A day at Stockton Bury Gardens, Herefordshire

I was in rural Herefordshire a few days ago for a press event for twenty members of the garden press and influencers at Stockton Bury Gardens which is open to the public. I've longed to see these gardens for quite a while, so how did they measure up to the rather high expectations I had?

Springtime at Stockton Bury charms you immediately as you enter  and face eight acres of cider orchards lying between garden and farmland.

 

Tamsin Westhorpe is both curator and a gardener here, and a fascinating and funny host for the day as she enthuses us all with how five generations of her family have lived here, developed the garden, and what it's like opening the garden to the public. 

In my mind, Tamsin is a human dynamo, as she combines her work and passion for this place as well as judging RHS shows, writes books and has edited several national horticultural magazines.

At the start our tour, there's excitement as I see the dovecot., and let me tell you, this is not just any dovecot. It dates from the time of King Henry 1(1068 - 1135)

and the interior is just as impressive. I can't help but admire the sheer craftsmanship of those who built in all those years ago.

I was less thrilled to hear about what happened inside. Doves were bred all year around to eat, they were an important source of protein in the Middle Ages. The farm workers  would ring a bell, all the adult doves would fly out, leaving the baby doves alone, where they would be taken and cooked.

Into the gardens beyond, there were views to delight at every turn or gateway....

I adore the intimate little garden spaces, such as the piece of garden which Tamsin's grandmother claimed as her own.  A  calm, sheltered haven for the bees, full of fritillias, 

plus a a little space to sit , decorated with painted botanical images, which once an outside lavatory.

Moving down the garden,  there's a glimpse of Uncle Raymond's vegetable and fruit garden. He's the owner  of Stockton Bury 

A long line of espalier apple trees, underplanted with tulips and love in the mist, provide a boundary between kiwi fruits, peaches, cherries, soft fruit and the long path towards the Dingle.

As we move back towards the dovecot, I spy a small bed in a sheltered corner with pristine, oh so pretty white double headed flowers.  I'm immediately enchanted by these Aenemones Vestal  and want a huge clump or three for my garden. Apparently they are difficult to get hold of, so I may have to sulk for a while.....

It's time to venture back into the garden to forage with Liz Knight, whose new book ‘Buds and Blossoms’has just been published. I have never foraged for anything in my life, so  being shown flowers (primrose and lilac anyone?) that we could eat, leaves, such as magnolia and hosta,  and given these to try were a sensory revelation. Liz is so engaging too, romping through Roman and Chinese history to highlight how these plants were eaten as well as why these blossoms are so good for us.

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A delicious lunch follows in the cafe (hosta quiche, which tasted just like asparagus) and a nutty, flowery roulade which delights too.

While we are sitting, there's a lively discussion on open gardens with Tamsin and James Madge, who is head gardener of the Laskett, the nearby garden created by Sir Roy Strong and his wife. How can gardens attract more visitors, what do visitors want and how can gardens generate more income without losing their ethos and sense of place. 

Later, wandering around the grounds on my own, I meet up with Raymond Treasure (Uncle Raymond), who alongside Gordon Fenn has lovingly created this garden over the last fifty years. Funny, quirky and a real character, he is devoted to this patch of Herefordshire, 

No wonder, this is a very special garden, unspoilt by signs forbidding you to walk on the grass or suchlike which are seen  at so many gardens these days. There is a wonderful cafe which is run by Tamsin’s sister Connie ,  using an old tithe barn with freshly cooked food, some  from the garden.

There’s no pressure, no rush, you can wander at will, take time to appreciate how unique this garden is. There's a timeless quality here, an air of bucolic bliss perhaps a legacy from when this was a monastic farm hundreds of years ago. 

As I reluctantly prepare to leave,  I'm so pleased to get the chance to see Stockton Bury in the spring, so lush, green, full of colour and the promise of summer to come. It really is a garden for all seasons. Yes I will back as soon as I can, to see Stockton Bury, and to explore Herefordshire too -  it’s a beautiful county.

Stockton Bury is open now from Wednesdays to Sundays 11am- 

4.30pm until 29th September, excluding bank holiday Mondays.

