08 Jan Ascott House Gardens
The Ascott Estate, located in Ascott, Buckinghamshire, England, is a 4,400-acre estate containing farmlands, grasslands, and woodlands, as well as more than 40 manmade structures. On the property lies the Ascott House and Gardens, which act as a museum and public landscaped garden that visitors can enjoy from March through September.
The Gardens’ Origin
The gardens located at the Ascott House date back to the turn of the 20th century. Based on the advice of the esteemed horticulturist Sir Harry James Veitch, the estate’s owner, Leopold de Rothschild, had the gardens constructed in 1902 as a wedding gift for his wife. As a testament to this purpose, the gardens contain a topiary sundial that features the words, “Light and shade by turn, but love always.”
The Gardens’ Features
The Ascott House Gardens contain several features, including pavilions, fountains, and a rock garden and grotto. Sculptor Thomas Waldo Story created several of the gardens’ bronze statues, including its largest, a depiction of the goddess Venus riding her chariot made of seashell. Story also created a fountain depicting the god Cupid, as well as the fountain featured in the Dutch flower garden. Throughout the gardens are neatly-clipped hedges, beautiful topiary displays, and a variety of flowering shrubbery, particularly along the footpaths. Near the front entrance lies a lily pool, originally designed for skating, as part of a garden patterned after Monet’s home and garden in Giverny.
The Gardens’ Plant Life
Planted inside the Ascott House Gardens are a wide variety of trees, shrubs, and flowers. Some of the gardens’ most striking plants are its large oak and cedar trees, as well as several well-established horse chestnut trees. The flower gardens are adorned with large beds of tulips and daffodils, which are a popular draw when the Ascott Estate opens to the public early each spring.
The Ascott Estate’s main website has more information on the Ascott House and Gardens; you can learn more about some of the world’s most amazing landscaping in the other articles featured in the Santa Rita Landscaping blog series, The Most Spectacular Gardens in the World.
Image from http://www.panoramio.com/photo/1321999