News from the gardening world
National Trust gardeners celebrate with organisation-wide wreath challenge, writes Ian Hodgson
It’s Christmas wreaths to the fore at the National Trust as head gardeners across the environmental charity have tried to out-compete each other to create the most original design.
In a light-hearted contest, each team aimed to create arrangements that best captured the ‘spirit of place’ or an element associated with their particular garden.
All entries are now on display until January so public visitors venturing into the various properties over the Christmas period can enjoy them, too. Hidcote garden in Gloucestershire fully embraced the opportunity, creating 12 all-natural Christmas wreaths, each decorated to capture an arts and crafts theme from the garden founded in 1907. Materials used include terracotta pots on the wreath in the kitchen garden, oranges and red maple leaves for the arrangement on the chapel door, birds and berries on the design for the manor door and even dried herbs for one created for the visitor toilets! The bases for each arrangement were woven from stems taken from the garden’s historic Lime Arbour.
The team at Bateman’s, the East Sussex home of Rudyard Kipling and his family, created a Peter Rabbit-themed wreath, complete with crocheted lettuces, radishes and carrots. Kipling’s story The Glory of the Garden was inspired in part by his own efforts to create a garden for his children to play in and his family and friends to enjoy.
The front door wreath at Newark Park in Gloucestershire, which dates from Tudor times, was inspired by Percy, one of the garden’s resident peacocks and features peacock feathers, peacock-patterned ribbon and the herbs rosemary and sage, which were popular during this period.
Visits to National Trust gardens must be pre-booked in advance. Visit www. nationaltrust.org.uk for details.