Iford Manor (Part 2)

(Continued from Part 1)...

I knew that Iford Manor was my kind of garden when I saw the statue of "Dying Gaul" perched on top of a wall. We can't afford one for our garden but we do have a little version inside the house -

The garden continues uphill with areas that are naturalized as well as manicured  - 

A very theatrical area with some of the statuary from Peto's travels -

Peto loved curved benches. In addition to Italian gardens, he was influenced by the Arts & Crafts movement. Some think that his love of curved benches came from the paintings of Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Some copies of his works were found in Peto's files -

"Expectations" by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema

Small buildings also dotted the landscape -

The largest building was the cloister which housed more of his classical treasures -

There is even a Japanese garden -

Various pathways and woodland trails led to a road above the gardens. This set of stairs was roped off, but there were more user-friendly avenues available -

Finally, heading back down toward the house -

Heading back, I discovered that I was all alone. It was so quiet - paradise! I was the last person in the garden. Everyone else had gathered at the cafe near the exit -

Note - Troy Scott Smith, head gardener at Sissinghurst, worked at Iford Manor for several years. He will be speaking at HPSO on Sunday, September 21st. Tickets are available on the HPSO website. 

(Visited May 9, 2025)

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy