Our half-acre garden is tended carefully to bring fresh organic produce to the table all year round.  We cater for a large number of people throughout the summer and we take enormous pride in the variety and quality of the fruit and vegetables that make up the greater part of our meals.

The large polythene tunnel provides us with varieties of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and aubergines. These, together with the fresh basil, enable to provide those fruits which would not normally perform well in the outside garden.

Soft fruits, salads, roots, herbs and green leaves are grown for their quality of flavour – very important for the soups, sauces, main dishes and preserves that we make ourselves.

We take advantage of the warm nights from June to August and eat our evening meals in the summer house, surrounded by the fragrance of honeysuckle and nicotiana.

The expanse of garden brings many wild visitors, too, especially birds. There are many common varieties to be seen, but smaller, shyer species can be spotted among the plants and trees throughout the year. Red squirrels and hare visit the garden, but we are also pleased to see swallowtail butterflies and hummingbird hawk moths. 

Wild flowers grow in abundance, as do sweet chestnut, hazelnut and walnut in the woods and lanes around us.

The substantial orchard and grazing which lies to the north of the house, gives us the space to rear sheep, chickens and ducks for their meat. Together with the eggs from the laying hens, these increase the range of food which we know is reared to our own organic standards.

(‘Roland le Rouge’ will never knowingly allow you to oversleep.)

Roland le Rouge

a view of the house from the summer house

the summer house  

... in summer