IN THE GARDEN WITH…

AT Ellerker House, Everingham, nr Pocklington, Yorkshire YO42 4LA GARDEN SIZE Five acres SITE All aspects SOIL Neutral but sandy FEATURES Topiary and box hedging; boardwalk leading to lakeside spring garden; areas of mature woodland; old roses; champion trees; alpine collection; rare and unusual shrubs; spring bulbs en masse; trees for spring blossom; colour-themed borders VISIT Open for NGS in 2019, see www.ngs.org.uk for details; also by appointment for groups CONTACT Roz on 01430 861465 or email rozlos@hotmail.co.uk his pretty garden combines the best of formal and informal planting ideas. There are topiary shapes and smart box hedging, as well as trees draped in dainty blossom and vast banks of naturalised spring flowers. “Ellerker House was originally the manager’s office for Everingham estate, owned by the Duke of Norfolk,” explains owner Roz Los, who lives here with her husband Michael. “It’s surrounded by mature parkland that includes 300-400 year-old oaks, Corsican pines and Atlantic beech trees. We have our own lake too, which used to be an old marl pit where clay was excavated for building. “When we moved here 28 years ago there was very little by way of a garden,” says Roz. (clockwise from top left) Magnolia soulangeana in bloom by the house; a boardwalk leads to a jetty, where banks of narcissi are arranged into beds by species. Mature tree roots make it tricky to plant bulbs; daffodils admire their reflections, with hellebores; the stumpery with pulmonaria and red hellebores; irises with narcissi and blue Anemone blanda “It was all laid to grass with just two small flower beds up by the house. We couldn’t get near the lake because it was so overgrown with brambles and briars. So, each section of the garden was cleared and developed as I went along, creating the garden in sections.” Today the lake is surrounded by hosts of nodding daffodils, dancing in the breeze. “The narcissi mingle with ferns, ipheion, scillas and primulas in lemon and orange, and are planted by species, so whichever angle you’re looking from you see them in block colours, from ‘Rijnveld’s Early Sensation’ (December) to late ‘Camelot’ (March). They were planted by the sackful, one section at a time – it was really hard

Narcissi mingle with ferns, ipheion, scillas and primulas in lemon and orange

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