Great garden visits Mount stewart Italian Garden and Dodo Terrace The great profusion at Mount Stewart, both of On the shores of , outside Belfast in Northern , remarkable and eccentric statuary, is well demonstrated by a view from the Dodo stands Mount Stewart, its magnificent gardens filled with whimsical Terrace of the Italian Garden. The house and terrace are guarded – and softened – by features amid a tremendous collection of rare and tender plants» venerable Laurus domes and swags of choice Author: Phil Clayton, Assistant Editor, The Garden. Photography: Neil Hepworth climbers cascading from the classical façade.

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ome gardens have gnomes, others are replete the silvery architecture of Onopordum (Scotch thistle) with putti striking classical poses; my own is and yet-to- Echium candicans. A pair of vast Taxus home to a rather grubby reconstituted rendition History of Mount Stewart baccata ‘Fastigiata’ stand sentry at each side. of the Three Graces. Mount Stewart in Northern ✤ From 1744: original house and Stewart becomes a hospital. Ireland, however, has dodos: four of them. And estate, known then as ‘Mount ✤ 1921: 7th Marquess moves in, Italianate ideal Sdinosaurs, Noah’s ark, griffins and (my personal favourites) Pleasant’, bought by the Stewart restoring house after years of The Italian Garden is a parterre with informal planting; great 4m (13ft) pillars topped by characterful monkeys family. Becomes home of the first neglect. His wife Edith, Lady twinned circular pools and 12 separate beds are arranged wearing flowerpot top hats. Idiosyncrasy runs through . Londonderry starts creating on each side of a central avenue of venerable (some this wondrous place; there are humour and political ✤ 1780s: elegant Temple of the Winds the gardens seen today. might say decrepit) but still impressively exotic Cordyline ✤  statements here and there, but the beauty is undeniable. built; overlooking Strangford 1955: gardens handed over to the australis. Edith, Lady Londonderry who created the Lough it remains the last survivor National Trust, followed by house garden (see panel, left), disliked box hedging so here of the 18th-century garden layout. and its contents in 1977. alternatives can be seen edging the beds (with varying Loughside setting ✤ 1840s: house and grounds lavishly ✤ 2015: Trust buys surrounding Positioned by the shore of Strangford Lough and enjoying and extensively remodelled. estate, including walled garden degrees of success): purple-leaved Berberis looked terrific the mild, wet climate that makes Ireland the proverbial ✤ 1915: 7th Marquess succeeds; housing the oldest grape in and I was surprised by the effectiveness of Erica. Potentilla Emerald Isle, it is hard to imagine a place where a wider during the First World War Mount Ireland; restoration continues. fruticosa, however, was less convincing. To add height, range of plants can be enjoyed. The gardens cover 32ha standard roses and wisteria feature, while yet more roses (79 acres) and include lake, wooded, rhododendron-filled grow up poles, taking interest above head height. hillsides and elaborate formal areas. The terrace by the overtopped by coral-coloured flower spikes emerging support gnarly Wisteria and Clematis montana, climbers The inventive planting in these beds is exciting; The elegant neoclassical mansion is best viewed from house (above) is a characteristically at a 45-degree angle – at Mount Stewart that always go well together. Mention must also be made herbaceous fare such as peonies, , Clematis sun trap: clumps its superb Italian Garden, and sheltered at each side by of Beschorneria it is a signature . Walls shelter such delights as of a pair of clipped, potted bays (Laurus nobilis) flanking stans, Phygelius and lofty Ferula rub shoulders with towering stands of Eucalyptus globulus. The south-facing yuccoides bear Lapageria rosea with its immaculate waxy bells and the central steps; said to be the largest in Europe, they flowering exotics grown as standards bedded out for façade of the house is bedecked admirably by choice scarlet spikes yellow-floweredRosa banksiae. Below a window, in a were brought here in 1922. summer, such as Lantana and Sparrmannia africana. of flower and climbers, and softened further by a carefree profusion of Rosa banksiae narrow border, is a thriving clump of Myosotidium Sheltered in beds below the balustrade are camellias, Statuary here makes great theatre; griffins atop soaring plants flourishing on the balustrade-edged terrace at its cascades from hortensia, azure heads shining against lush, pleated Acca sellowiana and sizeable fuchsias, while in more columns and the monkey-pot pillars look like props from the elegant, feet. The huge clumps of Beschorneria yuccoides are the pillared portico. , while the joyous daisies of self-seeded Erigeron open beds, white Allium heads bob between shimmering DW Griffith’s 1916 movie Intolerance; over the top, of best I have seen; rosettes of glaucous, lance-shaped leaves karvinskianus dance from cracks in paving. Balustrades blue Meconopsis, making an admirable pairing among course, but unlike anything anywhere else. »

