I've never visited Packwood House before so took the opportunity when visiting a design project nearby to finally take a look at the gardens! I wasn't disappointed and thought the gardens looked fantastic.
Graham Baron Ash remodelled the house during the 1920s and 1930s with an eye for glamour, quality and conservation. He even made it clear in his Memorandum of Wishes how he would like the rooms to be arranged and shown, including having fresh flowers throughout. The house and gardens are therefore displayed how he wished when he left in 1941. The garden team keep the spirit of renewal and regeneration alive though, mixing historical features with contemporary planting.
I wandered round the gardens, with my coffee, on a scorching July day taking in all the colour and structure. I started in the kitchen garden but quickly sought out the Yew Garden, as seen below, through the ornate gates.
I love designing structure into my gardens so loved the evergreen yews, standing proud like soldiers!
There were some lovely colour combinations on the raised terrace, which looked amazing in the sunshine.
Even though there were signs saying they were struggling to maintain some of the old Yews, most looked outstanding and so well clipped.
The Stipa gigantea looked lovely and golden in the sunshine around the main lawn and added some height to the borders. I loved the pinks and purple colour scheme around the lawn.
National Trust property gardens are always great places to visit for ideas on adding texture to your garden. I thought these steps were fab and would be a lovely feature in a cottage garden.
The raised terrace was baked in sun so the sunny perrenials were thriving, it was almost single file down the path!(below)
