A brick-built elegant, eighteenth-century country house.<\/h4>\n ![\""Kelmarsh\"]( "\\"\"roses-and-cottage-at-kelmarsh-hall-scaled\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\nBuilt in 1732, successive owners and influences have left their imprint on this elegant Palladian style home.<\/p>\n
The Hall is surrounded by its working estate, grazing parklands and Grace II listed gardens and features a distinctive Walled Garden, Sunken Garden, topiary and rose gardens, woodlands, lake and herbaceous borders \u2013 all designed principally by Nancy Lancaster, with Norah Lindsay and landscape architect Geoffrey Jellicoe.<\/p>\n
The informal, feminine designs laid out by Nancy are welcoming throughout the year, and are celebrated for their dizzying array of dahlias in late summer.<\/p>\n
![\""Kelmarsh\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/18\/2021\/11\/kelmarsh-hall-1-6933f62.jpg?quality=90&resize=556%2C723"\" "\\"\"kelmarsh-hall-1\"\\"")
<\/picture><\/div> Kelmarsh Hall<\/span> <\/figcaption> ![\""Kelmarsh\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/18\/2021\/11\/woodland-at-kelmarsh-hall-scaled-9e967a6.jpg?quality=90&resize=556%2C723"\" "\\"\"woodland-at-kelmarsh-hall-scaled\"\\"")
<\/picture><\/div> Kelmarsh Hall<\/span> <\/figcaption> ![\""Kelmarsh\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/18\/2021\/11\/visiting-at-kelmarsh-hall-scaled-dc0b5ca.jpg?quality=90&resize=556%2C723"\" "\\"\"visiting-at-kelmarsh-hall-scaled\"\\"")
<\/picture><\/div> <\/figure><\/div> ![\""Kelmarsh\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/18\/2021\/11\/august-at-kelmarsh-hall-scaled-a7d7268.jpg?quality=90&resize=556%2C723"\" "\\"\"august-at-kelmarsh-hall-scaled\"\\"")
<\/picture><\/div> Kelmarsh Hall<\/span> <\/figcaption> ![\""Kelmarsh\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/18\/2021\/11\/roses-and-cottage-at-kelmarsh-hall-scaled-9f73835.jpg?quality=90&resize=556%2C723"\" "\\"\"roses-and-cottage-at-kelmarsh-hall-scaled\"\\"")
<\/picture><\/div> Kelmarsh Hall<\/span> <\/figcaption> Tracy Spokes is head gardener at Kelmarsh Hall<\/h3>\n ![\""Tracey\"]( "\\"\"Tracey\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> \u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\nEarliest garden memory<\/strong> Lying on the flagstone garden path in the sunshine watching my dad grow his runner beans, roses and sweet peas<\/a>, while I was drawing pictures of flowers, dragons and castles. I went on to become an illustrator of children\u2019s books.<\/p>\nHorticultural heroes<\/strong> All of the unsung ones<\/a> \u2013 all of the allotment holders, the volunteers, the back garden enthusiasts, the gardening club members, the triers and those who simply have a go at it\u2026 Gardeners who have no reward or recognition for their toils, they just do it for the absolute love of it.<\/p>\nWorthwhile tips<\/strong> Garden with your eyes: look at what needs doing; look at what is working for you and what isn\u2019t. And keep looking. My second tip, which admittedly is easier said than done, is \u2018Don\u2019t worry!\u2019 Your garden is there to make you smile. The countless mental and physical benefits<\/a> from being active outside in the fresh air will all disappear if you spend your time worrying and stressing about what should be.<\/p>\nFavourite planting style<\/strong> I love flowers and plants to find their own way: I\u2019m slightly obsessed with the self-sown<\/a>, the unkempt and the growing old disgracefully. This makes my position here at Kelmarsh Hall all the more exciting, as the gardens\u2019 heyday is attributed to the American socialite and shabby chic founder Nancy Lancaster and the garden designer Norah Lindsay. Nancy loved the slightly sad and nostalgic, and Norah the romance, and it is my job to bring these gardens back to their former glory.<\/p>\n We only really ever borrow our gardens – we are very privileged caretakers, and should be taking care of what we have been given <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div> Favourite landscape and garden that has influenced you<\/strong> As I began my horticultural career, a lot of gardens that are close to my heart are in the county of Herefordshire. Stocktonbury Gardens, Kimbolton are the most beautiful, jam packed four acres you will ever come across. They are manicured, loved and lived in, going there always brings a smile inside, and a plant wish list that is yards long. Another fabulous garden tucked away on the Welsh\/Hereford border is Bryans Ground. Created around 1913, an arts and crafts inspired garden, that is full to bursting with original ideas, intimate and inspirational areas and the most relaxed atmosphere possible.