Lucian Freud: Plant Portraits

The weather is perhaps a little inclement to be visiting gardens, so what better than to stay warm and look at art. The Garden Museum is holding an exhibition of Lucian Freud’s paintings of plants and gardens. You will undoubtedly know Freud for his portraits and vast landscapes of flesh, rather than matters horticultural, but this small exhibition, the first of its kind is brilliantly curated and well worth a visit. Freud was neither a plantsman nor a gardener, however, this exhibition shows how plants played an important part of his life, and how he captured his plant subjects in his inimitable style, similar at times to his treatment of humans.

Painter’s Garden, 2003-2004

Freud had a garden which his studio assistant David Dawson described: “he planted things and then let them grow, grow, and grow. He never touched anything because he wanted the garden to have a sense of real of naturalness.” ‘The thick and unruly growth offered him a sense of a lush and enclosed private space, gritty and understated.’ I can only imagine he would have welcomed the re-wilding movement.

But let’s begin at the beginning. Lucian was born in Berlin, the middle son of the Jewish architect Ernst L. Freud, who was himself the fourth child of the famous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. Lucian was named after his mother Lucie Brasch who had studied classical philology and art history.

Schlumbergera bridgesii

His mother kept several of his childhood paintings including this small picture of a pot plant, the familiar Christmas Cactus Schlumbergera which he drew in some detail when he was eight years old.

The family escaped the Nazi regime by moving to London in 1933 when Lucian was 10 years old. It must have been a confusedly uprooting experience and perhaps it was little wonder that he became a disruptive pupil.

At age seventeen in 1939, he was one of the earliest students to attend the recently-formed East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing at Benton End in Suffolk.https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/the-garden-museum-announces-plans-to-revive-cedric-morris-suffolk-home-benton-end-as-a-centre-of-art-and-gardening/ It was run by Cedric Morris and his partner Arthur Lett-Haines. The school prospectus described the school as “an oasis of decency for artists outside the system”. Lett-Haines taught theory, whilst Morris taught by encouragement and example. Morris was hugely interested in plants and Freud enjoyed his unconventional and experimental method of teaching. In 1941 he served as a merchant seaman in an Atlantic convoy journeying to Halifax, Nova Scotia, only to be invalided out of service in 1942. For a short while after that he attended The Goldsmiths’ College.

Gorse Sprig, 1944

The Garden Museum explains that ‘Freud saw beauty and truth in the seemingly unremarkable, the overlooked, and the imperfect. He painted weeds and the straggly potted plants that followed him from home to home throughout his life. He rarely idealised plants but instead concentrated on the architectural form and linearity, their texture and even their crumbling and decaying flesh.’ While Freud portrays in great detail the spiny nature of the Gorse Sprig, there is only a suggestion of the bright yellow flowers. The painting was included in his first solo exhibition at Alex Reid and Lefevre Gallery in 1944.

The Glass Tower

Freud received several commissions to illustrate books. In 1944 Freud was paid £40 (£2,270 in today’s money) to illustrate Nicholas Moore’s edition of poetry The Glass Tower, using a palm tree that he had purchased from the Loudon Road Nursery. He gave the book a striking cover. Other books included James Pope Hennessy’s Aspects of Provence and The Baths of Absalom. He gave the book by Claire Joyes Claude Monet: Life at Giverny to artist Sophie de Stempel who sat for him over a period of eight years. He loved the book and Monet’s garden.

Ill in Paris, 1948

This portrait Ill in Paris, 1948 is of Kitty Garman, painted just before they were married. Her face takes centre stage with the rose. The Garden Museum identifies this as ‘the starting point of later plant and human encounters in which the artist casts the plant as equal to the sitter or placed the plant in the foreground.’ Freud and Kitty were divorced in 1952.

Still Life with Zimmerlinde, c. 1950

Freud’s second wife was Caroline Blackwood who he married in 1952 and to whom he dedicated Still life with Zimmerlinde, c.1950. Zimmerlinde is the German name for Sparrmannia africana a houseplant also known as the Cape Linden Tree. Zimmerlinde refers to the origin of the plant native to South African Cape, as well as the similarity, in particular the shape of the leaf, to the Linden (Lime) Tree. All Zimmerlinde painted by Freud are said to be descendants of plants originally grown by Sigmund Freud in Vienna which he brought to London after fleeing the Nazi regime, and have been propagated and shared by members of the family ever since.

Cyclamen, 1964

With his wife Caroline, Freud bought a secluded, stone seventeenth-century manor house in Dorset, where in the dining room he began a mural of cyclamen. After his divorce in 1959 he made London his home where he remained until his death. He became fond of white fragrant flowers, although he rarely painted them. He would rise before dawn and visit Covent Garden Flower Market and buy huge quantities of flowers for the house. Cyclamen were his favourite and would brighten tables and mantlepieces in Autumn.

Small Fern, 1967

The exhibition explains ‘This highly unusual composition encapsulates Freud’s originality in approaching plants.’ Not a ‘showy’ plant adorned with flowers, is it the position, placed on the floor and seen from above, that draws our eye to it?

Wasteground Paddington, 1970

Many of us may have glimpsed this view from a window and probably not given it a second look. Freud looked at it in detail, bringing the feral buddleia and bushes to life amongst the rubbish-strewn backyard, and painting a sort of anti-garden. It is a ‘brutally honest portrayal of the hardship that urban life can entail for both humans and plants’.

Two Plants, 1977-1980

In 1977 Freud moved into a new studio in Holland Park. Two Plants, 1977-1980 portrays Helichrysum petiolare, the liquorice plant and Aspidistra elatior, the cast iron plant. This painting began as an opportunity to become accustomed to the lighting quality of his new studio. Over a three year span he wanted to capture the movement of the plants in how they died, regenerated, and produced new leaves. Two Plants could be described as a botanical painting but it is also a plant portrait portraying a period of time that neither photography nor film could capture. It is also painting that you would be forgiven for looking at for hours.

Landscape, c. 1993

This detailed etching of a piece of turf is a rare work. Freud’s focus is shifted away from the individuality of a single plant. The title of the work underlines the move from the singular to the plural and examines the texture and chaotic arrangement of the turf close up. He started work on this etching while on holiday in Tuscany, bringing the turf back with him to London in order to finish the work.

