Gardening the grounds of the monumental Norman fortress of Arundel Castle is not for the faint of heart, and a bold and inventive approach has resulted in a number of amazing gardens.
While many of the design elements can be reduced to a domestic scale on an immense scale and incorporated alongside other gardening ideas to inspire your own planting plans.
(Photo credit: Marianne majerus)
The 18th Duke and Duchess of Norfolk, Edward and Georgina Fitzalan-Howard, have revolutionized Arundel Castle’s traditionally classic English garden since 2002 (opens in new tab).
The Howards hired garden design partners Isobel and Julian Bannerman (opens in new tab)to create some fabulous eye-catchers.
(Photo credit: Marianne Majerus)
The subtropical labyrinth garden is one of them. Formerly a large lawn, the exotic windmill palms introduced by Bannerman, Trachycarpus fortunei and the lawn now forms a grassy maze planted with more than 20,000 flame-red whorls tulip ‘Oxford’ and ‘Apeldoorn’ against sweaty, fragrant masses daffodil ‘Thalia’.
Alluding to the naturalistic planting design: “The spring onions are naturalized; Many tulips come back and survive about 3 years. The 5,000 annual plants close these gaps,” explains head gardener Martin Duncan.
(Photo credit: Marianne Majerus)
Borrowing from tropical garden ideas, Martin quadrupled the palm trees in Collector Earl’s Garden and amassed hundreds of other exotics such as giant pitchers, banana plants and echium. “Size, shape and texture are key; Color provides the final wow effect,” he explains.
(Photo credit: Marianne Majerus)
Martin gives full credit to Arundel’s spectacular spring bulb bonanza as his team of seven gardeners and volunteers planted a whopping 1.3 million bulbs in a single decade.
There’s little he doesn’t know about planting tulip bulbs, alliums, camassia and planting daffodils.
Thick box parterre gardens encase a jewel case full of tulips with a spectacular wedding cake of tiered tulips. tulip ‘Passionale’ ‘Mistress’, ‘Paul Scherer’, ‘Bastogne’.
(Photo credit: Marianne Majerus)
There are over 150 different varieties of tulips planted for a sequential, coordinated cavalcade of colour, height and shape to inspire flower bed ideas.
Martin orchestrates the tulip explosion, which varies in tone and intensity, enhancing the individual character of each “garden room”.
There are many takeaway ideas when considering garden color schemes.
(Photo credit: Marianne Majerus)
hot headed tulip ‘Fireworks’ and exotic parrot tulip ‘Rococo’ blazes in the subtropical borders.
Milder, warm-colored buds, like tulip ‘Ballerina’ in large terracotta pots are more reminiscent of a Mediterranean garden style.
(Photo credit: Marianne Majerus)
Classic English borders are infused with refined tones of purple, lilac and white, while Fitzalan Chapel’s White Garden is essentially monochromatic tulip ‘White Triumphator’ underplanted with white wallflowers.
“500 pots filled with bulbs are on standby, ready to replenish previously spent blooms and ensure a long and spectacular show,” says Martin.
(Photo credit: Marianne Majerus)
In the more naturalistic stumpery, tulips are chosen at the bottom. Gentle species or botanical tulips, turkestanica, sylvestris and linifoliamingle with other “forest” natives.
(Photo credit: Marianne Majerus)
Bluebells, squirrel-headed butterflies and pasque flowers are hidden among gigantic tree stumps overgrown with verdant euphorbia, ferns and hellebore.
“We hand-picked, turned over and buried stumps of oak, yew and sweet chestnut trees that were felled by the great storm of 1987 so that they appear to be still growing,” explains Martin. This is wonderful as one of many wildlife garden ideas.
(Photo credit: Marianne Majerus)
Martin offers advice on how to create a contemporary stumpery:
- Stumperies are scalable, so start small and build on success.
- Obtain tree stumps, either homegrown or sourced from local lumberjacks
- Stumperia can be planted in sunny or shady locations, so adjust the planting to suit the soil and orientation.
- Position the stump, then dig a ½ meter deep “planting hole” wider than the stump circumference to secure it.
- Place artfully and plant safely, root up
- Surrounded by vigorous evergreen forest-like plants and uncut re-grown grass. Euphorbia, ferns, hellebore, domestic flower bulbs with a handful of exciting exotic species, echium, dierama.
- Position smaller, cascading and fascinating plants in the stump itself.
- Allow self-seeding to develop a natural feel that has been there forever.
- Develop plants for all seasons to encourage wildlife and include plants to attract butterflies and flowers that attract bees.
- Stumperies and the rewilding of grasslands with native plants help increase biodiversity and support local wildlife.
(Photo credit: Marianne Majerus)
Exuberant plants envelop these aged, natural wood sculptures, creating a sense of ‘otherworldliness’.
This is a garden of excitement and illusion, the planting capitalizing on the enormity and antiquity of its surroundings. This is not a shrinking purple.