<\/p>\nAnd I must mention the National Trust walled garden at Coughton Court<\/a>. What a place! You enter through the unassuming gates in the walls and are almost immediately overwhelmed by the sheer volume and busyness of it all. Lastly, but no means least is Wollerton Old Hall, Shropshire. A beautiful, relaxed cottage garden, with hollyhocks greeting you at the front door, roses nodding their heads to you and delphiniums reaching up sky high, all surrounded by clipped hedges and topiary. A cottage garden lover\u2019s dream.<\/p>\nMost valuable training<\/strong> My most valuable training has to be experience, my own and others. My first professional gardening position was at Hampton Court, Herefordshire and I was extremely lucky to work for a very talented head gardener. Working alongside a knowledgeable and patient professional really does pay dividends; I grew in confidence and found my gardening feet without even realising it.<\/p>\nWhat principles have guided your attitude to gardening?<\/strong> We only really ever borrow our gardens, and it is up to us not only to preserve our past, but to welcome the future. We are very privileged caretakers, and should be taking care of what we have been given. Let\u2019s not mess it up.<\/p>\nWhat about the future?<\/strong> Horticulture cannot afford to be elitist. Now is not the time. It is a profession for some, a hobby for others, and for some, just a walk in the park, but it touches us all. We would do well to remember that.<\/p>\nWhat can gardeners do to be more sustainable?<\/strong> Planting more! There is always room for more, I promise. Adding a few British native plants, such as cow parsley, wild clary, teasels and scabious will attract more birds and wildlife<\/a> to your garden. Include a few foxgloves, poppies<\/a> and borage too. If you have space, plant a tree or three.<\/p>\nChange how you mow your lawns, simply mow a path through and let the rest do its stuff, why not add a few flowers into your lawn too? A polyculture is so much more beneficial than a monoculture. Let your flowers go to seed and find their own way, your garden and nature will thank you for it.<\/p>\n
Favourite gardening books<\/strong> I have collected old gardening books for years. Favourites include a 1905 copy of William Robinson\u2019s The English Flower Garden<\/em> and Volumes 1 and 2 of Wild Flowers of the British Isles, with the most exquisite watercolour illustrations by H Isabel Adams in 1907. Hours can be lost devouring the gardening folklore of times gone by.<\/p>\n
![\""Kelmarsh\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/18\/2021\/11\/roses-and-cottage-at-kelmarsh-hall-scaled-9f73835.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"roses-and-cottage-at-kelmarsh-hall-scaled\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\nBuilt in 1732, successive owners and influences have left their imprint on this elegant Palladian style home.<\/p>\n
The Hall is surrounded by its working estate, grazing parklands and Grace II listed gardens and features a distinctive Walled Garden, Sunken Garden, topiary and rose gardens, woodlands, lake and herbaceous borders \u2013 all designed principally by Nancy Lancaster, with Norah Lindsay and landscape architect Geoffrey Jellicoe.<\/p>\n
The informal, feminine designs laid out by Nancy are welcoming throughout the year, and are celebrated for their dizzying array of dahlias in late summer.<\/p>\n
<\/picture><\/div> <\/picture><\/div> <\/picture><\/div> <\/picture><\/div> <\/picture><\/div> Tracy Spokes is head gardener at Kelmarsh Hall<\/h3>\n ![\""Tracey\"]( "\\"\"Tracey\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> \u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\nEarliest garden memory<\/strong> Lying on the flagstone garden path in the sunshine watching my dad grow his runner beans, roses and sweet peas<\/a>, while I was drawing pictures of flowers, dragons and castles. I went on to become an illustrator of children\u2019s books.<\/p>\nHorticultural heroes<\/strong> All of the unsung ones<\/a> \u2013 all of the allotment holders, the volunteers, the back garden enthusiasts, the gardening club members, the triers and those who simply have a go at it\u2026 Gardeners who have no reward or recognition for their toils, they just do it for the absolute love of it.<\/p>\nWorthwhile tips<\/strong> Garden with your eyes: look at what needs doing; look at what is working for you and what isn\u2019t. And keep looking. My second tip, which admittedly is easier said than done, is \u2018Don\u2019t worry!