After Constable’s Elm, 2003

In the 1930s when Freud was at the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing he had attempted to copy John Constable’s work but found it too difficult. In 2002 he was asked to curate an exhibition about Constable at the Grand Palais in Paris. His selection featured less known works of art like The Study of the Trunk of an Elm Tree (1821). He returned to the challenge and reinterpreting Constable’s work, dropping the word Study in order to emphasise the individuality of the plant from the technicality that a study might imply.

We return to cyclamen. In 1959, Freud was one of the first guest to be invited to Chatsworth House when the 11th Duke of Devonshire moved his family back into the vacated property. In one of the small private bathrooms he began another mural of cyclamen, flowers, buds and leaves. The estate greenhouse supplied pot after pot of flowers for him to paint. It was never finished and as he left behind his paints, it was thought that he might return to complete the bathroom.

Garden in Winter, 1997-1999

The Garden in Winter is surely an appropriate title to end this blog. The curator writes ‘Freud’s garden in Notting Hill had become a wilderness bursting with unbridled energy. It was overgrown and impenetrable and yet, at times during the day, brilliantly bathed in glistening sunshine. There was a glory in Freud’s vision of what most would consider a gardening nightmare. The artist’s search for truth wherever it might lurk became ever so poignant in the poetic roughness that makes the garden paintings and etchings from this period so memorable. With the buddleia at its centre, unkempt but enduring, Freud’s garden couldn’t be more at odds with traditional gardening and garden painting.’

During these cold months, while making your plans to visit gardens https://findagarden.ngs.org.uk/ I encourage you to visit this exhibition on now at the Garden Museum until 5th March 2023 https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/exhibitions/lucian-freud-plant-portraits/ where you can also enjoy a delicious lunch.

*******JAN 2023*******

A trip to a Venetian nursery

Yesterday I popped round to my local nursery, not so much to buy plants but out of intrigue; I am in Venice and until I watched Monty Don’s trip the other day I did not imagine that such a horticultural space existed in this unique city.

It is terribly easy to get lost in Venice but part of the joy was trying to find the nursery. So, with no TV crew to guide us, we relied on the map on my phone which confidently took us down delightful narrow alleyways, over little bridges and along watery canals in the Cannaregio district, and we arrived at Laguna Fiorita Onlus, where the gates, hanging between crumbling pillars, were wide open.

Through the gates we followed the paved path with troughs on one side planted with the beautiful but unattractively-sounding Trachelospermum, (the Italian name of Rincosperma is no better) and colourful tool sheds on the other. The doors are left wide open and I wonder that nothing gets stolen, but of course why should they, Venetians don’t garden.

Nonetheless the sheds are well stocked with all sorts of equipment for a decent days work, and the charming girl in the nursery explains that they are also employed to attend to some of the private gardens around the city. You never see these gardens for they are tucked away behind high walls.

An ingenious outdoor rack is fixed to an ordinary chip-board, brightened by a brush of blue.

It is not the handsome tree Pittosporum that I am amazed at but the site of soil, it is so unusual to see the bare earth anywhere in this watery city.

Walking on through another gate our Covid pass is checked and even though outside, the wearing of face masks is compulsory. We find the customary display of spring bulbs and I am surprised to find snowdrops still in flower.

‘Margherita’, along with its charming little cousin ‘Margherita piccole’ and yellow Euriops combine with evergreens to look so familiar and reminiscent of home.

No doubt the usual collection of herbs will find their way to someone’s Venetian kitchen.

Yet, it is the decaying walls which surround the nursery that make it so unique. In her book on Venice Jan Morris refers to ‘the scent of crumbling antiquity’, and it is just that.

Barrows and ladders are propped against artful brick walls with secret doorways.

and from somewhere beyond, a saint rises up, if he could just glance this way for a moment, but up there he is perhaps a little too precarious,

and busy keeping an eye on his church door over on the other side.

I wonder at how many nurseries have their very own campanile.

From this neighbouring window you not only must look down on an array of plants but over to the lagoon beyond. Down on the small patch turf, I spy another rarity in this city; it is a clump of daisies.

Who in this city will buy these spring blossoms of pink and white?

Nothing beats the bright sulphur yellow of the mimosa, standing by the assistant in blue it is surely a sobering nod to the Ukrainian national flag.

The two long poly-tunnels are a reminder that this is a working nursery.

In one, bedding plants stretch out in lines, with a solitary petunia just reminding us that summer will be here soon.

In the other a variety of pots, plants and paraphernalia is for sale.

Over the years the nursery has broadened its services to specialise in forestry which probably accounts for the pile of tree cuttings gathered from the gardens which use their services.

There is no room for composting here and no call for wood chippings either, so they will be loaded onto a boat and taken away.

This nursery is about 500 square metres and not only raises and sells plants, maintains private gardens, but it is also a co-operative which was established thirty years ago when some parents and professionals got together to bring people with disabilities closer to a real working environment within a protective space.

It has been an interesting diversion from the churches, museums and galleries of this glorious city. I purchase some seeds as a little reminder of my visit and wonder if i might regret not acquiring this little gem.

xxxxxVenicexxxxx

A touch of Spring at Ivy Croft

It was a joy to be out visiting gardens again and on my way driving to Hay-on-Wye for a jolly weekend, I found a garden open for the National Garden Scheme just the other side of Leominster, and very conveniently for me it was open on the Thursday.

You do not need to be a gardener to know that gardens opening at this time of year are all about snowdrops, and you don’t have to be a gardener to enjoy them. At Ivy Croft splashes of welcoming snowdrops appear all around the garden, either in the borders where they seem to be nudging those perennials to hurry up and push through,

whether in clumps or drifts, growing in grass or under trees, snowdrops look so appealing and just give a little ray of hope.

These were keeping warm growing up against the house. Garden owner Roger could not remember the exact name of these ‘Galanthus elwesii, a comfort to me that even the experts can get the labels muddled.

We begin our exploration of this four acre garden with the area by the house. There are those familiar winter gems all around and growing near the front door is the divinely scented Chimonanthus praecox also known appropriately as Wintersweet. I regret taking the saw to mine and if you have not got one I urge you to go and buy one.

