We had dreamt with some like-minded friends about buying a piece of English heritage to preserve and when the chance came up to buy a historic garden in Devon that had fallen into gentle ruin, we felt we had to make a bid. To our delight, we became the proud owners of The Italian Garden at Great Ambrook in 2016! All of us were enthralled by the lost romantic feeling but now its restoration has become a major project and one that needs both my garden skills and the eye for design of my friend, Kim, who is the co-owner of the garden.  

Thanks to support from the National Heritage Lottery Fund, and an amazing team of volunteers, we have started to bring the garden back to life. Our vision is to make it forever a part of England's heritage and financially sustainable - a piece of history but also relevant to today’s community and visitors. I look forward to sharing photos and stories of the garden throughout this restoration journey.