\u2019 Your garden is there to make you smile. The countless mental and physical benefits<\/a> from being active outside in the fresh air will all disappear if you spend your time worrying and stressing about what should be.<\/p>\nFavourite planting style<\/strong> I love flowers and plants to find their own way: I\u2019m slightly obsessed with the self-sown<\/a>, the unkempt and the growing old disgracefully. This makes my position here at Kelmarsh Hall all the more exciting, as the gardens\u2019 heyday is attributed to the American socialite and shabby chic founder Nancy Lancaster and the garden designer Norah Lindsay. Nancy loved the slightly sad and nostalgic, and Norah the romance, and it is my job to bring these gardens back to their former glory.<\/p>\n We only really ever borrow our gardens – we are very privileged caretakers, and should be taking care of what we have been given <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div> Favourite landscape and garden that has influenced you<\/strong> As I began my horticultural career, a lot of gardens that are close to my heart are in the county of Herefordshire. Stocktonbury Gardens, Kimbolton are the most beautiful, jam packed four acres you will ever come across. They are manicured, loved and lived in, going there always brings a smile inside, and a plant wish list that is yards long. Another fabulous garden tucked away on the Welsh\/Hereford border is Bryans Ground. Created around 1913, an arts and crafts inspired garden, that is full to bursting with original ideas, intimate and inspirational areas and the most relaxed atmosphere possible.<\/p>\nAnd I must mention the National Trust walled garden at Coughton Court<\/a>. What a place! You enter through the unassuming gates in the walls and are almost immediately overwhelmed by the sheer volume and busyness of it all. Lastly, but no means least is Wollerton Old Hall, Shropshire. A beautiful, relaxed cottage garden, with hollyhocks greeting you at the front door, roses nodding their heads to you and delphiniums reaching up sky high, all surrounded by clipped hedges and topiary. A cottage garden lover\u2019s dream.<\/p>\nMost valuable training<\/strong> My most valuable training has to be experience, my own and others. My first professional gardening position was at Hampton Court, Herefordshire and I was extremely lucky to work for a very talented head gardener. Working alongside a knowledgeable and patient professional really does pay dividends; I grew in confidence and found my gardening feet without even realising it.<\/p>\nWhat principles have guided your attitude to gardening?<\/strong> We only really ever borrow our gardens, and it is up to us not only to preserve our past, but to welcome the future. We are very privileged caretakers, and should be taking care of what we have been given. Let\u2019s not mess it up.<\/p>\nWhat about the future?<\/strong> Horticulture cannot afford to be elitist. Now is not the time. It is a profession for some, a hobby for others, and for some, just a walk in the park, but it touches us all. We would do well to remember that.<\/p>\nWhat can gardeners do to be more sustainable?<\/strong> Planting more! There is always room for more, I promise. Adding a few British native plants, such as cow parsley, wild clary, teasels and scabious will attract more birds and wildlife<\/a> to your garden. Include a few foxgloves, poppies<\/a> and borage too. If you have space, plant a tree or three.<\/p>\nChange how you mow your lawns, simply mow a path through and let the rest do its stuff, why not add a few flowers into your lawn too? A polyculture is so much more beneficial than a monoculture. Let your flowers go to seed and find their own way, your garden and nature will thank you for it.<\/p>\n
Favourite gardening books<\/strong> I have collected old gardening books for years. Favourites include a 1905 copy of William Robinson\u2019s The English Flower Garden<\/em> and Volumes 1 and 2 of Wild Flowers of the British Isles, with the most exquisite watercolour illustrations by H Isabel Adams in 1907. Hours can be lost devouring the gardening folklore of times gone by.<\/p>\n
