The Manor, Hemingford Grey

About The Manor, Hemingford Grey

The garden is bordered by a moat on three sides and the river Great Ouse on the other. It is approached by walking along the towpath beside the river, where visitors get a glimpse of long herbaceous borders.
The entrance is a little gate which is almost hidden so there is immediately the feeling that one is entering a mysterious place. Yew trees cut into crowns and orbs, in honour of the coronation of the Queen in 1953, border a gravel path leading to the house. To the left and right are herbaceous borders containing plants grown mainly for their scent. Bearded irises, including Dykes Medal winners and Cedric Morris varieties, are amongst the extensive collection in dedicated beds.
Near the house, topiary chess pieces stand in their black and white planted squares of Ajuga reptans and Stachys byzantina and a bower of pink roses leads the way to some of Lucy Boston’s beautiful collection of old roses. There are rose bushes throughout the garden. The colour continues spectacularly right up to the first frosts with unusual annuals. Beech hedges divide the garden into separate ‘rooms’, so there is the temptation that there may be more around the corner.
Visitors proceed to the hidden garden, which consists of meadow and lawn all bordered by the moat and an herbaceous bed containing irises, poppies, lilies, nepeta, campanula and evening primrose. Close to the moat on one side of the lawn is a wooded area. A large yew hugs the back of the house, the setting for a Christmas party in the first of the children’s books written by Lucy Boston about the house and garden.