JANUARY 2027
Magical topiary Spectacular clipping at CRESSY HALL, OWLPEN MANOR and more
WINTER COLOUR
Stems to brighten gloomy days
TRAVEL
Garden designers’ favourite destinations
Jacobean Jewels THEATRICAL GARDENS OF THE 17TH CENTURY
$9.99 US
$10.99 CAN
A Secret SHARED Hidden in a secluded Cotswold valley, the enigmatic gardens of Owlpen Manor retain their Tudor heritage despite later Georgian additions, and this lack of interference gives them an otherworldly charm just waiting to be discovered WORDS JOANNA FORTNAM PHOTOGRAPHS RICHARD BLOOM
14 THE ENGLISH GARDEN JANUARY 2027
This image Owlpen
Manor sits at the centre of its fascinating multilevel site, dripping with storybook charm. Opposite Looking across the formal garden’s topiary shapes to the wooded hillside beyond.
JANUARY 2027 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 15
Quiet BEAUTY
Myddelton House in Enfield is the erstwhile home of the great plantsman E.A. Bowles, and his evocative writing perfectly depicts the muted delights of its garden in the off season in a way that still holds true today WORDS GEOFF STEBBINGS PHOTOGRAPHS ANNA OMIOTEK-TOTT 22 THE ENGLISH GARDEN JANUARY 2027
This image Cortaderia
and sedums continue to look good throughout the winter months. Opposite Red-stemmed dogwoods glow warmly by the pond.
JANUARY 2027 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 23
High DRAMA The garden of Cressy Hall near Spalding in Lincolnshire, provides the enchanting stage for a cast of remarkable topiary characters, trained and trimmed with precision around an elegant Georgian manor house WORDS PHILIP CLAYTON PHOTOGRAPHS ANNAÏCK GUITTENY
38 THE ENGLISH GARDEN JANUARY 2027
T This image Intricate
topiary minarets on the frosted lawn of Cressy Hall in Lincolnshire. Above right Delicate pruning creates forms that contrast with the solid architecture of the handsome Georgian hall.
he first glimpse of Cressy Hall, appearing as you round a bend on the narrow serpentine drive that winds to the rear of the house, is a moment of wonder. There stands a fine red-brick building of handsome proportions and symmetrical outline. But the big surprise is the yew topiary shapes around the edge of the semi-circular lawn in front. Delicate tapering spirals and graceful pyramids rise beside columns and cones, some layered like huge verdant wedding cakes, others resembling elaborate Indian chess pieces, their slender spires topped with balls and fanciful finials. The overall effect is delightful – a marvellously eccentric confection that might have been taken straight from the pages of Lewis Carroll – but is perhaps at its best in winter when the topiary forms are clean-shaven, sparkling with frost and lit by the frigid winter sun, which casts bold shadows across the silvered turf. Cressy is the country home of Luka and Karim Haddad, who split their time between here and London (Luka owns Luka Day Spa & Salon in Shoreditch and has her own line of beauty products, made here at Cressy). “We bought Cressy in 2024. I’d seen it online and decided to have a closer look. When I came to view it, I couldn’t believe it. We love it here, it’s such an escape from London and I can work here because I have a studio in the house. Friends who stay at weekends have described it as like ‘falling through the door of Narnia’,” says Luka. JANUARY 2027 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 39
JACO B E A N G A R D E N S
Lessons in LOVE
At the splendid Jacobean manor house of Mapperton in Dorset, responsibility for the romantic gardens has passed to Julie Montagu, Countess of Sandwich, who is building on the legacy of what’s already there and learning as she goes WORDS AMBRA EDWARDS PHOTOGRAPHS MARK BOLTON
The honey stone manor at Jacobean Mapperton sits proudly above the formal terraced gardens leading down to the fountain pool. JANUARY 2027 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 69
JACO B E A N G A R D E N S
In the lower water garden, lines of yew stand guard over a pair of long, dark canals, thought to date from the 18th century.
70 THE ENGLISH GARDEN JANUARY 2027
You and your yard deserve a quality limited edition sculpture. Prices from $300 to $3,000,000+ Find what you want from 1000s on www.artparks.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)1481 235571 ‘Calmer Seas’ by Jonathan Hateley 63 x 40 x 180 cms. Hand Painted Bronze Resin $12,700