Historic Houses Association - Hugh Shirreff Lecture

I spent a fascinating few hours at Westonbirt today - at the house, not the arboretum - attending the Hugh Shirreff memorial lecture for the Historic Houses Association. This is an annual event which moves around the country and which, since 2000, has been hosted by various of the HHA's member houses. 

This year the lecture was held in Westonbirt, and given by Dr Joseph Mordaunt-Crook, a pre-eminent historian who specialises in the lifestyles of the Victorian millionaires, and the rather personal idiosyncrasies of their individual styles. Dr. Mordaunt-Crook gave a fascinating and entertaining tour of the (in some cases quite ghastly) examples of Victorian over-spend by the industrial 'arrivistes' seeking to establish for themselves a level of credibility commensurate with their wealth, concluding that it was unlikely that a period would ever be seen again in the UK where such extravagance was displayed so widely.

I wonder whether the same can be said for India, China and the other developing economies though? A good time to be a luxury builder in those countries one might think!

Iford has been an HHA member for as long as I can remember. For anyone that doesn't know (and therefore should!), the Historic Houses Association is an organisation that represents 1500 privately-owned historic houses, castles and gardens throughout the UK. These are listed buildings or designated gardens, usually Grade I or II*, and are often outstanding. Many are considered to be iconic symbols of Britain's unique heritage. Interestingly HHA properties represent more than the sum of National Trust and English Heritage properties put together!

About 300 of these properties are open to the public and HHA Friends can enter for free. Friends membership is excellent value and offers a range of further benefits, including the opportunity to take part in exclusive tours of otherwise 'not open' HHA properties.

The joy of visiting an HHA property is that there is almost always someone 'there' - a resident, a presence, creating the soul which turns the house into a home. For more information, or to become a Friend, visit:

http://www.hha.org.uk/about-us.html

Salvator Rosa at Dulwich Picture Gallery

A little off-topic, but...  today we spent an enormously enjoyable afternoon on a rare day out to the Dulwich Picture Gallery in South London, visiting the current exhibition of works by Salvator Rosa, a Naples-born artist of not inconsiderable ability.  His story is an interesting one in itself, and Wikipedia offers a good distilled version.  


Although his own interests lay in at times bizarre depictions of witchcraft and associated imagery, the gallery curator, Xavier Salomon, explained to us that were it not for his landscapes, this artist would not be considered in such high regard.   

Details of the exhibition can be found here (http://bit.ly/aAnBl9) and I would urge you to visit if you get a chance.  The exhibition runs until 28 November 2010.


Images courtesy Wikipedia

Gardeners World... listen again

If you missed Joe Swift introducing us all to the delights of evergreens, you can now listen again on the i-player.

http://bbc.in/90gC9W

And don't forget that Iford is open for two more Sundays this year, on the 24th and 31st October, 2-5pm.

Iford on Gardeners World: Friday 22 Oct 2010 - 8.30pm

A little flurry of excitement, combined with a small dose of 'warm feeling inside'... Iford will appear on BBC Gardeners World this Friday 22nd October at 8.30pm.

We were delighted to welcome presenter Joe Swift, along with a charming crew and their lady Director a week ago, to film a piece related to evergreens, and their use in planting schemes.  Sadly the sun only came out for the BBC during their last hour of filming, but we're very excited to see how this experienced team has captured the essence of the garden during what has proved to be a colourfully dramatic autumn.

For the team at Iford, both for the residents but more especially for the gardening team, to be visited (completely unprompted really) by the UK's prime-time gardening programme, is a matter of no little pride and a lovely surprise too!

Thank you Gardeners World - you're always welcome.

For more information on the broadcast or to listen again (if you're busy on a Friday night...):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/

Before and after: putting the patio garden to bed

In Peto's patio garden at Iford, texture and scent are integral to the planting scheme through the use of pelargoniums and geraniums with their wonderfully textured leaves, which give off a range of smells from the peppery to the minty.  Peto's great maxim was that one should never allow either the structure or the planting to dominate, rather it is the balance between the two which ensures a pleasing balance to the design, and it is with this in mind that we maintain and design the planting in this area.

As winter approaches, it is clearly necessary to prepare the beds before the cold arrives.  With a potential light frost forecast for this week, Tuesday was tidying-up day.  Owing to the fact that it is nearing the end of the growing season and the plants are often somewhat due a haircut in any case, it is always something of a stark contrast in terms of a 'before and after'.

Cuttings are taken for next year's pots and bedding, and the rest goes off to the compost heap to be returned later in the winter as top-dressing.  So here is the before and after comparison.  Can you spot the difference?!  (sorry about the contrast... the sun came out today!)

Before

After

Autumn colour - a photo-montage

Autumn is one of my favourite times of year; there's nothing quite like the emotional hit you get from the shimmering of soft shallow light off yellowing leaves - melancholic perhaps, but ever so romantic at Iford!

Here are some images from this year, mostly taken this morning, some a week or so ago.  And don't forget, Iford's gardens are open for two more Sundays this year - on the 24th and 31st October, 2-5pm.