Within these walls

It can be a never-ending process – planning, clearing, digging, sowing, planting, weeding, watering, feeding, pruning, clearing, expanding.

And that's just on a small scale. What happens when a few

square yards are replaced by several acres?

What you see at the walled garden at Scampston, between Malton and Scarborough, is something special.

At the beginning of the new century, it was little more than four acres of land surrounded by that wall. Inside was a mass of Christmas trees. In 2004, thanks to the design wizardry of Dutch designer Piet Oudolf, the forward-thinking of the garden's owners, Charles and Caroline Legard, and a lot of hard work and money, everything had changed.

The walled garden has been transformed and has grown

into a horticultural work of art. Oudolf divided the garden into a series of spaces, rooms, packed with plants chosen for their shape and form.

It's a breath-taking concept on a breath-taking scale. But it works. In the years since the garden opened, the plants and the plan have taken shape, and the garden has developed its own atmosphere – tranquil, welcoming.

And as the years progress, it will change shape, change emphasis, continue to grow to fulfil Oudolf's concept. And that of the Legards, who, along with former head gardener Tim Marshall and, a handful of staff, helped put shape to Oudolf's design.

From a viewing "pyramid" near the garden entrance, and above the garden's superb restaurant, it's possible to get some impression of the scale of the work, the abundance of planting in an area which could comfortably accommodate several football pitches.

And should you tire of the walled garden, Scampston Hall also has its own traditional style gardens with a box parterre, herbaceous borders a 19th-century rock garden and a woodland garden.

There's also a Cascade Walk around the the gardens and lakes.

The walled garden at Scampston is open until Sunday, October 31, 2010, Tuesday-Sunday, plus Bank Holiday Mondays, between 10am-5pm (last entry 4.30pm). The hall itself is open until Monday, August 30, 2010, Tuesday-Friday, plus Sundays and Bank Holiday Monday.

Visit www.scampston.co.uk

YP MAG 24/7/10