MICHAEL and Anne Heseltine bought Thenford House in 1976 and immediately set about creating its garden and arboretum. They did so with an energy and passion that continues unbounded today. The story is thrillingly narrated in their book Thenford: The Creation of an English Garden (2016).
Lord Heseltine is an enthusiastic and knowledgeable plantsman, with a special interest in trees and shrubs. His collection amounts to an arboretum, within which are many self-contained gardens and architectural features. These include an array of stone troughs planted with alpine plants, a spectacular cascade of water known as the Rill and Lady Heseltine’s splendid sculpture garden. But it is the trees—more than 3,000 different species and cultivars—that offer the greatest horticultural interest. The presence of water—lakes and streams—has added immensely to the possibilities and the beauty of the display. ‘Water is
