Landscapedesign.co.nz | Design and Advice Columns | Sandra Batley

Trains, Planes and Automobiles

During a recent six week vacation in Europe - in between high security alerts, unscheduled hospital visits, food poisoning, flooding and an outbreak of foot and mouth disease - I got to visit a few classic British gardens.

My original itinerary had included a visit to the oh so quirky International Festival of Gardens at the Château of Chaumont, in the Loire Valley, France to see the imaginative garden designs from designers across Europe. This year the theme is ‘Mobiles, Gardens for a World of Motion’. Then a train trip to the Hogue Veluwe Park in Holland viewing Europe’s largest sculpture park set in vast forests and expanses of grassland. C’est la vie as they say.

Instead I made the most of the situation. I decided to take the train and have a day out at Hampton Court Palace Flower show. Set in the graceful, historic grounds of Hampton Court is the world’s largest annual flower show. I also had a pleasant trip in the country by car to visit The Hannah Peschar Sculpture Garden in Surrey to stroll amongst art and nature. And finally visit the newly opened Glasshouse at RHS Wisley and walk through temperate, tropical and desert climates in this incredible ‘glass cathedral’ and see some of the finest examples of cultivated glasshouse plants in the world.

The British summer weather although annoyingly wet and unpredictable most of the time brightened up for some good photographs of the gardens and the inspiring display of plants.

In my next column I will share my experiences and some photographs of these three places of interest.

Sandra is an award-winning designer based in Auckland.

Sandra Batley Dip LD
FLOURISH