The Priory is a very special place with an extremely long history, so I felt that it was very important to take our time over getting the right feel into the new plans for the garden It is now August and I have spent the last eight months having considerable work done to the gardens. Having spent the previous six months planning and researching the historic and botanical aspects of the design, work began in February, following the go-ahead from Mid-Devon District Council, to take down several trees, which were unsafe or misplaced. Once this was done it was possible to see the potential for the garden, and so began the design process. I wanted the garden to be a special place both for myself and my fiancé and also for our guests. I also wanted it to fulfil many rolls whilst keeping as true as possible to the historic era of the building. The first area to be tackled was the utility area, to house the new greenhouse and potting shed. We decided to re-use the existing garden tool shed, and the existing compost bins. One challenge in this area was to hide the enormous satellite dish which we inherited with the house. I think we have managed to do this and also provide enough room to store considerable quantities of logs for the winter. The next area to be thought about was the vegetable potager, which I decided was best laid out as raised beds, with areas for soft fruit, and a chicken run. These were duly completed, and we have just acquired our first chickens. The main criteria for the garden designs here at ‘The Priory’ are the historic accuracy and the uses to which we wish to put them. Historically I decided to create two areas of garden which relate directly with the time that the Priory was housing an assembly of monks i.e. 1154- 1538 C.E. The apothecary’s, garden based on the St Gall plan, and set out as 16 rectangular beds filled with medicinal herbs is now beginning to planted up and we are making willow wattle fences to go around the beds. The Cloister Garth is laid out, with a central fountain and four rills, based on the early Persian gardens where the idea represented water flowing to the four corners of the earth, often referred to as a paradise. Combined with four areas of lush green turf which are viewed from the surrounding cloisters this area is to create a feeling of calm tranquillity. The cloisters themselves were constructed out of sweet chestnut and made locally for us by Warren Hughes of Tiverton, employing traditional carpentry techniques of mortise and tenon pegged joints. The use of chestnut which is a hard wood negates the use for wood preservatives as this wood was the traditional choice due to its capacity for resisting moisture. Also in this area is a vine arbour where one can walk in the shade of the vines, once they have grown and the hot summer sun is upon us! Other areas of historic interest created within the garden are the ‘Hortus conclusus’, and the knot gardens at the front of the house. The ‘Hortus conclusus’ is a medieval courtly love garden and includes an ‘excedra’ which is a raised turf seat enclosed by chestnut trellis against which I shall soon be planting a selection of historic roses and herbaceous plants. The knot gardens will be showing the type of garden popular at the time when The Priory became a private residence. One of these three gardens has been designed by the children of Halberton primary school.1539c.e. Tudor knot garden history is both fascinating and complex and I shall be explaining more about this as time goes on. Add to these the areas of native planting which I have include such as the woodland walk and the pond margins, together with a simples garden a textile garden, a flowery mead, a Shakespeare bank, and a romantic lime avenue and you will begin to see why we have been a bit busy this year.