Burmington Grange

About Burmington Grange

The house was built of Cotswold stone on an existing site around 2002. It is modern Georgian in style, with a four-square stance. The garden has been created entirely since then, apart from a few mature trees, and extends to some 1½ acres.

The situation is impressive – an elevated position with wonderful views over unspoilt countryside. The winds are strong, which is one reason for the many hedges in the more exposed areas, making these an important feature of the garden.

The garden consists of a series of more or less enclosed areas, separated by hedges or by changes in level, and all with a broadly geometric structure. Some of it is quite formal and green, with an emphasis on lawns, hedges, trees and topiary. The feel is restrained and rather modernistic. By contrast other areas are full of colour and are more traditional in style. Looking more closely, however, there are many unusual plants .

We approach down a drive which becomes gravelled as we near the house, passing by an avenue of young oak and ash. Around the front area is a low planting of box and mint, with a mature perry pear on the right.

The front of the house is well covered. Wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox) grows on either side of the door, with scented yellow white flowers in winter. Its neighbours against the wall include the rose ‘Félicité Perpétue’, wisteria, vine and climbing hydrangea. Chocolate vine (Akebia quinata) provides spring colour. Below at the edge is variegated Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’.

We turn left and enter the picking and vegetable garden. Two apricots grow against one wall, with pears and apples on the right. Unusually there are two mature trees – horse chestnut, and lime – in this area. At the end on the right is Heptacodium miconoides, a late flowering Chinese shrub only introduced to UK cultivation a generation ago but now increasingly common.

At that point we turn right, immediately passing Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’, with its large round heads of white flowers. We now enter an area at the side of the house, with some sinuous curves in the lawn. Here there are mature borders with large shrubs. One that stands out is the large and unusual xChitalpa tashkentensis, whose white flowers last from mid-summer to early autumn. One of the parents is the Indian bean tree. Other good shrubs include the Judas tree, the white-flowering Hoheria from New Zealand and the unusual Clerodendrum trichotomum. Its scented jasmine-like white flowers are followed by blue fruits that remain on the tree.

The next area lies at the rear of the house, with steps descending from a lawned terrace, flanked by a dry wall of Cotswold stone. The view is magnificent and reveals itself progressively. We can see Chipping Campden, Batsford and other focal points. The lie of the land makes the most of the borrowed landscape.

This area is laid out to a number of geometrically shaped beds divided by lawns and by low lavender hedging. At the centre is a pool and at one side is a seat and an arbour. There are two main features of the planting. The first consists of roses in a number of forms. They include ‘St Swithun’, ‘Brother Cadfael’, both pink, and R. bracteata with large, single white blooms. In the edging beds are many herbaceous plants, including salvia in several colours, pink hebe, heuchera and erigeron daisies. Blue-flowered Ceratostigma makes a late summer splash, while Abelia grandiflora provides body. The second prominent feature of the planting is a series of neatly clipped Portuguese laurels, treated as standards and situated confidently in the beds.

Across a gate at the bottom we get a glimpse of the orchard, full of eating apples in season.

Moving right in front of the house we enter an area dominated by curved lawns and hedging, although also with some planted beds. The range of hedging material is wide. It includes not just hornbeam but also yew, privet, roses and even Viburnum. In various places there are also some variegated plants, including Cornus, Pittosporum, and box. There is also some topiary, notably as we pass from area to area through boundary hedges.

Near the corner a red Norway maple stands out. In the area that follows, on various levels, we see groups of small trees of similar character. There is a series of crab apples that includes Malus sargentii and M. ‘Evereste’. The Chinese rowan Sorbus hupehensis is clearly a favourite, with its white berries ripening to pink. And there are Japanese cherries too.

Moving up at the far side of the house we reach a further succession of lawned and hedged areas with groups of trees of the same species. The area of weeping pears is unusual and striking. The hedges are all hornbeam at this point.

Finally we pass through a gate and enter the small arboretum which extends to the boundary of the garden. This is a collection, with the trees chosen for their individual interest. Many come from Bluebell Nursery, a specialist tree supplier in Derbyshire. Stand-out plants include a wingnut that will eventually become very large, the lime Tilia henryana with its unusual leaves, and the northern pin oak Quercus ellipsoidalis ‘Hemelrijk’ with brilliant red autumn colour. With each year this area will become more interesting and impressive.

Here is a garden which springs from vision, a love of plants and a feel for design. The whole ensemble makes the most of the setting and is ornamental over a long season. And there is much for the plantsman to savour.

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