 

A day reviewing "The Secret Gardens of east anglia of South East England by Barbara Segall

 Surely visiting a garden is one of the most pleasurable of pastimes?

For me, it's the sense of anticipation as you arrive, wondering which vistas, planting schemes, and colour combinations will excite you. Happiness on the way home, stuffed with cake and usually with a car boot containing some new little treasures in plant pots.

Well, this Bank holiday weekend, I visited twenty glorious gardens in Surrey, Sussex, and Kent, all without leaving my own home and garden. It's all thanks to gardening and food writer Barbara Segall and her latest book"The Secret Gardens of the South East of Gardens of the South East. A private tour" which is published next month.

This follows her previous collaboration five years ago with photographer Marcus Harpur "The Secret Gardens of East Anglia, which I really enjoyed. My review of that book is here...

http://thinkingofthedays.blogspot.com/2017/12/days-before-christmas-gifts-for.html

 So I knew I would be in good hands as she introduces us to twenty very different gardens and their owners, this time photographed by Clive Boursnell.

The first garden in the book is a surprise, a small town garden in Whitstable, measuring a mere 45 feet by 14 feet, like so many Victorian houses. In 2010 when they moved in, it was a gravel garden with a membrane breaking up and impoverished soil, according to owners Paul and Phil.

Not now though, as they have embraced the fences, using them for height and structure, and are now packed with upwardly swarming plants in a riot of colours.

Donald and Charlotte live in a small house with a delightfully quirky 1.5-acre garden, in Beneden in Kent which through necessity and choice has been created on a shoestring budget. Recycling and getting most of the plants free, from cuttings or from seeds from their parent's gardens or elsewhere has been their mantra for years, plus growing lots of fruit and vegetables. For years too, Charlotte has been creating the most playful topiary animals from the yew hedges they planted, and the effect is stunning. 

So what about the other 18 gardens in the book?  Well, you're going to have to buy a copy to discover them for yourselves.

Quite a few of them have been inherited from previous generations. For example, the owners of Ramster Hall in Chiddingfold, Surrey are celebrating a century of curating the garden this year.

Doesn't the thought of inheriting a beautiful garden sound wonderful? Yes, it does, although that's hardly likely in my case. Nevertheless, with privilege and the urge to put your own mark on a garden, comes a responsibility - to enhance and restore it, of future-proofing, whilst being mindful of its past. This comes over quite strongly in the book how these owners have risen to the challenge.

To buy a house with a garden designed by Vita Sackville West or Gertrude Jekyll must be a privilege too, and Barbara has featured two of them, 

Barbara has woven the stories and history of these gardens and their previous owners with those of their current custodians with care and dexterity. I'm also pleased to see that the gardeners who work in them too are given their due and included in both the text and the photographs. 

Through her expert eyes, we are given a comprehensive overview of each garden but I like the way she hones in on specific plants, and features that others might miss. The devil is always in the detail.....

The gardens may be classed as secret, but some do open for private visits or as part of the inimitable National Gardens Scheme. 

I certainly plan to visit as many of them as I can when possible as they all look so inviting and beautiful. In the meantime, I've enjoyed quite a few happy hours poring over this guide to such an eclectic group of gardens, including one which even features a hornbeam church!

'Secret Gardens of the South East. A Private Tour'  by Barbara Segall and photographs by Clive Boursnall is published by Frances Lincoln on 20th September 2022.

NB I was sent this review copy by the publishers.

A day at Sulby Gardens

 



A new garden to explore is always a joy isn't it? A weekend wander around a garden with cake and coffee at the end of a visit is a pleasure for so many of us.

 

To get a chance for a private visit to a garden with two friends who happen to be gardening experts, and enjoy a ramble around with the owners, is even more of a treat.

 

That's why I loved going to Sulby Gardens, to record a programme for BBC Radio Leicester's gardening programme, "Down to Earth" doing just that. Derek Cox and Josie Hutchinson , from the programme's panel of experts were with me.

 

Tucked just inside the Northamptonshire side of the border with Leicestershire, Sulby Gardens consists of twelve acres of formal gardens, kitchen gardens, orchards, a wood and even an ice house.

