Primulas © Alice Joyce
An ideal garden holds you in its embrace.
Cothay Unicorn © Alice Joyce
Friends have heard me say that I left my heart in Somerset, a pastoral county in the South West of England known for its gardens – Tintinhull to Lytes Cary to Hestercombe & East Lambrook Manor.
Cothay Stone Seat © Alice Joyce
Yet, another Somerset held me in thrall with the romance of its garden rooms, sylvan meadows and bog garden: the lush landscape and splendid 15th century Medieval house of Cothay Manor. Fine topiary lends a formality to the landscape of Cothay Gardens, as do myriad vignettes revealed as you move from one perfectly composed garden room to the next.
Cothay Topiary/Walkway © Alice Joyce
Cothay Manor Gardens Urn © Alice Joyce
Embellishments – a stone bench, a classic urn, a unicorn – act, as understated focal points, pleasing to eye, and soothing in their elegance and placement.
Cothay Manor Rock walk © Alice Joyce
Springtime at Cothay Manor: the meadows appear like dance floors for arrays of wildflowers and tulips, rising up and moving in time with the wind. And primulas! Brilliant candelabras, skunk cabbages, tree peonies, and greater celandine emerge in the Bog Garden, and throughout the wild-appearing woodland that is anything but wild.
Cothay Manor Garden Room © Alice Joyce
Designed in the 1920s by Reginald Cooper, friend to Lawrence Johnstone of Hidcote Manor and Harold Nicolson of Sissinghurst, the gardens “have been redesigned and replanted within the original framework of yew hedges.” Lyrically memorable, the 12-acre Cothay Manor Gardens estate holds a place in the book: 1001 Gardens You Must See Before You Die : I contributed to the entries, albeit, did not have the good fortune to be assigned the gardens at Cothay Manor.
Cothay Manor Pool/Succulents © Alice Joyce
Cothay Manor Gardens Rhodo. © Alice Joyce
Dear Alice, I have absolutely no wish to be a killjoy, but I am afraid that Cothay made no lasting impression on me whatsoever and, looking back into my journal, I read that I was somewhat disappointed and underwhelmed. The avenue approach I thought rather fine, and the house is, of course, lovely.
Somerset as a county, I do agree, has much to offer in the way of fine gardens although, sadly, the dear Popes at Hadspen are gone. Tintinhull, when under the stewardship of Penelope Hobhouse was one of my all time favourites.
Dear Edith
As mentioned in my email, I do believe some serious revitalization is ongoing these days at Cothay. The gardens are in lovely condition, delightful to spend time in, and quite dreamy, overall.