GARDENS
Snowshill ManorGardens
Autumn is a busy season for Linda Roberts and the team who look after the
enchanting gardens at Snowshill Manor.Cotswold Essence discovers why hundreds
of people still flock to this historic Cotswold garden as the year wears on.
By Sue Bradley
ISTS and mellow
fruitfulness rollingM
up the Vale of
Evesham are the signal for
a flurry of activity in the
garden at Snowshill
Manor.Fruit and
vegetables need to be
picked, shrubs pruned,
perennials cut back and
tubs filled with winter
pansies before the steadily
dropping temperatures
begin to bite.
Snowshill is cared for by the on our calendar and it’s always our as a series of rooms,very much in line
National Trust and its staffcelebrate with the thinking of the Cotswold Artspersonal challenge to have even more
autumn with an annual apple and Crafts Movement which was at itsapples on display than the year before.
weekend, due to take place over the height at the beginning of the 20thLast year we had about 400!”
weekend of October 18 and 19, when century.Snowshill Manor was once home to the
many varieties of fruit go on display. Its principles of making the most ofeccentric architect Charles Paget Wade
Visitors also get to enjoy a spectrum light and shade and hard and softand his influence can still be felt in the
of colour,ranging from the pink of textures and use of informal planting areterraced hillside garden that surrounds
the few remaining summer blooms still very much in evidence.his honey-coloured Cotswold home.
and seasonal flowers such as Sedums In recent years the garden has becomeWade was a renowned collector and his
and Asters, right through to the organic, with Linda and her team seekingextraordinary hoards,including a display
vibrant orange,red and brown hues to live in harmony with nature.of Japanese Samurai armour,attract
that cloak deciduous trees and vines “Everything is part of the natural cyclemany visitors every year.Further
as they put on a final spirited display and once you interrupt that, you start toevidence of his passion for accumulating
before their leaves drop. break down all we have tried to achievefascinating objects can be found in the
“We are surrounded by British over the years,”said Linda.garden in the shape of a colourful 24-
native trees,both in the garden and “Generally we try to keep the garden ashour clock and various plaques.Abevy of
the valley which provide a rich variety Charles Wade would have done.We likewhite doves - possibly descended from
of colours,”said Linda, who has to think that if he ever came back hethose known by its former owner - add to
worked at Snowshill since 1990. would be pleased with what we havethe abiding sense of peace within the
“Snowshill is well worth a visit in done.”grounds.
the autumn - we try hard with our Meanwhile those who take a very close
planting to extend the colour here Snowshill Manor is two and a half mileslook around the herbaceous borders are
until the end of October. from Broadway village and seven miles fromrewarded by little fragments of Wade’s
“The orchard is something with Moreton-in-Marsh. It is open from mid- Marchmodel village,such as a little set of white
which I have been closely involved. I until November 2. Admission is by timed ticket atsteps ascending from a pond which once
have been here 18 years and, after busy times.Tickets are issued at reception on a
served as a harbour and a tiny railwaygetting used to the garden, I started first-come,first-served basis and cannot be booked
track. A small collection of the charmingplanting the orchard back up with in advance.Tickets often run out at peak times so
miniature houses and cottages that wereGloucestershire, Herefordshire and plan to arrive early.Telephone 01386 852410.
once scattered throughout the garden canWorcestershire varieties of apples and
now be seen in a byre nearby.perry pears.
“Our apple weekend is a highpoint The garden at Snowshill was designed
www.cotswoldessence.co.uk 15COTSWOLDESSENCE September - November 2008
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