Levens Hall, and it's ancient topiary garden, has been on my garden visit wish list for many years. I had seen many pictures of it's quirky topiary, and read lots about the garden, but nothing can replace the excitement of seeing a garden in person, and in particular for the first time, which is very special indeed. This is the oldest topiary garden in the world, and is home to well over 100 topiary shapes, some of which date back over 300 years.  Not only is the garden spectacular but, there is also Levens Hall itself, which is equally stunning in it's own right. It is very unusual to find a garden that has not changed dramatically over time, and been preserved for so many years.  Levens is very unique in this respect, for several reasons. Once owned by a singular family, the house would remain with that family, and be passed down, for very many years.  Often the family member who inherited, had their own "main" residence, and so Levens was left, in many respects, to the care of the gardeners. Finally, the gardeners at Levens seemed to remain loyal and stay at the garden for many years.  For some of the gardeners, Levens has been their life time position and work, which really is quite incredible and a testament to the draw and importance in gardening that Levens has, even to this day. The gardener who initially set out Levens, for Colonel Grahme, who became owner of  the house in 1689,  was Guillaume Beaumont.  Guillaume Beaumont had a wealth of experience, having worked for the King of England as well as having connections to the Palace of Versailles. Not only that, as Colonel Grahme was absent whilst much of the intial garden work was carried out, there was a wealth of correspondence about the garden progress between the two men. Much of this correspondence remains at Levens Hall, which has enabled a lot of the history to be traced. I visited on an early Autumn day when the air was crisp, but the sun was warm with only a few clouds in the sky.  It was perfect.  On first entering the garden, there is no topiary in sight, and it's only as you walk alongside the house and enter through a side gate, that the myriad of quirky shapes comes in to sight.  This garden is breathtaking - a living history which really does make a lasting impression on one's mind.   I was in for quite a surprise.  As well as topiary the garden contained many more separate garden rooms.  There is a rose garden, an orchard and bee garden, bowling green and borders, fountain garden, ha-ha, vegetable garden, nuttery and herb garden, plus deer park.  This really is a garden that keeps on giving.  There was almost too much to take in and I realised that I would need to return. Close to the house itself, I found a rather spectacular specimen of  Cynara   scolymus, otherwise known as Globe Artichoke.  This was stunning against the backdrop of the house wall, and was a truly architectural feature which couldn't help but catch the eye.  This worked well as further out into the garden, the planting around the topiary was more relaxed and informal giving a stunning contrast between the two. The border along the house was just an initial introduction to the garden, as once you entered and walked along this border, you couldn't help but take in the multitude of topiary features that greeted you.  I felt overwhelmed, excited and just astounded by the sheer magnitude of it all. There was all manner of topiary set out before me.  Top hats, birds, crowns...you name it.....just far too much for the eye to take in and comprehend. In fact, it was only after I left the garden, and contemplated, that I realised how amazingly special this experience had been - and that was only the topiary garden! What really struck me about the topiary at Levens was the contrast.  There is contrast between the tall Taxus baccata Yew topiary shapes, and then the lower Buxus , box   shapes as well as the row upon row of Buxus edging. Between all this, is gravel and grass paths which give contrasting colours, and so set off the topiary perfectly. Within the low Buxus edging are herbaceous plants with a romantic and wild feel to them which, really adds to the effect, so that it's all just quite wonderful. There are many shades of topiary, from a very dark and deep green, to a bright and light yellowed hue.  These colours are set off by an expanse of lawn, split up by the gravel paths and then the landscape and parkland beyond. On many pieces of topiary, the crown of the plant has been lifted, leaving an expanse of beautiful, and often gnarled and eye-catching tree trunk.  Often a bench has been placed beneath, so that visitors can take a break, to just sit and take in the essence of the place. In many topiary gardens, everything seems orderly, precision cut and perfectly lined up.  At Levens, the topiary is quirky, often top heavy, falling over itself, and rather topsy turvy in nature. This perfectly imperfect impression really does endear you to the place, especially when set off against the backdrop of the ancient Hall itself. In the borders surrounding the topiary, enclosed by low level Buxus hedges, there is a multitude of colour contrasting plants.  During my visit, the beautiful  Ageratum houstonianum  or Mexican Paintbrush plant, made for a very eye catching display. It had amazing fluffy lilac blue flowers which last well into the Autumn. Many of the herbaceous and annuals mixed into the topiary garden were in drifts of just one plant.  However, in some areas there was a mix of colour combinations. I particularly liked the deep pink Cosmos bipinnatus and purple Verbena bonariensis,  which complemented each other perfectly. Another almost structural annual, which had been used in both a white and pink colour, was Cleome hassleriana the Spider Flower.  The flowers of this plant really stood out and grabbed my attention in the rest of the border, and I am sure that later on in the Autumn their long seed pods would be quite eye catching as well. All the form and structure of this garden is living in nature - the hedges and the topiary give the garden it's backbone, but this is interspersed with some very structural type annuals and herbaceous plants, which come and go as the season progresses. There is both repetition as well as interspersed planting, and this is quite an achievement.  Little can be done with the 300 year topiary, other than to nuture and care for it.  Experimentation and fun happens with the planting all around at Levens. Parts of the borders show a romantic abandonment of thick and quite tall planting, whereas other parts are rigid and formal, yet with an artistically quirky twist. It really is quite magical place to see. It's not just the flowers, colour and shapes that make this garden, but also some more unusual aspects, such as the gnarled and twisted stems and branches that make up the form of the plants which are rather eye catching to see. It's incredible that most of Levens Hall gardeners have made this place their life vocation and stayed for many, many years. After only visiting for a day, Levens had cast its spell on me.  It draws you in and, when you have to leave, it imprints itself on your mind and leaves a lasting impression. I will be back before long to this magical place, as there is so much more to see.

I've been privileged to receive an invite to this private Kitchen and Cutting Garden in Sussex, on two occasions now. My first visit was in April whilst the tulipa  were in full swing. I was very excited to visit once more during early Summer when the garden had really come to life as you can see. I love to re-visit gardens at different times of year as they can take on a completely different feel and appearance as the plants ebb and flow through the seasons. A garden is an ever changing and complex piece of art - never the same and always something new to see. The walled garden is entered by a gravel path which winds it's way through beautiful Mediterranean style planting after which a gate leads into the garden itself. There is a lot going on in this garden from herbaceous planting interspersed with Rosa , to ancient fruit trees, vegetables, cut flowers, glass houses and a hidden sunken grass garden too. The garden flows together seamlessly but, behind the scenes, it's obvious there is a great deal of detailed planning and hard work going on. As you first enter the garden the impression is very much that of traditional Cottage Garden style.  Long expanses of Buxus hedge and ancient gnarled fruit trees greet you. There are fairly wide borders of Rosa and herbaceous plants which look beautiful set off against the stone wall backdrop and gravel pathways. Tucked away behind the garden walls you can glimpse the most beautiful dovecote which adds to the character and sense of place. Interspersed among the planting of the borders are specimen pieces of topiary which give the garden form in Winter but during Summer really set off some of the more eye-catching flowers. One of these flowers is the beautiful lilac pink Dahlia mercii which has stunning bright yellow stamen. As you wander further into the garden it becomes more utilitarian in nature.  There are many perfectly sized oak edged beds filled with all manner of fruits, vegetables and cutting flowers. This is a working garden producing an abundance of produce and blooms for the occupants of the nearby house. It was very special to be allowed to wander at will in their own private space. No expense has been spared and everything about this garden is understated perfection.  Natural staking is topped with terracotta pots so that netting can be thrown over the crops for protection.  However, everything has a very ordered and quality appearance whilst remaining very natural and blending into the surroundings.   There is a very subtle mix of old with new and everything is made and measured to fit perfectly into place being beautiful but also fit for the purpose it was made. The colour palette in this garden is stunning and although the colours seem to blend quite naturally, it's obvious that thought has been given to both colour and form. One combination that works really well is the pale purple flower of Salvia nemorosa combined with the seed heads of a Papaver orientale .  One plant is tall, narrow and slim, the other bulbous with seeds and the most beautiful star shaped top in two shades of green.  Nature is just stunning when you pause to look carefully and really understand what is going on. This beautiful garden uses a contrast of gravel and grass between the beds and borders.  Here you can see the  Linaria purpurea or purple toadflax loosely planted in the gravel and breaking up the formality of the buxus hedge. Another beautiful plant combination is the delicate pale pink flower of  Sidalcea campestris, also known as meadow checkerbloom and Salvia nemorosa, or balkan clary, which is upright with a lovely purple lilac hue. The Head Gardener is so talented and not afraid to experiment and try different colour palettes and plants.  Sometimes though the most beauiful of plant combinations can be down to nature itself. Everything works together in harmony within the garden walls.  New oak beds, yet to weather properly, contain annuals and vegetables and these are flanked by perfectly trained fruit trees and bushes. The fruit is grown to maximise production whilst also allowing easy access for picking.  Long runs of metal poles supported by weathered oak posts run the length of the vegetable beds and draw the eye. Every bit of space is used to a maximum in this garden and fruit is also grown alongside roses, and other climbers, on the old stone walls. Natural is of upmost importance to the gardeners and whereas skilled craftsmen have constructed beautiful oak planters, posts and planting beds, the gardeners have taken advantage of hazel and other wood to make wigwams to support many of the annuals within the garden. The skilled craftmanship and artisan structures complement each other well. At the far end of the garden are two of the most amazing greenhouses which house all manner of plant as well as being a cosy place to be in cold or wet weather and a great place for the propagation of seeds. Around the walls of the greenhouses Erigeron karvinskianus,  the mexican fleabane, has been allowed to self seed.  This plant always gives a sense of romantic abandon even though often very skillfully and carefully placed. The walled garden was an oasis where time seemed to stand still as I wandered and drank in its sounds and sights.  The plants were something to behold but birdsong and nature were equally important to hear and see.  It was a private place full of life and the hustle and bustle of the gardeners and their activity. As I stepped back through the gate into reality I entered another totally different space but with a very unusual feeling of tranquility.  This was the long pond garden which links the walled garden with the house itself. This was a place to reflect and gather thoughts before stepping back into my day to day world.  Before I turned to leave, I stood still for a few moments and looked at the very basics of nature before me - sky, water and the most beautiful of trees.  I was reluctant to leave but sure that I would make this place one to return to soon.