Below, the handsome clump of soft blue winter-flowering iris catches my eye. These Algerian iris Iris unguicularis flower from November through to February, the individual flowers look quite exotic in a vase.

All gardens look a little bare at this time of year but as we venture to the front of the house an elegant seat and stone troughs add another dimension,

and to embellish the scene there is nothing like a touch of topiary …

You can see how evergreens are a necessity in any garden particularly in winter; here they soften the hard landscape and guide you along the path past the reddish brown stems of the Acer griseum.

Every Spring I mourn the fact that I have not planted enough hellebores, and as Spring gathers apace, I simply forget. These just look so heavenly.

We need some colour at this time of year and what better plant than these cheeky cyclamen emerging out of the grey stone.

Walking away from the house, the vibrant stems of the Cornus draw us into the wilder area of the garden. Wild it may look but I know these parts of the garden can be a lot of work.

I can’t help but admire the green of the conifer, its branches elegantly flowing down to the ground and am surprised to find it is Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Impricata Pendula’. If you check out The Woodland Trust website it cheerily informs you that the wood is rot-resistant which is popular in Japan for making coffins.

Gardens are not all about flowers; Roger uses woven willow in several places in the garden, either as a screen or as a quirky seat arbour.

and it is easy to forget the beauty of the small cones of the deciduous common alder Alnus glutinosa,

whilst the evergreen Garrya elliptica, drips with silver tassels. This is a bush which I find suffers the cold but dislikes the wind.

The garden was created some 25 years ago and has an air of maturity about it. Neat paths wander through wintery shrubs and trees, glimpsing every now and again the promise of spring,

and out in the open while the lawn looks so verdant and trim, the ornamental grasses seem to be experiencing a bad hair day.

How a drop of paint gives a simple wooden bench a touch of vibrancy, a focal point in a spacious area; the blue seems to blend harmoniously with the bright green.

A Mulberry is the central feature of the working vegetable garden, where paths are sensibly wide and firm waiting for the laden barrow to pass through the organised beds.

Surrounding the vegetable garden are trained fruit trees, one adorned with the mysterious mistletoe, which grows quite prolifically in the orchards around the county.

It is difficult not to admire this splash of Hamamelis mollis; several varieties grow in the garden, but this is near the car parking area and the scent is uplifting. To the right are the pleached limes underplanted with ‘oh so perfect’ box balls.

Behind the parking area is the whitest of birches contrasting with the evergreen fine yew buttresses, and what a perfect way to cheer up an unremarkable building. I am inspired to recreate the idea.

Roger is a true galanthophile and has collected and cultivated quite a selection: they are clearly labelled boasting endearing names. My friend Jill falls for a beautiful yellow ‘Treasure Island’ until we notice the price. To be fair it is not an unreasonable amount as some Snowdrops can reach staggering prices but we just aren’t in the market. So she goes for a different yellow, Galanthus ‘Spindlestone surprise’ while I settle for the ‘Godfrey Owen’ with its six outer petals, and also the virescent ‘Rosemary Burnham’, whose white petals look as though they have been brushed lightly with green.

Ivy Croft is open for the National Garden Scheme for Snowdrop Thursdays throughout February and March, and is open throughout the year. For details of this garden and other snowdrop gardens near you check out https://ngs.org.uk/view-garden/14669. To see Roger’s list of snowdrops and some lovely photographs of the garden in summer, go to http://www.ivycroftgarden.co.uk/. I hope to pass this way again.

*******2022*******

The Royal Trinity Hospice

Hospice gardens do not immediately spring to mind as ‘must go to visit attraction’. However while on child care duties in south London last weekend I took the opportunity to visit The Royal Trinity Hospice, Clapham Common which kindly opened its gates to the public in aid of the National Garden Scheme.

The Hospice, with its elegant facade situated on the north side of Clapham Common is the oldest hospice in the UK and was created in 1891 with thanks to the generosity of William Hoare who donated £1,000 of the £2,000 needed to set up what was known as The Hostel of God, the remainder of the funds being raised by public subscription. Originally situated around the corner in The Chase, the hospice by 1894 had 10 beds and patients were cared for by an order of nuns. In 1899 the hospice moved here to Clapham Common Northside, where it has expanded and evolved over the years with the late 1970s – 1980s seeing a significant rebuilding programme in order to improve the facilities and patient care environment.

It was during this time that the renowned landscape architect Lanning Roper visited the site and, waiving his fee, drew up plans for the 2 acre garden.

Photo borrowed from Lanning Roper and his Gardens by Jane Brown

Roper did not live to see his plans carried out, dying in 1983. So landscape architect John Medhurst was commissioned to lay out the garden, and included in his design such details as Roper’s generous curving brick paths which not only gently lead you to a hidden area but help those in a wheelchair glide seamlessly through the garden so as to enjoy the planting.

The majority of hospices rely on an army of volunteers, several of whom last Sunday gave up their time to greet us at the gate, directing us in through a side door. An easy access, with neither gravel nor steps, a joy for wheelchair or buggy users and something many garden owners where possible, might seriously think about.

You might be forgiven for expecting an uninteresting hospitalised space, a touch morbid even; instead however, you would in that first moment immediately feel that this is indeed a very special green space.

The raised beds on either side are well planted and display a rich variety: aromatic herbs mingle together along the left hand side,

on the other, a rose defies the approach of autumn and flowers steadily as if it is June

whilst the rugosas are into their autumn hips.

There is even a touch of wilding to be enjoyed.

Paths bend and flow, and as in life, choices need to be made….

it is the benign sound of water trickling down into the ornamental pond that beckons us round to the right.

Climbing up the steps it is the generous colourful pots which bring a splash of joy to those hard landscaping areas,

and from the balcony above the circular pond there is an opportunity to look out and take in the serenity and size of this mature two-acre London garden.

Descending the steps we begin to explore the many hidden areas. A substantial clerodendron grows beside an intimate area. This shrub is very happy here sending up suckers across the path; a native to China it is a quirky coincidence that the roof behind has a slightly oriental feel.

A grassy enclave is home to a fine Catalpa tree , its trunk needing support, it happily grows on.

The gardens were very dilapidated before Roper was involved and his first priority were the trees. This old Horse Chestnut tree provides not only a point of interest but also a marker between two separate areas. Its branches must hold many a secret of those conversations shared beneath on the deep seated benches.