![\""Tracey\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/18\/2020\/10\/aa-GillTalentJuly20-004700-7bb5128.jpg?quality=90&resize=310%2C413"\" "\\"\"Tracey\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> Earliest garden memory<\/strong> Lying on the flagstone garden path in the sunshine watching my dad grow his runner beans, roses and sweet peas<\/a>, while I was drawing pictures of flowers, dragons and castles. I went on to become an illustrator of children\u2019s books.<\/p>\n Horticultural heroes<\/strong> All of the unsung ones<\/a> \u2013 all of the allotment holders, the volunteers, the back garden enthusiasts, the gardening club members, the triers and those who simply have a go at it\u2026 Gardeners who have no reward or recognition for their toils, they just do it for the absolute love of it.<\/p>\n Worthwhile tips<\/strong> Garden with your eyes: look at what needs doing; look at what is working for you and what isn\u2019t. And keep looking. My second tip, which admittedly is easier said than done, is \u2018Don\u2019t worry!\u2019 Your garden is there to make you smile. The countless mental and physical benefits<\/a> from being active outside in the fresh air will all disappear if you spend your time worrying and stressing about what should be.<\/p>\n Favourite planting style<\/strong> I love flowers and plants to find their own way: I\u2019m slightly obsessed with the self-sown<\/a>, the unkempt and the growing old disgracefully. This makes my position here at Kelmarsh Hall all the more exciting, as the gardens\u2019 heyday is attributed to the American socialite and shabby chic founder Nancy Lancaster and the garden designer Norah Lindsay. Nancy loved the slightly sad and nostalgic, and Norah the romance, and it is my job to bring these gardens back to their former glory.<\/p>\n Favourite landscape and garden that has influenced you<\/strong> As I began my horticultural career, a lot of gardens that are close to my heart are in the county of Herefordshire. Stocktonbury Gardens, Kimbolton are the most beautiful, jam packed four acres you will ever come across. They are manicured, loved and lived in, going there always brings a smile inside, and a plant wish list that is yards long. Another fabulous garden tucked away on the Welsh\/Hereford border is Bryans Ground. Created around 1913, an arts and crafts inspired garden, that is full to bursting with original ideas, intimate and inspirational areas and the most relaxed atmosphere possible.<\/p>\n And I must mention the National Trust walled garden at Coughton Court<\/a>. What a place! You enter through the unassuming gates in the walls and are almost immediately overwhelmed by the sheer volume and busyness of it all. Lastly, but no means least is Wollerton Old Hall, Shropshire. A beautiful, relaxed cottage garden, with hollyhocks greeting you at the front door, roses nodding their heads to you and delphiniums reaching up sky high, all surrounded by clipped hedges and topiary. A cottage garden lover\u2019s dream.<\/p>\n Most valuable training<\/strong> My most valuable training has to be experience, my own and others. My first professional gardening position was at Hampton Court, Herefordshire and I was extremely lucky to work for a very talented head gardener. Working alongside a knowledgeable and patient professional really does pay dividends; I grew in confidence and found my gardening feet without even realising it.<\/p>\n What principles have guided your attitude to gardening?<\/strong> We only really ever borrow our gardens, and it is up to us not only to preserve our past, but to welcome the future. We are very privileged caretakers, and should be taking care of what we have been given. Let\u2019s not mess it up.<\/p>\n What about the future?<\/strong> Horticulture cannot afford to be elitist. Now is not the time. It is a profession for some, a hobby for others, and for some, just a walk in the park, but it touches us all. We would do well to remember that.<\/p>\n What can gardeners do to be more sustainable?<\/strong> Planting more! There is always room for more, I promise. Adding a few British native plants, such as cow parsley, wild clary, teasels and scabious will attract more birds and wildlife<\/a> to your garden. Include a few foxgloves, poppies<\/a> and borage too. If you have space, plant a tree or three.<\/p>\n Change how you mow your lawns, simply mow a path through and let the rest do its stuff, why not add a few flowers into your lawn too? A polyculture is so much more beneficial than a monoculture. Let your flowers go to seed and find their own way, your garden and nature will thank you for it.<\/p>\n Favourite gardening books<\/strong> I have collected old gardening books for years. Favourites include a 1905 copy of William Robinson\u2019s The English Flower Garden<\/em> and Volumes 1 and 2 of Wild Flowers of the British Isles, with the most exquisite watercolour illustrations by H Isabel Adams in 1907. Hours can be lost devouring the gardening folklore of times gone by.<\/p>\n We only really ever borrow our gardens – we are very privileged caretakers, and should be taking care of what we have been given <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>