WHO WOULD like to buy a garden without a house? The Inglenook, two miles from Cranleigh, Surrey, was once part of a much bigger estate owned by the Fortune family. The four-acre plot contains important trees and shrubs brought back to this country by the Victorian plant hunter Robert Fortune. It is thanks to him and his hazardous journeys through China and Japan that we now have Weigela florida, the lovely honeysuckle Lonicera fragrantissima, the winter-flowering jasmine Jasminum nudiflorum, and the fine shrubby cherry Prunus triloba in our gardens. There is a wisteria-covered pavilion in the garden with a huge inglenook fireplace but the local planning authority (Waverley Borough Council) do not envisage granting planning permission for anything more. The asking price is pounds 90,000. Further details from Mager Meldrum and Edgley, Cranleigh, Surrey (01483 271800).
Stephen Lacey is talking about `Borders and Beyond' at the Museum of Garden History this Wednesday at 7pm. The traditional herbaceous border is being blown apart by new theories of planting and design which originated in Germany and Holland. The look is more natural than before, the use of grasses and seedheads more extensive. The museum is at 220 Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7LB. Tickets cost pounds 6 and can be booked in advance on 0171-401 8864.
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