Beyond the tree there is quite a different feel as we enter the pond area. Hospices are not just about the patients who are dying but also for those who remain to live on. Here is a perfect place to absorb all the many emotions that go with that unknown future. This afternoon it is pure joy for the first time in weeks, to benefit from the sunshine and the dappled shade.

Situated on one side of the pond is the kinetic sculpture entitled ‘Four Open Squares Horizontal Tapered’ (1984) by George Rickey, its subtle movement by the breeze from time to time provides an absorbing distraction,

whilst a monster lurks in the deep below.

There is a high standard of horticulture here and the Head Gardener has 28 volunteers to keep in order; it looks a serious business.

Behind the pond stands a substantial greenhouse,

next to which is the productive area providing an air of home-grown; the runner beans are prolific,

and strawberries too, in their own patch.

There is even an active and busy bee hive which produces Trinity House Honey.

Roper suggested the paths be kept clean with neatly trimmed hedges enticing you to journey into the next space.

He also suggested a palette of soft blue, silver, pink and white which continues to this day. Patients can enjoy the mix from their rooms.

The site is divided in two parts with the modern inpatient complex at the centre. We walk up the steps to where mature trees dominate a fine circular lawn. The Plane tree provides a good meeting place,

with elegant circular seating around its base.

The circular theme is echoed in the perimeter path from where

you can glimpse through the shrubs and trees the sun shining down onto the mown lawn where stands the round pleasing pebble sculpture.

Completed after his death the garden became a memorial for Lanning Roper and has been open every year since for the National Garden Scheme.

The Scheme is the largest funder of Hospice UK and has donated more than £5 million since 1996. To understand a little more of the work of Hospice UK click on this link and have a listen to the video too: https://www.hospiceuk.org/support-us/work-with-us/corporate-partnerships/our-corporate-partners/the-national-garden-scheme

Our local hospice in West Norfolk has only recently been built and with it, a beautiful garden planted by volunteers. Let us hope they will sometime soon find a way to open their gates so that visitors can not only appreciate the valuable contribution that hospices make but also help raise funds for the National Garden Scheme.

——-2021——-

5 Burbage Road, Herne Hill; a tiny touch of Spring.

Following the book launch of the National Garden Scheme’s Gardens to Visit at the Royal Festival Hall last Thursday I decided to walk along the Thames, jump on a train at London Bridge and travel to North Dulwich. As I walked the 5 minutes down Half Moon Lane the sun came out and there was a feeling of Spring in my step.

The garden, situated behind an Edwardian-style house is just 150 ft x 40 ft, but from the terrace it looks so much bigger.

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Rosemary and her husband have lived here for over thirty years, so the garden is well established. On the terrace there is every sort of container, pots, watering cans and old-fashioned sinks.

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White Bergenia, blue rosemary and pink hellebore provide a welcome splash of Spring colour.

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Rosemary is a botanical artist and there is definitely a touch of artistry in the garden. Positioned on the side wall, the iron stag’s head with antlers twisted into holly leaves has a good view.

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Lawn, trees,  topiary and euphorbias are combined to provide shape and form, a rich tapestry of green.

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I take the path that runs down along the left side of the garden; in just the first few steps there is a delightful variety of shrubs.

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The sunshine is pushing open the new leaves of this Photinia glabra, although not as red as the more commonly seen Photinia x fraseri ‘red robin’,  it is a delightfully rounded evergreen.

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A bee is really getting into this pretty camelia.

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The squawk of a parakeet can be heard as it flies overhead, no doubt keeping his eye on the raised bird baths. The garden is cleverly divided, whilst remaining ‘open plan’. Divisions are not oppressive but subtle allowing the eye to see over or through. The lawn appears to squeeze through the line of rounded box balls,

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and moves towards a fountain gently bubbling over the rim of the tall jar. Fritillaria gracefully grow from tubby twin pots placed at the corner of the paved surround.

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Three mature apple trees grow in the centre of the garden; below this one is a daphne and the scent is a delight.

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More box balls intermingle with shrubs and perennials, and the brick path behind brings you into a bricked area.

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The mood changes with a medley of metallic containers; nothing is left unplanted. Even the tree in the centre is not as natural as you might think.

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Opposite, the wave bench by Anthony Paul marks the gravel garden. Surrounded by wooden sleepers the idea of this dry area was inspired by the great Beth Chatto.

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Up through the gravel grows this little gem; at first glance I think it is a crocus but on closer inspection I realise it is a tiny species tulip.

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Carrying on down the path towards the end of the garden I look back at the skilfully pruned apple tree,

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the prunings of which are used to line the woodbark path that leads across to the bug hotel at the end of the garden. The garden is open in three days time and Rosemary is concerned that it is nearly a month behind.  She worries that some of the daffodils are tightly in bud,

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but there are splashes of Spring, such as this Pulmonaria pushing up through the ivy,

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and a pink patch of cyclamen.

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Brilliant hellebores, pink, red and white are out all over the garden.

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Plants are positively thriving here, the result of well worked soil, and there can be no doubt that compost bins are clearly an important ingredient in this garden.

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In every inch of this garden there is so much variety, and returning along the opposite side of the garden is a cloud-pruned Phillyrea latifolia, its dark green glossy foliage so striking in the afternoon sun.

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For a moment there is a strong scent of fox; it is a curious coincidence as from out of the border Charlie appears…

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… he is in pursuit of the goose on the lawn.

 

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This tender sculpture can’t bear to watch and ever so gently turns away.

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Back just below the house there is a ‘plank of pots’ with the suggestion of an alpine collection.

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Against the garage wall is a decoratively trained climbing rose, a sort of final swirl to this creative garden.

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I am itching to return home to pick up my secateurs but before I leave I am amused at the idea that these happy plants have moved to the windowsill to gain a better view of this delightful garden.

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The weather forecast for the weekend is not great but this should not prevent an enjoyable visit to this treasure of a garden. Keep calm and visit a garden.

