The Lakeland Gardener

At the beginning of the 18th Century (1705) the Brompton Nursery, in the centre of London, valued its entire stock of clipped evergreen trees and shrubs at £40,000.    The plants were sold at 1 penny per plant so they probably had more the 9,600,000 plants.     The demand for topiary was huge, but soon to become unfashionable when the change to landscape gardens took place.   The landscape garden movement was greatly influenced by two men William Kent (1685-1748), in the first quarter of the 18th Century, and Lancelot (Capability) Brown (1716-1782) in the second half of the century. The Enclosures Acts from 1830, when common land was enclosed in walled or hedged fields, changed the face of the landscape. The large houses developed country parks with the help of the Ha Ha - a walled bank made by cutting the ground away to form a large sunken area.   Taking the place of a fence the Ha Ha could not be seen from the house and had the effect of joining the house to the landscape, keeping gr

Thursday was a perfect day for a walk from the tiny village of Dacre to Dalemain Mansion and the historic gardens.    We set off past St. Andrew's church, the Dacre Clock Company offices and Dacre Castle.  The views were stunning, the North Pennines, the Lakeland fells and lush verdant fields.   Newly born lambs accompanied us. We sat outside the ancient barn drinking coffee accompanied by marmalade ginger bread cake.   Dalemain is internationally famous for the annual marmalade festival.   No one else was around.   Peaceful and tranquil.    Trees were literally bursting into leaf as we sat.   The gardens are magical.    No need for words.    Dacre Castle   Dalemain's Elizabethan Cobbled Courtyard The Elizabethan Parterre The Spiral Garden Views of the North Pennines The Rose Walk The Top Garden - exciting new developments Ribes sanguineum 'Album' We finished the day in Dacre.   The Horse and Farrier's garden was bathed in sunlight.    We drank old fashioned lemonad

As the Spring sunshine at last unfolds the bare bones of gardens display their structure to the  dedicated horticulturist.    This time is ideal for the enthusiastic gardener to visit gardens open to the public.      April's cold weather has put on a great show of daffodils and primulas too. Many beautiful gardens open to the public during April.   Several in Cumbria have their foundations in the reign of the Tudor (1485-1603) and Stuart Kings(1603-1714).   Dalemain Mansion , near Penrith, was purchased in 1679 by Sir Edward Hassell (1642-1717).   He was  secretarie and chiefe officer  Lady Anne Clifford (1590-1676), the last member of one of England's great medieval dynasties who became a legend in her own lifetime she fought a 40 year battle for the right to inherit her father's estates then devoted herself to restoring and enhancing castles and churches on her land.   Her castles were in both Cumbria and Yorkshire and included Brougham, Brough, Appleby, Pendragon and Sk

The past week of sunshine has been a week of high activity for gardeners.    Pruning, dividing plants and mulching while the ground is still cold but dry.   Today the air is crystal clear, the sky is blue but the temperature has dropped to minus 3 degrees Centigrade.      Daffodils line the gravel path in my garden At this time of year, with trees naked of leaves, grand vistas continue to unfold throughout the region.    The daffodils are dancing in the breeze, gay and everchanging.    We have so many beautiful spots to view daffodils in Cumbria, one of the most famous is Dora's Field, named for the daughter of William Wordsworth (1770-1850).   The field is tucked behind St. Mary's Church, Rydal, at the foot of Rydal Mount, the poet's home from 1813 until his death, at the age of 80, in 1850.   Dora's Field was where William Wordsworth planned to build a house for his daughter instead, after her early death, he planted the area with daffodils. To remember Dora are the n