A Growing LEGACY

For Rupert Eley, a walk through his arboretum is akin to a meeting of old friends as he pauses beside individual trees, explaining their origins and idiosyncrasies. “Each tree has its own character and, while some hark back a century or more, others have been planted by my wife, Sara, and myself. Regardless, they are all special, and very much loved,” he explains.

Rupert is the fourth generation of his family to garden at East Bergholt Place, set in the Stour valley on the Suffolk-Essex borders. It was his great-grandfather, Charles Eley, who originally laid out the 20-acre arboretum and garden at the turn of the 20th century, establishing a fine collection of rhododendrons, camellias and magnolias as well as many trees and shrubs for spectacular autumn colour. “He