PUBLIC PLACES


The Italian garden in spring - the yew at the centre is probably beyond saving so will be removed and replaced


Given that, in the early days, there were around eighty gardeners and now


”


we have six - and, just as an example - there are


fourteen miles of hedge on the estate - the scale of the work becomes clear!


Brambles have encroached where Rhododendrons were removed to cut Phytophora risks


shape and allowing some clippings to remain on the ground and return valuable nutrients to the soil. “We’ve had to learn that not everything needs to be pristine but, as we are so public-facing, we use information boards so that visitors can understand the reasons behind our actions.”


Formal gardens are compartmentalised into Italian, Alhambra and Parterre (Mon Plaisir) sections, although in the latter topiaries creating seating areas in a decorative star shape were removed and replaced with box in the 1960s. “We’re looking at ways to make the topiary more resilient; clipping into domed rather than flat topped shapes, for example, to stop snow collecting on them and breaking branches.”


With the country park attracting 360,000 visitors a year, to landscapes which were only designed to withstand the footfall of the Earl and his family, it’s a constant task to maintain, repair and renovate grassed areas


and walkways.


“Given that, in the early days, there were around eighty gardeners and now we have six - and, just as an example - there are fourteen miles of hedge on the estate - the scale of the work becomes clear!” says Gill. Tree work is a huge job - William Barron was the inventor of a horse drawn tree transplanter and brought many mature trees to Elvaston when planning the garden, which features many ancient cedars, noble fir, veteran oak and monkey puzzle. After an outbreak of Phytophthora at nearby Kedleston Hall in 2008, a programme of select Rhododendron removal was carried out to protect the trees. “But where you take out Rhododendrons, they are often replaced with brambles, so we will need cut them back with our tractor mounted flail,” she explains.


Self-set silver birch has been tackled in earnest this winter, using a hired-in chipper. Logs are processed with a wood splitter by volunteers, and sold as firewood each year.


Once styled with intricate topiaries, the Winter Garden now has a box parterre at its centre, but plans are afoot to replace the grassed areas with wildflowers


102 PC June/July 2019


Allowing spring growth to persist rather than clipping back is part of a remedial programme for the topiaries which have suffered from the extreme conditions of 2018


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