The Quest for New Ideas
The quest for new ideas Houghton Hall walled garden, Norfolk Tim Longville explores the inimitable walled gardens at Houghton, where stylish design mixes harmoniously with theatrical flourishes Photographs by Val Corbett eMoriaLs come in many two major eye-catchers. one is the splendid suggest what the something else should be.’ forms and sizes, but one of the rustic temple (Fig 4), its pediment filled with For example, it was Lord Cholmondeley’s largest and most striking an arrangement of antlers from the estate’s idea to use lily of the valley as the under- contemporary examples must own herd of white fallow deer. The other is planting beneath the apples that arch Mbe the five-acre walled kitchen garden at the ornate fruit cage, its shape modelled on across the central allée of the section still Houghton Hall in Norfolk. all of it has been the corner turret of the stable block. devoted to an ornamental version of kitchen redesigned since the early 1990s by the successive head gardeners—Paul Under- gardening. Her enthusiastic summary Marquess of Cholmondeley, as a memorial wood was followed first by simon Martin is that ‘the joy of working here is to his grandmother. its formal yet theatrical and then by ‘the present incumbent’, Mhari that there’s no bureaucracy—and Lord style makes it an entirely appropriate Blanchfield (who is supported by three full- Cholmondeley is always urging us to try memorial, as she, sybil sassoon by birth, time and four part-time staff)—have also something different, to be adventurous’. was a passionate (and theatrical) gardener, added elements based on their own special The basic ‘bones’ of the garden are still ➢ as was her brother, sir Philip sassoon, interests.
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