Garden details

Telephone

& Fax 01271 342528

Location

Admission

Adults £5.50; Children £2.50. RHS members free on Fridays, except Good Friday.

Features

• Good collection of tree
• Camellias
• Rhododendrons

Comment

Marwood Hill is a remarkable plantsman's garden, conceived on a grand scale and fast maturing, though it is still expanding along the long sheltered valley which gives such vigorous growth to its plants. It is a tribute to the energy, determination and sheer plantsmanship of the late Dr Smart, who died in 2002, and his head gardener, Malcolm Pharaoh, who started work here in the early 1970s. Marwood Hill is exciting for its scale and variety: there is no better place in the South-West to learn about plants of every kind, especially as all the plants are clearly labelled. It is moreover a garden of year-round interest. Late in the year, Galanthus reginae-olgae flowers with the last of the Cyclamen hederifolium: these are followed in midwinter by many other snowdrops and Cyclamen coum. There is a wonderful collection of camellias at this season, too - some in the open, and others (huge bushes of Reticulata hybrids) under glass. Magnolias are numerous, including many of the Jury hybrids from New Zealand, the dark form of M. campbellii called 'Betty Jessel', M. sprengeri var. diva, M. dawsoniana, M. × wieseneri and the eponymous deep red 'Marwood Spring'. Many are underplanted with drifts of narcissi. Come the spring, and the pergola draped with 12 different wisterias starts to flower (the colour is extended by interplanted clematis and climbing roses) and the walled garden begins to make an impact with ceanothus, Clianthus puniceus and the poppy bush (Dendromecon rigida). In early summer the bog garden comes into its own, starting with drifts of candelabra primulas and continuing with astilbes from the National Collection: in fact the bog garden is full of colour right through until autumn. Hydrangeas are another success story: a very large number of cultivars is planted throughout the garden. As the soil is acid, the 'mopheads' come out in many shades of blue, alongside the cultivars of Hydrangea paniculata (Dr Smart considered 'Pink Diamond' one of the best) and Hydrangea quercifolia whose oak-shaped leaves change to brilliant colours in the autumn. Leaves and bark are important elements of the garden: Dr Smart planted the birches close to the eucalyptus so that the contrasts of bark can be enjoyed together - he planted large numbers of both Betula and Eucalyptus species, which now form monogeneric copses. He also had a high regard for the seldom-seen Amomyrtus lechleriana in the walled garden. And there is a fine collection of rhododendrons, including large plants of R. maccabeanum, R. sinogrande, R. eximium, R. arizelum, R. arboreum and R. 'Sir Charles Lemon'. There are additions and improvements every year: decorative grasses, perennials and flower meadows among the eucalyptus have now replaced some of the difficult-to-mow grass slopes.