Daily Mail - Daily Mail Weekend Magazine
THE GARDENS OF GOD’S OWN COUNTRY
Where to find Yorkshire’s finest flowerbeds, from a Victorian paradise with tinkling fountains to a wildlife oasis. By Constance Craig Smith
Even before this year’s Chelsea Flower Show officially opened, there was one garden that had journalists and photographers buzzing with excitement. While everyone admired Chris Beardshaw’s elegant NSPCC garden, which won Best in Show, the plot we fell in love with was the Welcome To Yorkshire garden, designed by Mark Gregory. As Monty Don, who presents the BBC TV coverage of the show, rightly said, ‘In all the years I’ve been coming to Chelsea, I’ve never known a garden that’s had such an immediate reaction.’
The stone cottage, with its delightful wildflower meadow and veg plot, was enclosed by limestone walls, woodland and a stream. It won a gold medal and the People’s Choice award and was a reminder that, as well as having some of the most beautiful countryside in the world, God’s own country is also a horticultural powerhouse. If you are holidaying in Yorkshire this summer, make sure you visit some of its glorious gardens.
Newby Hall near Ripon is most famous for its magnificent double borders, which stretch nearly 600 feet down to the River Ure and in summer and early autumn are a tapestry of colour and fragrance. There is also a rose garden, a white garden, a rock garden and a water garden. For younger visitors, Newby has an extensive collection of dolls’ houses and teddy bears – and don’t miss a ride on the enchanting miniature railway. Visit newbyhall.com.
Fans of the ITV series Victoria will recognise Harewood House near Leeds, which was used as a stand-in for both Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace. The highlight is the glorious Victorian terrace, built in the 1840s by Charles Barry, architect of the Houses of Parliament. This 100-acre garden has fountains, statues, superb herbaceous borders, a lakeside garden and a beautiful Himalayan garden set in a sunken glade. Visit harewood.org.
York Gate, also near Leeds, is just an acre in size, but packs in a huge amount. There are 14 different garden ‘rooms’, including a herb garden, a fern border, a canal garden and a dell. Whatever your own plot’s size, there’s a lot to inspire you here. Visit perennial. org.uk/garden/york-gate-garden.
One of the most famous stately homes in the country, Castle Howard near York was forever immortalised as the house in TV’s Brideshead Revisited, but
its notable garden is less well known. It features one of the best rose collections in the country, as well as an ornamental kitchen garden, a woodland garden, an arboretum and many water features –
1,000 acres of gardens and parkland in all. Visit castlehoward.co.uk.
Stillingfleet Lodge near York, developed over the past 40 years, was ahead of its time in embracing the need to be wildlife friendly from the very beginning. There’s a wildflower meadow, herbaceous borders, an organic vegetable plot, a pond and an orchard. You’ll also see rare-breed poultry roaming freely. Visit stillingfleetlodgenurseries.co.uk.
Finally, don’t miss the RHS’s superb Harlow Carr just outside Harrogate, with its kitchen garden, stream, woodland, lakeside and vast main borders with huge swathes of perennials. There’s even a Bettys Tea Room. Visit rhs.org.uk.