Posted by Sacha on July 4, 2011, 1:36 pm
Finally, we've spent 5 days doing what I've longed to do for ages.
Small beginnings etc. First we drove to Herefordshire and stayed in
the village of Hoarwithy where Roy Strong's The Laskett is. We saw
this in a group of 15 other gardeners, one of whom has another garden
we visited (more later) and who had organised that visit. Overall, I
think we'd both say that we thought its general design and lay out are
terrific but oh dear, the amount of statuary and general obelisks,
plaques, circled up cats, similar on the house - very, very distracting
to the eye and the overall effect of the garden. Parts of it were
under-planted but given the winter that UK suffered, this is not
surprising. It doesn't account for 6 marigolds (not some antique
variety) planted in one short length. That was a bit strange. Yes, it
IS a very personal garden, so one has to take that into account. But I
will admit that I became irritated by the amount of 'stuff' that
intrudes upon the eye which is not planting but some personal memorial
to an event in their lives, a beloved cat, a presentation by one body
or another etc. I think the backgrounds and professions of the two
owners is very clear in its origins, Sir Roy worked for the National
Gallery and the V&A and Julia Trevelyan-Oman, his late wife, was a set
designer, so perhaps inevitably, the theatrical did influence their
designs. One of our party said that it looked as if some of the
'stuff' had come from the props department. I think it's fair to say
that all of us just fell in love with the Elizabeth Walk (alley?) It
is the most peaceful and least 'busy' area of the whole garden and we
thought it did centre the garden as a whole.
After The Laskett, we drove to Devauden, just into Wales and visited
Veddw, the home of Anne Wareham (author of The Bad Tempered Gardener)
and her husband Charles Hawes, the photographer. Ray didn't enjoy this
garden as much as I did. It's unlike any other garden I've ever seen
and I suspect many would agree with that. Anne and Charles bought two
acres of empty land and then added two acres of woodland to it later.
I was captivated by the 'not a maze' of hedging in the middle of the
largest area, the topiary pillars which take the place of statuary and
the hugely broad sweeps of planting of one type of plant in many parts
of the garden. To sit at the top of the garden and look down upon this
yew hedging which has been growing there for 30 years may be the most
unifying-with-a-garden thing, anyone can do, imo. I liked the
reflecting pool and its rather austere surroundings but it's not
something I'd feel essential to a garden of mine. Anne felt
differently and put a lot of work into getting it right. On top of
that, we were both captivated by the 'front garden', the view from
their front door, which is both designed but equally, quite rampant,
voluptuous, even and then blends gently into a meadow. The only bit I
wasn't mad about were their parterres planted up with grasses. I'm not
a big grasses fan anyway but felt that if this is going to work, there
needs to be so many grasses in each parterre that it's like a
chock-a-block vase. That may be her intention over time but I don't
know that. Her attention to detail is stupdendous and even a little
fence which separates their garden from another's is painted black and
has a few struts broken off at the top, at random, so it's not too
severe and controlling of its surroundings. The conservatory walls are
painted black and a selection of grey leaf succulents are grown there
in zinc pots. It sounds as if it could be too arty-farty to be true
but it's just another bit of their house, isn't over-manicured and so,
it works. Personally, I'd urge anyone who wants to see a different
type of garden to go there without delay. It's a garden that I left
wondering how much our life experiences shape the gardens we make.
Hidcote & Kiftsgate. The difference - for me who had never seen either
before - is that Hidcote belongs to the NT and Kiftsgate to a family.
