{"id":24838,"date":"2023-04-06T12:56:16","date_gmt":"2023-04-06T10:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=24838"},"modified":"2023-04-06T12:56:16","modified_gmt":"2023-04-06T10:56:16","slug":"top-10-royal-gardens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/2023\/04\/06\/top-10-royal-gardens\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 Royal gardens"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Top 10 Royal gardens<\/h2>\n\n

To celebrate the coronation of King Charles III, we visit gorgeous green spaces with connections to the monarchy<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

Where better to celebrate the coronation than in a majestic garden? From the King\u2019s own plant paradise to splendid Elizabethan roses, explore Britain\u2019s top 10 royal gardens <\/p>\n\n

By Twigs Way <\/p>\n\n

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1. Highgrove Gardens, <\/strong>Gloucestershire <\/h4>\n\n

World famous for its unique gardens, each with their own distinctive style and story, Highgrove is a glorious testament to the gardening passion of Charles III. For the past 40 years, foremost garden designers have worked alongside the-then Prince of Wales to bring his visions to life in this most personal of royal landscapes. <\/p>\n\n

In spring and early summer, Highgrove greets its visitors with the spangled mauves, whites and yellows of orchid, buttercup, alliums and wild parsley in the 1.5-hectare Wild Meadow. It is a testament to the King\u2019s organic principles and his early collaboration with the pioneering naturalist Miriam Rothschild. <\/p>\n\n

The meadow is cut for hay in in autumn and then grazed by sheep, who create a moving tableau, framed by the fastigiate hornbeams that bring formality to this rural scene. <\/p>\n\n

Quirky topiary frames the views of the house itself down the long Thyme Walk, with plump pudding shapes in golden yew. A snail, a spiral and \u2013 of course \u2013 a crown owe their individuality to each gardener being given a bush to shape. Drawing on traditional English gardening, the Old and New Cottage Gardens also surprise, with inspiration drawn from the colours of Tibet in a planting scheme designed by Charles III and the late Rosemary Verey, doyenne of English horticulture. <\/p>\n\n

A Victorian-inspired stumpery of ferns and upturned roots by award-winning designers Julian and Isabel Bannerman provides a damp green setting for a magnificent Gunnera <\/em>manicata <\/em>set atop a two-metre stone tower. Emerging from the deep shade on to oak-dappled lawn, David Wynne\u2019s sculpture \u2018Goddess of the Woods\u2019 sits contemplating temples aptly crafted from green oak. <\/p>\n\n

An arboretum reflects the king\u2019s commitment to sustainability with acer, beech and cherries underplanted with over 40,000 snowdrops, complementing sweet woodruff and dog\u2019s mercury buried for decades in the cool earth. <\/p>\n\n

Serving delicious teas and lunches, The Orchard Room is open to guests who have explored the gardens. For special occasions, you can even book a \u2018Champagne Tea Tour\u2019. <\/p>\n\n

FURTHER INFORMATION <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Opening times: <\/strong><\/strong>April to October; times of tours vary.
Entry: <\/strong>You must book a guided garden tour in advance, from \u00a322.
Website: <\/strong>highgrovegardens.com<\/a> <\/p>\n\n

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2. Hatfield Park, <\/strong>Hertfordshire<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

Set within deer-grazed parkland and surrounded by five centuries of gardens, Hatfield House is a vision of England\u2019s past. Here the young Elizabeth I received news of her sister\u2019s death and here she held her first council of state, ushering in the Elizabethan age. <\/p>\n\n

Robert Cecil, son of Elizabeth\u2019s famed adviser, built the \u2018new\u2019 Hatfield House in 1607. Anxious to impress his new king, James I, Cecil employed gardener John Tradescant to find rare plants across Europe. Tradescant travelled to the Low Countries for rare bulbs and fruit trees to embellish Hatfield\u2019s gardens with fine blossoms and exquisite scents, which still inspire the gardens of today. <\/p>\n\n

