the long, west side of the house, taking advantage of broad, grassy terraces laid out in the 1880s by architect John Belcher, who made significant alterations to the 16th- and 17th-century stone house for its then owner, the 3rd Earl of Eldon. (In 1685, it was reported that ! the rooms are very little, all but the parlour and hall, which are fit for a country gentleman! and it stayed that way until Belcher! s revision was under- taken.) On the west side, the hill plunges dramatically some 200ft into the lovely Coln valley, sweeping up again into the woods the other side to give Stowell house magnificent panoramic views of its own farms and forests. A long-established deer park had encircled the house in earlier times prior to the terraced layout, and a number of magnificent specimen oaks must date from this earlier period, while shelter belts of trees conceal the property from the windswept Fosse Way to the east.
! Stowell is one of the Cotswolds! hidden
gardens, not very many people know about us,! says Lady Vestey. Nevertheless, people come in droves on the open days for the National Gardens Scheme and other charities, generally timed to coincide with the flowering of a vast number of roses and early perennials. On the top terrace beside the drawing
estate of mixed farming, pastures and woodlands, has been owned by the Vestey family, which is certainly better known for its racing credentials and horsemanship than horticulture. But the great beauty of its gardens has only been achieved over the past 25 years or so, when the present Lady Vestey (who comes from a distinguished, green-fingered family), and her head gardener, Neil Hewertson, began planting the simply laid-out terraces and walled garden with gusto. A quarter of a century is a short space of time in a garden! s life, and the mere blink of an eye in the history of Stowell, yet the abundant gardens feel as natural and inevitable as if they had been
108 Country Life, May 19, 2010
there forever. It is never easy to set about planting a new garden! it was essentially a blank canvas for much of the 20th century! but all has been carried out with great flair and skill, starting with a smart avenue of pleached limes at the entrance, planted by Lady Vestey in 1983. The house sits atop its hill, some 600ft
above sea level, on typical Cotswolds limestone, but a seam of mineral-rich fuller! s-earth clay is useful to the soil! s fertility and is also the reason why several springs emerge around the house, enabling the gardens to be well watered and nurture a wide range of plants. The ornamental gardens lie mainly against
room, gaps between York-stone paving slabs provide homes for softly coloured Mediterranean herbs and other sun- lovers! clumps of rosemary, santolina, phlomis, cistus, perovskia, prostanthera and lavender, shot through here and there with sulphur eruptions of Alchemilla mollis. A bank of pastel shrub roses reach up from the parallel terrace a few feet below, where rose and herbaceous borders can be admired from a pristine striped lawn. Lady Vestey and Mr Hewertson have carefully planted this area so that a succes- sion of blooms will bring delight through a long season, with pink foxgloves, alliums, irises, spiny-leaved Morina longifolia and a flurry of hostas joined by numerous salvias and penstemons in pastel shades. Mr Hewertson points to Salvia superba var Superba: ! So much nicer than the very popular Salvia nemorosa East Friesland that is beside it.! Salvias of more doubtful hardiness, such as the rather superior S. involucrata Bethelii, are propagated from cuttings each year.
Top Lady Vestey! s gipsy caravan, formerly for horse-drawn childhood excursions, now resides near the hen house. Above A corner of the lower walled garden, with cutting peonies and the pot-plant and carnation houses. Opposite page A midsummer medley of salvias, irises and foxgloves
www.countrylife.co.uk
✯
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31