Somehow, I am convinced this imbues a garden with a genuine personality
that even the most passionate NT curator or head gardener cannot feel
for a place he or she doesn't own. I really enjoyed Hidcote though
some of the planting is woefully short and there was that "let's
entertain the families" thing going on of music on the theatre lawn
(very enjoyable music but not *peaceful*) and a feeling that while a
lot of money has been spent on it, perhaps more could have been spent
on plants in some areas. That said, much of it is beautifully planted
and abounds in older, well-established plants. It's a hard thing to
explain because I liked it, I'm glad I've seen it but it really just
did not move me. Kiftsgate had a head start because its owner was
sitting at the door taking the money. Immediately, you realise you're
in a private garden that a family love, use and enjoy. Now, we didn't
talk to her, we don't know her but straight away, someone involved with
the house, reading her paper, taking your entrance money and not
forcing you to enter or leave via a shop (thought there are plants on
sale) lifts the experience into another realm altogether. Again, some
areas are very underplanted - why anyone would put in one Thalichtrum
Hewitt's Double, for example, is beyond me. But most of the planting
is just yummy. Masses of it and quite lovely and again, very, very
personal. Some of it works, some of it doesn't just like all our
gardens. But it's quite clear that the passion that drives that garden
is ownership and the sense of inheritance of a duty to the garden
itself and her mother and grandmother who handed on the torch.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
Posted by 'Mike' on July 4, 2011, 1:44 pm
--
...................................
Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive.
...................................
> Finally, we've spent 5 days doing what I've longed to do for ages. Small
> beginnings etc. First we drove to Herefordshire and stayed in the village
> of Hoarwithy where Roy Strong's The Laskett is. We saw this in a group of
> 15 other gardeners, one of whom has another garden we visited (more later)
> and who had organised that visit. Overall, I think we'd both say that we
> thought its general design and lay out are terrific but oh dear, the
> amount of statuary and general obelisks, plaques, circled up cats, similar
> on the house - very, very distracting to the eye and the overall effect of
> the garden. Parts of it were under-planted but given the winter that UK
> suffered, this is not surprising. It doesn't account for 6 marigolds (not
> some antique variety) planted in one short length. That was a bit
> strange. Yes, it IS a very personal garden, so one has to take that into
> account. But I will admit that I became irritated by the amount of
> 'stuff' that intrudes upon the eye which is not planting but some personal
> memorial to an event in their lives, a beloved cat, a presentation by one
> body or another etc. I think the backgrounds and professions of the two
> owners is very clear in its origins, Sir Roy worked for the National
> Gallery and the V&A and Julia Trevelyan-Oman, his late wife, was a set
> designer, so perhaps inevitably, the theatrical did influence their
> designs. One of our party said that it looked as if some of the 'stuff'
> had come from the props department. I think it's fair to say that all of
> us just fell in love with the Elizabeth Walk (alley?) It is the most
> peaceful and least 'busy' area of the whole garden and we thought it did
> centre the garden as a whole.
> After The Laskett, we drove to Devauden, just into Wales and visited
> Veddw, the home of Anne Wareham (author of The Bad Tempered Gardener) and
> her husband Charles Hawes, the photographer. Ray didn't enjoy this garden
> as much as I did. It's unlike any other garden I've ever seen and I
> suspect many would agree with that. Anne and Charles bought two acres of
> empty land and then added two acres of woodland to it later. I was
> captivated by the 'not a maze' of hedging in the middle of the largest
> area, the topiary pillars which take the place of statuary and the hugely
> broad sweeps of planting of one type of plant in many parts of the garden.
> To sit at the top of the garden and look down upon this yew hedging which
> has been growing there for 30 years may be the most unifying-with-a-garden
> thing, anyone can do, imo. I liked the reflecting pool and its rather
> austere surroundings but it's not something I'd feel essential to a garden
> of mine. Anne felt differently and put a lot of work into getting it
> right. On top of that, we were both captivated by the 'front garden', the
> view from their front door, which is both designed but equally, quite
> rampant, voluptuous, even and then blends gently into a meadow. The only
> bit I wasn't mad about were their parterres planted up with grasses. I'm
> not a big grasses fan anyway but felt that if this is going to work, there
> needs to be so many grasses in each parterre that it's like a
> chock-a-block vase. That may be her intention over time but I don't know
> that. Her attention to detail is stupdendous and even a little fence
> which separates their garden from another's is painted black and has a few
> struts broken off at the top, at random, so it's not too severe and
> controlling of its surroundings. The conservatory walls are painted black
> and a selection of grey leaf succulents are grown there in zinc pots. It
> sounds as if it could be too arty-farty to be true but it's just another
> bit of their house, isn't over-manicured and so, it works. Personally,
> I'd urge anyone who wants to see a different type of garden to go there
> without delay. It's a garden that I left wondering how much our life
> experiences shape the gardens we make.
