The Gardens Trust Wednesday webinar series this Autumn will focus on head gardeners working at historic sites. This is the first lecture of the second set of five talks, exploring how individual head gardeners are balancing the heritage of their site, the wishes of its owner(s) and their own interests and experience. We’ll hear about the role from both seasoned head gardeners and those more recently appointed. Learn about the challenges they face, including climate change, as well as the joys of horticulture and heritage. you may purchase a ticket for the entire course of 5 sessions at a cost of £20 via the link here. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and again a few hours before the talk. A link to the recorded session (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards. Since this is the final lecture of the series, you may wish to sign up for the single session.
On November 22, the series wraps up with Debbie Crombie. The gardens at Belsay in Northumberland are largely the work of Sir Charles Monck, who was inspired by Greek architecture and Mediterranean landscapes. Stone for a new house was quarried on the estate and the resultant gorges were set to garden. Formal gardens with arcaded ha-ha and Italianate terracing were built close to the house. The Quarry Garden and Crag Wood were Picturesque in style.
Charles’ grandson Sir Arthur Middleton extended the formal gardens and overlaid the Quarry Garden with exotic plant introductions. Species rhododendrons from China and the Himalayas thrived in the sheltered microclimate of the quarries, while a three-acre hardy hybrid Rhododendron Garden is now Belsay’s most photographed view.
More recently, as part of the ‘Belsay Awakes’ Heritage Fund project, Dan Pearson removed opaque, senescent greenery and embroidered the formal gardens with his painterly, naturalistic plantings. This has introduced more biodiversity, whist remaining true to the original design and historic intent.
Debbie Crombie is Head Gardener and works with a team of seven gardeners to nurture the gardens at Belsay, supported by a group of volunteers from the local community. Debbie was a pharmaceutical scientist before training as a horticulturist and has previously worked in beautiful gardens in the northeast of England, including Blagdon Hall, The Alnwick Gardens, Seaton Delaval Hall and Gibside. Debbie has been at Belsay for under a year and is excited to share the delights of the garden with you.
