The Water Gardens and Coombe Wooden Nursery

In some unspecified time in the future within the late 1850s James Veitch, the pre-eminent nurseryman of his day, took a lease on 35 acres of land off Warren Street, which ran throughout the Cambridge property. The household enterprise was primarily based in Exeter however had just lately taken over a big showroom web site on the King’s Street in Chelsea.  Nonetheless in expansionist mode Veitch was the primary business nursery to make use of its personal plant hunters and was now eager to accumulate extra floor for trials of recent vegetation which their collectors had been sending  again from across the globe.  Coombe Wooden Nursery because it grew to become identified was on floor sloping down right into a wooded  valley with  a stream working via it. Veitch made little try to change the totally different ranges on the positioning  however tried as an alternative to reap the benefits of them, the  number of soil situations and  microclimates. His obituary within the Exeter Gazette (14th Sept 1869) recorded that “he speedily cleared and stocked it with one of many most interesting collections of shrubs and the dominion.”

Veitch additionally took a lease on the positioning of what’s now the Water Gardens. You’ll discover from the OS map beneath that it seems to be self-contained and never instantly related with the nursery grounds.

Ordnance Survey: 6 inch , Surrey Sheet VII. Surveyed: 1865, Revealed: 1874

His success in laying out the nursery was apparent. Gardeners Chronicle carried a protracted description of a go to there within the spring of 1865  which was stuffed with reward. The valley shaped a “giant amphitheatre-like block of floor”: which was, as you possibly can most likely see from  the map,  “divided up into principal walks, which observe the pure curvature, and are intersected once more, and once more, forming divisions… Broad, combined shrubbery borders, line, both aspect of the principal walks.” Veitch had additionally developed an incredible curiosity in conifers, largely via the efforts of David Douglas amassing them throughout North America and in 1900 the agency printed their very own catalogue and guide to rising them.  Even this early they appear to have been the spine of the nursery’s structure. with the central avenue having lengthy serried ranks of monkey puzzles, picea and pines, with   a line of thuja, “working fairly 1000 ft with out intermission and disappearing within the distance”

Strolling around the writer famous lengthy lists of different vegetation of all types, particularly hollies and roses with  “each different form of shrub widespread to a nursery …and scarcely a foul plant within the 50 acres which can be beneath cultivation.”  But it surely’s solely proper on the finish that we get the primary point out of  just lately launched Japanese novelties, akin to  Aucuba, Umbrella pines and Thujopsis. As soon as confirmed hardy  they went into mass propagation with, for instance,  a customer in 1874 reporting that  “hundreds of Aucubas are struck beneath glass instances within the intermediate propagating-houses… the place they root efficiently.”   

As we’ve seen in earlier posts Japan had been compelled to open its doorways to western commerce and affect within the mid-1850s and plant collectors had rushed to see what they may discover.  The Veitches observed that almost all earlier  collectors like Siebold  had merely purchased  most of their vegetation from Japanese nurseries in order that they determined to do one thing totally different. In 1860  John Gould Veitch went to Japan and with Sir Rutherford Alcock, the British envoy there, went out into the “wild” and began sending residence  an entire vary of Japanese vegetation. These had been normally trialled and propagated at Coombe Wooden.  Even so, introduction of recent woody vegetation remained gradual and there are not any mentions of Japan or China or vegetation from the area in  the early adverts that I’ve seen  which date from the autumn of 1865. As an alternative it’s introductions from America and extra conventional vegetation akin to roses and spring bulbs that characteristic.

Nonetheless by the point James Veitch died in September 1869 his obituary within the Exeter Gazette additionally famous that “From Japan and different distant climes Mr. Veitch imported the rarest flowers and vegetation, one in every of his sons travelling to those unusual lands seeking the attractive and the brand new; and his devotion to his artwork was as energetic because it was unceasing.”

Regardless of that  there’s no documentary or visible proof of something resembling a Japanese backyard at Coombe Wooden…or so I believed till about 24 hours in the past once I could have discovered some, of which extra later.

