Castle Howard – An English Idyll

Castle Howard is the private home of the Howard family where eleven generations have lived since the house was built by Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle at the beginning of the 18th century.

The house and its grounds offer the visitor a quintessentially English experience. You will surely be smitten by the dazzling splendour of the house and delighted at the variety and completeness of the grounds. Grounds which so impressed one visitor in 1732 that they remarked: "the chief excellency of these gardens consists in the infinite variety you see in them, so that you may very properly call it not one but ten different gardens."

Castle Howard is certainly one of those gardens whose timeless quality beckons the visitor to return - again and again.

Today, the visitor can walk through extensive woodlands, saunter in informal gardens or stroll along terraces as generations have done before. The grounds have interesting vistas at every turn with their collection of temples, follies, terraces and lakes, dating from the 18th century.

As with most gardens of grandeur the Victorians have left their mark - the exciting fountains and waterways which were installed between 1850 and 1865 being an example. Notable is William Andrews Nesfield’s famous Atlas Fountain originally standing as the centre-piece for an elaborate parterre. In the 1890s the 9th Countess removed the parterre and reinstated a grass terrace surrounding yew hedges. Today, the fountain is still a stunning statement to Victorian garden design.

Since early 2006 the Gardens Team at Castle Howard have been working on an Ornamental Vegetable Garden within the Walled Garden. This is the first project for a number of years which the team have been able to start from scratch.

The Garden Team is led by Head Gardener Brian Deighton who explained to Reckless that the 18th century walled garden contained a kitchen garden which supplied most of the fruit and vegetables for the main house.

In the French inspired kitchen garden (Potager) you will find plants and flowers quite happily growing in with vegetables and fruits- in this country, however, Brian explains that it describes a plot in which vegetables and herbs are grown alongside garden plants but where the ornamental aspect is just as important as the productive side. So why did the team want to create a modern Potager?

"The beds are arranged quite formally in the Walled Garden and when some space became free we wanted to try something different. We decided vegetables were the answer and a potager style garden suited the area," Brian explained.

Team members Carol Clarkson, Chris Bentley, Adele Hurst, Neil MacCulloch and Andrew Sleightholme researched as much as they could from books and websites looking up old French kitchen gardens where vegetables, herbs and flowers grew together.

The potager is arranged formally in a group of beds because the beds were already there when the garden had roses planted. Carol explains: "We tried to keep the beds formal with a more informal approach on the outer beds."

All agree that the first year's harvest went well and that time will tell as to what works and what doesn't. If you ask them what they feel is special about Castle Howard's gardens from a gardener's perspective they will tell you with one voice that it’s the variety of grounds, going from the walled gardens to large open spaces to deeply planted areas such as Ray Wood.

Obviously everybody has a particular area of the garden which is a favourite and this is no different with members of the Gardening Team. "The cascade is very peaceful and a nice area to work," explains Chris. "The delphinium border is another," says Neil. "Looking over the South Front after all the hedges have been cut in autumn is a lovely sight," Adele reflects while Andrew confirms that, "It’s hard to find one favourite aspect".

The Ornamental Vegetable Garden is located in the Sundial Garden and will be an ever-changing area within the Walled Gardens – one of the aspects which I always think is most appealing to Castle Howard as there is always something new to see whatever the season.

It is hoped that the Team will be able to introduce some heritage species alongside more contemporary plantings. Produce will be available for the public to sample through the farm shop and Castle Howard’s cafés.

No garden should stand in aspic and its good to see the Gardening Team at Castle Howard exploring new and exciting ways to continue the vibrancy of the gardens.

Castle Howard has a gardening club which offers a range of demonstrations and practical gardening advice. Details about opening hours, the gardening club and forthcoming events can be found on the Castle Howard website: www.castlehoward.co.uk