The Traveller’s Garden – with Bradstone – Arun Landscapes Ltd

This garden is inspired by Walter de la Mare’s poem “the Listeners” (“Is there anybody there? Said the traveller, knocking on the moonlit door…”) and is an exploration of the creation of atmosphere within a garden. Elements of the poem are interpreted in an abstract way; for instance, “the dark stair, that goes down to the empty hall” is represented by a stepped succession of yew hedges.

While aesthetically pleasing, the garden is intended to have a ghostly feel, in places somewhat menacing, especially under the trees. A single path forms a continuous inescapable loop, and contrasts between light and dark in both the architecture and the planting, contributing to the unearthly mood.