Conservation work on tapestries wins award
National Trust is recreating a new flower garden to recreate ‘Capability’ Brown’s final landscape design at Berrington Hall.
After 10 years of planning, ground works have begun to create a new flower garden at Berrington Hall in Herefordshire.
The landscapes of the estate were meticulously designed by ‘Capability’ Brown and his son in law, Henry Holland, to harmonise with the mansion house and Triumphal Arch.
Over time, some of the garden’s important heritage features have become obscured or hidden by later alterations.
Work has started to recall Berrington’s horticultural heyday using inspiration from a a 19th-century historic map.
Beds filled with a mix of over 53,000 new flowering plants and bulbs will bring more flowers than ever before to Berrington and give almost year-round colour and displays, while recreating an experience of a 18th and 19th century garden.
Three new wisteria ‘umbrellas’ will show the Georgian love of spectacle and the historic Wisteria Walk will be restored and extended to run the southern length of the walled garden, for magnificent spring displays. A new fully accessible path network will ensure everyone can enjoy exploring.
As work progresses, the path leading to the hall will be realigned so that visitors can move around the grounds as the Georgians did. Where they can enjoy views of the parkland as its designers intended. An evergreen hedge will be planted to hide the new flower garden from arriving visitors, so that they discover it as a colourful surprise at the end of their circuit.
In modern times, Berrington hasn’t been known as a garden with a strong seasonal horticultural appeal but it is hoped this transformation is set to make it a must-see for garden lovers.
As the work takes place, visitors are invited to step into the shoes of a garden designer. Information panels explain the work taking place and ask visitors to think about how they might design a garden and perhaps take inspiration from what’s happening. A garden surveyor's office has been set up in the stables, filled with books and equipment that a garden surveyor might use when planning their latest creation, as well as bell tents in the walled garden filled with books about gardens and garden design.
Picture: National Trust