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| Entrance to th Hall, with battlements and Georgian Styled windows. Formal lawn with topiary and magnificent Boar Statue. |
This lovely house and garden is just about an hour’s drive from where I live. It is the home
of Arabella Lennox-Boyd, the famous garden designer and modern day Aristocrat. She is
married to Sir Mark Lennox-Boyd, the second son of Viscount Merton. So, technically she is
Lady Arabella Lennox Boyd. However, as she was brought up in the Palazzo Pirisi, Rome,
she is obviously no stranger to moving in the higher levels of society. Many modern Aristocrats
eschew the use of formal titles in everyday life, as it can sound a little pretentious in these
more egalitarian times.
She and her family moved to Gresgarth Hall in 1978. There is little information about the
origins of the house, apart from the fact that there was a house on the site in 1330, and it has
long been associated with the Curwen family (a widely distributed and powerful family in the
north-west of England in times past). The current house looks to be a mix of a Gothic
frontage with Georgian windows, mixed withVictorian or possibly Edwardian styles on the
lakeview aspect. Despite the mongrel architectural styles, is as refined and gracious as one
would expect of such a stylish lady. However, having a nosey round the house is not on the
menu of a visit here - only the gardens are open to the public, and then only one day a month.
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| Side view of the house which has a romantic feel, looking across the serene water-lily flecked stillness of the lake. |
But having grumbled about that, it is still well worth making the effort, the gardens are quite
beautiful in that well mannered, tasteful way that one would expect of a six-time RHS Gold
Medal winner, and winner of Best in Show at Chelsea Flower Show in 1998.
There is a lake, a most beautiful lake, which does not appear to have any form of pond weed
sullying its pristine surface (I am quite jealous). No, there are beautifully serene water lilies,
which seem to have been perfectly placed - but then Lady Arabella is not some merely gifted
amateur - no she trained to be a garden designer, as well as being a self confessed gardening
addict. And it shows.
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| Lovely views across the lake. |
There is a lot of structure in this garden. Lots of carefully primped yew, straight paths nearer
the house, which become more meandering farther from it. There is a wonderful bridge
crossing the stream connecting the more formal garden to the wilder parts, where she plants
trees and large shrubs to great effect.
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| Formal Yew avenue |
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| Wonderful 'Angel' decorative paving. |
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| Formal lawn with circular heding and a few formally clipped trees | . Classic |
There is no dominant genus of plants here, though she does seem to like quite a few
varieties of the beautifully flowering Cornus kousa. Most seemed to have been picked for
their individual beauty, and placed with an artist’s eye. The only mistake that I detected was
that someone has chosen to plant Iris ensata in semi-shade. They much prefer full sun.
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| Herbaceous borders with the turretted tower as a backdrop |
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| Lilium canadensis(?) with a background of clematis and phlox. Not quite sure about this particular colour combination. |
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| Acer japonicum aureum |
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| Eryngium |
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| Borders with a background of shrubs (Cornus kousa?) |
I have only been to this garden once, but I shall give update posts as I revisit.
There is a lovely video of Gresgarth Hall on YouTube, featuring Lady Arabella in her
favourite surroundings - the garden. It not only gives you a taste of these lovely gardens, but
also a flavour of a modern lady Aristocrat in the 21st Century. You can enjoy it here.
Her book ‘Gardens in my Life' is available on Amazon.
Happy gardening, Detta!