> Hidcote & Kiftsgate. The difference - for me who had never seen either
> before - is that Hidcote belongs to the NT and Kiftsgate to a family.
> Somehow, I am convinced this imbues a garden with a genuine personality
> that even the most passionate NT curator or head gardener cannot feel for
> a place he or she doesn't own. I really enjoyed Hidcote though some of
> the planting is woefully short and there was that "let's entertain the
> families" thing going on of music on the theatre lawn (very enjoyable
> music but not *peaceful*) and a feeling that while a lot of money has been
> spent on it, perhaps more could have been spent on plants in some areas.
> That said, much of it is beautifully planted and abounds in older,
> well-established plants. It's a hard thing to explain because I liked
> it, I'm glad I've seen it but it really just did not move me. Kiftsgate
> had a head start because its owner was sitting at the door taking the
> money. Immediately, you realise you're in a private garden that a family
> love, use and enjoy. Now, we didn't talk to her, we don't know her but
> straight away, someone involved with the house, reading her paper, taking
> your entrance money and not forcing you to enter or leave via a shop
> (thought there are plants on sale) lifts the experience into another realm
> altogether. Again, some areas are very underplanted - why anyone would
> put in one Thalichtrum Hewitt's Double, for example, is beyond me. But
> most of the planting is just yummy. Masses of it and quite lovely and
> again, very, very personal. Some of it works, some of it doesn't just
> like all our gardens. But it's quite clear that the passion that drives
> that garden is ownership and the sense of inheritance of a duty to the
> garden itself and her mother and grandmother who handed on the torch.
> --
> Sacha
>> South Devon
What if we all put 86 lines of OUR opinions of OTHER people's gardens?
Over the top don't you think?
Kindest regards
Mike
...................................
Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive.
...................................
Posted by sheila on July 4, 2011, 5:08 pm
> Finally, we've spent 5 days doing what I've longed to do for ages. Small
> beginnings etc. First we drove to Herefordshire and stayed in the village
> of Hoarwithy where Roy Strong's The Laskett is. We saw this in a group of
> 15 other gardeners, one of whom has another garden we visited (more later)
> and who had organised that visit. Overall, I think we'd both say that we
> thought its general design and lay out are terrific but oh dear, the
> amount of statuary and general obelisks, plaques, circled up cats, similar
> on the house - very, very distracting to the eye and the overall effect of
> the garden. Parts of it were under-planted but given the winter that UK
> suffered, this is not surprising. It doesn't account for 6 marigolds (not
> some antique variety) planted in one short length. That was a bit
> strange. Yes, it IS a very personal garden, so one has to take that into
> account. But I will admit that I became irritated by the amount of
> 'stuff' that intrudes upon the eye which is not planting but some personal
> memorial to an event in their lives, a beloved cat, a presentation by one
> body or another etc. I think the backgrounds and professions of the two
> owners is very clear in its origins, Sir Roy worked for the National
> Gallery and the V&A and Julia Trevelyan-Oman, his late wife, was a set
> designer, so perhaps inevitably, the theatrical did influence their
> designs. One of our party said that it looked as if some of the 'stuff'
> had come from the props department. I think it's fair to say that all of
> us just fell in love with the Elizabeth Walk (alley?) It is the most
> peaceful and least 'busy' area of the whole garden and we thought it did
> centre the garden as a whole.
