{"id":5196,"date":"2017-11-27T20:37:55","date_gmt":"2017-11-27T20:37:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.siteandinsight.com\/?p=5196"},"modified":"2017-11-27T20:37:55","modified_gmt":"2017-11-27T20:37:55","slug":"malverleys-a-garden-of-contrasts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/malverleys-a-garden-of-contrasts\/","title":{"rendered":"Malverleys: A Garden of Contrasts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Winter is almost here in Quebec, which means that not much is going on in the garden at Glen Villa. So instead of moaning about that, I’m remembering one of the gardens I visited in England last May.<\/p>\n

Malverleys is a large\u00a0private estate, rarely open to the public,\u00a0so the small group of gardeners who were on the tour I was hosting\u00a0was fortunate to be able to visit. We were doubly fortunate to tour the garden\u00a0in the company of Mat Reese, the head gardener. Anyone who subscribes to Gardens Illustrated, or reads it regularly, may recognize\u00a0his name — Mat writes ‘Plantsman’s Favourites’,\u00a0several pages near the front of each issue in which he recommends\u00a0special plants for\u00a0each season.<\/p>\n

The garden he is in charge of\u00a0uses contrast as its central idea. Understandably, because Malverleys is a garden of extremes. Old trees tower over a new garden, and recently created views frame a countryside that seems to have existed forever.<\/p>\n

Malverleys also shows\u00a0what can be accomplished when\u00a0talent combines with wealth.\u00a0 Working in conjunction with the owners, in a few short years Mat has created a garden that celebrates traditional Jekyll-inspired plantings, a style \u00a0he believes best suits the English countryside. But not content with imitating the past, he is constantly experimenting, and the results of his experimentation show what can happen when contrasts\u00a0are pushed to the limit.<\/p>\n

Easiest to identify (and to photograph) in the ten intensely gardened acres are the contrasts in colour. These range from sharp contrasts within a single border …<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Vivid

Vivid colours appear in the hot border. Contrasts are more subtle in the cool-toned border but are still dynamic and inventive.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

… to contrasts within a single plant.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"A

A splendid rose — ‘For Your Eyes Only’.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Less obvious but equally effective are contrasts in texture and size.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Smooth

Smooth and delicate white is set off by rough and pointed green in the pool garden.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

When the owner acquired the property, none of the current gardens existed. Now open spaces are carefully balanced against closed ones, light against dark.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"A

A sculpture by Mark Quinn provides a focal point for the open lawn and the fields beyond.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

In contrast to open fields and a\u00a0sunny lawn is a dark stumpery, full of mystery and ferns. Some forms are\u00a0delicate …<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"I

I have no idea what kind of fern this is but I like the sharp green frills of new growth.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

…others bold.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"P1010694\"

Tree trunks, tree roots and tree ferns line the crunchy gravel path.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Water is handled with equal care. \u00a0A large pot of water sits in a shallow pool, surrounded by beds thickly planted in cool colours.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"A

A urn adds a focal point at the end of the path, one of four that centre on the circular pool.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

A larger pool surrounded by more vibrant tones reflects the sky.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Reflections

Reflections add another layer of enjoyment in the pool garden. Contrasts in colour, form and texture can’t be missed.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

In a section of the garden still being constructed, water arcs\u00a0from the sides of a rill to form circular patterns, while the sound of the splash adds a\u00a0new note\u00a0to the symphony of birds.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"The

The temperature dropped noticeably once the water began to rise and fall.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Throughout the garden, formality is contrasted with informality. \u00a0Beside the house a recently planted parterre combines yew, boxwood and hydrangea …<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Annabelle

Annabelle hydrangeas will grow beside the yew columns that eventually will fill the boxwood circles.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

while in the walled garden there is a meadowy abundance.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"A

I liked this wonderfully informal planting in forms and tones of white.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Classically influenced statuary at the top of a low set of stairs sets one tone …<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"This

This pair of statues were typical of statuary that appeared in different garden rooms.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

while\u00a0designer chickens wandering through the garden set quite another.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"King

Whose garden is this anyway? The King of the Walk\u00a0knows, and doesn’t mind telling visitors who’s the boss.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mat Rees’s title is Director of Horticulture. This isn’t the title used in most gardens of this type, but at Malverleys, a title\u00a0isn’t the only\u00a0convention that has been given a twist. Topiary in a flowery meadow, for example. Christopher Lloyd’s garden Great Dixter famously had one, and Rees may well have worked on it when he was there. At Malverleys, the meadow combines the standard wildflowers with perennials and shrubs, and a topiary statue twists its way up amid\u00a0the yews.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"I

I failed to note the name of the sculptor. If anyone recognizes the work, I’d like to know.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

A double border lining a bit of green lawn is a standard feature, a clich\u00e9 too often made worse\u00a0by unimaginative planting. Not so here.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Contrasts

The lawn is wider than most, and longer than many. The pool garden is at the far end.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

An old stone path where cracks burst with thyme and self-sown plants is a commonplace that Rees has freshened, both with the variety and combination of plants he has chosen and with the broken pattern inserted in the walk.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"This

The path may look as if it has been here forever but it was put in place only a few years ago.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

And what self-respecting garden of this type excludes a white garden? The very name conjures romance in the moonlight, perfumed yet coolly restrained.<\/p>\n

At Malverleys, the white garden is wild, unrestrained, punctuated with touches of colour, on the verge of tipping over into confusion.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"White

White isn’t the only colour that appears in the white garden but it dominates most beautifully.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Can the same be said of the garden as a whole? Malverleys is a garden built on contrasts — between convention and experimentation, between restraint and lack thereof — and with contrasts as strong as these, finding a balance is essential. Establishing that balance isn’t easy; maintaining it is even harder. And I’m afraid that with the addition of one more thing, one more garden room, one more feature, the balance will be lost. A studied garden will fall over the top.<\/p>\n

I hope I’m wrong, for the plans that Rees outlined for the future are exciting: a lake, an arboretum, a series of courses for those wanting to learn more. A few more years\u00a0will tell the tale.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Winter is almost here in Quebec, which means that not much is going on in the garden at Glen Villa. So instead of moaning about that, I’m remembering one of the gardens I visited in England last May. Malverleys is a large\u00a0private estate, rarely open to the public,\u00a0so the small group of gardeners who were…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11530,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,20,21,22],"tags":[25,58,707],"class_list":["post-5196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-design","category-people","category-plants","category-reviews","tag-england","tag-english-gardens","tag-malverleys","category-24","category-20","category-21","category-22","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5196\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}