Nottinghamshire garden Nottinghamshire garden Swans in their winter plumage At a time of year when only dormant plants cover pergolas and arches, a layer of snow, kissed by warm, low winter light, adds beauty to the gardens at Felley Priory. Crisp, geometric stepped yew pyramids here contrast with the rounded shapes of the swans that top them. Seasoned with a sprinkling of snow Felley Priory in Nottinghamshire, an RHS Partner Garden, is full of topiary given extra definition and an ethereal enchantment in the right winter weather Author: James Alexander-Sinclair, garden designer, writer and member of RHS Council. Photography: Clive Nichols rhs.org.uk/partnergardens rhs.org.uk/partnergardens Nottinghamshire garden Sheltering embrace Vital for shelter on what is an exposed site, the yew hedges were among the first plantings when the garden was laid out in the 1970s. Now, immaculate scallops alternate with clipped spheres, in complete contrast to the rounded, natural outlines of the trees beyond the hedge. Roses frozen in time Pink-flowered shrub Rosa Bonica (‘Meidomonac’) Focus on topiary agm (above left) and a bud Topiaried yew creates of R. ‘Deep Secret’ (above) abstract, geometric bring precious splashes of and organic shapes in colour to the garden as Layered yew different parts of the late as Christmastime. Yew is evergreen, garden. A touch of responds well to whimsy is never far regular trimming away, however, with and buds grow topiary swans (left) from old wood, so and peacocks, crowns, is ideal for topiary. castles and spheres. Precise clipping A dusting of snow only here has created an serves to emphasise elegant, three- the architectural layered square elegance of the ‘pagoda’ topped pristine topiary. with a pyramid. 44 The Garden | December 2019 rhs.org.uk/partnergardens rhs.org.uk/partnergardens December 2019 | The Garden 45 Nottinghamshire garden Nottinghamshire garden have a friend who was brought up in skilfully) clipped to form a series of topiaries. Ukraine where they have a lot of snow There are peacocks, castles, swans (started for a prolonged period of time. As a result around 1995 and trained around steel she regardsI snow with the sort of deep and skeletons), coronets and lots of jaunty balls: vicious loathing that most of us reserve for a veritable feast of topiary. There was even a snakes or politicians. No matter how beautiful large robin made of hawthorn that had to be it may seem to me, she is always left unmoved turned around after a horse ate its tail. and, well, cold. This is a classic example of This is an art that goes back a long way: familiarity breeding deep contempt. For most the Chinese and Japanese were clipping of us Brits, however, snow is still rare enough trees and shrubs a couple of millennia ago. to enchant and captivate, at least when In Europe, clipping to shapes possibly began viewed from the comfort of our homes. with Gaius Matius Calvinus (a chum of Julius Guarding the Of course, the best places for appreciating Caesar), whose garden was scattered with entrance to snow are our gardens. We can all, young or elaborate topiary, but the art became more the house old, recognise the thrill of waking up and widespread in 17th-century Dutch gardens. Flag-topped castle throwing open the curtains to be confronted There was a bit of a dip in the 18th century turrets stand sentry with a layer of fresh snow across the garden. when garden designers such as Charles on a terrace at the Even the dullest tree is transformed instantly Bridgeman and William Kent concentrated top of stairs leading into something enchanting, and hedges on a purer landscape style. But you cannot to the Elizabethan become ribbons of crystalline icing. keep a good idea down: topiary soon returned manor house, to our gardens, and remains justifiably its honeyed stone From priory to home popular right up to the present day. glowing in If you happened to wake up on a snowy winter sunlight. morning at Felley Priory then you would be Passing the baton in for a bit of a treat. The original priory was Sadly, Maria Chaworth-Musters died in 2010, founded in the 12th century and was home to but her family still live in the house and 12 Augustinian monks who seem to have had continue to develop the garden. The hedges Visiting a good life with gardens, a stew pond well that look so sensational in the snow are cared stocked with fat carp and a mill at the bottom for by a small team (Head Gardener Lindsey Felley Priory of the slope. As we all know, life became a bit Ellis, hedgemeister Anthony Howard and a less comfortable for prelates during the reign covey of indispensable volunteers), however Underwood, Nottinghamshire NG16 5FJ of King Henry VIII when he dissolved the this is not just a garden about topiary. Once (between Mansfield and Nottingham, monasteries. Felley Priory was partially the snow has melted, there are about 60 ½mile from junction 27 of the M1). See: felleypriory.co.uk demolished and the monks scattered. Some different cultivars of snowdrop scattered parts of the original building survive and through the garden including some interesting Garden style: terraced garden to which have been recycled to form parts of the later rare selections (such as delightful yellow structure and shape have been given by yew hedging that shelters herbaceous beds. house and garden, but most of the building Galanthus ‘Primrose Warburg’): a real galan- Also an orchard, bluebell wood, plant dates from the 16th and 17th centuries, with a thophile’s paradise. These are followed by nursery and tea room. few additions in the late 1800s. carpets of daffodils, some of them rare and Standout plants: yew topiary, unusual, a bluebell wood, deep herbaceous The current layout to the gardens dates snowdrops, daffodils, roses from the early 1970s when Major Robert borders and a fine hydrangea collection. and hydrangeas. and Maria Chaworth-Musters moved into One of the interesting things about seeing Aspect: garden surrounds a the Priory. As the site is relatively high (183m/ gardens in their most stripped-down state is southeast-facing Elizabethan 600ft above sea level) and exposed, the first how little we need to see in order to realise manor house on an exposed things to be planted were the yew hedges that we are standing somewhere special. site with views across rolling that serve primarily as windbreaks for the You don’t need flowers and sunshine to enjoy Ancient origins Nottinghamshire countryside. gardens: they help, but they are by no means herbaceous borders. Michelle Upchurch The many-chimneyed house stands on Open: all year, 9am–4pm, Tue–Fri; FELLEY PRIORY (Garden Manager, who has been at Felley essential. If you want colour then please come yet-more ancient foundations, those also Feb–Sept, 10am–4pm on the for 25 years and makes sure everything back later in the year but, right now, we have of a priory founded as early as the 12th first and third Sundays of each runs smoothly) says, ‘The yew hedges were a garden standing quietly in the snow. Even century, a casualty of Henry viii’s month. Free access for RHS chosen not only because they are evergreen when cold and bleak, Felley Priory is still a Dissolution of the Monasteries that members Tuesdays and Wednesdays; but also because, contrary to rumour, they garden that is obviously much loved, well began in 1536. The pool in the foreground see RHS Members Handbook 2019 p115 pre-dates the house: it supplied water to grow pretty quickly.’ cared for – and with a bone structure that for more information. the mill run by the monks. These hedges have been imaginatively (and Marlene Dietrich would kill for. 46 The Garden | December 2019 rhs.org.uk/partnergardens December 2019 | The Garden 47.