Farley Hill & West Green May 2022
FARLEY HILL
Cumnor Gardening Club’s first visit of 2022 was on 5th May and to gardens in Berkshire and Hampshire. Our first stop was Farley Hill Place, 10 miles south of Reading. This is a working 4-acre garden that dates back to 1729 as a productive garden for a Georgian manor house. With its 18th century 1½ acre walled garden, fine Victorian glasshouse, old apple trees and hazel coppice, Farley Hill Place Gardens takes you back to a time when they produced all the fruit, vegetables and flowers for the ‘big house’. The present owners Margaret and Tony Finch cultivate, maintain and manage the gardens themselves.
Margaret Finch welcomed us with coffee, pastries and an informative introductory talk. We were then able to walk around and see the well-stocked shrub and herbaceous borders, together with a range of mature trees. The centre of the walled garden is devoted to the cultivation of seasonal fruit and vegetables, and annual flowers for cutting. Of particular note was a fine wisteria growing on the wall of the house.
WEST GREEN HOUSE
We then visited the garden of West Green House near Hartley Wintney, dramatically restored by Australian gardener and Chelsea medallist, Marilyn Abbott. The garden combines neo-classical style with contemporary design, and has stunning planting, plentiful colour and occasional touches of humour.
The magnificent walled garden contains a variety of fruit and vegetables, as well as established perennial borders. Close by are further garden rooms, enclosed by 18th century walls, mostly filled with parterres and topiary. Members enjoyed refreshments surrounded by topiary characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice books. We were also able to walk around the large lakeland garden, and through the contemporary Garden of the Five Bridges. West Green prides itself on its annual display of tulips and we were fortunate to see them at their best. The colours in the extensive tulip garden were stunning, with shades of red and pink to the fore.
