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| Gate leading to Wyken Hall garden |
Recently returned from a visit to some of the iconic gardens of the South
East of England – the highlight of which was Beth Chatto’s garden at Colchester
– reinforced the realisation that the best gardens are those which tantalise the viewer
and make the visitor want to find out just what is around the corner, exactly what
is through that door, and where does that path lead on to?
… Mary had stepped close to
the robin and suddenly the gust of wind swung aside some loose ivy trails and
more suddenly still she jumped toward it and caught it in her hand. This she
did because she had seen something under it – a round knob which had been
covered by the leaves hanging over it. It was the knob of a door.
…It was the lock of the door
which had been closed ten years and she put her hand in her pocket, drew out
the key and found it fitted the keyhole. She put the key in and turned it.
…then she slipped through it
and shut it behind her and stood with her back against it, looking about her
and breathing quite fast with excitement and wonder and delight.
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| Through the garden gate... |
Planting is crucial of course and all the gardens had been meticulously designed to give variety and year-round colour and interest. Some were a delightful mix of herbaceous and kitchen garden planting, as at the interesting Grimsthorpe Castle and Gardens in Lincolnshire – incidentally home to Zurburan’s original Benjamin – and we’ve just finished sampling delectable asparagus, freshly picked from their walled kitchen garden.
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| The glory of the peacock |
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| Rustic fencing |
The ancient estate of Wyken Hall in Suffolk, is an Elizabethan manor house,
surrounded by four acres of magical garden, including a knot garden, old rose garden,
an amazing maze garden with peacocks, guinea fowl and huge black turkeys which,
as a vegetarian, I was delighted to learn were also kept as pets. There was
also an award-winning vineyard and a
most delightful Leaping Hare shop,
described in Country Living as a
‘model of what a shop should be’.
There were also visits to the RHS
Hyde Garden,
Belton House near Grantham and the National Trust’s Ickworth House with 1800
acres of Capability Brown planting. A summer wedding was taking place whilst we
were there and the Italian gardens provided a fairytale backcloth for the
champagne reception and photographs.
... She was standing inside the secret garden.
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| How could one resist ... |
It was the sweetest, most
mysterious looking place anyone could imagine. The high walls which shut it in
were covered with the leafless stems of climbing roses, which were so thick that
they were matted together… one of the things that made the place look strangest
and loveliest was that climbing roses had run all over them and swung down long
tendrils which made light swaying curtains … It was this hazy tangle from tree
to tree which made it all look so mysterious.
from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
