Public Places
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Woodland gardens on this scale and diversity are rare, but the Rock Garden, for example, is exceptional
blossoms then the full force of colour through April, May and into early June as the vast selection of rhododendrons and azaleas blaze a trail of colour across whole swathes of the valley, along the miles of secluded footpaths and at the entrance of the gardens.
“It is taking the full horticultural year to know and understand what we have here,” Adam continues, “such is the diversity.” Since closure to the public in 2010, Leonardslee’s carefully constructured views and vistas had lost their lustre as plants, bushes and trees merged into each other. Many views had taken in the several lakes that an earlier generation of the Loder family, who had called the gardens home for more than 120 years, had engineered from the stream running through the valley bottom.
Gravity‐fed, the lakes feed through a system of sluices, with water also being recirculated. The old Victorian pumphouse has been transformed into the Bar and Restaurant by the Lakes, creating a peaceful spot to admire the surroundings of the lower stretches of the gardens.
Judicious coppicing and pruning are bringing these picture postcard spectacles back to life. We’re slowly but surely regenerating the beauty and character of Leonardslee
” 108 I PC JUNE/JULY 2018
“Our survey of the lakes revealed Koi and black carp weighing up to 30lb, so we may introduce fishing at some stage,” Adam reports.
“Judicious coppicing and pruning are bringing these picture postcard spectacles back to life,” adds Adam. “We’re slowly but surely regenerating the beauty and character of Leonardslee.”
The 13‐strong team of gardeners are on a mission of rejuvenation without resort to chemicals or pesticides. “I recruited people with a broad range of skills and all experienced gardeners,” notes the head gardener. “I don’t have to micro manage them.”
“We have worked out from the Manor House, progressively restoring and have developed a circular route enabling visitors to take in the sights in a logical order.” “As a natural site, a little bit of wilderness has its place, but so do manicured lawns,
and the place for these is around the Manor House where attention to detail is vital. We’ve sown extensively up at this top end of the site near the main entrance, where weddings guests will congregate.” “At around ten acres, the lawn areas are not huge. The ride‐ons, rough cutters and fine cutters are used where needed,” he adds.
The old lawn mowers ‐ the wallabies ‐ may not get a look‐in this time round, you suspect, but as a visitor attraction to draw admiring crowds, their future here seems assured.
In and around the house, herbaceous planting, featuring mainly perennial flowers, predominates to create a more formal setting to chime with the grand Georgian architecture of the building, with its newly restored elegant interiors and classical staircase.
Tree management looms large at Leonardslee. Andy McLean supervises felling and pruning on an estate that numbers some 10,000 specimens. “The Great Storm of 1987 cleared so much of course, leaving breathing space for new growth in the years afterwards,” he says. “We number more than ninety Champion trees on the estate ‐ twenty‐two of those are magnolias recorded on the national register. And recently discovered is a male and female pair of kiwi fruit, twisting their way up to the top of the canopy. You’d walk past them and never know they were there.”
Supervising the Rock Garden is Jonathan Bryant. This is Leonardslee’s Jewel in the Crown, many say, where at its flowering zenith, vibrant colours drip down from the heights to the path below that meanders through this cosy corner of the gardens. He is also busy recataloguing the site collection, and has some rare specimens to record. “Our Sicilian Fir (Abies nebrodenis) is a Champion tree, over 20m tall and the biggest in the country,” he reports, “but the species is critically endangered.” “We have lifted seedlings and sent them to Kew, Nymans [National Trust gardens at
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