On Wednesday 2nd May, owner Sue Mabberley took us on a 'virtual tour' of her garden – Nant y Bedd, set within the Brecon Beacons National Park – where she has lived for 38 years.

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Nant y Bedd, meaning 'stream of the grave' in Welsh, has been opened on behalf of the NGS for 10 years. Sue told us that her 6.5 acres (including 3 acres of forestry) comes with several challenges: 1200 feet up, a short growing season, steeply sloping ground, very shaded by the surrounding woods, and with a free draining and acid soil.

 

Consequently, Sue has learnt to make the most of what nature brings her rather than fight against it. She allows wild flowers and self-seeders to flourish to great effect. A natural swimming pool uses clever marginal planting to filter its water, and as trees have grown and shaded out her original veg plot she has adapted to create a 'forest fruit garden'. Here she uses interesting varieties often sourced from the Agro Forestry Research Trust (https://www.agroforestry.co.uk) such as the edible-fruiting Szechuan pepper (Zanthoxylum schinifolium).

 

Her philosophy is to utilise Nant y Bedd's natural resources. A micro-hydro turbine gives power when the stream is in full spate; stone dug up is used for hard landscaping; trees are cut for fuel, bridges & chipped for paths; even the feral sheep have left behind their skulls as decorative sculptural relics.

 

Apart from Sue's amazing energy and inventiveness, I think the audience was all quite covetous of her husband, Ian, and his apparent ability to turn his hand to constructing anything! We may also all be letting our parsnips run to seed for their beautiful flowers.

 

https://nantybedd.com/

 

Book mentioned was:

'Cultivating Chaos: Gardening with Self-Seeding Plants' by Jonas Reif, Christian Kress, Jurgen Becker (Timber Press, 2015)