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——-2018——-

Pembroke College, a peaceful and pretty peramble. (1/18)

It is just over a year ago now that I began to blog about my garden visits. The first was Robinson College, Cambridge and I remember being surprised it was open on 2nd January. It is still very much open for the NGS and I thoroughly recommend a visit:  Robinson College

However finding myself back in Cambridge in that awkward time between Christmas and New Year I stumbled across yet another college garden. Having spent a happy morning in the excellent Fitzwilliam Museum I was just wondering what to do next and how to avoid the throng of ‘salesaholics’, when I found the 14th Century gate of Pembroke College conveniently open.

The site is made up of a series of interconnecting enclosed spaces and the well established gardens are very much part of the fabric of the college. I  entered via the porter’s lodge on Trumpington Street (just left of the horses below).

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Bird’s eye view by David Loggan 1690

Pembroke is the third oldest College in Cambridge and I began in the medieval Old Court. It was indeed a haven of calm, away from the jostling crowds of shoppers.  The lawn, like green baize, stretched out serenely, so smooth it was of course strictly out of bounds.  So I followed the paving  right handed and walked towards the chapel.

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A group of agaves huddled together seem to wave at me, and cause me to pause for a moment to read the many names on the war memorial tablet. The chapel here was Christopher Wren’s first building.

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The upright growth of the Juniper ‘sky rocket’ seems to echo the tall chimneys, and although the little gate is closed,

 

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access to the next court can be gained via a ramp; a simple feature and one I wish more gardens would employ; unless you have a wheelchair you have no idea of the importance.

So many roses are still flowering in December and will look even more colourful together with the catmint during the summer months.

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Behind the chapel is the Victorian Red Building; four petalled flowers in stone grace the lower parts of the building,

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whilst in the border across the lawn the real white petals of the hellebore are bright against the dark soil.

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The crab apples of Malus robusta Red Sentinel look as fresh as they might in the autumn.

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Moving round to the library lawn, I should show you the entire fine statue of William Pitt, who sits with his back to the library, but it is his foot that fascinates me pointing as it does towards the neat square turf.

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The gardener has been here for 50 years and the many varieties of well-tended shrubs cheer up a corner here and there and providing interest during these bland winter months; either grouped together,

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or planted singly, like the bold and trusty evergreen Aucuba japonica, with its splattered leaves… did someone once spill their cream?

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Choisya ternata ‘Sundance’ illuminates a shaded pathway,

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and the bluish-leaved melianthus major makes a handsome combination with the purple-leaved pittisporum.

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Nearby the berries of Nandina domestica are abundant and joyful. This is a plant that I had never previously come across, and am grateful for the coincidence that it is profiled in this month’s The Garden magazine.

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I thought these were outdoor decorative christmas baubles until on closer inspection I realised that they were the dried fruits of the pomegranate, punica granatum. 

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Moving northwards away from the library court is an informal area, known as the Orchard.  Medlars and mulberry grow behind the viridescent round pond which was created from a wartime water tank,

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A great avenue of mature London Planes, their upper boughs a tangled pattern against the wintry blue sky.

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An arbor provides a little mystery to the entrance of the Master’s Lodge. Whilst the nearby Fellows’ Garden remains closed today,

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the Foundress Court bordered on two sides by the newest accommodation, is wide open and the Henry Moore Figure in a shelter 1983 is for all to admire.

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Foundress Court has a strong connection with Nihon university in Japan, something which is perhaps suggested in the design of the inner courtyard.

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A simple pot, almost a modern still life, does much to break the monotony of the smooth walls.

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Leaving the new build I walk towards the ancient bowling green; considered to be not quite the oldest in Europe it is however unique in having a ‘rub’, that is the ridge that runs down the centre. The green is only for Fellows to play which they do with wooden bowls that go back to the 18th century and are sliced rather than spherical. Notices implore us not to walk on this precious ground but there are plenty of benches placed all around for those of us who must be content to sit and admire.

The aged tulip tree Liriodendron tulipifera is bursting out of the paving.

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Over the hedge is New Court, originally built in the fourteenth century when it was known as First Court, where students play croquet on the lawn. A delightful area, it is surrounded on three sides by a low stone wall border made up of many unusual plants complimented by a delicious variety of decorative shrubs against the court walls:

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The graceful catkins hang down from a Garry elliptica, 

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and the silvery grey Teucrum fruticans flows down to the paving.

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A splash of colour is provided from the bright berries of cotoneaster.

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Ridley’s Walk is named after Bishop Nicholas Ridley, one time student, Fellow and Master who was martyred in 1555 for his faith. I am sure the Bishop would be pleased with the diversity of plants growing along the walls which even includes a mature banana tree, Musa basjoo; obviously happy in the warmth of this corner it has  been known to have borne fruit.

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The walk leads into the final garden, Ivy Court. Simple in its layout with ten clipped yew, and four grass quads, there is in fact not a single leaf of ivy.

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Another cunningly devised ramp takes you up into the arch.

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Disabled access in fact ends here but it has been a delightfully easily-accessible garden, with it gentle ramps and smooth paths of generous width.

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I am back at the beginning in the Old Court. Many Abutilon grow against the warm walls of this ancient college, and on this chilly but bright day this little gem looks particularly charming as it grows through the branches of a ceanothus.

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And finally, there is the Solanum jasminoides, a member of the potato family; it looks most decorative on the window ledge under the reflecting pane of glass.

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So much there has been to enjoy in this garden in mid-winter, and it could be said that if I had been allowed, I would have found many flowers to pick for a fine ‘nosegay’ today.

With new notebook in hand and a camera from Father Christmas I am all set to visit the many gardens to be open in 2018…

 

——-Jan 2018——-

42 Falconer Road, all a twinkle in Bushey. (88)

When I began my Ninety Garden Adventure back in January, I did not imagine that there would still be gardens opening in November. The entry in Gardens to View appeared encouraging if not a little intriguing especially with the opening time advertised as 4pm. I could not resist a visit on my circuitous route to London.

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The short description of course just acts as a guide; you really have no idea what lies behind. There was no garden gate and a few of us gathered outside, a little confused by the change of time from 4pm to 5pm. Owner Suzette answers our knock and expresses her dismay that it is not yet dark but invites us in through to the conservatory.
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I feel more like a guest than a visitor;  it reminds me of the 18th Century when garden visitors would apply to the property beforehand and then would often be shown around by the owner who acted rather as the host.
The orchids are beautiful in the conservatory and it is like entering an antique shop which then extends out into the garden.
DSCF6841.jpgI was grateful that I had arrived early because I could take advantage of the last of the natural daylight. While the family were setting up the illuminations, I wandered around absorbing the eclectic contents of this small and cunning space. Knick-knacks and plants clamber up the wooden steps;

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china jars are arranged on the small ornamental metal shelf set against the fence amongst the trailing ivy.

