Rosemary Verey OBE and Barnsley House Early Days
continued from These recreations (referring to the Knot Garden) of an old garden style were often gleaned from rare ancient books that were part of Rosemary's husbands famous collection.
The
Knot Garden designed by Rosemary Verey at Barnsley House, her home for very many
years.
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They should enjoy the weeds. Enjoy the different textures and the colours and different greens. It doesnt matter. Probably everybody who says to me that their garden is untidy has a much tidier house than I do. I would much rather go outside and tidy up the border, deadhead the roses or deadhead the daffodils than I would make the beds or do the cooking. We are all born with different preferences. Mine certainly is - and this has absolutely been since I was a small child - being totally involved with the outdoors.
Just appreciate your garden as it is, and do remember to look into the faces of the flowers, particularly if you have got children or grandchildren with you. They are so lucky because they are the same height as tulips and they don't have to bend their knees to look down into them.
Enjoy the scents. The lovely Philadelphus, Winter Sweet and others. Remember that some plants hold on fast to their scent and you have to put your nose in them to get it.
What I wonder should be the role of water in the garden?
I have always been very much influenced by Russell Page. I think Russell was the greatest garden designer of the twentieth century. It was because his designs were original and so applicable. He had this absolutely perfect sense of proportion. If you needed to put a tree in somewhere he would go and stand there and say this is where the tree should go. He always got it right. He had a perfect artists eye.
Russell said that water had three roles in the garden. It has a role of sound, movement and reflection. So if you can combine those you are doing very well.
If you want sound then you really should have a fountain, and it doesnt matter if it is a hall fountain or a great big thing like the Trevi fountain. In our garden to make the sound with our fountain, weve got the water being spat from 4 fat frogs onto a flat water stone. You can hear the water as it hits the stone and drops down into the pool below this from quite a long way away, particularly if the wind is in the right direction.
It also should have movement. Most people who live on a river are lucky because they have ready made moving water, ready made movement and all they have to do is put a chair by the river and watch it flow through. If you havent got a river, youve got to create that yourself. We have created moving water with our spitting frogs in our Frog fountain.
Spitting frog fountain
Russell was very emphatic about Reflection. He said, For goodness sake, don't put so many plants in your pond; whether your pond is formal or informal, don't put so many plants in it that you cannot see the water. If you do there is really no more point in having a pond.