The Gardens of South Wales by Annie BullenSouth Wales is on the up, say the national media. The west is the ‘new Cornwall’, the place where miles of sandy beaches, good pubs and restaurants, interesting countryside and a good rail and road network combine to attract holidaymakers. There are also the gardens, which are many, varied and often surprising. The South EastThere is little hint, when you visit the 90 acre park and garden at Newport’s Tredegar House, of the extraordinary family who once lived here. Evan Morgan, Viscount Tredegar, born in 1893, turned out to be as dotty as his bird-like mother, Catherine, who filled her days building huge nests in the groundsThe family was well respected, producing twenty two Members of Parliament over the centuries. That all changed in 1893 when Evan was born. From the start he professed a horror of the political scene, wanting to devote himself instead to a lifetime of art, music, poetry (he was pretty bad at all of these) – and birds. He filled the house and grounds with birds. Hummingbirds, rare cranes and other exotic species lived at Tredegar. An owl had the freedom of the house and Evan was never without his terrifying Blue Boy – an aggressive and foul-mouthed hyacinth macaw that only he could control. In those days there were 30 gardeners to look after the lovely grounds but the Second World War saw the family fortunes decline and, after Evan’s death in 1949, the house was sold. Now house, garden and park have been restored by Newport City Council and the park and gardens are open year round. In nearby Cardiff restoration of the fantastic grade one listed Edwardian Dyffryn Gardens is cracking on apace. The 55 acres contain 30 separate themed areas, including a Victorian fernery, a stumpery, huge herbaceous borders, a famous Pompeian Garden, croquet and archery lawns, rose gardens and a series of sheltered planted areas within clipped hedges. It’s worth setting a whole day aside to explore the National History Museum at St Fagan’s, also near Cardiff. Here is an ancient garden with herb and knot gardens, a hornbeam tunnel, terraces, a vinery and a mulberry grove. Large fish ponds are full of carp and bream, while an Arts and Crafts Italian Garden has been restored. Here you’ll also find recreations of traditional Welsh gardens. Contacts: Tredegar House, Newport, Gwent NP10 8YN; 01633 815880 SwanseaSwansea is where you’ll find Singleton Botanic Gardens, owned and managed by the city council, as are Clyne Gardens. The former is a four-and-a-half acre mix of borders rockeries, rose beds and tropical glasshouses with many rare and unusual plants. Clyne is much larger – 50 acres of well-maintained woodland and parkland stuffed full of good specimens, fine trees and many rare rhododendrons. There’s a lovely bog garden too. Look too for signs to Plantasia – a huge tropical dome full of plants and lots of wildlife. Contacts: Singleton Botanic Gardens, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 9DU; 01792 298637 Belsay HallFormal terraces lead you to the garden at Belsay Hall, build in the quarry from which the sandstone was hewn to build the 18th century house. Here are luxuriant trees and shrubs, many of which are rare and unusual, as well as climbers and ferns. You can walk on through to seven hundred year old Belsay Castle. There’s a woodland walk, a winter garden and a beautifully looked-after croquet lawn. Contacts: Belsay Hall, Belsay, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE20 0DX; 01661 881636 CarmarthenshireCarmarthenshire is where you’ll find the ancient and lovely Aberglasney, gardens, now peacefully restored with the addition of a lovely walled garden designed by Penelope Hobhouse. There have been gardens recorded here since the 15th century and the feeling is one of peace, beauty and stability. Contacts: Aberglasney Gardens, Llangathen, Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire SA32 8QH; 01558 668998 |
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