Lower Bowden Manor

About Lower Bowden Manor

The 7 acre garden at Lower Bowden Manor (LBM), in the Parish of Pangbourne, was created at the same time as the house in the early XXth century, which accounts for its mature setting of trees. After many years of neglect, it is being revived by Juliette Cox-Nicol, who exercised her landscaping skills in the Paris area prior to retiring at LBM in 2016. It lies on a plateau, sloping to views of the Thames valley and the Chilterns beyond. It is loosely divided into eight rooms.

Structure is privileged over flower borders, thus creating a garden for all seasons. Form, bark colour and leaf shape prevail among newly planted trees and shrubs such as varied birch and cornus. A rill, tightly enclosed in a pair of tall yew hedges, has been partly opened up to show alignments of painted Versailles planters containing standard gold-tinted topiaries.

At the bottom of the garden a pond was created, featuring boulders and boulder-like shrubs. The orchard with its venerable fruit-trees now includes a wave of white hydrangeas. A newcomer is the Folly, a neo-gothic designed conservatory. And a statue of Pan plays to a collection of cornus.

Teas with cake are £5 pre-bookable.