Garden of Ann Macnab and the gardens of Madingley Hall
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Garden of Ann Macnab and the gardens of Madingley Hall
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Garden of Ann Macnab and the gardens of Madingley Hall
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Garden of Ann Macnab and the gardens of Madingley Hall
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Garden of Ann Macnab and the gardens of Madingley Hall
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Garden of Ann Macnab and the gardens of Madingley Hall
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Garden of Ann Macnab and the gardens of Madingley Hall
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Garden of Ann Macnab and the gardens of Madingley Hall
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Garden of Ann Macnab and the gardens of Madingley Hall
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Garden of Ann Macnab and the gardens of Madingley Hall
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Garden of Ann Macnab and the gardens of Madingley Hall
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Garden of Ann Macnab and the gardens of Madingley Hall
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Morning visit to Ann Macnab’s garden.
Despite early morning rain and a poor weather forecast, a small group of intrepid members – undaunted, but with waterproofs at the ready – gathered in front of Ann’s bungalow, eager to discover the delights of her garden. Ann and her husband began the garden 37 years ago. The site was originally an old orchard and her husband offered to remove most of the trees from as large an area as Ann wished to garden - about an acre.
The front lawn was surrounded by beds of low growing perennials and alpines, all protected by mesh fencing to deter the exceptionally athletic local rabbits! Here, Paeonia cambessedessii grew comfortably against the bungalow wall, displaying felt covered pods full of cerise coloured seeds. To the left of this lawn one is led through a series of garden ‘rooms’ each one screened enticingly from the next. Borders in these gardens are full of trees, shrubs, roses, bulbs and perennials with something to delight at every turn. Shelter had to be provided early on as the site was so windy, so now the borders are protected by tall hedges and trees.
Ann is a flower arranger and she places her plants in the borders with similar flair, using colour and form to produce harmonies and contrast. Thus the large soft mauve spheres of Allium christophii are partnered with mounds of geraniums, spires of lupins, lots of different foxgloves and spiky clumps of white and purple dictamnus. Stronger colour is provided by the deep blue pea-like flowers of Baptisia australis, the lime-green of Euphorbia palustris and dark-leaved penstemons.
As we left this area we passed the Philadelphus ‘Belle Etoile’, which sheltered a shady bed of mixed hostas and was one of two huge specimens which filled the garden with their scent. The second was sited by the entrance to the white garden where white roses and delphiniums, more white dictamnus and the dazzlingly white clematis ‘Madame Boisselot’ were warmed by the occasional clump of soft yellow foxgloves. The paeony ‘White Wings’ was much admired, as was also a giant thrift, whose seed was collected from the wild in Portugal by a friend of Ann’s – a really excellent plant with large white lollipops on short stiff stems.
The final garden provided flame to the previous one’s ice. Here, reds and warm golds predominated, provided by roses, splendid tall upright clumps of Lychnis chalcedonica, vivid red poppies and dark penstemons.
Ann has only a little help in the garden. She calculates that she spends an average of 3 ½ hours each working day there. Her dedication is impressive and we all very much enjoyed the opportunity to see what she has been able to achieve over so many years.
Afternoon visit to the gardens at Madingley Hall.
Raincoats and umbrellas were again necessary when we reassembled after lunch. We were welcomed to Madingley Hall by the Head Gardener, Richard Gant who gave us a history of the house and garden. The present Hall was begun in 1543 in what was then a hunting park. It is an imposing, typically Tudor house, built of red brick with tall ornate chimneys and corner towers capped by copper cupolas. It is now a residential educational centre, owned by Cambridge University.
The garden has been through many phases. It is possible that there was a formal garden in Tudor times, although nothing remains, but it is likely that the foundations of an extensive formal Dutch garden at Madingley were established during the 1600’s, as there exists a fascinating 1705 engraving showing a bird’s eye view of topiary lined walks, formal ponds and canals, orchards and vegetable plots, all peopled by tiny active figures.
In the mid-18th century ‘Capability’ Brown was employed to change all of this in response to the fashion for more naturalistic landscapes. Little further development occurred until the beginning of the 20th century, when a new energetic owner renovated the Hall and redeveloped the garden on Edwardian principles.
From the terrace we had a panoramic view across the Croquet Lawn and the Topiary Avenue to the magnificent range of mature trees in the meadow and woodland beyond. These trees are one of the gardens most striking features and show wonderful variety in colour, form and texture. Richard pointed out dawn redwoods, copper beech, cedar of Lebanon, swamp cypress, deodar cedar, Nootka cypress and liquidambar, to name but a few!
From the shady walk through the meadow and woodland, we returned via the Topiary Garden to the shelter of the Walled Garden and to the many different areas within. Here warm brick walls were covered by a huge collection of climbers and wall shrubs, from roses like ‘New Dawn’ and the exquisite Portland ‘Madame Knorr’ to the more tender fuchsia-flowered Ribes speciosum partnered by white Carpenteria californica. Roses shared the borders with geraniums, poppies, penstemons, including ‘Madingley Pink’, verbenas such as ‘Homestead Purple’ and tender aromatic shrubs such as Myrtis commmunis tarentina and rosemary.
Two of the earliest herbals were written by Cambridge graduates, in 1551 and 1597, and the Medical Garden celebrates this link. A hugely comprehensive range of herbs is grown in four sections, representing Culinary, Medicinal, Dyes and Perfumery and Richard pointed out many different plants and indicated their historical and modern uses.
There was so much else to see – including colour-themed borders, the Rose Pergola Walk and the very large alpine bed, that we were all quite grateful eventually to be led inside the Hall to have cake and a very welcome cup of tea.
This is a beautiful and most interesting garden and I would urge everyone to visit it. Richard added to our pleasure by giving us the most comprehensive guide imaginable to the truly amazing range of plants at Madingley and we thank him for sharing his time, enthusiasm, encyclopaedic knowledge – and energy – so generously with us all.
- Winifred Pratt