The Veitch Nursery was not the one new arrival alongside Warren Street.  In  1865, Hugh Hammersley, a banker, acquired 16 acres of land from the Duke of Cambridge to construct Warren Home, as a  retreat simply 12 miles away from his London residence in Kensington. Sadly his land was reduce into two components due to Veitch’s lease on that plot to the south-east of Warren Home. Hammerson clearly would have wished this strip  which is now the positioning of the Water Gardens to attach his personal two parcels of land.

Warren Home, now a luxurious resort and convention centre

The exact story of how and when the Water Gardens had been created is difficult to unravel as a result of there’s nearly no archival report. Nonetheless Luke Schöppler who researched Japanese gardens for his PhD believes the gardens started to be constructed by Veitch similtaneously their plant searching journeys to Japan within the 1860s .  It could additionally appear that the land  was lastly acquired by Hammerson in 1871 after which added to his backyard.

What we do have is an account within the native paper in 1872 of a go to to the gardens of Warren Home by  aged residents from the Royal Cambridge Asylum who loved “the Japanese backyard” there.  Sadly that’s so far as the report goes so we do not know if this included any of the anticipated Japanese options akin to bridges and lanterns, though since they might have been thought-about extremely uncommon it appears unlikely they might have been omitted from an outline.

It’s additionally unlikely that the gardens included any of the rockwork or cascades evident at this time since there isn’t a point out of their development within the publicity materials of the agency of James Pulham which, as we’ll see,  was to work there about 40 years later.

However the impact will need to have conjured up what was thought-about to be a “Japanese” scene with  a customer in 1876 describing a stroll saying  “On the precise is the mansion of Mr. Hammersley, with the late Mr. Veitch’s Japanese backyard in entrance.” We additionally know that  Veitchs wished their gardeners to find out about Japan as a result of they  organised lectures about its historical past, authorities and merchandise for them, illustrated with artefacts purchased again by John Gould Veitch.

The Avenue from The Backyard ninth Might 1874. So far as I’m conscious that is the one picture of the nursery

There may be one other prolonged and nearly romantic account of a go to, this time by Noel Humphries printed in The Backyard ninth Might 1874.  After describing the gardens of the villas already being erected alongside the highway that results in the nursery he goes on: “Nothing can  be finer in the way in which of horticultural impact than the grand Avenue, which varieties the chief entrance to this attention-grabbing grounds. All sides of this magnificent avenue  include two distinct components or ranges, the exterior line is shaped by lastly grown timber of Araucaria and Wellingtonias planted alternately. Every of those superb specimen timber, is between 25 and 30 ft in peak and every is ideal to the very floor.”  In entrance of them there have been elaborate preparations of different conifers, yuccas and heaths.  The remainder of the 40 acres or so had “broad, winding, roadways, resulting in the decrease floor, that are bordered with selection shrubs of countless selection,” there have been acres of golden Hollies – “the best most in depth assortment in England”, areas for layering, and other forms of propagating.” Outstanding amongst the vegetation  was “a brand new white wisteria (imported direct from Japan).”  Aside from that there’s little point out of something Japanese.

Two years later  one other lengthy descriptive article appeared on twenty eighth Dec 1876 in   The Journal of Horticulture and Cottage Gardener .  After praising the central avenue  the author says that “on the finish of the avenue the scene adjustments. The view is now not restricted, however we glance over and throughout the hole forming the principal a part of the nursery, and can’t fail to admire the image beneath, the place nature and artwork are successfully mixed.”  There may be point out of American vegetation however once more little or no about  Japanese introductions aside from Japanese maples which had been “so elegant from the distinct foliage and efficient from the wealthy colors,” Japanese Evergreen Oaks and Abies veitchii.