I've always felt that a garden should have a proper sense of entrance and exit, not necessarily a physical boundary but certainly a feeling within ones own mind. Something changes within my whole being when I enter a garden - there is a mixture of excitement and anticipation - sometimes I am surprised and delighted by what I find, other times disappointment can creep in. A garden can stir the emotions and mind and leave an impression which is sometimes difficult to forget. Stepping through the huge wooden gates in to this Paris garden felt like entering another completely different world. When entering the Courtyard a long and narrow cobbled path leads you between two buildings which give way to an open seating area shaded by mature trees through which sunlight filters through. All the city sounds fade away replaced by a deep sense of peace. The cobblestones are various shades, from grey to a bright salmon pink and all tone in with the patina of the buildings around them. Beautiful terracotta pots line the pathway filled with colourful and scented plants of all manner and kind. There are window boxes and trellis as well as areas planted with shrubs and quite mature trees. As the Courtyard opened up I was met with the most charming but simple tables and chairs. Painted in a subtle green colour this metal furniture had light pink cushions that blended in perfectly with the surroundings. Here you could sit and contemplate, listen to the birdsong, take in the fragrance and colour of the plants, whilst you read a book or had a glass of wine at the end of another Parisian day. This was a country house setting in the midst of a huge City and another place I would feel reluctant to share! This garden felt like a world set apart from City reality. Somewhere to switch off and connect with nature for an hour or so whatever the time of day. As the garden was mainly paved it made maximum use of the vertical surfaces and of containers. There were actually only a handful of plants but these were repeated throughout the garden, in a clever design, and this had the effect of pulling the garden together to amazing effect. Perhaps the most striking plant was the Hydrangea macrophylla (French Hydrangea) in a gorgeous pink colour. This was scattered throughout the garden in quite large terracotta pots. Rather than using a mix of colours just the one pink had been chosen and cleverly placed for maximum effect. Space really was at a premium and so use was made of the walls for climbing plants on trellis and also planters strategically placed on balconies. Many of the plants were green in colour giving a harmonious effect but different textures added to the interest and created an intimate feeling. Despite being surrounded by buildings there was privacy and you could just tuck yourself away. An interesting structural plant was the Chamaerops humilis (European Fan Fern) which was found in most of the wider planted beds at the end of the Courtyard. Its fan shaped leaves were spectacular giving a tropical and exotic feel. This was the perfect choice of plant as it is tough and undemanding but added interest and screening at the same time. Perhaps my favourite plant was Trachelospermum jasminoides (Star Jasmine) which could be found growing up walls and along trellis throughout the garden. The smell was sublime and the bright white colour just stunning against the deep green glossy leaves. There were also small Olea Europaea (Olive) trees in pots dotted around the garden. These were a nod to the history and connection of France with beautiful Olive groves where every village would have a link to the Olive tree. Simple as this Courtyard garden was I realised quite quickly that behind the surface was a cleverly thought out and planned design. This garden was a work of living art. The colour palette of the garden was simple but repetitive. It consisted of pink, purple and white flowers with a very small pop of coral in some of the window box planters. Green foliage was the backdrop but different shapes, shades and textures made the whole scheme work and gave a lovely contrast to the flowering plants. All the planters and window boxes had been kept to a simple repeated colour and design in a shade of terracotta. This was well thought out because it gave unity and a calm feeling to the Courtyard. I particularly liked the Lythrum virgatum (Loosestrife) which had been placed in pots to contrast beautifully with the Hydrangeas. For Paris, where space is at a premium, this was a very unusual garden. I felt blessed to have been able to spend several days, leaving each morning and returning each night to what became my own special sanctuary. One very successful textural plant was the Fatsia japonica (Paperplant). This gave some degree of cover, being evergreen, between the tree and floor canopy of the garden. It had the most beautiful glossy leaves and is shade tolerant so it thrived in the dappled light of the garden. Whilst enjoying all the Art that Paris has to offer in it's world famous galleries I realised that when you enter a garden you are stepping into a living and breathing work of art. Art was everywhere in this garden - the colour, the texture, the tone, the layers all carefully thought out and arranged to maximum effect. The beauty of a garden is that it is in many dimensions, it is ever changing from one season to the next. Most amazing of all is that you can walk around and explore this piece of art which really is very special. The garden gave me peace and a place to unwind. As I left for the last time through the huge and heavy courtyard gates I knew that yet again I had been touched by a very special garden place.