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In a corner area the myriad of bejewelled hangings dangle from the confusion of wisteria, and are accentuated by the mirrors behind.

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Bird cages are everywhere, either small and propped on posts surrounded by bamboo, hydrangea and richly-coloured acer,

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or simply upon the ground looking slightly oriental.

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This little collection is suspended gracefully together and is just starting to glow in the fading light.

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Small statues gather on the miniature bridge,

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and the old gardener’s boot is providing a convenient home for a succulent,

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Plants overflow from the old metallic watering can,

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nearby to the miniature ones arranged and “sedumed” on a glass-topped table.

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Carefully stepping through the paved garden there is so much to see. By the side of a rhododendron sits a rusty old stove,

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and the clock defies time with its hands set permanently at twenty three past twelve.

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Low walls are built with a collection of artifacts,

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and there is just room for a small hexagonal glasshouse.

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Having been absorbed by the myriad of cages, chimney pots and curios, I reach the end of the garden and retrace my steps to await the approaching darkness.

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Back inside I am able to admire the photographs displayed of the garden decked in its summer dressing, elegant and floriferous. Suzette generously opens over two weekends in July and August and has been doing so for the NGS for over 5 years.

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While I wait for the brightening of the lights outside, I gaze at the collection of bird cages hanging inside and wonder what the generic name for such a collector might be.

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Just outside the conservatory things are starting to glow, it is hard to distinguish the difference between light and lobelia.

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I knew this would be a tricky one to photograph but woh, I am not quite sure if it is a result of the mulled wine or inadequate equipment.

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Ah ha, it all become clearer as I switch to iPhone, and the garden takes on a warm and magical look.

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More visitors have arrived and the children ooh and aah as they gaze at the glitz and the glow.

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Bird cages flutter into light,

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making a pretty sequence throughout the garden,

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In the dark there is  a different atmosphere and some ornaments remain familiar whilst those previously unseen, appear in the show.

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The glasshouse retracts behind the twinkle of green lights,

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and looking back it is proof that gardens need not be necessarily just about plants and it is obvious the visitors are just loving this evening display.

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I return to the conservatory once more where just outside green lights dance around the naked stems of the wisteria,

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and inside it there is a warm glow.

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Suzette has shown such generosity. It has been a magical visit, something just a little bit different and entertaining for all ages. I can’t help thinking if we want to encourage the next generation into the garden we might all take a leaf out of Suzette’s book and be a little bit more imaginative in our gardens at night time.

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——-88——-

Lakeside House, a welcome and watery restoration. (87)

The calendar of garden visiting is on pause now, and with the skiing season fast approaching one of the gardens I look back at with fondness, is the extraordinary garden at Brundall, once known as ‘The Switzerland of Norfolk’.

The garden was created in 1880 by a Dr Beverley who, along with planting an arboretum, dug out a cascade of ponds as seen in the centre of the postcard below. An entrepreneur named Frederick Holmes-Cooper then purchased the grounds in 1917, built a new house for his family which he called ‘Redclyffe’ and set about making  ‘Brundall Gardens’ a visitor attraction with a fine hotel and restaurant.

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Postcard 1920

In 1922 it was reported that 60,000 people flocked to see the gardens. Visitors travelled by bicycle, foot, rail and river disembarking at the jetty just by the restaurant.

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Postcard advertising day trip to Brundall Gardens

Of course I arrived by car, and it was a cold day back in April. The garden, much reduced in size now is owned by Janet Muter. In the mid 1980s she and her husband bought a newly-built house on the site, just above the cascade  and set about restoring the garden. It had suffered much neglect since its closure in the 1930s and subsequent requisition during the war when the property was used as an enemy aircraft plotting station.

I was very touched when Janet presented me with the book, Rescue of a Garden that she has recently written about the fascinating history of her garden.

So I cannot resist starting our tour with a picture of the house taken from the book showing the building in 1986, which she describes amusingly as ”A house undressed”:

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Rescue of a garden by Jane Muter

No longer so naked, it is clothed in mahonia and clematis armandii,

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and an attractive little border softens the hard landscape by the front door.

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From the house we cross to the other side of the roadway which is in fact the drive to the neighbouring house. I have to confess I am a little confused; a rustic hut but where is the lake?

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Crossing back over towards the house I admire the mixed planting in the flower bed, and continue to wonder at the apparent lack of water.

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Then, walking through the trees towards the south side of the house, I realise that this has just been the warm up. The curtain raises and as I look down, the spectacle unfolds; a series of three delightful ponds descending to a lower lake.

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I am standing upon the patio where a collection of colourful acers grow in pots. You can see that the grassy slope falls away very steeply.

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We gently follow the path down on the right-hand side admiring the mixture of mature trees and shrubs, some in flower, that have been planted over the years.

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The large-handled pot points the way and its shape is complimented by the planting around it. Perhaps a gentle reminder that this was a site once inhabited by the Romans.

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The first pond is the smallest. There are no straight lines in this garden; pool, plants and pots smoothly flow in a curve. On occasions, a fountain plays in the centre.

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The path leads away from the water’s edge down through swathes of ground cover; vinca, pulmonarias, lamium and ivy dotted with white honesty.

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Bluebell flowers are just emerging and I catch glimpses of water  through the branches,

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and finally at the furthest point we venture out through the trees to arrive at the lily lake at the lowest level.

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Large and untamed, the lake was almost inaccessible in 1985.

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The Muters cleared fallen trees, excess reeds and rushes. Janet has always been mindful of the wildlife, the enjoyment of which is an important part of this garden. A beach was created and the gravel path seems to ebb and flow in harmony with the water’s edge.

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There are some lovely gems planted on this side; the exquisite aronia melonocarpa

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and pinky darmera peltata, its large leaves yet to grow.

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Popular primula japonica is very content here.

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Water lilies spread out in a Monet manner across the lake from the far side, where the sound of a railway can be heard as a train rattles by.