Thereafter the nursery continues to draw a protracted  curiosity within the gardening press however there’s little reference to something Japanese there aside from vegetation.  In reality  there are most likely extra references, each there and within the firm’s personal historical past Hortus Veitchii,[1906]   to China and vegetation despatched again from the by collectors together with Charles Maries and Ernest Wilson.

The Loggia at Warren Hoiuse from the Pulham Catalogue

For Japan we have to look as an alternative on the gardens of Warren Home, which by 1907 had been  purchased by  Basic Sir Arthur Paget and his American heiress spouse, Girl Mary  or ‘Minnie’  as she was identified. It was they who referred to as within the well-known agency of James Pullen so as to add a variety of options  to their grounds though initially none of them had been Japanese however Italianate:  a loggia, winter backyard, balustrading, benches, fountains  and a grotto.

Nonetheless within the years following the Japan-British Exhibition of 1910 Japanese model gardens had change into very trendy and Pulhams had been invited again to do some extra work. The precise particulars of what they did and when  are unknown however the chances are it was within the few years between the exhibition and the outbreak of the Nice Warfare, which  additionally coincided with the ending of Veitchs leases on the nursery land.

The primary point out of Pulham setting up something “Japanese”, is based on Claude Hitching within the gazetteer of Pulham  websites in Rock Landscapes: The Pulham Legacy, not till 1894, and after that not till 1910 after they  created a Japanese backyard at Gatton Park in Surrey for Sir Jeremiah Colman of mustard fame. It’s’ identified that Veitch visited Gatton, and maybe the Pagets had been additionally impressed by the exhibition or a go to there too.

From the Pulham Catalogue, 1925

Pulhams most likely improved the prevailing ponds, streams and different water options. They constructed a cascade and rockeries and put in a pumping system to make sure they by no means ran wanting water.   They most likely additionally equipped the lanterns and urns as comparable ones characteristic of their 1925 catalogue.  Who constructed the bridges, gateway and pavilion is unknown though Pulham definitely had the know-how and functionality, even when it was not their traditional form of work.

Whereas this was occurring,  in 1913 when the lease on Coombe Wooden ran out Sir Harry Veitch determined to retire and having no apparent successor closed the enterprise. The inventory of vegetation was bought off in a protracted sequence of auctions.  Girl Paget managed to accumulate 2 acres extra on the backside of the backyard which contained the decrease pond and fortuitously a lot of the unique timber which had been too mature to be bought.

xxx

The grounds  handed to a different nurseryman, Arthur Luff, who had began his enterprise in 1897 and quickly expanded. It was whereas doing a little what I believed can be cursory checking on Luff that I found the subsequent couple of photographs which recommend that Veitch had really constructed rockeries within the nursery grounds. They don’t look notably “Japanese” and there’s  just one Japanese lantern seen however who is aware of what else there may need been.

Rockery and Japanese Lantern at Coombe Wooden

View in the direction of the automotive park at Combe Wooden

Rockery and really “unJapanese” bridge at Coombe Wooden

After all it’s doable that Luff constrcuted them however on condition that they solely aquired Coombe Wooden on the eve of the Nice Warfare I discover it onerous to belive that one thing of this scale may have been put up in such a brief area of time and with the restricted labour that was then out there. I’ve emailed Luffs which nonetheless exists and hope they’ll be capable to shed some mild on the query.

Warren Home  remained within the Paget household till 1956 when it was bought to ICI to make use of as their coaching centre.

It modified fingers once more and in 1986 9 acres of land had been bought to a property developer who gained permission to construct 3 giant condominium blocks  on the higher finish of the gardens, nicely away from  Pulham’s work which remained intact.

Mature timber had been launched across the blocks  for immediate impression whereas the remainder of the grounds had been partially redesigned for simpler entry.

The pavilion, decrease pond from Nation Life , 1992. Picture from British Newspaper Library

Fortunately Nation Life carried an article in 1992 by Shirley Heriz-Smith concerning the gardens  which incorporates some glorious photographs.

