GARDENING: the garden of celebrated wildlife artist Fiona Clucas' is one of the most remarkable gardens Tom Attwood has ever visited

THERE IS nothing like visiting a garden for the first time, some gardens are well known stalwarts of the garden circuit, usually forming part of a list to be ticked off but there are many countless, smaller, private spaces who open maybe once or twice for a good cause. One such collective are the open gardens of Levens Village who open on June 25 and 26 from noon until 5pm. One of the 12 private gardens belong to the celebrated wildlife artist Fiona Clucas. I’d never seen Fiona’s garden before, and having invited me to visit it described it to me as an oasis. This is often an overused term in my experience but not so in this case. This is one of the most remarkable gardens I’ve ever been in. Every convention that would normally govern how a suburban garden is arranged, set out and gardened is turned on its head in a beautiful homage to all that Fiona and her late husband Brian cherished; creating a vibrant and beautiful space to act as a source of inspiration for Fiona's work but also a refuge for all forms of wildlife and plant life respectively. There are all the components that a quintessential cottage garden would contain and on the face of it what you see seems effortless, but underneath any good garden are the years of work and experimentation that Fiona and Brian began in earnest five years ago. ‘Let things grow and don’t overly manicure, allow them to mix and merge’ is what drives much of Fiona’s philosophy in how the garden plants are treated and one that all of us (myself included) need to embrace far more. Despite its humble footprint this is a garden where every ounce of space is utilised including the vertical. Rambling roses, trees, yew, birch and hazel hug the entire site framing an eclectic mix of flower heads, stems and leaves creating something truly inspiring.