Six on Saturday: Trentham Gardens

Tags

Amy Wight, Capability Brown, Charles Barry, garden visit, Nigel Dunnet, Piet Oudolf, sculpture, Stoke-on-Trent, Tom Stuart-Smith, Trentham Estate

Hello. This week I took a couple of days out to visit the Malvern Show and Trentham Gardens. I wrote a quick post about Malvern Here.

Trentham in Stoke-on-Trent is a magnificent green space with a mile long lake created by Lancelot Capability Brown. There are new meadow schemes by Nigel Dunnet and the original Italian gardens by Charles Barry have had a contemporary makeover by Tom Stuart – Smith. In addition there is a floral labyrinth created by Piet Oudolf.

According to James Alexander Sinclair Trentham is “the garden makeover of the decade” and certainly some of the best names in horticulture and design have been involved.

Highlights of my visit are my Six on Saturday, joining The Propagator .

1.

Balustrades and boats on Trentham lake.

I loved how they had filled the boats with tulips and floated them out.

2. Bulbs. There were the most magnificent pots of tulips, violas, pansies and muscari, primroses, grasses and heuchera.

Arrangements on steps and around benches. It surprised me how far behind they were compared to mine which have all finished.

3.

Scale. The scale of the gardens is very impressive. Looking across the Italian gardens towards the lake.

4.

Colour. Stuart-Smiths use of colour is fabulous. Orange, blue and lime.

The blue is from Camassias.

lime and orange from Euphorbias

5. Columns

I really admired the decision to give the Irish yew columns a flat top cut. This has the effect of stopping the eye from travelling up and up their height. They punctuate the frothy colourful planting rather like columns of a building. 6. Sculpture

Garden sculpture is a key addition to the gardens. From intricate willow woven into vast floral or animal forms

This is a dragon of living willow along the riverside walk.

Leaping bronze deer in the stumpery area of the lakeside walk.

My favourite were these fabulous gigantic dandelions by Amy Wight. These were literally blowing in the wind.

If you have the chance to visit Trentham, just do it. Enjoy your weekend. D.