Nonetheless, a lot of the decrease backyard  later grew to become overgrown, dense and impenetrable. Little or no, if any,  of the unique planting survived and decorative shrubs had been starved of sunshine and swamped by invasive self-sown timber.  Mark Iles, the Head Gardener instructed me that he spent the primary two years of his time in cost  clearing and  thinning, to attempt to reclaim some spirit of place, and stated there was nonetheless a protracted approach to go. Even the specimens of one in every of Veitch’s most well-known introductions Davidia involucrata, the handkerchief tree,  a few of of the 13,000 raised from seed despatched again by Ernest Wilson from China in 1900,   are on their final legs, though fortunately he has been capable of propagate replacements for the long run.

The showers of rain that day gave the gardens an added aura – not fairly the steaming tropical jungle – however one which emphasised their nonetheless gently unique nature.

Moss coated paths, slippery underfoot within the damp, lead up and down steep banks and over a sequence of brightly painted hump-backed bridges,  throughout stepping stones over the stream and thru and spherical rocky outcrops.

Typically the gardens felt very “Victorian’ – as if James Veitch himself would possibly seem by a  giant urn or from behind a rhododendron , however primarily they captured what they had been supposed to do – the spirit of Japan as seen by western eyes.

A recreation of the unique gardens  as laid out by Veitch, Hammersley or the Pagets  will not be doable.  No-one is aware of what  was there within the first place and there’s definitely no planting plan. As an alternative it’s supposed to make use of vegetation launched by Veitch alongside different historic varieties but in addition newer attention-grabbing introductions,  simply as earlier house owners  would have finished.  Mark has made a very good begin, and I want him nicely within the subsequent part of the work. You’ll be able to see for your self subsequent spring when the backyard subsequent opens for the Nationwide Backyard Scheme.

Let me go away you with the phrases of an earlier customer: “My tour to those nurseries was a really nice one; and I like to recommend all who can admire the charms of exceptionally superb nation surroundings, and a noble assortment of timber and flowers, to go to the Coombe Wooden Nurseries earlier than the fantastic music of the nightingale is over.”

In some unspecified time in the future within the late 1850s James Veitch, the pre-eminent nurseryman of his day, took a lease on 35 acres of land off Warren Street, which ran throughout the Cambridge property. The household enterprise was primarily based in Exeter however had just lately taken over a big showroom web site on the King’s Street in Chelsea.  Nonetheless in expansionist mode Veitch was the primary business nursery to make use of its personal plant hunters and was now eager to accumulate extra floor for trials of recent vegetation which their collectors had been sending  again from across the globe.  Coombe Wooden Nursery because it grew to become identified was on floor sloping down right into a wooded  valley with  a stream working via it. Veitch made little try to change the totally different ranges on the positioning  however tried as an alternative to reap the benefits of them, the  number of soil situations and  microclimates. His obituary within the Exeter Gazette (14th Sept 1869) recorded that “he speedily cleared and stocked it with one of many most interesting collections of shrubs and the dominion.”

Veitch additionally took a lease on the positioning of what’s now the Water Gardens. You’ll discover from the OS map beneath that it seems to be self-contained and never instantly related with the nursery grounds.

Ordnance Survey: 6 inch , Surrey Sheet VII. Surveyed: 1865, Revealed: 1874

His success in laying out the nursery was apparent. Gardeners Chronicle carried a protracted description of a go to there within the spring of 1865  which was stuffed with reward. The valley shaped a “giant amphitheatre-like block of floor”: which was, as you possibly can most likely see from  the map,  “divided up into principal walks, which observe the pure curvature, and are intersected once more, and once more, forming divisions… Broad, combined shrubbery borders, line, both aspect of the principal walks.” Veitch had additionally developed an incredible curiosity in conifers, largely via the efforts of David Douglas amassing them throughout North America and in 1900 the agency printed their very own catalogue and guide to rising them.  Even this early they appear to have been the spine of the nursery’s structure. with the central avenue having lengthy serried ranks of monkey puzzles, picea and pines, with   a line of thuja, “working fairly 1000 ft with out intermission and disappearing within the distance”