> After The Laskett, we drove to Devauden, just into Wales and visited
> Veddw, the home of Anne Wareham (author of The Bad Tempered Gardener) and
> her husband Charles Hawes, the photographer. Ray didn't enjoy this garden
> as much as I did. It's unlike any other garden I've ever seen and I
> suspect many would agree with that. Anne and Charles bought two acres of
> empty land and then added two acres of woodland to it later. I was
> captivated by the 'not a maze' of hedging in the middle of the largest
> area, the topiary pillars which take the place of statuary and the hugely
> broad sweeps of planting of one type of plant in many parts of the garden.
> To sit at the top of the garden and look down upon this yew hedging which
> has been growing there for 30 years may be the most unifying-with-a-garden
> thing, anyone can do, imo. I liked the reflecting pool and its rather
> austere surroundings but it's not something I'd feel essential to a garden
> of mine. Anne felt differently and put a lot of work into getting it
> right. On top of that, we were both captivated by the 'front garden', the
> view from their front door, which is both designed but equally, quite
> rampant, voluptuous, even and then blends gently into a meadow. The only
> bit I wasn't mad about were their parterres planted up with grasses. I'm
> not a big grasses fan anyway but felt that if this is going to work, there
> needs to be so many grasses in each parterre that it's like a
> chock-a-block vase. That may be her intention over time but I don't know
> that. Her attention to detail is stupdendous and even a little fence
> which separates their garden from another's is painted black and has a few
> struts broken off at the top, at random, so it's not too severe and
> controlling of its surroundings. The conservatory walls are painted black
> and a selection of grey leaf succulents are grown there in zinc pots. It
> sounds as if it could be too arty-farty to be true but it's just another
> bit of their house, isn't over-manicured and so, it works. Personally,
> I'd urge anyone who wants to see a different type of garden to go there
> without delay. It's a garden that I left wondering how much our life
> experiences shape the gardens we make.
> Hidcote & Kiftsgate. The difference - for me who had never seen either
> before - is that Hidcote belongs to the NT and Kiftsgate to a family.
> Somehow, I am convinced this imbues a garden with a genuine personality
> that even the most passionate NT curator or head gardener cannot feel for
> a place he or she doesn't own. I really enjoyed Hidcote though some of
> the planting is woefully short and there was that "let's entertain the
> families" thing going on of music on the theatre lawn (very enjoyable
> music but not *peaceful*) and a feeling that while a lot of money has been
> spent on it, perhaps more could have been spent on plants in some areas.
> That said, much of it is beautifully planted and abounds in older,
> well-established plants. It's a hard thing to explain because I liked
> it, I'm glad I've seen it but it really just did not move me. Kiftsgate
> had a head start because its owner was sitting at the door taking the
> money. Immediately, you realise you're in a private garden that a family
> love, use and enjoy. Now, we didn't talk to her, we don't know her but
> straight away, someone involved with the house, reading her paper, taking
> your entrance money and not forcing you to enter or leave via a shop
> (thought there are plants on sale) lifts the experience into another realm
> altogether. Again, some areas are very underplanted - why anyone would
> put in one Thalichtrum Hewitt's Double, for example, is beyond me. But
> most of the planting is just yummy. Masses of it and quite lovely and
> again, very, very personal. Some of it works, some of it doesn't just
> like all our gardens. But it's quite clear that the passion that drives
> that garden is ownership and the sense of inheritance of a duty to the
> garden itself and her mother and grandmother who handed on the torch.
> --
> Sacha
> www.hillhousenursery.com
> South Devon
Sounds like you had a wonderful time, I wish we could try the same! I'm
getting a bit nervous, its my open day on Sunday, and the garden is ticking
over nicely, all the sweet william that was so lovely last week is fading,
and the roses are in full flow, we worked so hard last weekend, the bed that
the sycamore tree inhabited, full of hosta and fern, has been re planted
back, we have added a raised bed in it, and planted some small euonymus etc
in the front, its not as shady as it was, but I had to steal a lot of soil
from another back border, to fill the raised bed, and cover the stump, as
hubby has a bad back, I was doing the digging, and he building the small
wall......
