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THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE COTSWOLD WILDLIFE PARK AND GARDENS
This month our media horticulturalist, Camilla Bassett-Smith, heads off for some Cotswolds botany amongst beautiful beasts!
Nestled in amongst acres of glorious countryside, you’ll find Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens. Since 1970, this has been a desirable destination for families (including my own) keen to gaze at a giraffe or coo at a capybara – but this is so much more than mammals, birds, reptiles and invertebrates (as glorious as all 250 plus different species are). Here you will find the most fantastic collection of plants laid out in the most thoughtful and theatrical of ways to live in perfect harmony with their animal acquaintances.
Don’t just take my word for it; horticultural greats such as Roy Lancaster are great supporters, as are Kew Gardens, RHS Wisley and the great exotic, sadly now departed, plantsman, Will Giles. You’ve ticked off Hidcote and Snowshill, but don’t leave this one off your list.
Now where to start? There are so many different areas and planting styles, that whatever your taste, you are bound to smile. Grasses feature greatly alongside the white rhino paddock, with the frivolous plumes of feathers from pampas grass glistening in the sunshine. Other grasses such as Miscanthus and Stipa merge with a myriad of perennials and bulbs – including, in spring, Narcissus ‘Peeping Tom’, altogether presenting its prairie style with panache.
Speaking of the white rhinos, I’m taken back to circa 1985 and an incident where my darling poodle Brandy dared to bark at them – he may have been small, but he feared nothing! It is lovely that dogs on leads are allowed to enjoy the park to this day, all animals together, happy in each other’s company. Congratulations must be given here on the recent birth of baby rhino Belle – a must see rhino-let!
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THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE CAMI L LA BAS S E T T - SMI TH
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