IT’S all about go big or go home.’ Head gardener Andrew Cannell is introducing the new planting at the American Museum & Gardens in Bath, which is epitomised by curving skeins of golden rudbeckia and shimmering stretches of Miscanthus sinensis. The heads of the 6ft-tall Allium ‘Summer Drummer’ march cheerfully through the beds and energise every view. ‘Summer Drummer’ has become a signature plant of what is, rather surprisingly, the first completed British commission for OvS, the prestigious Washington DC-based landscape architects Oehme, van Sweden (OvS).
‘Oh, the alliums!’ wrote lead landscape architect Eric Groft, describing his return to Bath for the opening of the revived gardens by the then American ambassador, Woody Johnson, in September 2018. ‘We planted upward of seven different varieties and thousands of each. They all seemed to be dancing in the wind and almost singing.’
The place is a fascinating mix of cultures. On the one hand, there is the Classical Claverton Manor of 1820, with 125 acres of downward-swooping parkland commanding views of the Limpley Stoke valley on the edge of Bath. To this has been added a ‘bold romantic’ garden in the New American Style designed by a team whose clients include the US State Department and Oprah Winfrey.
When OvS was founded by Wolfgang Oehme and James van Sweden in 1975, it revolutionised American landscape design. The pair’s mission was to replace the accepted style miles of manicured lawn and ‘funereal’ evergreen hedges with dynamic, prairie-like gardens containing sweeps of perennials and grasses designed to ‘move in the breeze and sparkle like stained glass’.
In historic and pastoral Bath, the words “new” and “American” are a tough sell
Denne historien er fra May 05, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra May 05, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
