I was brought up in the NE of England and CP in Ireland. Throughout our early lives we were surrounded by stone – mainly in the form of dry stone walling as we both lived in rural areas. As a student I had summer jobs as a pavier’s mate (John taught me a lot) and also worked in a brick factory. An affinity for hardscaping developed early. Visits to Hadrians wall, the Giants Causeway,Yorkshire Dales ,the Burren and the West of Ireland reinforced this. Allen also built one of the finest rock gardens I have seen – harmony between plants and stone.
When we refurbished the Ridge garden the natural slope encouraged us to invest in stone walling and pathways. The crevice gardens were the icing on the cake.
When it came to the blank canvas that is Andallen there was never any doubt that we would incorporate stone. Another crevice garden was in the plan but we also wanted something we had never had before – boulders. I had become enamored with the stones used in Japanese gardens and wanted to incorporate something along this line. The idea of a sitting stone in the crevice garden was quite appealing.
The attraction of stone? The feel of it in your hand.The security of it underfoot. Natural imperfections. Fault lines. Myriad of shades and colors. Longevity. Moss.The geological process of its being.Mystique.
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