps to break the continuity and make it more interesting.

The last time I visited the garden old Lady Ashbrook showed us around.

She was so keen on the garden, and I feared that when she some four years ago, it would suffer. However, this is not so and it still has the intimate feel of a family home.

A delightful fountain in the shape of a house leek has been put in one of the little areas in memory of Lady Ashbrook.

The great ilex pillars have maybe grown too big, but they are very impressive. The enormous Egyptian-style pillars lead into a wonderful little garden which is home to a tiny tea house.

The garden is surrounded by a ha-ha. This feature cannot be seen from the inside at all, so the sheep appear to be coming right up to the garden. This is a wall inside a ditch, making an invisible barrier from the garden side.

For the more energetic visitors there are woodlands to explore, and there is also a good nursery to buy plants that can be grown at home.

Arley Hall is not too far from Wolverhampton, just north of Nantwich, near to Junction 20 of the M6 motorway.

By Pat Edwards