 

 

 

 

Alison has lived here since 1976. She and her husband Chris were fired with enthusiasm after reading John Seymour's 'The Complete Book of Self Sufficiency' and were inspired to buy a walled garden and live in the Head Gardener's Cottage there.

 

There were glasshouses and old storerooms which still bear the pencilled notes on the doors detailing how many fruits and carrots were picked in the early 1900's.

 

 

 

 

Part of the old apple store is now a conservatory where expertly trained (according to Derek) grapes festoon the ceiling.

 

 

There's a rather large glasshouse from 1904, which was the original carnation house.



 A place to sit out of the rain, looking down to part of the kitchen garden

Alison's husband Chris died nine years ago at the age of sixty. However he's left quite a legacy and they both have amassed a wonderful collection of sixty three varieties of apple trees .

There's a certain romance to the names of the old and new varieties of apples grown ...and there's also a dozen varieties of pear trees .We tasted two or three varieties as we munched our way around the kitchen garden and then found ten varieties of plum trees on the verge of ripeness.

Bill Barker has been the Garden Manager here for twenty years or so, and he too has played an important role in the development of the garden, especially since Chris's death. In fact Alison says he's an important reason why she has been able to stay here - she simply couldn't have done it on her own.

On the right hand side of the walled garden, glass houses previously abutted the walls for a couple of hundred yards or so.
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And that's why Sulby Gardens is so interesting...because the gardens belonged to a minor stately home built in 1792 and designed by Sir John Sloane. Echoes of its gardening past are all around, but the house itself is no more. It was demolished in the early 1950's .

We winced and shuddered as we heard this - having seen photographs, it was a beautiful building. Yet we were able to admire what remained of the more formal area of gardens

It's ironic, because so many owners of old houses have, over the years, sold parcels of their estates or gardens for housing or development. Alison and Chris did the exact opposite, they managed to buy extra land to increase their garden, to build a wood and seven ponds.

 With the wood, they inherited an ice house. I was dying to see this...Josie walked over it without knowing at first!

 

This dates from the late eighteenth century and is listed.







 We all trooped down the stairs and inside in single file, the temperature immediately dropping as we did so. No torches, but fortunately I had my trusty iphone to light our way



This was where tons of ice, were hacked from the stream running through  the gardens by the gardeners, and thrown into the hole. Meat, game and fish, butter and other foods were kept here on the ice until needed for the table.

By now, we had spent two hours wandering around the gardens, enjoying the views and the plantings. We'd also admired the way that Alison, Chris and Bill have enhanced the gardens over the years and developed flower meadows and wildlife habitats for mammals, insects and birds.

By now, the drizzle and wind had died down and we were able to relax on a garden bench in the sunshine.

Left to right...Bill Barker, Josie Hutchinson, Derek Cox, me and Alison Lowe





Such a lovely day and such an interesting garden, with so much to see . You can hear the programme we recorded by clicking this link

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05gydwf

You can also see the gardens for yourself as they are open on Thursday 12th October from 1 pm to 4pm and again on  Friday 13th October from 11am until 4pm...

Alison and Bill will be around, and you've got the chance to buy some bottles of fresh apple juice too, which is pressed and bottled by Bill, but only sold to garden visitors at open days for the National Garden Scheme. There's plenty of apple cakes to taste too!

Here's just three of the varieties, and Sunset, the bottle I have tasted is absolutely delicious and addictive.

Sulby is worth a visit any time of year though and opens regularly....so do check with the Northamptonshire branch of the National Garden Scheme to find out next year's dates. You will be so pleased you did!
 

An afternoon of open gardens in Lubenham

Yes, I love going to open garden events through out the summer.

Especially when the sun is shining. Even when it rains.

There's nothing like seeing other gardener's hard work or pinching some of their ideas. Sorry , I meant to write "gaining inspiration" there.

And there's nothing like paying a few pounds or so to have carte blanche to be as nosy as you like , seeing how others live their lives in their gardens.

So yes, last month I was eagerly off to Lubenham where there were over twenty gardens open in aid of All Saints, the village church.

