LIVE24SEVEN // Property & Interiors G A R D E N I N G – WI T H C AMI L L A B A S S E T T - SMI T H
Through The Garden Gate
As we begin a new year, our Media Horticulturalist, takes us on a lyrical journey to a garden created with wit and wisdom.
Grim’s Dyke – home to one of the sharpest dramatists in history and a man who I have long admired - Ladies and Gentleman I give you W S Gilbert and his former garden in Harrow Weald near London.
Not a difficult journey from the Cotswolds & Wye Valley and one that is well worth the trip as this master of word’s beloved Tudor style mansion has for many years been run as a hotel, one which keeps his memory alive through frequent song and the bricks and mortar and plants that still carry his memory.
William Schwenck Gilbert was one half of the majestic Gilbert & Sullivan partnership, producing operettas in the late 19th century, many of which I have performed in since the 1990s. His lyrics are so colourful and witty and display an overwhelmingly acute observation of British culture of the time.
It was in 1890 that the Gilberts purchased Grim’s Dyke – an imposing house with impressive acreage and from the start the grounds surrounding the property became subject to much care and attention.
Lady Gilbert was a keen gardener and a sunken rose garden was built on the terrace above the moat under the watchful eye of a cluster of regal giant Redwoods. Redwoods and Roses still abound today and on a summer’s evening the scent from the bountiful blooms is as rousing as a full chorus in song. ‘Boule de Neige’, ‘Belle de Crecy’, ‘Queen of Denmark’ and ‘Louise Odier’, just some of the old roses forming a perfect ensemble. From here take a path over the bridge and walk alongside the dyke, taking in glorious views of
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Camilla Bassett-Smith
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