Waterperry Gardens (Oxfordshire)

Waterperry Gardens

As you probably guessed, my plan to "blog as I go" failed. The fault lies with Blogger or Google, as I could not upload my photos to Blogger on my phone without getting an error message. I tried but eventually gave up.  I did post faithfully to Instagram and Facebook, so if you follow me there, you have seen these photos already.

I made it home safely late last week. I had a great time and saw several gardens that I only dreamed I would ever see. 

On day 2, we departed Windsor and headed north. Here we are leaving the Christopher Wren Hotel and heading for Oxfordshire. The first half of the tour was very hot with record temperatures. Our bus was nice and cold though.

Enroute to our next hotel, our first stop was Waterperry Gardens in Oxfordshire. I had never heard of it before. It was started as a horticultural school for women in 1932 (very unusual at the time) by Beatrix Havergal and her partner Avice Sanders. 

Beatrix Havergal (photographed by Cecil Beaton)

What started out as mostly a vegetable demonstration garden grew into a vast garden with a 200 ft perennial border, a lily pool, test garden for perennials and much more. There is a nursery on site and a gift shop. I bought my first souvenir- a steel Burgon & Ball steel sharpening tool.

The 200 ft. perennial border (at the top of the post and below) runs alongside a brick wall. The perennials were massive and at their peak. 

The expansive garden is laid out as a series of rooms, some walled in and some separated by large areas of grass. Many rooms, like the rose garden (below)  were enclosed in meticulously clipped hedges. 

The Canal - 

The Formal Garden / Silent Space

The Alpine Garden - 

The River Thame runs along one side of the garden. A woodland trail meanders beside 

it -

An interesting museum contains hundreds of ancient tools -

The Nursery -

Beatrix Havergal (second from right) and a group of her students

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy