For various reasons I haven’t been out to Barnsley House for a while and even then I can’t remember visiting in September. So, I was interested to see what the late summer garden had to offer.
It’s opening this week for the National Garden Scheme for a pop-up date after the planned April open day was cancelled.
Head gardener Jennifer Danbury believes that the garden, created by the late Rosemary Verey, is at its best in April and May – the much copied laburnum arch is usually at its peak then and there are mass plantings of tulips.
However, she needn’t be worried about this September opening as there’s still plenty to see.
Late summer performers such as eupatorium, phlox and salvias are providing plenty of colour and there are still many annuals in full bloom.
Cosmos, late roses and even sweet peas are continuing to provide the layered planting that Mrs Verey championed.
This is particularly apparent in the borders alongside the hotel’s terrace. Here, dahlias are added to the mix with different heights of flowers adding to the interest and all overlaid on the garden’s strong structural framework.
Since my last visit, some of the garden’s famous features have had a revamp. Planting around the lily pond had been ailing and has been replaced.
“It was getting worse and worse so we changed the soil,” Jen tells me.
The beds have been replanted with the Iris sibirica ‘Tropic Night’, a feature of Barnsley, with the addition of a pink iris ‘Sparkling Rose’, and ‘Jenny’, a pink cultivated form of ragged robin.
One of the biggest changes has come in the Potager, a mix of flowers, fruit and vegetables that is one the best-known features of Barnsley House.
Time and the ravages of box blight meant the low hedges were too big and not in perfect condition. Removing most of them – some of the better hedges were kept – and replanting, including a switch to lavender, has given the area a sharper feel and redefined the lines.
The team took the opportunity to re-lay and widen the central path: “It had been laid direct onto dirt and was a weeder’s nightmare.”
There is still the exuberant mix of flowers and crops – these sunflowers were particularly striking – and there were nasturtiums and dahlias adding to the show.
A neat idea I liked was training purple French beans along rope swags next to the path. A different way of growing them that made them ornamental as well as productive.
Also productive are the polytunnels with one full of tomatoes, peppers, and aubergines, and the other being used to dry the season’s garlic crop.
Future plans include tackling the knot garden, which has box blight that is not responding to treatment. Jen is considering replanting the design with something else – one possibility is teucrium, which Mrs Verey had used as hedging. Research in Mrs Verey’s books, particularly ‘The Making a Garden’, is a starting point.
“I’ve always got a book I can refer to, how she did things. It’s part of keeping the heritage of the garden alive.”
And Jen’s looking forward to greeting visitors on the NGS open day.
“I was determined to open this year,” she says. “It’s part of how Mrs Verey got into opening her garden when she got up the courage to open for the NGS. I see it as a welcome back.”
Barnsley House, Barnsley near Cirencester, is open for the National Garden Scheme on Monday September 13 from 10am to 3pm. There will be a garden tour at 11am. More details here. In addition, the nearby Herbs for Healing will be open on the same day.
Enjoyed this? You can read more of my garden visits here.
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