Strolling around the writer famous lengthy lists of different vegetation of all types, particularly hollies and roses with  “each different form of shrub widespread to a nursery …and scarcely a foul plant within the 50 acres which can be beneath cultivation.”  But it surely’s solely proper on the finish that we get the primary point out of  just lately launched Japanese novelties, akin to  Aucuba, Umbrella pines and Thujopsis. As soon as confirmed hardy  they went into mass propagation with, for instance,  a customer in 1874 reporting that  “hundreds of Aucubas are struck beneath glass instances within the intermediate propagating-houses… the place they root efficiently.”   

As we’ve seen in earlier posts Japan had been compelled to open its doorways to western commerce and affect within the mid-1850s and plant collectors had rushed to see what they may discover.  The Veitches observed that almost all earlier  collectors like Siebold  had merely purchased  most of their vegetation from Japanese nurseries in order that they determined to do one thing totally different. In 1860  John Gould Veitch went to Japan and with Sir Rutherford Alcock, the British envoy there, went out into the “wild” and began sending residence  an entire vary of Japanese vegetation. These had been normally trialled and propagated at Coombe Wooden.  Even so, introduction of recent woody vegetation remained gradual and there are not any mentions of Japan or China or vegetation from the area in  the early adverts that I’ve seen  which date from the autumn of 1865. As an alternative it’s introductions from America and extra conventional vegetation akin to roses and spring bulbs that characteristic.

Nonetheless by the point James Veitch died in September 1869 his obituary within the Exeter Gazette additionally famous that “From Japan and different distant climes Mr. Veitch imported the rarest flowers and vegetation, one in every of his sons travelling to those unusual lands seeking the attractive and the brand new; and his devotion to his artwork was as energetic because it was unceasing.”

Regardless of that  there’s no documentary or visible proof of something resembling a Japanese backyard at Coombe Wooden…or so I believed till about 24 hours in the past once I could have discovered some, of which extra later.

The Veitch Nursery was not the one new arrival alongside Warren Street.  In  1865, Hugh Hammersley, a banker, acquired 16 acres of land from the Duke of Cambridge to construct Warren Home, as a  retreat simply 12 miles away from his London residence in Kensington. Sadly his land was reduce into two components due to Veitch’s lease on that plot to the south-east of Warren Home. Hammerson clearly would have wished this strip  which is now the positioning of the Water Gardens to attach his personal two parcels of land.

Warren Home, now a luxurious resort and convention centre

The exact story of how and when the Water Gardens had been created is difficult to unravel as a result of there’s nearly no archival report. Nonetheless Luke Schöppler who researched Japanese gardens for his PhD believes the gardens started to be constructed by Veitch similtaneously their plant searching journeys to Japan within the 1860s .  It could additionally appear that the land  was lastly acquired by Hammerson in 1871 after which added to his backyard.

What we do have is an account within the native paper in 1872 of a go to to the gardens of Warren Home by  aged residents from the Royal Cambridge Asylum who loved “the Japanese backyard” there.  Sadly that’s so far as the report goes so we do not know if this included any of the anticipated Japanese options akin to bridges and lanterns, though since they might have been thought-about extremely uncommon it appears unlikely they might have been omitted from an outline.

It’s additionally unlikely that the gardens included any of the rockwork or cascades evident at this time since there isn’t a point out of their development within the publicity materials of the agency of James Pulham which, as we’ll see,  was to work there about 40 years later.

However the impact will need to have conjured up what was thought-about to be a “Japanese” scene with  a customer in 1876 describing a stroll saying  “On the precise is the mansion of Mr. Hammersley, with the late Mr. Veitch’s Japanese backyard in entrance.” We additionally know that  Veitchs wished their gardeners to find out about Japan as a result of they  organised lectures about its historical past, authorities and merchandise for them, illustrated with artefacts purchased again by John Gould Veitch.

