About the Garden



Originally part of William Penn's land grant, Heydonbury End covers approximately eight acres of mixed woodland in Southern Chester County, PA.  Its biggest advantage is that it brings together a number of different habitats - deciduous forest, pond, wetlands, and pasture - in a nearly-manageable space.  

Over the years it has been a homestead, a dairy farm, and a bizarre sort of 3-D archery arcade.  We purchased the property in 2004 upon our return to the U.S. after several years in Cambridgeshire, UK.

The one-acre, spring-fed pond is the hub around which our gardening takes place, and as somewhat lazy birders, we are able to see the maximum number of migrating waterfowl with minimal effort.  In addition to the natural features, we are developing a Japanese-inspired hillside garden, as well as a formal English mixed border and a bit of veg.  The three-acre pasture currently hosts a few sheep (the goat stories will, no doubt, be told later) and we have plans to create a meadow garden or possibly an aboretum of the trees we learned to love in England, but that have fallen out of favor in America.

The name Heydonbury comes from the lovely manor from which we rented our home in the little corner of Cambs.  For four years we were given free run of the grounds, and the time spent with our hosts, their friends, and most importantly their gardener, is the genesis of our humble efforts here in America.