I hope you can find the time to have another relaxing tour soon...perhaps a
few links this time! (that makes me realise how lazy we have become, before
google, I would have got my reference book and looked it up, now I'm
demanding links!)
Posted by Sacha on July 4, 2011, 6:03 pm
>
>> Finally, we've spent 5 days doing what I've longed to do for ages. Small
>> beginnings etc. <snip>
>
> Sounds like you had a wonderful time, I wish we could try the same! I'm
> getting a bit nervous, its my open day on Sunday, and the garden is ticking
> over nicely, all the sweet william that was so lovely last week is fading,
> and the roses are in full flow, we worked so hard last weekend, the bed that
> the sycamore tree inhabited, full of hosta and fern, has been re planted
> back, we have added a raised bed in it, and planted some small euonymus etc
> in the front, its not as shady as it was, but I had to steal a lot of soil
> from another back border, to fill the raised bed, and cover the stump, as
> hubby has a bad back, I was doing the digging, and he building the small
> wall......
>
> I hope you can find the time to have another relaxing tour soon...perhaps a
> few links this time! (that makes me realise how lazy we have become, before
> google, I would have got my reference book and looked it up, now I'm
> demanding links!)
We had a great time and they're all well known gardens, though the
Veddw may be the least well known so easy to find on Google. But don't
worry about things 'going over' in your garden. Every single one of
these gardens had things doing just that. That's what gardens do!
They're in a continuous circle of life and death!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
Posted by Dave Hill on July 5, 2011, 3:56 am
> >> Finally, we've spent 5 days doing what I've longed to do for ages. Small
> >> beginnings etc. <snip>
> > Sounds like you had a wonderful time, I wish we could try the same! I'm
> > getting a bit nervous, its my open day on Sunday, and the garden is ticking
> > over nicely, all the sweet william that was so lovely last week is fading,
> > and the roses are in full flow, we worked so hard last weekend, the bed that
> > the sycamore tree inhabited, full of hosta and fern, has been re planted
> > back, we have added a raised bed in it, and planted some small euonymus etc
> > in the front, its not as shady as it was, but I had to steal a lot of soil
> > from another back border, to fill the raised bed, and cover the stump, as
> > hubby has a bad back, I was doing the digging, and he building the small
> > wall......
> > I hope you can find the time to have another relaxing tour soon...perhaps a
> > few links this time! (that makes me realise how lazy we have become, before
> > google, I would have got my reference book and looked it up, now I'm
> > demanding links!)
> We had a great time and they're all well known gardens, though the
> Veddw may be the least well known so easy to find on Google. But don't
> worry about things 'going over' in your garden. Every single one of
> these gardens had things doing just that. That's what gardens do!
> They're in a continuous circle of life and death!
> --
> Sachawww.hillhousenursery.com
> South Devon- Hide quoted text -
> - Show quoted text -
Why ask for links?
You only have to Google them yourself.
XML site map
> beginnings etc. First we drove to Herefordshire and stayed in the village
> of Hoarwithy where Roy Strong's The Laskett is. We saw this in a group of
> 15 other gardeners, one of whom has another garden we visited (more later)
> and who had organised that visit. Overall, I think we'd both say that we
> thought its general design and lay out are terrific but oh dear, the
> amount of statuary and general obelisks, plaques, circled up cats, similar
> on the house - very, very distracting to the eye and the overall effect of
> the garden. Parts of it were under-planted but given the winter that UK
> suffered, this is not surprising. It doesn't account for 6 marigolds (not
> some antique variety) planted in one short length. That was a bit
> strange. Yes, it IS a very personal garden, so one has to take that into
> account. But I will admit that I became irritated by the amount of
> 'stuff' that intrudes upon the eye which is not planting but some personal
> memorial to an event in their lives, a beloved cat, a presentation by one
> body or another etc. I think the backgrounds and professions of the two
> owners is very clear in its origins, Sir Roy worked for the National
> Gallery and the V&A and Julia Trevelyan-Oman, his late wife, was a set
> designer, so perhaps inevitably, the theatrical did influence their
> designs. One of our party said that it looked as if some of the 'stuff'
> had come from the props department. I think it's fair to say that all of
> us just fell in love with the Elizabeth Walk (alley?) It is the most
> peaceful and least 'busy' area of the whole garden and we thought it did
> centre the garden as a whole.