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After a while we ascend the side of the lower pond where sweet woodruff grows amongst the fresh green unfurling fronds of the ferns.

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At the top of the lower pond we cross over and look back. It is deep and requires dredging every year.

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The middle pond is in fact in the care of the neighbour. Annually it is drained to remove the leaves. These water gardens do not just flow timelessly, they need maintenance. There has not been much rainfall in recent months and so the water level is low.

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The top pond has a variety of plants emerging around its edge and it is the selection of euphorbias that catches my eye today,

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with the ajuga edging the carrstone wall. The stone would have originally been brought over from the western side of the Norfolk.

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An old tree trunk supporting a climbing rose combines with an ancient pot to provide a touch of antiquity.

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We are grateful to have steps to climb this last part but I worry that I have kept Janet outside for too long. A hardy type as she might be, she is an octogenarian and it is a chilly day.

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We pause on the top step to take in one last look over the haze of light blue periwinkle. I am in awe as to how someone can garden on such steep terrain.

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Watery and wonderful, this can have been no easy garden to restore and maintain. It is hard to believe that for half a century it was hidden away by undergrowth. With careful restoration and a lot of hard graft, the Muters brought it back to life and while enhancing the beauty with their love and knowledge of plants, they have encouraged not only the wildlife to return but also the visitors. I quote from Janet’s book:

‘And in 25 years of opening my garden I have never known anyone leave litter or steal so much as a cutting, well not when I was looking anyway. Whilst rescuing my garden it has helped to raise thousands of pounds for many charities, but mainly for the National Garden Scheme.’

Lakeside House opened for two days this year over the May Bank holiday and raised nearly £3,000 for the NGS.

We are of course very grateful to Janet who will be opening next year by arrangement only.  In the meantime you can enjoy this wintery scene and do read the book; it is an interesting story.

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——-87——-

Ramster, open for 90 glorious years. (86)

I cannot draw to the end of my ‘ninety’ without including the historic rambling wooded gardens of Ramster in Surrey.  It was one of the original 609 gardens that opened for the NGS back in 1927 and has opened every successive year since. It is the only other garden along with Sandringham to hold such an impressive record.

Originally named Ramsnest, the garden was created out of an Oak woodland in the 1890s by the then owner Sir Harry Waechter, a British businessman and philanthropist.

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The local nursery of V. N. Gauntlett & Co Ltd., specialists in all things Japanese, conveniently adjoined the garden and their influence is very much in evidence today.

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In 1922 the property was bought by Sir Henry and Lady Norman and has remained in the same family being passed onto the fourth generation in 2005. Ramster Hall tucked away in the Surrey Hills is a private home but earns its keep by hosting weddings and corporate events.

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At the annual NGS conference recently Miranda Gunn (third generation) gave an amusing account of the garden. She explained how in the early years an honesty box sufficed at the entrance, but times have changed and on arrival the driver of the coach full of visitors asks three simple questions: Where are the loos, where are the teas and what is the name of the dog!

Wooden obelisks mark the entrance to the 25 acres and the map shows plenty of meandering paths to explore and helpfully outlines the hard path route giving some access to wheelchairs.

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A fallen Douglas Fir Pseudotsuga menziesii, has been turned, actually chainsawed, into this porcine family by Simon Groves http://www.grovessculpture.co.uk/home.html.

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Opposite, a redundant tennis court has taken on a new lease of life,

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a quiet enclosed flat area where a gentle fountain plays into the dark waters of the raised pool,

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with a variety of pots, and places to sit. It is a contrast to the wooded undulating 25 acres  yet to come.

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There is a gentle unhurried atmosphere here, a place to wander with plenty of benches along the way,

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placed strategically under trees such as this deciduous conifer the Swamp Cypress Taxodium distichum,

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or tucked in under what is known as the ‘Grouse Hole’. From here you can sit for awhile

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and admire the ‘Gauntlett’ Cranes standing still in the green lagoon.

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Seating is also made simply out of fallen trunks,

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or enriched by the chainsaw of Simon Groves.

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From the winged back log you can look down on the bog garden, where an acer is acquiring an autumnal glow and tall thin purple verbena bonariensis rise up in front of the fat green gunnera manicata leaves.

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Logs are used on the walkway; neatly sliced, they allow the children to experience the Gunnera jungle.

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Following a rough woodland path clearly marked as unsuitable for any type of wheels I reach the lake, the furthest point of the woodland. It is hard to imagine what it must have been like in those early years with something like 40 gardeners.  I am reminded of the story Miranda recounted; remembering the days when a team of gardeners was employed in the fifties and false teeth were all the rage, her mother would go out into the garden calling them and have to wait a considerable amount of time while the team would rush back to their potting shed to be reunited with their teeth and so appear with a gleaming white smile!

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Throughout the woodland, autumn tints are creeping in particularly amongst the acers; the large leaves of this young Acer palmatum Osakasuki, have nearly all turned,

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while this mature Acer rubrum ‘Scanlon’ has just a very few leaves. It amazes me how on one specimen the change is so varied, a breakaway branch so brilliantly red whilst the rest of the tree remains determinedly green. 

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Liquidamber styraciflua ‘Elstead’ is beautiful too, a fine tree it is also noted for its deeply ridged bark.

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However it is the rare Castor aralia Kalopanax pictus var maximowicizii that wins the prize for its glorious bark, the wondrous patterns of nature.

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Ramster is not only famous for its autumn colour but also for Rhododendrons and Azaleas, and many readers will have seen the wonderful display shown on Gardener’s World back in May. Not a flower to be seen now it is the naked limbs which still have such beauty; the tri-trunked specimen of Rhododendron Loder’s White.

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and a frenzy of multi-stemmed Rhododendron ‘Cynthia’.

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Some ‘naked’ trees are put to good use; a support for a beautifully scented honeysuckle Lonicera ‘Copper Beauty’ which flowers from June to September.

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Another member of the honeysuckle family and still in flower is the Heptacodium miconioides known in N. America as Crape Myrtle or seven son flower.

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There are the mighty giant trees such as the towering Sequoia giganteum Wellingtonia,

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and the straight Atlantic cedar Cedrus atlantica glauca. The couple seated below are season ticket holders and share their love the garden by showing me photos of the past seasons.

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It is near here in a clearing that Miranda Gunn has positioned her grandchildren.

