Remaining faithful to the original Elizabethan layout, mellow walls provide the framework for the formal East Front and West Gardens. Beyond the West Gardens begin the lovingly restored Wild Gardens. Over the generations, most recently by Antony and Victoria Jarvis and Claire and James Birch, the gardens at Doddington have been restored, cared for, nurtured and developed to their fullest potential.
A spectacular pageant of spring bulbs begins in early February with wonderful Snowdrops and Crocus Thomasianus, continuing through March and early April with drifts of Lent Lilies and our unique collection of heritage Daffodils, Aconites and Snake Head Fritillaries until May when our famous Irises steal the show in the West Garden. There are also winter-flowering and scented shrubs, Rhododendron, and an underlying structure is given by topiary and some wonderful trees – the ancient, contorted Sweet Chestnuts that overlook the croquet lawn are still productive.
Meandering paths lead you to our Temple of the Winds built by Antony Jarvis in memory of his parents, a turf maze that he made in the 1980s, and if you look hard you may find the ‘dinosaur’s egg’ (a large boulder that he put in the branches of a field maple tree to surprise the grandchildren).
Thanks to a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the formerly neglected two-acre Walled Kitchen Garden was restored to its former productive glory in 2007. Just a stone’s throw from the Hall, the Kitchen Garden now provides an abundance of fruit, vegetables, salads and herbs which take centre stage on the Café and Restaurant menus and are regularly for sale in our Farm Shop.
I love the cupola in the garden.
Oh reminded me of Fort Canning Park in Singapore
http://tinyurl.com/psw7bta
I see the similarity. But on getting up close it seems a little larger…
Imagine having a kitchen garden like that – I would be in my element, but would need a part-time gardener!
I love walled kitchen gardens. I would like to have spent a bit of time walking round this one.
Wonderful impressions – I loved the kitchengarden, would like to have one – but no space.
Sigrun
There is one not far from me that I like to visit and see its progress
I especially like the idea of “wild gardens,” Cherry.
It is a nice part of the estate
The pond and bog garden are lovely, especially in that setting.
It was a hidden surprise
What was the thinking behind the Wild Gardens?
Wild as opposed to a formal garden.