Let's Talk Gardens,
at The Tawny
What are your goals for the garden?
In short, to make it one of the best gardens in the country. No small feat I admit, but it's good to have a vision!
I'm very much of the opinion that any successful garden has to work for the people that use it, and The Tawny is obviously a place of retreat for its guests. But we are expanding how people will experience the garden; from developing the follies that are here, to creating much greater diversity in the planting and wildlife, from increasing the year-round interest, to adding a sense of playfulness and delight in the secret corners of the estate.
We want people to leave the gardens with a desire to come back to experience them again.
How will you manage the gardens in a sustainable way?
We have already changed the way we manage the grass-cutting. Leaving a larger proportion of the 'lawns' to grow long. We immediately saw insect and bird activity increase. It gives us time to do other jobs and lowers our energy use.
Before I started I sourced a mulch supplier (composted green waste) that could supply us large amounts over the next 2-3 years. We are on heavy clay and the garden has not been mulched or had any real soil improvement for a long time. This will not only improve the soil structure and heath, it also greatly reduces the amount of irrigation for all of the new planting we are putting in.
We have sites chosen to increase our rain capture too. We have also chosen an area to start a large composting system. We have such a good resource here with all of the green waste we can produce ourselves, it makes perfect sense to use it in the gardens.
What are some of the garden's standout features?
We have some wonderful specimen trees. Two Sequoiadendron giganteum that stand either side of the swimming pool. Planted in 1892 they give a wonderful sense of age and drama.
The follies are really interesting. The Pool Folly, often referred to as the Italian Garden, is basically a Chelsea show garden. We have plans to refresh the planting over the autumn and winter, and next year it will look fabulous.
More generally, I think the standout feature of the estate is the sense of being in an oasis. William Podmore got the scale and proportion just right when he contoured the land, and it gives you a real feeling of being in a private space but on a scale that is very generous.
What was William Podmore’s original vision for the estate?
He loved the idea of the English landscape. The views and vistas within the garden were designed to make the most of the small valleys that already existed and to create a series of framed pictures.
Some literally were given a frame, through strategically placed windows in the follies, and some views used the planting and natural features of the garden. Anything that was added or moved over the years, only served to enhance this idea. We will be carrying on that work as we edit the gardens.
What are people most interested in on your garden tours?
There isn't a single part of the garden that we won't be getting stuck into (to greater or lesser degrees), so they are given a long list of future plans, whether they like it or not! But I've found that explaining the reasoning behind the plant choices or design ideas is always received with great interest.
Our guests always enjoy the story of the garden too, because it is ongoing, and they have visited at what is a very exciting new chapter in the history of the estate.
How do you feel your past experience can lend itself to this new role?
Working in large public gardens like Trentham and in private gardens too has given me a good mix of understanding when it comes to both the horticulture and function of an estate like The Tawny.
Knowing how people walk around a garden is just as important as knowing what plants will do well.
More specifically, I worked with the meadow team at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania a few years ago, and I've used that knowledge in helping to create our own perennial meadows here. We will be creating a brand new kitchen garden from scratch this winter, and at my last garden, we renovated and overhauled the kitchen garden that supplied an award-winning restaurant, so that experience will be very useful.
Meet Our Head Gardener
Let Jonathan share his passion for horticulture as you explore the incredible 70 acre estate and gardens together.
Join him on a journey of discovery as you learn more about the biodiversity of the gardens, discover hidden follies, revel in nature’s wonder and learn about the native wildlife.
£80 For Two Guests
£150 For Four Guests
It's a 2 hour tour available Monday to Friday, exclusively for residents of The Tawny.
"There are 55 accommodations across the site, but you would be hard pushed to locate them all. Each blends sympathetically into the stunning surroundings, giving each guest a sense of freedom to explore the many winding paths. This is the English countryside at its very best and, despite being dangerously exposed to the UK’s idea of summer, The Tawny feels seriously luxurious."
