Gerddi Cudd [pronounced Garthi Cuth] is Welsh for the Hidden Garden. The name is apt, for it is well set back from the road that runs between Menai Bridge and Beaumaris. Without the signposts you would miss it. As it is, you walk up a steep drive [Helen pushed the trolley all the way, despite my offering help.] The entrance path on the drive runs between sides abundant in blue hydrangeas and a variety of trees as it leads to the farm,grazed by sheep, that is at the heart of the estate before you reach the walled garden.
The tale of the garden is one of decay, renewal,tempest and refusal to be beaten by the overwhelming power of the elements, which can defeat human constructions, but cannot deny our power to overcome disaster, both as individuals and as a community. The walled garden, which is unusual in that it is to some extent curved rather than rectangular, was established when the Price family created an estate fit for a gentleman out of their lands, emparking certain areas and making a walled garden, which in accordance with the traditions of the time became a home garden, growing fruit and vegetables for the house. When the Price line died out the land was sold on and for a while it was tended by the Fanning Evans family, but when her husband died and she was aging Mrs Fanning Evans tended a corner of the garden for as long as her body was capable, but then she went into easier accomodation and the garden fell into ruin.
In 1997 along came Anthony Tavernor, a Staffordshire farmer, who bought the estate and began to restore it. He began by restoring some old cottages, which would be turned into holiday lets to provide him with an income, and soon he developed a herb garden behind the main house and he planted up an old courtyard. So far, so good. However, recreating a full vegetable garden would have been too labour-intensive and uneconomic, so he went for a fruit and flower garden, and soon it was back to something of its former glory.
Then the floods struck. Water pressure overwhelmed a two hundred year old wall, flooding the garden and destroying many plants. But that did not deter Anthony. He picked himself up and started again. I saw the restored garden and it is beautiful.
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It is a lovely place.The woods are beautifully tended; and the double herbaceous border would repay spending more time than I had to give that day. I could spend a whole day with guidebook and camera on the walled garden alone; and then I would turn to the woods.
I love gardens and this one sounds especially lovely!
Loved the article and all the beautiful flowers!
I have to say that this is not a National Trust garden, nor does it belong to the Royal Horticultural Society, so my membership cards for these two organizations do not get me entry. The garden is part of a private business that is also a labour of love, from which the owner makes a living. I do not begrudge the entry fee.
I did not see year passes advertised when I paid my fee, but the owner is obviously an able businessman and might be open to suggestions. You are right, though, about not being able to take it in in one go.For example, I did not see the Azaleas at their full bloom on my one visit. Nor did I see the upper valley garden above the waterfall, as we had no time that day. I am told that the woods are a site of special scientific interest because they contain some alpine flora, but I could not find any information on this matter. In fact there are a few places in North Wales where alpines grow naturally, remnants of the Ice Age.
I imagine that if you went alone with a guide book you could spend a long time wandering along the double herbaceous border, and that is before you get into the woods. You would need to identify flowers, trees and lichens. Oh, and the woods are a sanctuary for our native red squirrels, which were pushed out of many places by American grey squirrels.But they are shy creatures and I spotted none on this visit, though I have seen them in some places.
This sounds like an absolutely beautiful garden to visit. Do they sell year passes by chance, so you could pay one price, as a local, and got back as much as you want? I would think that no one could see it all in one day.
Thanks for the information on the variation between American and British English. I suspected that there may be some difference in usage where the trolley/stroller was concerned, but I did not know the American usage. More modern Brits sometimes say pushchair, but I'm not modern, which grandfather is?
The wall is somewhat curved rather than round, but you make a good point about the power of the flood being limited by the curve. Perhaps it was deflected to some degree and that helped, though the wall did come down under the weight of water. Then it would have cascaded downhill through the woods.The wall that went down was two hundred years old, so maybe it was weakened with age.I am unsure of the legal status of the garden, but if it is a listed building for the purposes of conservation the wall would have had to have been restored exactly as it was before the damage.
I also forgot to say that the wooded section is legally designated as a site of special scientific interest for its flora.
Frank, it took some time before I realized a trolley i England is what we call a stroller.
As for the woods surviving the flood, There is a lighthouse in Mississippi that came through Hurricane Katrina while many other structures were destroyed. I believe the round design is what saved the trees, as the water cannot exert the same force as it would on a flat surface. The curve acts like an arch, redirecting the force.
I suspect you went at a time when the flowers were at or near peaking. I have gone to a garden, Bellingrath in Mobile, Alabama, and found the floral displays vary in intensity.
Yellow: the easiest, suitable for prams and wheelchairs.Mainly the walled garden.
Blue:extends into the woods but with no steps,
Red: Steeper and there are steps. The red route diverges from the blue route as you approach the river.
The whole estate is two hundred acres,including gardens, woods and fields.
FrankBeswick, Thank you for giving us the experience of a restored hidden garden. Blue flowers count among my favorites even though the astilbe above is particularly photogenic. What is the color of the third walk?