2 August 2016 - Gardens of England Part 2

Day 5. 
We left London and drove through the Cotswolds landing in Cheltenham, our headquarters for the next few days. This area was so beautiful it made my heart ache. In my dreams, I would like to come back and stay here for three weeks and explore all the nooks and crannies. In one of the gardens we visited there was a brochure listing over 35 gardens to tour in just one fairly small area of the Cotswolds. And the town names: Duckington Mead, Moreton-in-Marsh, Cricklade, Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton-on-the-Water. They sound irresistable. One of the gardens I would like to see is called Birdland, which boasts over 130 species of birds. 

Our first stop after leaving London was Oxford. We spent the morning (with light showers) at the Oxford Botanical Gardens, quite small but beautifully done. 
They are working on restoring traditional meadows around England and have several small meadows to show what the land would look like covered in native wildflowers and grasses. 

Their vegetable gardens had woven wicker cages to set over plants to keep the bunnies and birds from eating the crops. 

Again, this garden had high walls. Love that! 

Here is yet another long border set against a wall. It makes a beautiful backdrop for the plants, provides a micro-climate and protection from the wind. 

Every garden used twig and vine structures for plant supports. Oxford was no different. These were particularly artistic.

The afternoon was totally free to wander around Oxford. We could do it on our own, or follow our guide.  Amy and I promptly took off by ourselves to explore the city. But that is another story. 

Day 6.  Hidcote Manor Gardens and Kiftsgate Court Gardens 

Oh dear, just two more exquisite gardens. Starting with Hidcote. 

The manor was built in the 1800s but was purchased by an American in 1907 for her son. There were no gardens, just fields surrounding the manor. Her son, Major Lawrence Johnston, a soldier recently returned from the Boer War, immediately began laying out gardens that are now famous for being a series of outdoor rooms. The rooms are closed in by boxwood, yew or hornbeam hedges as well as high stone walls. Each room has its own style and aesthetic. 

As usual, I was taken by the entrances to these many rooms.  The door might be cut out of a hedge, up some stairs and through a tiny building, it might be through a long arbor. 

This round room had doors into gardens on all four sides. 

This next garden was nothing but fuchsias. Pretty.

The inside of each garden room are widely varied. 

 Once again, notice how tall these delphiniums are. 

The ever-present long border. Loved the use of small ornamental trees in this one. 

The surprise at Hidcote was learning about the ha-ha. 
A ha-ha is to land as an infinity pool is to water. The edge of the gardens turn into sheep pastures. Rather than use fences, Lawrence Johnson installed a ha-ha. It is a vertical barrier that the sheep cannot climb up but lets the viewer have an unimpeded view of the land.

Standing on top you see this.

If you bend over the edge you can see the vertical stone wall. I crawled over the wall to show it from the other side. The land has been cut out at a slope to the base of the wall. So clever. 

There's Amy getting her own shot of the view.

And just for fun? There was a croquet tournament on one of the lawns. I loved seeing the players wearing the proper dress. 

 Next up Kiftsgate Court Gardens.

Kiftsgate is practically next door to Hidcote. The owner, Heather Muir was a lifelong friend of Hidcote's Lawrence Johnston. They traded plants and ideas. While Hidcote was a planned garden, Kiftsgate developed on a more organic level. The gardens evolved rather than having it all planned out on paper to begin with. This garden has been in the same family for three generations. Currently it is run by Heather's granddaughter. 

It is on a steep hillside overlooking the Cotswolds. The vistas are as beautiful as the gardens. 

First the walk from Hidcote to Kiftsgate down a tree-lined path. 

The gardens are packed tight with flowers in a tumbled colorful arrangement. Loved it. 

 

 My favorite. Stone walls with doors. Loved the blue.

This is the entrance to what used to be a tennis court. 

The current owner, Anne Chambers, transformed the tennis court into a pool with a beautiful leafy sculpture at the end.

There is a window in the hedge where people in the next garden can watch those around the pool. 

 

This hedge and arch are created from holly plants.

Narrow paths let you navigate your way down the steep slope. 

Day 7.  Painswick Rococo Garden and the Abbey house Gardens in Malmesbury

Painswick House was built in the 1730s by Charles Hyett who died shortly after its completion. The gardens were created by Charles's son Benjamin. Over the decades the house was owned by various relatives, one of whom planted trees over the entire property ruining the gardens. Fortunately Benjamin had commissioned an artist to paint the gardens. The painting was discovered in the 1970s and garden historians were delighted to find the remnants of a rococo garden. It has been restored as closely as possible and is now under a grant to be cared for by the National Trust. 

I was delighted by this garden as it boasts several follies. In addition there are tulgey woods with nature trails, the best kept vegetable gardens I have seen, a plunging pool and so much more. 

Tall walls and hedges. My favorite things. 

Seating in the hedges is almost as good as having doors or windows. 

 

 Loved the follies. 

The photo on the left shows this folly from the top level, and on the right from the lower level. Inside the top level are chairs so you can sit and enjoy the view. The opening underneath also has a bench for sitting.  

 

My favorite folly is called the Red House. It sits at the top of a long alley that slopes upward. Inside are two small rooms. Madelyn, at 5'4" is standing in the doorway between rooms for scale to show how narrow and short the doorway is. 

Another feature I quite liked was the plunging pool. It's not for swimming, but probably just for keeping cool. You can see there are steps down into the pool. The arched structure has a fountain inside.  

In the woods, there was another structure recently built to honor the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, called the Queen's Lodge.  It is built out of live saplings for the uprights. You can see at the top of the little house where the saplings are gathered together and allowed to leaf out. Reminds me of a green igloo. It would be a cooler spot to sit on a hot afternoon. 

I am also a big fan of the tree arbors.

There is another folly in the forest at the start of the nature trail. 

Behind this, you can see the land that borders the gardens. 

The vegetable gardens were laid out in wedges with grass paths. Each section was closed off with espaliered fruit trees. Not a weed in sight. The folly is the crown overlooking the garden.

After a quick lunch at the gardens we headed to Malmesbury to visit the Abbey House Gardens. The Abbey House was built in 1260 next door to the Abbey which (I hope I am reading my notes correctly) was a Benedictine Monastery in the mid 600s.  Athelston, the first king of England was buried at the Abbey in 975. It gives me the chills just thinking about the age of the places I stood. 

The current owners have been there for 20 years. They are naturists, and often host clothing optional days at the garden. Our tour day was not on one of those days. The gardens are smaller, only five acres, but they still have divided some of the gardens into outdoor rooms with high walls of yew. There are over 2000 roses in this garden and many are floribundas that dazzle with color. Interesting statuary ranges from the hooded monk to the naked male torsos with lizards. 

Starting with doorways and walls:

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Abbey House included topiary, a knot garden, a huge circular herb garden and the ubiquitous mixed borders.

In addition to the main gardens, the property drops down a steep embankment to the Avon River. It is also thickly planted. Stepping stones across the river get you to a Japanese styled gazebo. And looking down you could see a gardener cleaning the overgrowth from the little stream connecting the monks' fishing pond to the river. 

Side note: we learned that avon means river in Olde English. This would be River River. 

Just another day in beautiful gardens. Doesn't get much better than this.