Restoration of the tree ferns by the Pool

When we took ownership of Abbotsley in 2010, the garden around the pool area was very neglected and needed replanting and a pool fence had to be installed to meet today's legal requirements.

So we installed the pool fence, pulled out the weeds, planted various shrubs and the garden came back to life. One area that never seemed to work though was the two alcoves built into the drystone retaining wall on the far side of the pool. We tried various plants including palms but nothing survived and the grassy plants were taking over.

Then, a few weeks ago Sam Marsden gave us the photo album and project book that his parents made when they created Abbotsley's original garden and we finally understood the point of those two alcoves - they had tree ferns planted there in sympathy with the many tree ferns in the front garden creek.

And here it is - tree ferns restored to the far side of the pool today