Twenty Two Garden Facts 2015

Bright Yellow Winter Aconites

• Barnsley House was built by Brereton Bourchier.
  
• Barnsley House was built in 1697. From 1762 up until about 1900 it was a Rectory. 

• One of the Rectors, Charles Coxwell, had the Gothic Summer House built in the 1770’s (which points due North!) as well as the wall that runs round three sides of the garden.

• The reason that Barnsley house looks slightly incongruous to the road is that in 1697 the main road was the lane that runs between the garden and potager/vegetable gardens.

• In the 1930’s Barnsley House was bought by Cecil and Linda Verey.

• In 1939 Rosemary Isabel Baird Sandilands married their son David.

• In 1951 David and Rosemary Verey moved into Barnsley House; Cecil and Linda moved into ‘The Close’ (suites 7, 8 & 9).

• Before 1960 the garden was located in the area that is now known as ‘The Wilderness’. The Wilderness was the first part of the present day garden that Rosemary Verey put in place.

• The Potager was set out in 1979.

Emerging Hellebore Flower

• The Laburnum Walk was planted in 1964 to mark David and Rosemary’s Silver Wedding Anniversary. We will be replanting the Laburnums late February/early March.

• The Laburnum Walk looks its best in the last week in May and first week in June.

• All the statues were made for the garden by Simon Verity with one exception, the frogs on the fountain and these are by Judith Verity.

• The Temple was transported from nearby Fairford Park in September 1962.

•  In 2001 Mrs Verey died.

• Barnsley House became a Hotel in 2003.

• The vegetable beds in the field started in 2004.

• There are four full-time gardeners and one part-time.

• The box is clipped between June and July - not always; but we try to!

• There are several open days during the year including our own on Tuesday 14th April for the National Gardens Scheme (NGS) and Tuesday 9^th June 2015 which is for the Samaritans Charity, not forgetting the Barnsley Village Festival on Saturday 16th May 2015.

• “When does the garden look its best?” hmmm, let’s think ….. April’s always good, lots of bulbs and verdant opulence. Late July through to October, again good with lots of late summer blooms and autumn colour. Winter flowering shrubs, structure from topiary and walks together with early spring colour from Snowdrops and Winter aconites and Crocus carry the garden through the colder months. Barnsley, at any time of the year, has a lovely ‘feel’, just walk round it during a quiet period.

• “Has the garden changed?” It has and it hasn’t! Change happens, wear and tear, change of use, plants die and we try to replace with plants that can fulfil a similar role. We aim to be faithful to the original plantings around the house and we add new sparingly, especially to seasonal plantings that are colour themed. We are also embarking on a programme of replanting and repair to the garden and its fabric. One thing that hasn’t changed is that there is a tradition of a particular type of gardening, pertinent only to Barnsley House still being practised by the present day gardeners.......remember point 21, the lovely ‘feel’.

In 2013 we relayed the crazy paving in the Temple Garden as well as taking the opportunity to add Roses to this part of the garden. Mrs Verey mentioned that she would have liked to have had a Rose Garden, this area would be perfect for Roses and we have chosen Modern English Roses that repeat flower and have good disease resistance as well as keeping some of the original climbing varieties that are still in the Temple Garden.

Snowdrops in the Garden Spa

During the early part of this year we are restoring the Laburnum Walk.