Written by: Charles Hancock
Continuing his series on gardens opening for charity this summer, Charles Hancock, an award-winning garden designer, takes a sneak preview of the Cascades, in Bonsall.
Alan and Elizabeth Clements of the Cascades, in Bonsall, are extremely talented and creative gardeners. They have achieved a beautiful garden and overcome numerous natural elements that would deter most. The gardens are around four acres in total and host to a number of spectacular perennial plants; these adorn the ever increasing beds and are also available for sale at their nursery.
Alan has gardening in his genes. His uncle was a gardener and passed on many useful tips that Alan has lavished on his plot. Elizabeth was also captivated by gardening and her inspiration comes from Hidecote Manor, in Gloucestershire, and its layout of garden rooms, an idea she has successfully transposed into the Cascades gardens.
The strength of creative ideas is balanced between the two of them, they both apply their talents to produce a very fluid and well-executed garden.
The gardens were created at a similar time to the work being undertaken on the Lost Gardens of Heligan, for a television programme. This enabled Alan and Elizabeth to feel the same empathy as Tim Smit and his team.
The Cascades have truly been rediscovered with a mill race running through the garden and providing a number of spectacular cascades. This mill race was purely functional before as it powered a corn mill; of which there are some remains still standing. The mill was previously twice as wide and high as you see today and the remains have now been incorporated into the garden. They provide a truly unique feature that cannot be copied and have been used to their best advantage.
The mill was originally built prior to the house in the 17th or 18th century. The mill owner, Robert Clay, bought the house next door in 1750 and he built the existing house for his son, Francis Clay, in 1823.
The gardens as you see them today are purely Alan and Elizabeth’s creation and bear no resemblance to how the gardens looked back then. The work that has been undertaken on the garden is incredible and a real credit to the team that devised it.
Leading from the house one sees the first project, the ironwork structure that creates the first garden room named “the formal room�. This structure is clothed in various clematis, roses and honeysuckle, which produce an abundance of colourful and fragrant blooms throughout the year.
Through the iron archway one follows a pathway of lawn that circumnavigates a large island bed which has been painstakingly created using a host of perennials including a good selection of delphiniums, lupins, irises and peonies. Hostas and helibores fill the shaded border under the splendid copper beeches as this type of planting thrives in damp and shady conditions. The formal garden has a wonderful sense of peace and one is never far from the hypnotic sound of the running streams.
Then the garden disappears through another iron archway; here you find a different garden room “the rose shrubbery�. The beds are stocked full of Old English shrub roses and additional planting takes centre stage throughout the seasons, thus providing colourful interest.
The gardening year starts with carpets of snowdrops in the early spring, followed by celandines, daffodils and bluebells. By the summer there are many varieties of hardy geraniums that have been encouraged to spread naturally producing soft and cooler tones. The stream has a number of falls and these are enhanced by gothic-style stone archways that echo the iron ones. The stream is also planted with many marginal plants that create a beautiful tapestry to the waterway meandering through the garden.
As with other open gardens I have recently reviewed, a vegetable patch seems to be rigueur. This has inspired me to such an extent that I am about to embark on a new project of my own and create a vegetable garden from which I can enjoy the natural bounty of fresh vegetables. The Cascades’ vegetable area consists of well constructed raised beds that have been geometrically laid-out with sufficient walking and working space between them. The pathways have been weed-suppressed and chipped bark has been applied to further minimise weeds and help reduce maintenance. Elizabeth told me to grow potatoes in pots in order to try and eradicate the slug infestations. She is also trying out a new technique of creating higher raised beds to combat the dreaded carrot fly which has previously plagued her and many other gardeners.
Following the pathways one encounters “the glebe�. This piece of land was bought by Alan and Elizabeth from the church five years ago. This area was totally overgrown with brambles and elderberries. They started by clearing the area and then planting an orchard on the flat level. The hillside had trees and shrubs planted in it to add height and some seasonal interest in the autumn. Wildflower seeds have been scattered along with bluebells to produce a natural spring show of colour. This produces a beautiful carpet of under-planting. The pathway winds its way to the top of the hill where you are treated to a spectacular view towards Black Rocks.
Not to be missed is the recently expanded pond area. The Bonsall Brook runs into the pond, and is amazingly clear. The pond is edged with gravel pathways and planted with many different marginal plants. It divides into two, one arm becomes the mill race which goes over the cascades and the other becomes a stream that flows along the level. One comes across a very special area near the pond which is the under-planting of a silver birch tree, with a number of Fritillaria meleagris, commonly known as Snakes Head, a delicate purple headed bulb.
Alan and Elizabeth are such keen gardeners that they run a nursery at one end of the garden and sell the plants during the open garden days. They also provide advice on designing and planning herbaceous borders and supply a wide selection of herbaceous perennials including: hosta, hardy geranium, primula, delphinum, verbascum, Echinacea and much more.
As well as offering a beautiful garden and nursery they also run a five star bed and breakfast in the house. Here, guests enjoy a luxurious stay with the added benefit of being able to sit in a wonderful tranquil garden.
This is something I advocate in any garden – the inclusion of seating areas from which one can admire the efforts of the hard labour that goes into making a garden. Alan has many seating areas in his garden which he refers to as gin and tonic spots!
Published in “The Derbyshire Magazine�
