The Landscape at Penrallt

Penrallt is a life long project and passion. Our four acre corner of  mid West Wales has remained our most continuous project for the past 23 years.A landscape of nurture that literally feeds and sustains us allowing us to explore our passion for landscape and horticulture.Situated in the hills at around 200m elevation, it sits on the border of the Cambrian and Snowdonian mountains Once a small Welsh farm it is now detached from all but four acres of its land we have nurtured the land to be a haven for plant and wildlife.

The garden itself covers all parts of the land a mixture of hedgerows, woodland, ponds and wetland landscapes allowing us to explore all areas of horticulture, silviculture, the growing of food and the creation of diverse habitats for flora and fauna. It is an extension of our creative practice allowing for exploration and observations of flora and fauna, Here we have built our studios and repurposed agricultural buildings as project spaces and workshops allowing the blurring o the boundaries between indoor and outdoor practice.

Over the years we have  have created a diversity of spaces including  woodland, orchard vegetable gardens, perennial beds, wetland zones and ponds, sand and gravel gardens a bonsai and plant nursery alongside a variety of wild spaces and habitat zones.

The Perenial garden lies on the lower part of the land and comprises of a series of terraced South facing beds surrounded by a dry stone wall and hedges.

Each of the beds slopes down from low drystone walls that hold their own challenges relating to lean stoney, free draining soils that lend themselves to the cultivation of dry loving plants. The challenge of climate change are writ large in their selection and ability to survive the rigours of heavy wet winters and the droughts now apparent in Spring. Living high above the water table means we have limited water resources.