Summerhouse and fountain in Mairi Garden Dodo Terrace, from the Italian Garden Sunk Garden with its climber-covered pergola Statues and arches Rhododendrons scent the air and the sound of a tinkling fountain One of Mount Stewart’s best-known features, the eccentric Dodo Terrace, Filled with scent from deciduous azaleas, this garden is bounded by a raised, plant-clad pergola. The arched Leyland cypress hedge in the summons up a contemplative air in this area. A giant Cordyline was created by Edith, Lady Londonderry as a tongue-in-cheek reference Low Erica (heather) and Laurus (bay) hedges edge borders filled with lilies and delphiniums Spanish Garden, glimpsed across the Italian and characterful summerhouse provide focal points. to the Ark Club – a group of socialites she had founded. – both yet to bloom – and feature metalwork ‘balloons’ over which Clematis will scramble. Garden. Rhododendrons soften statuary.

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Planting diversity Head Gardener Neil Porteous describes the conditions that allow one of the UK’s finest plant collections to flourish: ‘Winters here are wet and overcast with hardly any frost, which seems to suit so many plants, but strong salt-laden winds can do a lot of damage to plants, particularly in the formal gardens. Some, such as the huge Eucalyptus trees, withstand salty winds well, but others, such as many 2 3 conifers, are easily burnt. Perhaps most protected from the winds is a part of the garden called Tir n’an Mount Stewart: a garden Og, sited on higher ground with well-drained soil of distinctive elements and facing south, receiving about as much sun as is possible in Ireland; here we grow outdoors, 1 At the end of the Dodo Terrace stands an elegant loggia topped by a pair of griffins. all year round, tender plants such as Aloe Eucalyptus trees scent the air. arborescens, Sparrmannia, and many 2 Monkey-pot pillars lend a humorous touch Vast Eucalyptus others from Mediterranean climates. to the formality of the Italian Garden. (above) help Mount Stewart has a history of trying 3 With its green-tiled loggia, oval central pool shelter the new or tender plants; in one of Lady garden from and wonderfully trained galleries of Leyland Edith’s garden notebooks she talks cypress, the Spanish Garden has an unusual salt-laden winds. feel, quite different from the other areas. Crinodendron about the possibility of trying tender 4 Framed by a pair of crowns, this fine topiary hookerianum Stenocarpus sinuatus (Queensland fire Irish harp, underplanted with Oxalis, is central (right) revels in tree) outdoors; that same pioneering mild moist to the Shamrock Garden. A golden-leaved Acer spirit continues to this day.’ Charming climber Elytropus chilensis is rare 1 forms a suitable backdrop. 4 conditions. in cultivation but thrives in the mild conditions.

