Green jewel of Richmond

IT’S a beautifully sunny day in June. I’m in Richmond on a market day and the town is bustling even more than usual. Townsfolk, tourists and children with ice-cream mill around in between stalls and parked cars.

But I’m not tempted to join them. I’m in search of an oasis in the busy town.

I’ve come to Richmond to look at a town garden which I’ve heard and read a lot about. Millgate House gardens, located slap bang in the middle of town at the bottom of Market Place, has been given so many awards and featured in so many gardening publications and guide books, that I can’t wait to see it and to talk to owners Austin Lynch and Tim Culkin.

But that means I have to find it first.

As the sun turns my car into a sauna I spot a small yellow sign above a little green door saying Open Garden. This surely can’t be the famous Millgate House garden I’ve read so much about.

It’s supposed to cover a third of an acre.

I’m about to turn away when the door opens and out steps Austin, one of the two creative minds behind the garden.

As he leads me through that little door with the yellow sign, I realise immediately that the entrance gives nothing away of the secret beauty that lies beyond. It’s like entering a different world.

All the summer dust, the heat, the car fumes and the traffic noise suddenly stop. This is a green oasis full of wonderful fragrance, cooling shade and calming sounds. No wonder Millgate House garden has been called a jewel by the Good Gardens Guide and named by the BBC as one of Britain’s best-kept secrets.

Tim and Austin, two former English teachers from Richmond School, bought Millgate House and its garden in 1980 with a loan from an elderly lady who wanted to see the house kept intact and not turned into offices, shops or a bank – as has happened to so many of the grand houses that overlook Richmond’s market place. The pair have always had a passion for gardening, especially Austin, who has been gardening since he was a three-yearold growing up in Redcar.

They were visiting the garden at St Nicholas, near Richmond, owned by Lady Serena James, who directed them to Millgate House, which was on sale at the time. As soon as they clapped eyes on the imposing Georgian town house, with its breath-taking views over the River Swale, and its large terraced garden, they fell in love with it and decided to buy it on the spot.

“But at the time we couldn’t get a mortgage from anyone and the whole buying process was dragging on for so long that we’d almost given up, when an elderly lady contacted us who was interested in seeing the house kept up.

If it hadn’t been for her, Millgate could have been turned into offices, which would have been a real shame,” says Austin, as we slowly walk down the entrance path into the main part of the garden, which is walled on both sides.

With the sale of the property finally going through, Tim and Austin had their work cut out if they wanted to create the garden of their dreams.

“At the time the lower garden was a vegetable plot and there were rectangular beds in the top garden. What we wanted to do was to introduce more structure and round-the-year interest.”

It’s taken nearly 30 years of hard labour to get it looking like it does these days. Now the south-facing garden boasts more than 40 varieties of roses, clematis, shrubs, ferns and hostas, potted plants, topiary trees in square containers and even a developing collection of snowdrops. Recently, they started a programme of pruning back and cutting down to bring more light into the garden. Some trees and shrubs that had outgrown their space were removed and others severely trimmed, which opened up the stunning view towards the River Swale even more and allowed Tim and Austin and their little band of student helpers, to plant even more roses.

“Our garden is definitely a plantsman’s garden and I like to think of it as a set piece in a theatrical drama.

Tim is very good at setting up plants and showing them off to their best advantage,”

says Austin.

Both Austin and Tim are very much influenced by famous garden writer Mirabel Osler. “She wrote about gardening from an artist’s point of view and about how we should stop rushing through, sit down and really absorb it.”

What’s so charming about Millgate House garden is that even though Tim and Austin have put a lot of thought into the layout and which plant would look and thrive best where, they’ve also given in to Mother Nature a little bit and have left things to self-seed and grow into the cracks.

“I think some gardens are just too manicured,” says Austin. “Ours isn’t done with a pair of nail scissors. We do allow a lot of plants to self-seed because they’re pretty and they curb the real weeds,” he says.

Although the plants themselves provide plenty to look at for the gardening expert and the novice alike, there are other points of interest.

There is, for instance, the eye-catching stone slab engraved with the year 1773 and the initials of John Hobson – one of the early owners of the Millgate House – which Austin and Tim found in the garden. Then there is the gold-lettered engraving of a poignant saying by hymn writer Isaac Watts on the garden wall. But my favourite has to be the hidden garden furniture dotted around where visitors can sit quietly and enjoy the planting, the wildlife and the fabulous views. The garden invites you to take your time and not to rush yourself – just as Mirabel Osler intended.

■ For those wanting the pay a visit to Millgate House garden, it is open to the public in aid of the National Garden Scheme from April 1 until the end of October every year between 10am and 4.30pm. Private visits by societies and groups can be arranged at anytime during year.

Millgate House is partially run as a B&B with three en suite bedrooms for guests. Two of these overlook the garden and offer spectacular views over the River Swale and its waterfalls. There is also a self-catering Coach House at the bottom of the garden with separate access. This has five en suite bedrooms plus accommodation for two in the Garden Apartment.

For more information, a price list or to book, contact Millgate House on 01748-823571, email oztim@millgatehouse.demon.co.uk or visit millgatehouse.com. For general information, log on to ngs.org.uk