The garden

28 Kensington Road, Bristol.

Welcome to the tour of our award – winning garden

that is open for private viewings during the summer months and as part of the National Gardens Scheme.

The owners Grenville Johnson & Alan Elms hope you will enjoy the photographs that were taken by Alan, with our story of how this small & rather unique inner – city garden has evolved.

You may wish to book an appointment to visit the garden.

Details of how to contact us are given in this website.

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Introduction and contents.

Photograph by Jason Ingram.

We feel that gardens irrespective of their size have the capability of raising the spirits and feeding the imagination and soul.

There are several memorable gardens we have visited over the years both in England and Italy that have had this effect on us.

They are magical, sometimes theatrical, but always unique places that have left a lasting impression probably because they have what we call the ‘wow factor’.

We hope that our garden has the same identity.

Each one reflects the views, preferences and character of their creators.

They have all been created with passion and creative flair.

After visiting them we have come away feeling enriched and inspired.

We have often taken away ideas from these gardens and tried to replicate them in our space. Often this meant that we had to take risks, but we like to push the boundaries in order to make things work for us.

When we planned the transformation for our garden in the autumn of 2004, we wanted to create a private space for relaxation and for sharing with friends.

We wanted the garden to have its own ‘wow factor’ and had no idea that the new garden would take us on a very special journey that would eventually enable us to share it with so many visitors.

This has been such a great privilege and is so enjoyable.

We are now endeavouring in our own small way to promote small inner city gardens that we feel are so often overlooked. They have the potential to make tremendous improvements to our cities, and these gardens are often little havens of peace and tranquillity that can also support a variety of wildlife. More importantly, they can improve the quality of life for people who, like us, inhabit these busy and sometimes hectic places. Our mission is to try to raise awareness of the great potential for small inner city spaces, and share our enthusiasm with our visitors and continue on this exciting learning journey.

We feel that our garden is unique, and we have deliberately designed the spaces so that they are packed with plants, and this helps to create its rather romantic atmosphere. We have not always followed traditional gardening conventions.

In our view a garden should have its own identity and sense of place.

In addition, by opening our garden to the public, we are delighted to be able to raise funds for the worthy charities supported by The National Gardens Scheme.

We trust you will enjoy this tour and be able to visit the garden at some point in order to share our passion for plants and garden design.

Grenville Johnson & Alan Elms.