Find pleasure in garden visiting

Penhurst PlaceFind pleasure in garden visiting has been written by Sandy Felton of Reckless Gardener on behalf of Notcutts.

Gertrude Jekyll once commented that “gardens are perhaps the most ephemeral of all art forms, for they are an ever-changing tapestry of colour, form and texture, a seemingly never-ending parable of life, death and immortality.”  What is it about a garden that makes us want to visit? Why do gardeners, and indeed many who do not or cannot garden, find fascination in visiting the creation of others’?

I have spent my life visiting gardens across the UK, Europe and Canada and each time I visit I have the same feeling of anticipation. What will I find? Will I like it? Can I take away an idea which would work for me in my own garden?

Garden visiting is a great pleasure for even in the smallest, humblest garden, there is sure to be something of interest, an unknown plant, an unusual arrangement, a quirky pot or ornament. I have learnt to curb my anticipation a little because I know that not all gardens live up to their reputation, or in some cases sadly do not warrant the entrance fee. Fortunately, in my experience this has been seldom and indeed there are many gardens to which I could go again and again without ever getting bored or tired.

In the UK there are the large gardens which mirror generations of taste and diversity. They encompass every gardening style from English landscape to contemporary - Hidcote, Powis Castle, Sissinghurst, Alnwick, The Garden of Cosmic Speculation and Mount Stewart being just a few. But for  every great garden there are hundreds of others encompassing a variety of styles and design all challenging our various climatic conditions. In many respects we are spoilt.

Sissinghurst

Hidcote is a personal favourite of mine – I have visited on several occasions and each time found something new to appreciate. In some gardens there is a strong sense of the owner’s temperament or nature as at Highrove, the garden of HRH the Prince of Wales, an interesting and I think delightfully diverse garden. A garden, is after all, part of the soul of its creator and if you can feel something of the history, soul and spirit of a garden you are more than half-way there to appreciating what makes it tick.

The National Gardens Scheme is a wonderful organisation responsible for the opening of some 3,700 lovely gardens every year for charity. Many of these gardens are not normally open to the public so the famous Yellow Book printed each year with details of all the gardens is a valuable asset. Details on: http://www.ngs.org.uk

In time we may develop a leaning towards a favoured designer or gardener  – in my case Jekyll, Mawson, Tom Stuart-Smith, Cleve West, Beth Chatto and Christopher Lloyd. I love to find a Mawson garden I haven’t visited and rather as one would with a famous painter, contrast it with his other designs.

I never pass down a street without peering over the odd garden wall to see the magic which hopefully lays beyond. It is so sad that so many of our front gardens have been turned into concrete to provide for the ubiquitous motor car. The little book in my pocket is ever ready to note down a new plant or record a comment about a planting combination which has worked in a particular situation.

Then in the dark winter months it is a pleasure to sit and leaf through gardening books depicting those gardens which I have visited or to look at my own pictures of remembered days.

WallingtonI don’t mind weeds, I am happy with a variety of styles and I am not necessary ultra-critical of any particular garden. A garden is what the owner/gardener wants to make it and I have no problem with that – we garden for pleasure and if the garden brings pleasure to its creator then that is how it should be.

To gain an appreciation of different styles is one reason for garden visiting as it helps the gardener understand that no one particular style is necessarily right. My own preference for the cottage garden suits me and my garden, but I have no doubt that another owner might come along and completely redesign my little patch into a contemporary oasis of decking and stainless steel.

We should all take away something from a garden visit – it might be stimulation, a sense of belonging or a simple planting idea. We might be lucky to have a conversation with the gardener personally and share experiences – an added bonus.

Spring will soon be upon us and with it my quest for yet more gardens to start visiting - the list is already growing – wonder what I will find this year? Happy visiting.

Sandy Felton is features editor of www.recklessgardener.com

All photographs © Reckless Gardener

(Photographs – Sissinghurst, Penshurst Place and Wallington (NT) Northumberland