What can the beautiful historic walled gardens at Goodestone Park Gardens teach us? I talk to head gardener Paul Bagshaw about the micro-climate that walls create, design options for walled (or rectangular/square) gardens, climbing plants, fixings and more.
Goodnestone Park is available for historic house tours, events and weddings. The garden is open all year round.
00:00 Welcome
00:07 Why a walled garden isn’t just for historic homes
00:44 Goodnestone Park Gardens: https://goodnestonepark.co.uk/
01:15 Why a walled garden is different
01:30 Should you cover or expose your walls?
02:12 Design principles for a walled garden
03:23 Seating in a walled garden
04:02 Supporting climbers in a walled garden
05:58 Trellis ideas
06:38 Are pests and diseases worse in a walled garden?
07:27 Could an old wall cause problems in my soil?
08:00 The ‘jungle garden’ – small space, tender plants
10:15 The first walled garden – colour themed with a herb garden
11:15 When you garden, you have to reappraise areas
14:35 The second walled garden – open space and a reflective pond
15:58 Dividing up a long border
16:18 The third walled garden – dense planting and a riot of colour
17:14 Sometimes you have to break the rules
18:27 How to create a rock garden from Doddington Place Gardens: https://youtu.be/whDfzvMn9Zw
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43 Comments
You can book Goodnestone Park Gardens for a wedding, an event or historic tours. The gardens are open all year round and there is a cafe from Wed-Sunday: https://goodnestonepark.co.uk/
God, the birds are really loud🐦 ❤
I'm not sure I can even watch this as I will be so filled with so much walled-garden envy haha. In my part of Canada we do not have this and it truly is something I want to be able to see one day. *Edit – Beautiful gardens!! And of course I now have garden envy lol 🌿💚
I love the English brick walls. Never seen them here in USA. We have cheep wooden fences or chain link!
Excellent session, thank you
The first thing I learnt when I built my walled garden was I should have put a door in. 😢
Why have just one focal point .Church is good but in ever view is boring
It's crazy to think that if your only exposure to the UK was through the garden/horticulture lens, you would assume everyone outside of London has a 16th century home with a Coat of Arms and a period Knights armor, an extensive walled garden loaded with topiary, hedges, long borders, life size bronze statues, a stream/pond, and immaculate 1" high lawn…
I have looked at that wall in your garden where you sit, Alexandra, 0:28, many times and wondered why you didn't decorate it, to a degree, with a plant or two. I was expecting you to say what your decision was about it but you didn't (unless I somehow managed to miss it). I am sure you must have thoughts, knowing its aspect and all that.
higgledy piggledy is a hugely underrated phrase 😂
ENJOYED
I love a beautiful walled garden. Could you make an episode on how to make a long fence look good ?
Another great video , thank you Alexandra …
Living in Southern California, I have grey concrete block walls. When we moved here, I couldn’t stand it, so I painted murals. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but me and mine love it. We have to manage with what we’re dealt with.
Enjoy Paul and his humor and advice 🙂 Beautiful plantings! Thank you for sharing 🙌💚🌿🌲
Higgely-pigglediness is what I strive for in my own garden!
Thank you.
My very favorite videos are of your tours of the great gardens. Especially with the head gardeners explaining their challenges and solutions. Those teach me the most and are so inspiring.
Beautiful tour of a beautiful garden. Very inspiring. I found some old metal door frames…. now I hv some ideas…..
Stunning gardens, stunning views. I need to build a church or medieval castle in my garden (6×12 meters 🫠).
Nice to hear so much wildlife in the background.
Hi! Do you happen to know what flower is at 7:00 ? I wish he could have showed more trellis designs and how to diy different types of trellis.
Thank you Alexandra and Paul – from Massachusetts 🌱
Be still my heart! Surreal beauty… and sublime.. tu Alexandra..!
Great video, Alexandra! Very inspirational. Thank you for sharing.
Really spectacular views of the church. The discussion of narrow vs wide vistas was interesting. Gardeners are constantly solving problems, which is part of the fun. I enjoyed hearing some of his solutions.
18:16 this is what I like best about your videos. Not only the first rate quality interviews and magical places, but the linking to other videos is so smooth ❤ also here in Italy we have 70% stone and 30% clay soil…so a rockery is a given. Thanks for linking me to your next video 😊
Just so beautiful.
My knees go weak when I look at this garden. Although it’s true the brick holds heat, I have seen beautiful courtyard gardens in hot climates as well but they are usually rendered in white stucco or lime wash.
Greattttttttttttt video!
I made a thumbnail for it. If you'd like to see it, feel free to share your email and I'll send it over.
A walled garden always looks like they're straight out of "The Secret Garden" come to life. Very romantic and whimsical.
A wonderful, thought provoking episode full of inspiration. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Alexandra. A wall garden, covered in vines or trailing roses can be very beautiful in spring.
Alexandra this is a great video on how to both use and feature a wall. I especially appreciate the idea of not covering all of the wall and allowing the brick or stone to shine as a feature. Lots to think about and as always very inspiring.
If you really want to anchor your trellises to your walls, through-bolts with big washers on the far side are the way to go. But there's always a question: which part of the structure do you want to fail if subjected to a force it can't handle? Break the plant, or break the trellis, or break the attachment of the trellis to the wall, or pull the wall down? Personally I think the attachment of the trellis to the wall is a good place for a controlled failure. I would rather be replacing anchors into lime mortar than rebuilding a brick wall.
Your reflecting pool with its waterlillies is still doing better than the algae pool in the US that keeps crossing my timeline.
I like the informal formality of this garden . An asymettrical layout seems wrong when you think of it but actually seems to make it more interesting and opens up new planting possibilities. Great video!
Wonderful conversation! And I laughed about the pigeons. I have my tomato plants on very tall trellises where the fruit forms on the top because three storey condos were built five years ago shading my garden beds…but I also use my old tomato cages, set at angles over the root area to protect them from raccoons who will dig them up every night looking for grubs. Living in a warmer climate, on a property subdivided in the 1920s, I've realized that solid walls would be way too hot, and the chain link (though ugly) allows the breeze through. I'm exploring different kinds of fencing that won't block air flow, but will have to find a look I like. In the mean time there are plants, vines, and trees to cover up most of it. Tropical plants do great here with no need for greenhouses; bougainvillea, banana trees, angel's trumpets, palm trees. But that also means we have plenty of experience with bamboo!!! Danger, danger!!! LOL. Be very careful of planting bamboo in the ground. It can invade foundations, tear down chimneys, and keep going into your neighbor's yard. I love the reflecting pool, and agree that maybe the waterlilies could go elsewhere instead of fighting the reflection of the fantastic church tower. When I was young, maybe seven years old, I read The Secret Garden for the first time and fell in love with the idea of a walled garden. My grandmother in Los Angeles had close to 100 roses, and I'd wander around reading the names on the little tags. I love that gardening is a life long pursuit. 🙂
Would love to know about the vine on the walled garden above the green bench at the 11:10 time on your video….what lovely leaf structure on it…not named on the video besides purple vines.
Wish I could have more walls as in a walled garden. But Theodis I do have of the house – what he said is so true. You need to think about the trellises you use. They are as important as the vine is. And yes, if you have a robust vine, you need to make sure it is held in place properly.
I left my walled garden grow for nearly 5 years. No pesticides no chemicals only mild clearing up. There are no butterfles even in wet weather the worm population has decreased. The bees are present but struggling. The birds are thriving apart from the winter thrushes.
More walled gardens please !
That ornamental grape is so attractive and the wall and vine do complement each other.