A delightful arrangement in bronze resin titled Oranges and Lemons it is by Christine Charlesworth. Lola, Nessa, Ollie, Tom and Bethan were not an easy commission and took two years to complete, finishing in 2011. There is such rhythm and movement in this piece that it is no wonder that Charlesworth was selected as the official artist for the 2012 London Olympics.

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Behind the group of figures is the glow of a red Acer, contorted with colour,

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it is part of the Acer walk, the Japanese influence incorporated a century ago.

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A lantern is poetically placed amongst shrubs and contributes to the Anglo/Japanese feel.

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I meander for sometime past lakes and ponds,

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down steps and over bridges; it is a fun place for children to explore.

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Returning to the car park I pass under the deliciously-looking but inedible baubles of the Dogwood Cornus porlock ‘Norman Haddon’,

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and then quite out of the blue, and it is out of the blue because everything is red, is a lonely hydrangea, a reminder of the acid soil that lies below and I envy hugely.

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Back in the car park the peculiar fruits of the Medlar Mespilus germanica are yet to blet,

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and a Red London Bus awaits the next party of wedding guests.

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Ramster is closed now until the Spring; its very informative website boasts of it providing the best cake in Surrey. I should check it out when it opens for the NGS on Friday 11th May 2018.

——-86——-

Great Comp Garden, follies fun and salvias. (84)

Great Comp is near Sevenoaks in Kent. The seven acre garden was developed by Eric and Joyce Cameron who purchased the house back in 1957 and first opened for the NGS in 1968.

Now it is managed by a Trust, with the Curator William Dyson and a team of gardeners and volunteers. Dyson has been growing salvias for over 20 years and has built up a large collection; as you walk into Great Comp you are greeted with a fine selection displayed for sale.

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The nursery area is surrounded by borders of grasses and perennials allowing the visitor to slip seamlessly into the garden.

The apex of the Lion Summerhouse roof can just be seen above a delightful blend of shape and texture.

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This 17th century building was at one time the estate loo but now contains a more enchanting style of seat.

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The Camerons added a little architecture to the garden, not in the way of functionality but as a part of the design; ruins and follies are built from the stone and sand unearthed from digging the garden.

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There are plenty of sculptures too and this pensive chap may just be wondering where he has left his trowel.

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Despite being the end of October this border flows with colour; an assortment of salvias from pinks through red and purple to blue are complimented with tall ornamental grasses arranged at the back.

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It was Pliny the Elder who was the first to write of a plant described by the Romans as Salvia, most likely the Salvia officinalis, commonly known as sage which we use in our cooking. It is the largest genus of plants in the mint family Lamiaceae and is distributed throughout the Americas, Central and Eastern Asia and the Mediterranean. Dyson concentrates on the Salvias from the New World and has cultivated over 200 hybrids.  Such an intense blue,

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and it is not just the difference in colour but also in form and habit. These dark purple flower spikes look good with the autumn colours.

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The colours compliment and blend so effectively,

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or look good simply in a singular colour bursting out of a pot.

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Salvia Waverly is a tender variety so will be taken under cover before the first frosts.

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Another folly provides a seating area complete with bench and to the right a ‘tumbled down’ tower,

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from where we can view the crescent lawn and an explosion of grasses.

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Salvia is not the only plant providing flower colour today; a low growing geranium is almost as good as in early summer,

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and the evergreen Liriope muscari  so good in the shade and flowers from August to November.

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The low autumn sun highlights the whiteness of the miscanthus grass.

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There are many fine mature trees here, the perfect shape of a  Sequoa sempervirens ‘Cantab’ stands erect on the edge of the square lawn in front of the house.

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Further away is a fine specimen of a rowan, Sorbus hupenhsis laden with pink berries.

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We walk away from the house down the avenue known as the Sweep, the curving line of the lawn and swirling shapes of the shrubs and trees suggesting a design reminiscent of the swinging sixties and early seventies.

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We are joined in the garden by our young cousin Charlotte; bouncing with energy and enthusiasm she lifts our spirits on this chilly grey day. Rubbing her hands over the smoothly clipped box she asks if it takes long to grow. I don’t want to dampen any signs of horticultural interest and feel a touch guilty when I suggest it doesn’t.

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Swiftly moving down the Sweep we admire the deep red leaves of the Liquidamber,

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and head into the woodland. At the southeast corner there is a hydrangea glade which we walk through and follow along the leafy perimeter path,

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to the Chilstone temple that marks the furthest south western corner and where the yellow Mahonia is well into flower.

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Back out of the woods we seek out the Italian garden, passing under the canopy of Magnolia x soulangeana where the extraordinarily unreal seed heads contort above us,

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and through the archway there is a different mood.

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The Camerons combined their love of the classical with the theatre and in an eclectic mix of columns, fountain and ornament softened by dahlias, palm and tall rustling miscanthus they created a curious courtyard.

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Amongst the old stone are engineering bricks that serve to make walls and define the arches and although there is a very slight air of a forgotten institution there are plenty of little seating areas to enjoy the characterful ambience.

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It is time for Tea and we head off to the old dairy to sample the delicious cake just pausing for a moment to admire the lamp post with a turban top.

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Nearby, Brutus is stylishly swathed in moss and seems to look over towards the neighbouring

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goddess, a little less clothed she appears to be in heavenly bliss.

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Opposite, the flat leaves of the ancient gingko are gently turning to a soft yellow,

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Through the enchanting moon gate we can clearly see the herbaceous border across the neatly mown lawn.

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Growing by the house is a sizeable Magnolia grandiflora who holds its seed heads tightly.

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Passing by more seed heads,  these are Phlomis we pass through yet another folly.

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The garden, which is an RHS partner moves round to the northern side where the visitor before leaving can admire the front of the charming 17th Century house.

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Returning through the nursery it is difficult not to admire the longevity of this summer flowering fuchsia, curiously named “Lady in Black”,

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and wonder at a snowdrop in flower at the same time, the very early Galanthus ‘Peter Gatehouse’. I feel that I have nearly come full circle as it was not far from here at Spring Platt (A snowdrop of knowledge blog 5), that I became so acquainted with this enchanting flower. However, we still have a little way to go before the onset of the snowdrop season.

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——-83——-