I started off  by viewing the largest garden , just outside the village at Thorpe Lubenham Hall. This wasn't intentional, but a tractor had just pulled up on the village green , ready to take people up there.

 It was hot and as I was feeling downright lazy, I joined the others as the tractor chugged its way up the hill for about there quarters of a mile. The boys sitting opposite were loving their tractor ride, and so I was I especially when we had to duck out of the way of some branches in our way and the boys "oooohed "and "woohed"..

Thorpe Lubenham Hall is a gem of a house....Queen Anne style but built around 1800 and owned at different times by the Cunard family, Lord and Lady Kemsley and Sir Harold and Lady Zia Wernher. Apparently the Queen and her family were frequent visitors in the 1950's. Nowdays it is owned by Sir Bruce and Lady MacPhail who own the hall and fifteen acres of gardens.

 The ancient moat leads to the garden, where the terrace at the back of the house overlooks a large circular pond and fountain which is edged with lavender, alliums and  clipped yew.

 

 

 

 



There's a timeless quality to the gardens here....so no fancy pants modern ideas ...just a quietly serene air

 

Mind you, I did like this gate at the side of the house, the grille made of horseshoes -so effective.

 

|I also appreciated this quiet spot, planted with pale pink roses and alliums Christophii

The other side of the brick wall pictured above is where the swimming pool now is, was this the former walled kitchen garden I wonder>

 

 

 

Teas were being served next to the pool undercover....and  amid the laughter, sounds of crockery clinking and shouts of "How many cream teas?" I had to leave suddenly as my eyes filled with tears.

 

Memories had come  flooding back of an open garden here which my friends and I helped at a number of years ago. There was a gang of us on a British Red Cross committee who used to bake and run open garden events throughout Leicestershire for a while to raise funds. Gill K, Jill P, Alanda, Kim, Lorna, Jackie, Lucy, Lucinda and I were on duty here at Thorpe Lubenham Hall , and as usual we'd had such a laugh...Jackie was in charge of the tea urns and Jill P as usual was the Queen in the counting house, counting all the money raised. Lovely Jill P died suddenly on the Friday before the Lubenham Open Gardens event.

 

So I declined the offer of the tractor ride back and took a solitary stroll  down the hill and stopped to watch the local cricket team playing a match alongside the lane.

 

 

The first open garden I came to was the Tower House, which was originally a Georgian farmhouse until it was enlarged as a hunting box back in 1865 . Stables, and a tower were added to watch the horse racing nearby.

I loved this tree with the leaves as big as dinner plates...it is supposed to fruit, but never has...and I've quite forgotten the name of the darned thing.

There was tea and cake at Adams Farm which was attracting a crowd,

 

but the bees and I were attracted to the border on the right of the garden 

 

 

 



 

 

The afternoon was marching on, so I'm afraid I had to whizz past a number of gardens, to this one on Mill Hill. A large garden with plenty of space to sit in the sunshine and admire the newly hatched chicks.

 



 

 

There were also fruit, flowers, a pond without fish, but with this rather gorgeous piece. I also had a chance to catch up with the garden's owner, Diana Cook, who had organised the whole event. How she found the time to run the event and get her own garden ready I just don't know.

 



 

 

 

 

A few doors away was a small cottage garden which was incredibly busy. Everyone was there to grab a bargain from Peter Shelton who restores old tools. There were rakes, dibbers, spades, forks, all lovingly refurbished and something which looked like an offensive weapon, but was a Victorian tool of some sort.

 



 

 

When I say Peter restores these, that's not his job, he was a biologist, but for a number of years now  he's spent hours and hours doing so to raise money for Lubenham Parish Church. He's good at it too...he's raised thousands on the tools alone.



 

 

What a lovely Sunday afternoon it was, even though there's so may gardens I missed. I didn't miss the Undle Project though which is a three and a half acre co operative small holding. Wow....a wonderful work in progress which I shall write about another time...

 

 

 



 

 

You've got to hand it to the villagers in Lubenham, it was a really good Open Gardens event, with gardens of all different sizes to inspire and interest everyone, and genuine friendliness towards all the visitors.

 

And yes, I will be making a return visit next year ....you should too....