The Redevelopment of the First of the Five Inner Gardens

If you have visited us recently, you may have noticed that we have made some changes to the first of our inner gardens. Formerly known as “the earth sculpture garden”, our team of horticulturists have transformed the garden into a striking space to showcase the start of the growing season.

William Charity, our Senior Horticulturist, discusses the thought process behind the changes:

Since the redesign of the Walled Garden in 2001, the first garden has remained as an earth sculpture. The design behind it was to symbolise the turning of the soil ready for a new growing season. The narrative of the seasons then continues through the other inner gardens and is showcased through the seasonal planting plans; spring, summer, late summer and autumn.

In 2024 the earth sculpture garden was starting to show less relevance in the current UK horticulture scene. Many professional horticulturists, for example Charles Dowding, all understand that reducing disturbance to the soil, by reducing digging, helps increase the soil’s nutrient and moisture content.

Furthermore, in summer 2024 the lawn on the earth sculpture was becoming increasingly challenging to maintain. Dryer summers meant the lawn would go brown, also accelerated by the fact the lawn was on a slope. A change was needed to this garden design. It was decided that the garden needed to remain with late winter, early spring interest to symbolise the start of the growing season.

As the earth sculpture garden was a simplistic design, I felt it was important to maintain a simplistic feel to any new design. It was decided that white Birch trees (Betula utilis subsp. Jacquemontii ‘Trinity College’) – a smaller growing variety, underplanted with Snowdrops (Galanthus woronowii), white Bergenia’s (Bergenia ‘Bressingham White’ and black grasses (Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’) would be used. This is a very simple planting pallet with only 4 different plant species. The white theme will create a striking late winter early spring display and as the trees mature, they will provide dappled shade in the summer. I hope visitors will enjoy the new garden a much as we do!

William Charity
Senior Horticulturist

The walled garden is open in January this year for the first time. Plan your visit today to see how William and his team are transforming the garden. Are you an RHS member? You can visit for free on selected dates. Find out more on the RHS website.