The sound of clanging garden gates seems to be reverberating around Britain. Chesters Walled Garden is now closed for good, and from the end of this month, Leonardslee in West Sussex will be closed, according to the press releases, “for the foreseeable future”.
News broke in February that the Grade I listed garden had been bought by a businessman from Eastern Europe (more detail at The Telegraph). This is a terribly sad loss. Just how sad was brought home to me when I visited last week.
At this time of year, the gardens are ablaze with rhododendrons and azaleas, brought from all over the world. Huge R. loderi, first bred at Leonardslee by Sir Edmund Loder in 1900, tower over little woodland paths and the air is thick with a jasmine scent. Soon the only opportunity to catch a glimpse of these historic gardens will be to watch the feverishly intense Powell and Pressburger film, Black Narcissus.
...Landscape Juice Network
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