It came as no great surprisal to ascertain that Houghton Lodge was once voted one of the most desirable houses in England . A letter to the current owner from a genus Passer by , politely offering to buy the house , is framed and displayed in the visitant area . Whilst admittedly brash , I suspect it merely charge to wallpaper an whirl that many a visitant would have rehearsed in their brain .
Houghton Lodge was built in the 18th Century as a Cottage Orné – intended to await unsophisticated on the outside but offering all the mod - confidence game its moneyed possessor would have expected inwardly . These picturesque buildings were essentially designed for the upper classes to play at living like country folk , without of course having the inconvenience of bumping into any of them . Sometimes , rather than sully their lands with ramshackle worker ’ houses , they also built estate Village in the same mildew .
Nowadays , a Cottage Orné is still well beyond the reach of most of us , and comparatively few have survived . Houghton Lodge keep on to be lovingly maintained by one Captain M.W. Busk , and is undefended to the public in an especially low - keystone way . There are frankly boxes for the entry fee , no rule as to whither one can wander and few fellow garden visitors with whom to share this idyllic spot .
The setting , on rise ground above the River Test , is really unequalled . England boasts 85 % of the globe ’s chalk watercourse , and the Test is the most celebrated of those . The view from the patio along the fast flowing river is one it would be hard for anyone to tire of , the water system adorned with swans and the meadows pasture by … .. alpacas . These distinctly exotic interlopers were divertingly named Tom , Dick and Harry . Do n’t take me which is which .
Returning to the gardens , visitor start their tour in the Hydroponicum – a greenhouse where everything is grown in nutrient - enrich water flow through perlite and vermiculite . The aim is to demonstrate how the amateur gardener can use aquiculture to turn flower , herb , and vegetables . To my judgment you ca n’t beat a nicely develop industrial plant in a terracotta pot , but this was an interesting alternative to traditional culture and does away with the requirement for heavy lifting .
After the Hydroponicum get along a compact but well - curated orchid menage , lead out into a o.k. kitchen garden . The walls are construct of chalk cob , a mix of chalk and straw ‘ puddled ’ by oxen and then built up in layers . tile top the wall to deter intruders and a root word of flints act as a dampish test copy course – we do n’t build them like that anymore ! Within the walled garden an telling number of old espalier yield trees is presided over by one great dame , an espalier Pyrus communis , ‘ Uvedale St. Germain ’ , with a mighty span of over forty feet .
The peacock garden is home to not one , but seven peacocks – six cautiously crafted topiary specimens and one made from scrap metallic element ( envision below ) . Down the garden near a summertime house loaf more dangerous topiary , in the form of a well camouflage and tightly coiled dragon . The animate being emerges from a horny white froth of cow Petroselinum crispum ( Anthriscus sylvestris ) and ramsons ( genus Allium ursinum ) .
Returning to the business firm via the river banks and a shady snaky manner of walking , one crosses the poor but impressive approach driving force . Houghton Lodge was in the beginning built as a fishing lodge – one which I am certain would have impress the guests from every slant . Draping the verandah was a young wisteria , the most romantic of all mounter . Far from gilding the lily , the mauve flowers just add to the pretty exposure . No in effect Cottage Orné should be without one .
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category : flower , Garden Design , Large Gardens , Trees and shrub
Posted by The Frustrated Gardener
