CE20_p20_p21_Matara Garden 7/8/2009 08:56 Page 1
Gardens Matara meditation
Discover a
place of
beauty &
romance
Autumn is a fabulous time to enjoy
the enchanting Matara Garden at
Kingscote.
By Sue Bradley
L
OVE
stories
do not
meditative maze: a healing experience in which
come much
gardens, people leave their problems behind as
more
woodlands and
they follow one path before meeting
romantic
meadows.
themselves in the centre and walking
Autumn is an
back in the opposite direction feeling
than that of especially
relieved and refreshed.
Edward
magical time to
Other features of the garden
wander the
Jenner and
include a seven-sided meditative
grounds to reflect on the wondrous
Katharine Kingscote.
colours wrought by nature’s paint palate
labyrinth, which sends visitors to and
fro in a rhythmic pattern, and a
The famous son of Gloucestershire,
and enjoy a sense of peace and
medicine wheel inspired by native
whose work with the smallpox
tranquillity away from the stresses of
North American cultures.
vaccination saved countless lives, was a
modern life.
Matara’s reflective ponds and reed
hot air balloon enthusiast and the story
“Matara is a spiritual garden dedicated
beds perform the dual role of
goes that he took off one day from
to the full expression of the human
Berkeley Castle but lost altitude and
spirit,” explained Geoffrey, who was
providing an area of great beauty and
touched down in Kingscote near Tetbury.
greatly inspired by the counter culture an environmentally friendly way of
There he met Katharine, daughter of
movement he experienced on the West processing grey water from the centre.
the family who owned Kingscote Park,
Coast of Canada during the 1970s. A more formal area can be found
and the pair fell in love: they were
“The whole notion behind it is to
within the box-hedge lined
married in 1788 and went on to live in a
create a meditative place where people
ornamental herb garden, inspired by
Regency dower house on the estate.
can actually come and hopefully get in
Rosemary Verey’s Barnsley Park,
More than 200 years later Kingscote
touch with nature and themselves.”
where Geoffrey’s team grow medicinal
Park and Jenner’s home, now known as
The fusion of East and West at Matara
and culinary plants.
the Matara Centre, continue to play an
can be found in the centre’s cloistered
Geoffrey is very much aware of his
important part in many modern day love
garden, with its sunken pond and
stories with scores of couples choosing to
Chinese Pagoda, which provides a venue
role as custodian of Kingscote Park:
hold their weddings there.
for civil wedding ceremonies.
he has planted hundreds of trees,
The grounds around Matara, a
There are Shinto woodlands, reached
including a circle of oaks and groves
Sanskrit word for the creative heaven and
by a Tori arch that symbolises the
of magnolia, beech, Gloucestershire
earth, are also popular with people keen
transition from the everyday world to a
apples and rowan, since he moved
to connect with the spiritual side of their
more sacred, contemplative inner world.
there 14 years ago. Meanwhile every
lives.
A wishing tree, inspired by a visit to the couple married at Matara have a tree
Kingscote Park, owned by a family
Kagyu Samye Ling Buddhist Monastery dedicated to their union.
trust founded by Geoffrey Higgins, has
in Dumfries, is resplendent with multi- The Matara Garden is open for the
taken inspiration from cultures from
coloured ribbons.
National Gardens Scheme on Saturday
around the world to evolve into unique
Meanwhile the Ying and Yang symbol
September 27 from 1pm to 5pm.
can be seen while walking the spiral
20 COTSWOLDESSENCE | SEPTEMBER ~ NOVEMBER 2009 www.cotswoldessence.co.uk
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