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Als tuinliefhebber moet je deze tuin zeker op je verlanglijstje
plaatsen! Een Nederlandse tekst volgt binnenkort.
Storms in the 1980s created a blank canvas on which to paint our own
version of a West Coast garden. The fallen trees left pools of black
water along the old millstream. These inspired a series of ponds,
the banks behind planted with primula, meconopsis, iris and the
giant leaves of gunnera, all brilliantly reflected in the dark
water. Monet bridges and water lilies complete the scene.
Above are planted Bhutan pine, sequoia, Korean fir, Chilean
embothrium and eucryphia interwoven with numerous rhododendrons,
survivors of the Edwardian era. Sculpture enliven the gardens and
are scattered throughout.
The old sunken garden, its quadrant beds of perennials arranged in a
pattern like a Persian carpet, is colourful all year round. To the
west lies the giant sundial, its gnomon supported by the Macpherson
wild cat.
The Japanese garden is based on the myths of 6th century
Japan. A restful place, the raked gravel and cloud pruning induces a
feeling of peace. Further on, rhododendrons planted by the Schroder
family 100 years ago in an old quarry have survived; in late spring
their fallen flowers form a pink and crimson carpet – an
unforgettable sight.
Another old quarry has been transformed into a fernery by head
gardener, Geoff Stephenson. Delicate ferns are housed in a
geodesic dome. In a sheltered hollow backed by tree ferns, Geoff
and his assistant Frances Mackenzie have created a shade garden
round a newly discovered field drain dating from the early
nineteenth century.
In front of a cliff , the most recent addition, where a bamboo
thicket has been eradicated, a small waterfall runs down the cliff
into a newly constructed pool surrounded by dwarf rhododendrons,
which to quote Peter Cox "grow in the Himalayan foothills
as heather does in Scotland".
After the controlled chaos of the wood, the kitchen garden adds an
orderly note. Raised beds are not only decorative but fruitful as
well, providing vegetables, salad and fruit for the house, local
restaurants and shops. Next to the gardener’s cottage a conventional
conservatory has been transformed into a miniature subtropical
landscape complete with tiny watercourse and lake supported by dry
stonewalls.
The DIY tearoom gives visitors a chance to relax and read one of the
garden books surrounded by photographs of the development of the
gardens and the characters who have made it, past and present. |
