In the shadow of greatness Designer Dan Pearson is slowly bringing the 17th-century garden at Lowther Castle in Cumbria back to life with new planting and a 20-year plan
Around the ruins of Lowther Castle near Penrith in Cumbria, landscape designer Dan Pearson is reimagining 130 acres of gardens, with a 20-year plan
East Cumbria doesn’t always offer the most hospitable of climates to make a garden; nor does Lowther Castle offer the most reliable of addresses. Built between 1806 and 1814, the place has overwhelmed every single generation of Lowther, with James Lowther, who inherited the castle in 1953, deciding to demolish it – leaving only the shell intact – to escape his grandfather’s death duties of £25 million.
The current custodian, the Hon William James Lowther (known as Jim), sees the garden as key to its future success. He commissioned historic landscape consultant Dominic Cole to explain the significance of the 17th-century garden, nd designer Dan Pearson to introduce a new vision to bring it back to life. “Dan was a clear and obvious choice for us,” says head gardener, Martin Ogle. “He’s interested in creating a sense of place and capturing the atmosphere – which is what Lowther is about – with his plant choices.”
Dan delivered his master plan in 2012, explaining that he wanted to “make the garden a horticultural delight and deliver an experience that will allow people to feel part of the ruins”. With large gardens it is usually important to establish a clear narrative, perhaps a recurring motif or maintenance aesthetic. At Lowther, however, Dan has deliberately challenged that notion, and instead assembled a potential series of conflicts, with an aim of creating different rhythms. The restored courtyard, for example, is minimalist and contemporary; there is a ghostly quality about the hornbeam columns he has planted to provide both shade and intimacy, but they also act in stark contrast to the ruinous castle nearby.
These same rhythms are in the garden. At one moment it might feel overwhelming, then there is reward with a hotspot in a forest clearing. Then a breather again, before being rewarded once more. This slow and gentle unravelling of a space is magical,
and typical of Dan’s work. “Through these moments of high and low, the language of the garden becomes legible and the whole place begins to sing,” says Dan.
The first garden to be installed was the parterre, known as the Tapestry Garden, in 2014. Martin tells me: “The structural hedges of Taxus and Panicum are intended to represent the warp and weft of an ancient fabric, and the palette of perennials thoughtfully chosen to mimic an oversize and threadbare tapestry.” This was followed by the inner castle, where the planting reinstates a feeling of mystery. Climbers such as Akebia longer acemosa are trained horizontally so the long moody flowers will be able to hang loose. Tropaeolum speciosum will drip its blood-red flowers down the walls, while Lonicera ‘Graham Thomas’ will festoon the windows.
“I wanted to evoke an abandoned aesthetic,” says Dan. “I drew upon all of my experiences – the plants I tended as a student at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, to Ninfa in Italy and also Hokkaido in Japan, where the seasonal warming up and cooling down is not dissimilar to Cumbria. In the end it is trial and error. You use your knowledge, then take calculated risks. I like pushing the boundaries of planting possibilities so, in addition to plants that I know will work, I also intentionally build in a five to ten per cent risk on the list of plants.”
Conditions are often extreme in the Lake District. “Wind and rain is our biggest problem,” says Martin. “So to get the best out of our plants we’re constantly adapting. We have many new areas planned, which will be worked on for many years to come as the project develops and grows. Next on the list is the reimagining of the Thomas Mawson Rose Garden, where Dan plans to wrap the design in the deer-resistant Rosa rubiginosa.”
Lowther is a long-term project and its beauty is going to unravel over a series of years. USEFUL INFORMATION Address Lowther Castle, Penrith, Cumbria, CA10 2HH. Tel 01931 712192. Website lowthercastle.org Open All year, except Christmas day.