The Avenue from The Backyard ninth Might 1874. So far as I’m conscious that is the one picture of the nursery

There may be one other prolonged and nearly romantic account of a go to, this time by Noel Humphries printed in The Backyard ninth Might 1874.  After describing the gardens of the villas already being erected alongside the highway that results in the nursery he goes on: “Nothing can  be finer in the way in which of horticultural impact than the grand Avenue, which varieties the chief entrance to this attention-grabbing grounds. All sides of this magnificent avenue  include two distinct components or ranges, the exterior line is shaped by lastly grown timber of Araucaria and Wellingtonias planted alternately. Every of those superb specimen timber, is between 25 and 30 ft in peak and every is ideal to the very floor.”  In entrance of them there have been elaborate preparations of different conifers, yuccas and heaths.  The remainder of the 40 acres or so had “broad, winding, roadways, resulting in the decrease floor, that are bordered with selection shrubs of countless selection,” there have been acres of golden Hollies – “the best most in depth assortment in England”, areas for layering, and other forms of propagating.” Outstanding amongst the vegetation  was “a brand new white wisteria (imported direct from Japan).”  Aside from that there’s little point out of something Japanese.

Two years later  one other lengthy descriptive article appeared on twenty eighth Dec 1876 in   The Journal of Horticulture and Cottage Gardener .  After praising the central avenue  the author says that “on the finish of the avenue the scene adjustments. The view is now not restricted, however we glance over and throughout the hole forming the principal a part of the nursery, and can’t fail to admire the image beneath, the place nature and artwork are successfully mixed.”  There may be point out of American vegetation however once more little or no about  Japanese introductions aside from Japanese maples which had been “so elegant from the distinct foliage and efficient from the wealthy colors,” Japanese Evergreen Oaks and Abies veitchii.

Thereafter the nursery continues to draw a protracted  curiosity within the gardening press however there’s little reference to something Japanese there aside from vegetation.  In reality  there are most likely extra references, each there and within the firm’s personal historical past Hortus Veitchii,[1906]   to China and vegetation despatched again from the by collectors together with Charles Maries and Ernest Wilson.

The Loggia at Warren Hoiuse from the Pulham Catalogue

For Japan we have to look as an alternative on the gardens of Warren Home, which by 1907 had been  purchased by  Basic Sir Arthur Paget and his American heiress spouse, Girl Mary  or ‘Minnie’  as she was identified. It was they who referred to as within the well-known agency of James Pullen so as to add a variety of options  to their grounds though initially none of them had been Japanese however Italianate:  a loggia, winter backyard, balustrading, benches, fountains  and a grotto.

Nonetheless within the years following the Japan-British Exhibition of 1910 Japanese model gardens had change into very trendy and Pulhams had been invited again to do some extra work. The precise particulars of what they did and when  are unknown however the chances are it was within the few years between the exhibition and the outbreak of the Nice Warfare, which  additionally coincided with the ending of Veitchs leases on the nursery land.

The primary point out of Pulham setting up something “Japanese”, is based on Claude Hitching within the gazetteer of Pulham  websites in Rock Landscapes: The Pulham Legacy, not till 1894, and after that not till 1910 after they  created a Japanese backyard at Gatton Park in Surrey for Sir Jeremiah Colman of mustard fame. It’s’ identified that Veitch visited Gatton, and maybe the Pagets had been additionally impressed by the exhibition or a go to there too.

From the Pulham Catalogue, 1925

Pulhams most likely improved the prevailing ponds, streams and different water options. They constructed a cascade and rockeries and put in a pumping system to make sure they by no means ran wanting water.   They most likely additionally equipped the lanterns and urns as comparable ones characteristic of their 1925 catalogue.  Who constructed the bridges, gateway and pavilion is unknown though Pulham definitely had the know-how and functionality, even when it was not their traditional form of work.

