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// Gardening


the house over the heads of the passing ducks bobbing gracefully along the water rather like The Mikado’s three little maids. Beyond this point and at the back of what has now been converted into Garden Lodge Rooms with spa baths and theatrical velvet décor (perfect spot for my 30th birthday celebrations!), you’ll find the kitchen gardens with remnants of former glasshouses where once grew peaches, melons and grapes. I have a cutting of Gilbert’s grape vine at home, the original still clinging on with vigour at Grim’s Dyke. William was so proud of his fruitful endeavours that he noted in his diary the first strawberries of the season and the first gooseberry tart. Today this area is used to grow much of the produce used in the hotel restaurant.


In Gilbert’s day there were 20 gardeners, not the case today, but still plenty of work is being undertaken to keep the grounds in top condition and to return neglected areas to their former glory.


Recently, in collaboration with Harrow Council, the old orchard has been restored. Rare heritage apples now grow in peaceful perfection, from ‘Ribston Pippin’ to ‘Warner’s King’, both dating from the early 1700s and a joy to behold as decades past have seen our orchards wiped out in devastating numbers.


Nearer the house, Gilbert had a croquet lawn created, just a stone’s throw away (or should that be a ball’s mallet hit away) from his library, the door of which is, come May, embraced by racemes of the sweetest fragranced wisteria. It is alongside this lawn that you can


find the final resting place of the first lemur to be bred in this county – his name was Paul and as a treasured pet, he knew W S Gilbert better than most. This was a home where animals were always welcome and in addition to dogs and cats, a fawn and donkey were also part of the family. The donkey earned its keep by pulling the lawn mower and due to its high pitch bray was christened ‘Adelina’ after the soprano Adelina Patti! I in fact christened my own rabbit ‘Gilbert’ in his honour and believe he would have approved. So strong was Gilbert’s love of animals that hunting was banned on his land and he was heard to say, “I have a constitutional objection to taking life in any form. To tread on a black beetle would be to me like crushing a watch of complex and exquisite workmanship”. Were he alive today, what a superb ambassador for the RHS bee friendly campaigns he would have made.


Rhododendrons revel in the grounds that surround the impressive lake that Gilbert had created in 1900. It was here that Gilbert bathed every day from March to September, bulrushes and water lilies sharing the summer sun. This brought him so much joy, but sadly was to lead to the end of his life when on May 29th 1911, he swam to the rescue of a young schoolgirl. I stood at the side of the lake 100 years later, and although he was no longer there, you could feel his presence as the soft breeze in the trees breathed new life into his botanical creation.


If you have a little list, this is definitely one destination not to be missed!


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