IN THIS GUIDE
Winterbourne House & Gardenis possess by the University of Birmingham and is a Grade II Listed garden that was originally built by the Nettlefold household in 1904 .
The garden is one of the few surviving Edwardian Arts and Crafts style garden from that period and was hard influenced by the work of Gertrude Jekyll , a primal image in the movement at the meter .
I was favorable enough to meet with Daniel Cartwright , the Head Gardener at Winterbourne who has ferment there for almost eighteen age .
History & Design
“ In total , there were three private house that owned Winterborne in the entirety of its history , ” suppose Daniel .
“ When the head of the final family John Nicholson died in 1944 , he bequeathed the business firm and garden to the University of Birmingham , and it ’s been owned by the university ever since .
“ Gertrude Jekyll was the preeminent arts and cunning garden designer in the Edwardian full point .
“ Our lady of the theatre , Margaret Nettlefold , designed the garden herself , but she was very much inspired by the piece of work of Gertrude Jekyll and in particular , Jekyll ’s 1899 publicationWood and Garden .
“ If you count at that book , you could in reality see where our lady of the household has take musical composition of Jekyll ’s design and transferred them instantly to the design here at Winterbourne . ”
Jekyll’s Influence In The Garden
“ The garden area where you’re able to see Jekyll ’s influence the most is on the south side of the house looking down from the bench across one of our colour - themed herbaceous borders , ” he continues .
“ There is an arts and crafts motif in this area of the garden in the form of the pink and blue herbaceous edge .
“ you’re able to also see her influence when depend down into the crackpot alleyway , which we call the bollock walking , which is planted preponderantly with hazelnut . ”
The Glasshouses
“ At Winterbourne , we have a small nursery range , ” explains Daniel .
“ There is one original glasshouse from the Edwardian flow in our walled garden and then we have four more much more forward-looking glasshouses , which were all build up from the university period onwards .
“ Our largest innovative glasshouse , the Gilbert Orchid House , is home tolots of different tropic specie – not just orchids .
“ Most tropic orchid species are epiphytic , and that means they grow on the branch of other trees or bush .
“ They ’re not parasitic , they do n’t do any damage to that host plants , they just anchor themselves on there , and then they suck wet out of the very humid gentle wind using aerial roots .
“ We have lot of epiphytes such asTillandsiaand Bromeliads in this glasshouse . ”
“ We ’ve also got quitea substantive alpine collectionat the gardens , ” he proceed .
“ Our alpine menage was work up some time in the early 2000s and the industrial plant look particularly just at this time of class .
“ Probably the most interesting thing we ’ve get on exhibit are our Lewisias .
“ They impart great value to the alpine star sign because they bloom the heads off right the way throughout March and April .
“ Our arid house is where we grow the majority ofour cacti and succulents .
“ Most of the specimens in here were donated by members of the local cacti and lush society .
“ My favourite planting here is actually one of the most vulgar succulents that that you may bribe or grow in this land andthat ’s Agave .
“ This vary one that we ’ve pay back here is a cultivar calledAgave americana‘Mediopicta Alba ’ .
“ I like them because they ’re so statuesque and architectural . ”
Visiting Winterbourne
“ I hope that when people chew the fat Winterbourne they see an inspiring and originative garden , as well as a quad in which plantsman are using their creative thinking and imagery , ” Daniel shares .
“ I hope they see a garden that ’s continually change and evolving and that never halt in time but keep move ahead .
“ We do n’t always get it right , of course , but I hope the great unwashed see that we ’re always attempting to press that evolution forward and to do so creatively and imaginatively .
“ In turn , I go for that inhale mass to take that doctrine and attitude back into their gardens at home . ”
