The Ornamental Garden
About The Feature
At the top of the hill, down which the Grand Cascade is built, lies a smaller walled garden accessible through three inter-linked stone arches.
Three 500-year-old wrought iron Venetian gates span the arched entrance to the Ornamental Garden.
This rectangular, walled plot lies between the main area of The Garden right on the edge of the town of Alnwick, screened by a belt of trees.
Wirtz International designed this element of the Ornamental Garden to extend visual interest. By using a play of light and shade, grey and green foliage, flowers and fruit in the intricate planting pattern, Wirtz not only created a masterpiece of planting on the ground, but also created a beautiful lacework in the air using pleached crab apples.
In complete contrast to the Cascade with its dramatic curvilinear architecture and greenery, here the visitor experiences colours and perfumes provided by 16,500 plants.
At the centre of the Ornamental Garden is a pool from which a series of rills flow. Pergolas surrounding the central pool are covered in ramblers and vines.
The rills lead to yew-enclosed 'secret' gardens, accessible from two sides, one with a red colour theme, and one with yellow.
The basic square design is repeated many times throughout The Garden, sometimes divided diagonally by hedges and sometimes surrounded by pleached crab apples, which create 'rooms' of blossom in the air in springtime.
Around the central pergola, boxwood-edged beds house a collection of bedding roses surrounded by delphiniums.
Further from the pergola, cut flower species alternate with annuals and bulbs alongside small fruit varieties. In the more irregular exterior spaces, cornus mas hedges enclose collections of hydrangea paniculata cultivars.
At the perimeter of The Garden lies a wide herbaceous border full of musk hybrids, tree peonies, shrubs, solitary ornamental trees with rose-covered arbours in the corners.
In the Ornamental Garden look out for:
. Iris germanica
. Oriental poppies
. Peonies
. Aster or Cimicifuga
The planting is designed to flower at different times of the year creating swathes of colour with perfume and mass.
The fruit collection contains:
. Red, black and white currants
. Perennial white and red strawberries
. Gooseberries
. Jostacurrant
. Autumn and summer fruiting red and yellow raspberries
The annuals and bulb triangles contain unusual cutting varieties and are enclosed by lavender hedges in hidcote blue, pink and white.
History
The bricks which make up the walls of the Ornamental Garden were originally brought to England as ships ballast. They were recycled to create the beautiful mellow walls which make the perfect backdrop for the planting, bees and butterflies on so many of our visitors photographs.
The Venetian gates which span the three arched entrance to the Ornamental Garden were actually bought as antiques by the 4th Duke of Northumberland and date back 500 years. When the first phase of The Alnwick Garden was being created these gates were lovingly restored by local craftsmen.
What You'll Experience
The entire planting scheme is designed to draw the eye of the visitor through The Garden and extend visual interest, delight and intrigue. Attractively designed 'oversized' Douglas fir benches, which complement the scale of The Garden, are placed throughout the Ornamental Garden and two dovecotes attract peaceful winged visitors. |
