GARDENS
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ackie Hamblen took on the role of head gardener at Parish’s House in 2015. Returning to the UK after 25 years’ running her own nursery and maintenance company in southern France, her one priority was that she could take her loyal dog, Basil, with her to work each day. Today I find her in the unusually shaped kitchen garden of Parish’s House, busy ordering spring bulbs for the eight-acre grounds of this hidden gem at the heart of Timsbury, a short drive from Bath. The house itself dates back to 1816, having taken its name from its owner, Captain Parish, and his wife. Legend has it that the captain, who had served in the Royal Navy through the Napoleonic Wars, funded the build through his share of the bounty gained from the capture of an unfortunate Spanish treasure ship. The resulting Regency villa’s clever combination of grandeur and intimacy perhaps explains the illustrious list of subsequent owners. Once residence to Lady Ponsonby, Lady Mount Temple and shipping magnate Bernard Cayzer over the years, the house has now been home to Aisha Bangura and her family for the last 10. From the early days, Aisha was keen to improve and develop the gardens at Parish’s House, but was ever conscious that the planting palette here is considerably different to that of her country of birth, Sierra Leone. To this end, Aisha, Jackie and her colleague Luke Raikes work alongside Chelsea and Hampton Court gold medal-winner Mary Payne. Mary provides a guiding hand in the form of advice, detailed planting plans and the procurement of plants. Collectively, the team is keen that the planting is in keeping with the property’s age and style, so there is no prairie planting here. Sweeping lawns offering views onto the Cam Valley are interrupted occasionally by a ha-ha or a deep herbaceous bed, framed by woodland that is as inviting as it is established. The team is equally conscious, too, that the choice of plants is far more varied and tempting than it was in the short-lived Regency period. The neutral, loamy soil itself has been cultivated for 200 years so does allow them the opportunity to push the soil’s limits; the coming months will see the planting of acid-loving camellias and azaleas in the woodland areas. Jackie’s aim has always been to offer the public the chance to see the gardens of this private property first-hand. And with a few seasons of hard graft and devotion in hand, last month’s inclusion in the National Garden Scheme provided this very opportunity. The open weekend was a family affair with Aisha welcoming visitors to the gardens, and her sons, aged 13 and seven, helping with the parking in the neighbouring fields. I imagine that each of those
near 500 visitors was struck with the very same sense of awe I felt on seeing the enigmatic ‘Skittles with Scarlatti’. This life-size figurative bronze work by renowned sculptor Philip Jackson rules over the long, tiered water feature to the front of the house, her reflection sitting effortlessly in the gently flowing water. I ask Jackie if she’d do another open weekend; the answer is an assertive yes. They already do private tours for gardening clubs and larger groups and may also add another open weekend next spring. The team is always thinking a season ahead, so plan to spend the coming months tackling the wilder parts of the woodlands and developing a British native area close to the space’s boundary, a subtle transition to the valley beyond. Last year saw the felling of sycamores and squirrel-damaged trees as well as the clearing of the some of the more unruly inhabitants of the understorey such as hawthorn and holly. The speed of change was astounding; within days, near-dormant cyclamen finally unfurled their patient heads and are now growing in their spread and impact. Some of the changes are far less instant though. Future generations will be very thankful to the team for the recent planting of specimen pines that won’t come into their own for decades, or even centuries, when they might tower as majestically as the copper beeches now do. As I go to leave, I find Jackie The team is keen that the finishing off her bulb order in planting is in keeping with the the gardeners’ office. This is her property’s age and style favourite spot, sat among the kitchen garden, home to beds of strawberries, raspberries and cut flowers running to the towering stone walls clothed in apple cordons. The produce goes to the house, with any surplus going to the local farm shop. It’s the first day of autumn but the sun is gloriously doing its best to let us hang on to our unfulfilled plans for an endless summer. Walking past the retired chickens running freely their coop, I use the opportunity to bid farewell to our very English summer and make plans to return to the gardens in the spring, with all the promise that those months bring.
I IMAGINE THAT EACH OF THOSE NEAR 500 VISITORS WAS STRUCK WITH THE VERY SAME SENSE OF AWE I FELT
Parish’s House, Hook Hill, Timsbury, Bath BA2 0ND; www.ngs.org.uk Nick Woodhouse is the co-director of interior and garden design company Woodhouse & Law on 4 George’s Place, Bathwick Hill, Bath; 01225 428072; www.woodhouseandlaw.co.uk
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