Whereas this was occurring,  in 1913 when the lease on Coombe Wooden ran out Sir Harry Veitch determined to retire and having no apparent successor closed the enterprise. The inventory of vegetation was bought off in a protracted sequence of auctions.  Girl Paget managed to accumulate 2 acres extra on the backside of the backyard which contained the decrease pond and fortuitously a lot of the unique timber which had been too mature to be bought.

xxx

The grounds  handed to a different nurseryman, Arthur Luff, who had began his enterprise in 1897 and quickly expanded. It was whereas doing a little what I believed can be cursory checking on Luff that I found the subsequent couple of photographs which recommend that Veitch had really constructed rockeries within the nursery grounds. They don’t look notably “Japanese” and there’s  just one Japanese lantern seen however who is aware of what else there may need been.

Rockery and Japanese Lantern at Coombe Wooden

View in the direction of the automotive park at Combe Wooden

Rockery and really “unJapanese” bridge at Coombe Wooden

After all it’s doable that Luff constrcuted them however on condition that they solely aquired Coombe Wooden on the eve of the Nice Warfare I discover it onerous to belive that one thing of this scale may have been put up in such a brief area of time and with the restricted labour that was then out there. I’ve emailed Luffs which nonetheless exists and hope they’ll be capable to shed some mild on the query.

Warren Home  remained within the Paget household till 1956 when it was bought to ICI to make use of as their coaching centre.

It modified fingers once more and in 1986 9 acres of land had been bought to a property developer who gained permission to construct 3 giant condominium blocks  on the higher finish of the gardens, nicely away from  Pulham’s work which remained intact.

Mature timber had been launched across the blocks  for immediate impression whereas the remainder of the grounds had been partially redesigned for simpler entry.

The pavilion, decrease pond from Nation Life , 1992. Picture from British Newspaper Library

Fortunately Nation Life carried an article in 1992 by Shirley Heriz-Smith concerning the gardens  which incorporates some glorious photographs.

Nonetheless, a lot of the decrease backyard  later grew to become overgrown, dense and impenetrable. Little or no, if any,  of the unique planting survived and decorative shrubs had been starved of sunshine and swamped by invasive self-sown timber.  Mark Iles, the Head Gardener instructed me that he spent the primary two years of his time in cost  clearing and  thinning, to attempt to reclaim some spirit of place, and stated there was nonetheless a protracted approach to go. Even the specimens of one in every of Veitch’s most well-known introductions Davidia involucrata, the handkerchief tree,  a few of of the 13,000 raised from seed despatched again by Ernest Wilson from China in 1900,   are on their final legs, though fortunately he has been capable of propagate replacements for the long run.

The showers of rain that day gave the gardens an added aura – not fairly the steaming tropical jungle – however one which emphasised their nonetheless gently unique nature.

Moss coated paths, slippery underfoot within the damp, lead up and down steep banks and over a sequence of brightly painted hump-backed bridges,  throughout stepping stones over the stream and thru and spherical rocky outcrops.

Typically the gardens felt very “Victorian’ – as if James Veitch himself would possibly seem by a  giant urn or from behind a rhododendron , however primarily they captured what they had been supposed to do – the spirit of Japan as seen by western eyes.

A recreation of the unique gardens  as laid out by Veitch, Hammersley or the Pagets  will not be doable.  No-one is aware of what  was there within the first place and there’s definitely no planting plan. As an alternative it’s supposed to make use of vegetation launched by Veitch alongside different historic varieties but in addition newer attention-grabbing introductions,  simply as earlier house owners  would have finished.  Mark has made a very good begin, and I want him nicely within the subsequent part of the work. You’ll be able to see for your self subsequent spring when the backyard subsequent opens for the Nationwide Backyard Scheme.

Let me go away you with the phrases of an earlier customer: “My tour to those nurseries was a really nice one; and I like to recommend all who can admire the charms of exceptionally superb nation surroundings, and a noble assortment of timber and flowers, to go to the Coombe Wooden Nurseries earlier than the fantastic music of the nightingale is over.”