> After The Laskett, we drove to Devauden, just into Wales and visited
> Veddw, the home of Anne Wareham (author of The Bad Tempered Gardener) and
> her husband Charles Hawes, the photographer. Ray didn't enjoy this garden
> as much as I did. It's unlike any other garden I've ever seen and I
> suspect many would agree with that. Anne and Charles bought two acres of
> empty land and then added two acres of woodland to it later. I was
> captivated by the 'not a maze' of hedging in the middle of the largest
> area, the topiary pillars which take the place of statuary and the hugely
> broad sweeps of planting of one type of plant in many parts of the garden.
> To sit at the top of the garden and look down upon this yew hedging which
> has been growing there for 30 years may be the most unifying-with-a-garden
> thing, anyone can do, imo. I liked the reflecting pool and its rather
> austere surroundings but it's not something I'd feel essential to a garden
> of mine. Anne felt differently and put a lot of work into getting it
> right. On top of that, we were both captivated by the 'front garden', the
> view from their front door, which is both designed but equally, quite
> rampant, voluptuous, even and then blends gently into a meadow. The only
> bit I wasn't mad about were their parterres planted up with grasses. I'm
> not a big grasses fan anyway but felt that if this is going to work, there
> needs to be so many grasses in each parterre that it's like a
> chock-a-block vase. That may be her intention over time but I don't know
> that. Her attention to detail is stupdendous and even a little fence
> which separates their garden from another's is painted black and has a few
> struts broken off at the top, at random, so it's not too severe and
> controlling of its surroundings. The conservatory walls are painted black
> and a selection of grey leaf succulents are grown there in zinc pots. It
> sounds as if it could be too arty-farty to be true but it's just another
> bit of their house, isn't over-manicured and so, it works. Personally,
> I'd urge anyone who wants to see a different type of garden to go there
> without delay. It's a garden that I left wondering how much our life
> experiences shape the gardens we make.
> Hidcote & Kiftsgate. The difference - for me who had never seen either
> before - is that Hidcote belongs to the NT and Kiftsgate to a family.
> Somehow, I am convinced this imbues a garden with a genuine personality
> that even the most passionate NT curator or head gardener cannot feel for
> a place he or she doesn't own. I really enjoyed Hidcote though some of
> the planting is woefully short and there was that "let's entertain the
> families" thing going on of music on the theatre lawn (very enjoyable
> music but not *peaceful*) and a feeling that while a lot of money has been
> spent on it, perhaps more could have been spent on plants in some areas.
> That said, much of it is beautifully planted and abounds in older,
> well-established plants. It's a hard thing to explain because I liked
> it, I'm glad I've seen it but it really just did not move me. Kiftsgate
> had a head start because its owner was sitting at the door taking the
> money. Immediately, you realise you're in a private garden that a family
> love, use and enjoy. Now, we didn't talk to her, we don't know her but
> straight away, someone involved with the house, reading her paper, taking
> your entrance money and not forcing you to enter or leave via a shop
> (thought there are plants on sale) lifts the experience into another realm
> altogether. Again, some areas are very underplanted - why anyone would
> put in one Thalichtrum Hewitt's Double, for example, is beyond me. But
> most of the planting is just yummy. Masses of it and quite lovely and
> again, very, very personal. Some of it works, some of it doesn't just
> like all our gardens. But it's quite clear that the passion that drives
> that garden is ownership and the sense of inheritance of a duty to the
> garden itself and her mother and grandmother who handed on the torch.
> --
> Sacha
>> South Devon