The English Garden – September 2019

SEPTEMBER 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 63

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JOE WAINWRIGHT; VAL CORBETT; CAROLE DRAKE; SARAH CUTTLE; SARAH PRICE

South West

T

hree generations of women have gardened

at Kiftsgate in Gloucestershire, where the

distinctive grounds are packed with tree

peonies, hydrangeas and abutilons, as well

as species and old-fashioned roses, not least ‘Kiftsgate’.

Arne Maynard designed the gardens at S o u t h Wo o d

Farm near Honiton, Devon. Marrying contemporary

design with a 17th-century thatched cottage, the gardens

include yew topiary, a knot garden, extensive productive

areas as well as herbaceous borders, roses and meadows.

Designed by Cleve West, Horatio’s Garden at the

Duke of Cornwall Spinal Treatment Centre in Salisbury,

Wiltshire, features low, sinuous, limestone walls and

densely planted beds that double as seating. The garden

opened in 2012 and is maintained by a head gardener

and volunteers for the benefit of long-stay patients.

The University of Bristol Botanic Garden is unusual

for being contemporary in design. A network of paths

leads visitors through Mediterranean flora, rare native

and useful plants, and those illustrating plant evolution.

There are also glasshouses containing further collections.

Five acres at The Old Rectory in Netherbury, Dorset

have been tended by the present owners for 25 years.

While formal topiary defines beds close to the house, the

gardens open up to large drifts of naturalistic planting,

and a bog garden with pond and stream.

South Wood Farm

The Old Rectory Bristol Botanic Garden

Kiftsgate

Horatio’s Garden