Ham House Gardens, Richmond-upon-Thames.

Garden.

The garden is being gradually restored to its 17th-century splendour.  The 1671 plan by Slezer and Wyck, on display in the Library Closet, shows proposal for the garden which were largely executed.  This formed the basis for the reconstruction of the garden in 1975.

Parterres and plats.

At the east side of the house, lavender, box, and yew hedges, flanked by Hornbeam arbours, have been introduced to the Cherry Garden.  The South Terrace border has been replanted in a formal 17th-century style.  Cones of Yew alternate with clipped flowering shrubs, including such exotics as Hibiscus and Pomegranates.  Three rows of herbaceous planting complete the effect.  Below the terrace are eight grass plats surrounded by gravel walks.

Beyond this is the Wilderness, a formal maze-like planting of hedges of Hornbeam, concealing compartments containing four circular summerhouses.

The Orangery.

The Orangery garden lies beyond the west garden wall.  At its north end stands the Orangery, one of the oldest freestanding examples in England.  It now serves as a cafe.  In front of stands the oldest ‘Christ’s tnorn’ bushes in the country.  At the south end of the garden is an avenue of Quercus ilex, evergreen oak.  The avenue represented at one time the centre pathway of the original kitchen garden.

hamhouse@nationaltrust.org.uk.

 

~ by landscapeislapinski on April 15, 2008.