Gravetye Manor... A Truly Special Place
Last week we enjoyed an inspirational team day out visiting the expansive gardens at Gravetye Manor. Our team is growing rapidly now and with 3 people joining the team in the last couple of months, it was wonderful to get everyone together for a relaxed and informal day in beautiful surroundings. We were very lucky with the weather having had rain on and off all week but it turned out to be a real scorcher with temperatures of nearly 30 degrees.
The Great Gravetye Manor
A bit of a back story. Although now a luxury country hotel, in its past, Gravetye Manor was the home of the great 19th-century gardener and influential writer, William Robinson. He bought the manor house in 1884 having made his fortune through horticultural writing, most notably ‘The Wild Garden’ in 1870 and ‘The English Flower Garden’ in 1883.
At Gravetye, Robinson was able to put his ideas of naturalistic planting into practice and the garden is today considered one of the most important historic gardens in England. His naturalistic approach to gardening is more vital today than ever before and as a result, his books are seeing a real resurgence.
Tom’s Transformative Work
Head gardener, Tom Coward is a friend of mine having spent time training together at Wisely. Tom started here at Gravetye in 2010 and has undeniably awakened the garden and re-established its reputation as a great garden of historic importance. On a personal level, I must say, Gravetye has a very special person in Tom. He is charming, affable and clearly has a remarkable impact on the grounds and foods served at Gravetye.
Whilst writing this post, I came across an interesting Q&A with Tom in Gardens illustrated.https://www.gardensillustrated.com/gardens/gardeners/gravetye-manor-tom-coward/
Motivational Meadows
We began our tour in the meadows. As we entered along the side of the manor under the canopy of the ancient wisteria, the landscape was breathtaking.
What hit us most was the sensory aspect, literally millions of insects at the peak of activity. Butterflies, crickets, moths and bees created a constant hum that had a serious soul-warming effect on me.
Today’s current design trend of meadow planting is certainly not a new concept here, William Robinson was doing it during the Victorian era and very successfully. Tom described how Robinson wrote a chapter in The Wild Garden book, which detailed his plans for his meadows and today he and his team find it fascinating and rewarding to continue developing his results.
Floriferous Flower Garden
A quintessential English Garden, Tom expressed how the current owners are committed to recreating the original Robinson look. William Robinson was ardent in his criticism of gaudy Victorian gardens with their displays of tidy bedding plants in clashing colours. He hated them with a vengeance, instead promoting the ideas of perennial planting in more naturalistic drifts.
During his first few years at Gravetye, Tom spent much of his time undoing the years of neglect and as a result, the beds adjacent to the house had to be replenished and replanted. Today, he and his team manage the flower garden in a similarly dynamic and experimental manner.
I did love this area, it’s intimate, highly floriferous and completely charming. One of my favourite plants here was the Dierama pulcherrimum, Commonly known as Angel's fishing rod. Nodding gracefully in the gentle breeze, it really did stop me in my tracks.
“Gardens are meant for sharing and it’s wonderful that this garden is once again being shared - just as William Robinson intended. ”
The Jewel In Its Crown
Well, I mean what can I say, we all agreed that this is without doubt the best kitchen garden we have ever experienced. The sheer amount of planning and organisation that goes into rotating the crop beds was obvious to see. Not only is it a traditional walled garden but also productive and decorative - no mean feat!
Tom explained how it took many years to determine the ultimate position of the garden but, the 1.5 acre walled kitchen garden perched at the top of the hill really is unquestionably the jewel in the crown of this estate. The unique elliptical sandstone wall encloses the south-facing and sloping ground, holding in the warmth, keeping animals out and ensuring a good light tillable soil. I don’t know how many different varieties of fruits, vegetables, edible flowers and herbs there are in the kitchen garden but the fact that this space alone occupies the full focus of 4 full-time gardeners during the summer period would suggest A LOT!
The asparagus, in particular, was looking wonderful, with both the white and green forms being cultivated.
Nina and I especially were blown away by the incredible Victorian peach house. We both get rather excited about fruit trees and we were fascinated by the method of training the trees on a frame, which Tom informed us is a tried and tested method. Peaches are such a fragile fruit but with over 10 years of care, the 4 varieties they are growing here in the glasshouse are truly magnificent. Even if, as Tom suggested, squirrel control is a full-time job!
In summary, we all enjoyed an incredibly inspirational day indeed and would love to return in autumn and spring to experience another season of pure horticultural euphoria!
https://www.gravetyemanor.co.uk
Contact us if you are looking to bring some design to your garden, you can reach us on 0207 305 7183 or email at enquire@alasteranderson.com