East of the house, the famed Dodo Terrace continues a fine view of the house), but most remarkable are arches Pergola to covet vigorous, dark purple-flowered Lardizabala funaria and this theme. A paved walkway leads to an understated of carefully trained x Cuprocyparis leylandii – echoing a If I could pick one element from Mount Stewart, it would enjoyed a pink Holboellia, but the highlight was a jaw- loggia, but plinths on each side are topped by dodos, dogs celebrated feature in the Generalife in Granada, Spain, be the pergola in the terrific Sunk Garden: stone pillars dropping combination of yellow Hibbertia and another and other creatures, not to mention Noah’s ark, all playful and an example of what this maligned plant can do when support beams on a raised path running three sides of first for me – Elytropus chilensis. This Trachelospermum references to the Ark Club, a group of socialites founded its vigour is put to good use. An oval central pool is fed by a square, sunken area with trefoil-shaped lawn and relative, its stems dripping with cream, mauve-marked by Lady Londonderry in the First World War. More rills which, with cobble paths, divide turf panels. Raised scalloped beds. On the fourth side is the house and terrace, bells, was a glorious sight. Elsewhere I admired purple towering Eucalyptus stand to one side, one swathed with beds on either side are planted with old tree peonies, with more bay trees. Beds are filled with fiery deciduous The lake at Mount Jovellana violacea and a lovely white-and-lilac-flowered Rosa banksiae, which during my visit was showering its sprawling wisteria, Kniphofia caulescens and hostas, azaleas, their heady scent lingering on the air. Orange Stewart (below), Iris innominata filling a gap in the pergola paving. yellow petals onto repeated pots of white tulips below. the whole spangled with free-spirited yellow and orange Lilium henryi mix with delphiniums, while clematis with extensive Off the Sunk Garden is the eccentric Shamrock Garden, plantings of Meconopsis cambrica. Potted palms and cycads complete cover metalwork balloon supports. choice trees and named for the shape of its enclosing hedge. There is Varied gardens, distinctive aura a kitsch yet oddly endearing corner. The pergola supports rarities; I acquainted myself with beyond. splendid yew topiary here, not least an Irish harp with Beyond the Dodo Terrace lies the Mairi Garden with its Oxalis below, as well as other elements of acquired taste, dovecote-topped loggia and central, fountain-fed pool. but I admired a bold rhubarb, Rheum ‘Cally Giant’. Five flower beds radiate like the petals of a flower. When to Walled Outside the formal gardens are woodlands filled with I visited, these had recently been replanted with an Garden ä Visiting details rhododendrons, choice trees and other plants such as tree Tir n’an Og Address: eclectic range of plants – testament, in part, to the high Mount Stewart, ferns and Embothrium; Cordyline indivisa grows better rainfall. (Oh to be able to grow choice, white-flowered Portaferry Road, here than anywhere else I have seen. The gunnera-and- , Meconopsis or Astilboides tabularis with its supreme, lake Co. Down BT22 2AD iris-fringed lake is a fine sight, while developments with a peltate, dinner-plate-sized leaves in the same company Lake Tel: 028 4278 8387 recently rescued walled garden hint at future excitements. as Nepeta and Veronicastrum.) Established plants are Walk Website: www. Mount Stewart is really special; the air of refined and impressive: tree-like, cinnamon-barked Fuchsia nationaltrust.org.uk/ distinctive eccentricity coupled with exceptional and Rhododendron Hill mount-stewart excorticata, vast Pittosporum eugenioides underplanted Sunk diverse plant collections flourishing effortlessly is an Garden Open: 10am–5pm until with Dianella, a huge monkey puzzle and some choice 1 Nov; 10am–4pm Nov– exciting blend. Some areas will not appeal to everyone, Shamrock Mar; closed 25 & 26 Dec additions – Schefflera, restio Elegia capensis and fern Garden but Lady Londonderry’s single-minded sense of how a Lophosoria quadripinnata, its fronds with silver-blue house Mairi Garden Facilities: tearoom, shop. garden should be still shines through, something I applaud. Italian undersides. Amid the glowing bluebells that proliferate Garden In fact I give it a standing ovation. here, all is calm, cool and reflective. entrance Spanish Garden Perhaps the most curious set piece at Mount Stewart is Dodo Terrace to Temple N RHS Garden Holidays In an Irish Garden – an 8-day tour the Spanish Garden, set below the Italian Garden. A green- of the Winds æ Strangford Lough 150m (165yd) departing 23 Jun and 11 Aug 2016 – includes Mount Stewart: tiled summerhouse dominates (and from inside provides 020 3735 1855; www.rhsgardenholidays.com

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