Into the SECRET GARDEN
Around 25 years ago, I spent a weekend with the writer Anne de Courcy, the biographer of Diana Mosley and Lord Snowdon – as well as author of other bestselling books – at her cottage in Barnsley, Gloucestershire. I was charmed by her pretty cottage, in a picturesque Cotswolds village.
Left: At Eastleach House, the blues and purples of the clematis on the pergola are picked up by the soft blue of the nepetas planted beneath Right:The Rill Garden at Eastleach House is on a steep slope, which foreshortens the view. The size of the garden is apparent only once you walk down into it
I loved the nearby town of Cirencester, with its market square and Roman history. Most beguiling of all, however, was the garden next door. It was Barnsley House, the home of Rosemary Verey. In those days you could wander out of Anne’s garden and into Rosemary’s garden to admire the laburnum walk or famous potager.
At Kingham Hill House, the view to the north is emphasised by a broken semicircle of pleached hornbeam
The year before my visit to Barnsley House, Prince Charles had come to seek advice from Rosemary Verey on the garden he was making at Highgrove. I had no such great project and felt far too intimidated by Mrs Verey – by then a horticultural household name thanks to her royal connections – to ask for her thoughts on my tiny garden in London. I merely smiled when we were introduced and shuffled my feet like a bashful schoolgirl.
Left: The Indian Bridge with its Brahmin bulls at Sezincote in Moreton-in-Marsh. Right: Sezincote’s Persian Garden, with its octagonal central pool, was inspired by a visit to India
I have to confess that much of the thrill of that informal visit to Barnsley House came not from admiring the plants, nor the design of the garden, but from a sense of privileged access. Throughout history, the notion of a secret garden has cast a spell over us, whether it is the hortus conclusus of Renaissance art and literature or the classic children’s story by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The chance to explore other secret gardens for the purpose of writing my book became irresistible.
Left: The River Coln runs through the grounds of Ablington Manor, which was built in the late 16th century. Right: The yew buttresses that punctuate the main herbaceous border at Ablington Manor are emphasised by the serpentine path
Throughout my visits to the extraordinary Cotswolds gardens described in my book, Rosemary Verey’s personality never seemed far away. She had either designed part of the garden (as at Kingham Hill House) or had advised the owner (as at Eastleach House and Ablington Manor), or had left her mark in other ways. One head gardener told me she was once invited to lunch by his employers, who asked her advice about a corner of the garden that was proving problematic. Mrs Verey made a suggestion, sketched it out on a piece of scrap paper – and, a week later, sent in her invoice.
The Orangery at Daylesford House in Kingham houses dozens of citrus trees
She was never one to undervalue the worth of a skilled garden maker. I think these images prove that, despite social changes and economic crises, there are still plenty of such gardening experts left in the staggeringly beautiful Cotswolds.
The Kitchen Garden is laid out in the form of a parterre at Daylesford House. Neat rows of vegetables sit at the feet of topiary chickens
Secret Gardens Of The Cotswolds, by Victoria Summerley, with photography by Hugo Rittson- Thomas, is published by Frances Lincoln, priced £20.
Left: At Eastleach House, the blues and purples of the clematis on the pergola are picked up by the soft blue of the nepetas planted beneath Right:The Rill Garden at Eastleach House is on a steep slope, which foreshortens the view. The size of the garden is apparent only once you walk down into it I loved the nearby town of Cirencester, with its market square and Roman history. Most beguiling of all, however, was the garden next door. It was Barnsley House, the home of Rosemary Verey. In those days you could wander out of Anne’s garden and into Rosemary’s garden to admire the laburnum walk or famous potager.
At Kingham Hill House, the view to the north is emphasised by a broken semicircle of pleached hornbeamThe year before my visit to Barnsley House, Prince Charles had come to seek advice from Rosemary Verey on the garden he was making at Highgrove. I had no such great project and felt far too intimidated by Mrs Verey – by then a horticultural household name thanks to her royal connections – to ask for her thoughts on my tiny garden in London. I merely smiled when we were introduced and shuffled my feet like a bashful schoolgirl.
Left: The Indian Bridge with its Brahmin bulls at Sezincote in Moreton-in-Marsh. Right: Sezincote’s Persian Garden, with its octagonal central pool, was inspired by a visit to IndiaI have to confess that much of the thrill of that informal visit to Barnsley House came not from admiring the plants, nor the design of the garden, but from a sense of privileged access. Throughout history, the notion of a secret garden has cast a spell over us, whether it is the hortus conclusus of Renaissance art and literature or the classic children’s story by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The chance to explore other secret gardens for the purpose of writing my book became irresistible.
Left: The River Coln runs through the grounds of Ablington Manor, which was built in the late 16th century. Right: The yew buttresses that punctuate the main herbaceous border at Ablington Manor are emphasised by the serpentine pathThroughout my visits to the extraordinary Cotswolds gardens described in my book, Rosemary Verey’s personality never seemed far away. She had either designed part of the garden (as at Kingham Hill House) or had advised the owner (as at Eastleach House and Ablington Manor), or had left her mark in other ways. One head gardener told me she was once invited to lunch by his employers, who asked her advice about a corner of the garden that was proving problematic. Mrs Verey made a suggestion, sketched it out on a piece of scrap paper – and, a week later, sent in her invoice.
The Orangery at Daylesford House in Kingham houses dozens of citrus treesShe was never one to undervalue the worth of a skilled garden maker. I think these images prove that, despite social changes and economic crises, there are still plenty of such gardening experts left in the staggeringly beautiful Cotswolds.
The Kitchen Garden is laid out in the form of a parterre at Daylesford House. Neat rows of vegetables sit at the feet of topiary chickensSecret Gardens Of The Cotswolds, by Victoria Summerley, with photography by Hugo Rittson- Thomas, is published by Frances Lincoln, priced £20.