A most delightful quandary of being custodian of an historic estate is figuring out who was responsible for what
The acid yellow of an ancient ginkgo, caught in the sun’s dwindling rays. The shimmering pink-gold of a liquidambar, stark against a forget-me-not sky. The flutter of russet in a towering beech tree. Someone made this garden – but who? A most delightful quandary of being custodian of an historic estate is figuring out who was responsible for what, when nearly every member of a family has made their mark.
Spetchley Park Gardens, just outside Worcester, have been spectacular since at least the early 19th century – although which member of the Berkeley family first began the gardening here is unclear. The estate’s grand ‘landscape’ is easier to date: the deer park’s Royal Warrant was granted in
