I’ve always loved Rodmarton Manor in the winter. It may be a summer beauty with magnificent herbaceous borders but there’s something about the pared back nature of the winter garden that appeals to me.
On a cold but thankfully sunny February day the lines of this Arts and Crafts garden are laid bare, uncluttered by foliage or blousy flowers.
The knuckles of the pollarded limes are stark against the sky, the trough garden is striking for the troughs themselves rather than their alpine plants, while the limbs of ancient espalier fruit trees resemble moss-covered sculpture.
What draws most visitors though are the snowdrops. Rodmarton Manor is one of the Cotswolds’ many snowdrop gardens and has a collection of around 150 different varieties.
Most are found in the Leisure Garden, a grid of beds and paving that was laid out in 1950s, replacing a more labour-intensive area of roses and grass.
The snowdrop collection includes some with a connection to the house and the family that have owned it for four generations: ‘Rodmarton’, ‘Claud Biddulph’ and ‘Margaret Biddulph’.
Adding to the winter spectacle are hellebores, cyclamen, winter aconites and crocus, both in the formal garden and naturalised in grass around Rodmarton’s entrance.
The house and eight-acre garden are now under the stewardship of John and Sarah Biddulph, who took over from John’s father, Simon, three years ago.
At present, they are without a head gardener – one is due to start later this month – but you wouldn’t have known it. Thanks to a part-time gardener, team of volunteers and John and Sarah, beds are freshly mulched and weed-free, and the topiary clipped.
Simon is also still involved with the garden. One of his projects has been gradually moving snowdrops into the outer kitchen garden, now a mixture of ornamental trees. The aim is to have a few of each of the 150 varieties there.
There have been other changes since my last visit. The Sunken Garden has been turned into a knot garden, while removing some large nearby poplars has increased the light.
Portuguese laurels that are as old as the house have been trimmed to create more of a gap between them and the White Border has gone. It’s been replaced by pyramid yews and standard ‘Iceberg’ roses.
“Funnily I found some photos of an early layout of this and it had standard white roses in it then,” says John. “We slightly feel we’re going back to how it was originally.”
Apart from replanting one long border, the walled Kitchen Garden has been left pretty fallow over recent years as the couple concentrate on work on the house. There are plans though to return to growing fruit and veg, and to get the wonderful old glasshouses back into full use.
Elsewhere, vistas have been sharpened with some judicial cutting back and a line of “rogue holly” is due to be tamed. That distinctive framework is being strengthened.
Rodmarton Manor is open for snowdrops from 1.30-4.30pm on Thursday February 13 and Sunday February 16, 2020. Admission to the garden is £7.50, children aged 5-15, £1. For more details about summer opening and special events, including a Rare Plant Fair on June 21, 2020, visit the website.
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