High Glanau Manor was the house of Henry Avray Tipping who was born in France in 1855. He was a writer on houses and gardens, a garden designer and Architectural Editor of the Country Life Magazine for many years. Tipping wrote several books including "Gardens Old and New" and he also owned and lived in several properties during his life. In Monmouthshire he designed his own gardens at, Mathern Palace, Mounton House and High Glanau Manor which is now the home of Helena Gerrish. Helena Gerrish has restored High Glanau gardens back to the original Tipping design. She gained an MA in Garden History at Bristol University and has also written two books, "Edwardian Country Life; The Story of H. Aray Tipping" and "Mounton House: The Birth and Rebirth of an Edwardian Country Home". When I visited High Glanau gardens I had very little knowledge of it's background and I was not aware of the books. Now both books are on my Garden Library wish list and I am hoping that I will be able to return to the garden with the benefit of my new found knowledge. On the day I visited there were very heavy rain showers and when we arrived Helena welcomed our group into her home and then proceeded to tell us a little of the history of the house and gardens. Without Helena most of the garden history could have been lost forever. The long herbaceous borders had disappeared, the greenhouse was abandoned and many parts of the garden had become overgrown. Helena set about to restore the gardens herself by studying gardening and garden design, researching past articles and images relating to the gardens and doing all of this with meticulous attention to detail. She really put her heart and soul into this work and I was touched to see that she even had a plaque installed in the garden to commemorate Tipping. At the time of my visit in late July the long herbaceous borders were in full bloom. The Hemerocallis or day lily were planted towards the front of the borders and repeated along its length. To the middle of the border was an eye catching white coloured Phlox , part of the Polemoniaceae plant family, and at the back of the border towered Foeniculum vulgare or the Common Fennel. The beautiful Argyranthemum frutescens also known as the Paris or Marguerite Daisy had been strategically planted along the length of the borders and blended in perfectly in height and colour - the gorgeous yellow centre of the flower matching with the orange shades of the Day Lillies. The long herbaceous borders are flanked on each side by a Taxus Baccatus English yew hedge with a back drop of very substantial sized and well established trees. Each end of the long borders has a focal point - away from the house is a beautiful wooden bench set against a stone wall and, at the other end of the border sits the house itself. A stone set of steps leads up onto a terrace which anchors the planting and gives a focal point drawing the eye back towards the house. At the far end of the borders a stone wall runs the length of the garden and separates off the greenhouse area as well as a sloping lawned area with beautiful view through a stone opening back to the house. The greenhouse has lots of pots containing Pelagoniums as well as a substantial number of tomato plants. These were in individual pots but staked well together with bamboo canes. The greenhouse was in a neglected state when Helena first arrived at High Glenau so it is wonderful to see that it has now become a working greenhouse once again. The greenhouse is 40 feet long and was built by Messenger and Co with beaver tail glass to ensure rainwater did not penetrate on to the wooden structure. From the back of the house there are a series of steps leading down to the Octagonal Pool which is a focal point and contains a fountain powered by a stream fed hydaulic ram. Beyond the Octagonal Pool the land falls away into a valley with far reaching views and many trees. There is a sweeping view of west Monmouthshire to the Brecon Beacons and the planting is such that it frames this view whilst also drawing your eyes back into the garden itself. As Helena says "Tipping created a secret world here and has left his mark in his own romantic way. We are lucky to be the custodians". High Glanau is a very special place and made even more interesting by Helena who has such a passion for the gardens that Tipping created. Guineveres Garden | Garden Writer