Recreated in the 1980s, the knot gardens of the old palace are complemented by colourthemed Edwardian borders and the Sundial Garden, marking 400 years of the Cecil family at Hatfield. The magnificent kinetic water sculpture \u2018Renaissance\u2019 stands at the north front of the house, while Elizabeth and her courtiers still haunt the Lime Walk in a life-sized stone frieze. <\/p>\n\n

FURTHER INFORMATION<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Opening times: <\/strong><\/strong>Gardens open from 1 April, house from 1 June.
Entry: <\/strong>\u00a312 for gardens and park; \u00a322 for house, gardens and park.
Website: <\/strong>hatfield-house.co.uk<\/a> <\/p>\n\n

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3. Hampton Court Palace, <\/strong>London <\/h4>\n\n

Centuries of royal gardeners have transformed this riverside palace into a playground for monarchs and a delight for horticulturalists. Henry VIII led his wives through richly patterned knot gardens alive with gilded heraldic beasts, before tempting them into domed banqueting houses with views along the Thames. William III and Mary II brought designers from Holland to layout formal Privy Gardens, now recreated after meticulous archaeological excavation. <\/p>\n\n

Replete with statues and clipped topiary, gilded screens from French master craftsmen allow glimpses of the world beyond. The 16th-century fishponds were located to serve the palace kitchens, but, by the late 17th century, were repurposed to shelter exotics, including oranges, myrtles, oleanders and aloes. <\/p>\n\n

A vine planted by the great 18th-century designer Lancelot \u2018Capability\u2019 Brown has its own vast glasshouse and, in late summer, you can feast like royalty on the sweet fruits before tackling the famous Hampton Court Maze, created more than 300 years ago and still confounding modern visitors. Brightly coloured annual bedding drew holiday crowds in the 19th century when Queen Victoria opened the gardens to the public in 1838. Long herbaceous borders attracted artists in the palace\u2019s Edwardian heyday, when the river thronged with pleasure craft, bringing trippers to the palace gardens as it once brought Tudor courtiers, and now brings 21st-century visitors. <\/p>\n\n

Inside the palace, Henry himself appears in portrait, while his wife Catherine Howard runs through the haunted gallery, pleading in vain for mercy from the man who once led her round his gardens. <\/p>\n\n

FURTHER INFORMATION<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Opening times: <\/strong><\/strong>Dates and times vary; check for closures.
Entry: <\/strong>\u00a326.10 for palace, maze and gardens.
Website: <\/strong>hrp.org.uk<\/a> <\/p>\n\n

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4. Sandringham House, <\/strong>Norfolk <\/h4>\n\n

A glorious celebration of gardens awaits visitors to this much-loved country retreat of the British royal family. Set within 240 hectares of waymarked parkland, the House and adjoining gardens have been developed by each monarch since 1863, when Queen Victoria purchased the estate for the-then Prince of Wales (future King Edward VII) and his new wife Princess Alexandra of Denmark. A new house was constructed for the couple, surrounded by formal parterre gardens, forming a backdrop for family tea parties on the balustraded terrace. <\/p>\n\n

South of the house, an immense rock garden planted with exotic trees and shrubs shelters Queen Alexandra\u2019s Summerhouse, set beside a cascading stream feeding into the lake below. A walk continues through sweeping lawns towards the walled gardens that once supplied the royal kitchens, now a mix of flowerbeds and grass. <\/p>\n\n

In 1947, Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe designed a formal garden to the north of the house for George VI, which Jellicoe described as a secret garden based on \u201cthe Chinese conception of a box within a box within a box\u201d. In 2023, King Charles III chose designers \u2018Landform\u2019 to create a sustainable garden on the site of the old parterre gardens. Pink and yellow roses will join 5,000 yews and 4,280 herbaceous plants and bulbs to create a rich source of pollen for insects. <\/p>\n\n

FURTHER INFORMATION<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Opening times: <\/strong>April to October, times vary.
Entry: <\/strong>\u00a313 gardens; \u00a323 house and gardens.
Website: <\/strong>sandringhamestate.co.uk<\/a> <\/p>\n\n