46 The Garden | May 201646 The Garden | May 2016 May 2016 | The Garden 47

Mount Stewart

Italian Garden and Dodo TerraceThe great profusion at Mount Stewart, both of remarkable plants and eccentric statuary, is well demonstrated by a view from the Dodo Terrace of the Italian Garden. The house and terrace are guarded – and softened – by venerable Laurus domes and swags of choice climbers cascading from the classical façade.

On the shores of Strangford Lough, outside Belfast in Northern Ireland, stands Mount Stewart, its magnificent gardens filled with whimsical features amid a tremendous collection of rare and tender plants»

Author: Phil Clayton, Assistant Editor, The Garden. Photography: Neil Hepworth

Great Garden

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Mount stewart

May 2016 | The Garden 47

May 2016 | The Garden 4948 The Garden | May 2016

Statues and archesThe arched Leyland cypress hedge in the Spanish Garden, glimpsed across the Italian Garden. Rhododendrons soften statuary.

Summerhouse and fountain in Mairi GardenRhododendrons scent the air and the sound of a tinkling fountain summons up a contemplative air in this area. A giant Cordyline and characterful summerhouse provide focal points.

Sunk Garden with its climber-covered pergolaFilled with scent from deciduous azaleas, this garden is bounded by a raised, plant-clad pergola. Low Erica (heather) and Laurus (bay) hedges edge borders filled with lilies and delphiniums – both yet to bloom – and feature metalwork ‘balloons’ over which Clematis will scramble.

Dodo Terrace, from the Italian GardenOne of Mount Stewart’s best-known features, the eccentric Dodo Terrace, was created by Edith, Lady Londonderry as a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Ark Club – a group of socialites she had founded.

Mount Stewart

✤ From 1744: original house and estate, known then as ‘Mount Pleasant’, bought by the Stewart family. Becomes home of the first Marquess of Londonderry.

✤ 1780s: elegant Temple of the Winds built; overlooking Strangford Lough it remains the last survivor of the 18th-century garden layout.

✤ 1840s: house and grounds lavishly and extensively remodelled.

✤ 1915: 7th Marquess succeeds; during the First World War Mount

Stewart becomes a hospital.✤ 1921: 7th Marquess moves in,

restoring house after years of neglect. His wife Edith, Lady Londonderry starts creating the gardens seen today.

✤ 1955: gardens handed over to the National Trust, followed by house and its contents in 1977.

✤ 2015: Trust buys surrounding estate, including walled garden housing the oldest grape vine in Ireland; restoration continues.

History of Mount Stewart Some gardens have gnomes, others are replete with putti striking classical poses; my own is home to a rather grubby reconstituted rendition of the Three Graces. Mount Stewart in Northern Ireland, however, has dodos: four of them. And

dinosaurs, Noah’s ark, griffins and (my personal favourites) great 4m (13ft) pillars topped by characterful monkeys wearing flowerpot top hats. Idiosyncrasy runs through this wondrous place; there are humour and political statements here and there, but the beauty is undeniable.

Loughside settingPositioned by the shore of Strangford Lough and enjoying the mild, wet climate that makes Ireland the proverbial Emerald Isle, it is hard to imagine a place where a wider range of plants can be enjoyed. The gardens cover 32ha (79 acres) and include lake, wooded, rhododendron-filled hillsides and elaborate formal areas.

The elegant neoclassical mansion is best viewed from its superb Italian Garden, and sheltered at each side by towering stands of Eucalyptus globulus. The south-facing façade of the house is bedecked admirably by choice climbers, and softened further by a carefree profusion of plants flourishing on the balustrade-edged terrace at its feet. The huge clumps of Beschorneria yuccoides are the best I have seen; rosettes of glaucous, lance-shaped leaves

overtopped by coral-coloured flower spikes emerging characteristically at a 45-degree angle – at Mount Stewart it is a signature plant. Walls shelter such delights as Lapageria rosea with its immaculate waxy bells and yellow-flowered Rosa banksiae. Below a window, in a narrow border, is a thriving clump of Myosotidium hortensia, azure heads shining against lush, pleated leaves, while the joyous daisies of self-seeded Erigeron karvinskianus dance from cracks in paving. Balustrades

support gnarly Wisteria and Clematis montana, climbers that always go well together. Mention must also be made of a pair of clipped, potted bays (Laurus nobilis) flanking the central steps; said to be the largest in Europe, they were brought here in 1922.

Sheltered in beds below the balustrade are camellias, Acca sellowiana and sizeable fuchsias, while in more open beds, white Allium heads bob between shimmering blue Meconopsis, making an admirable pairing among

the silvery architecture of Onopordum (Scotch thistle) and yet-to-flower Echium candicans. A pair of vast Taxus baccata ‘Fastigiata’ stand sentry at each side.

Italianate idealThe Italian Garden is a parterre with informal planting; twinned circular pools and 12 separate beds are arranged on each side of a central avenue of venerable (some might say decrepit) but still impressively exotic Cordyline australis. Edith, Lady Londonderry who created the garden (see panel, left), disliked box hedging so here alternatives can be seen edging the beds (with varying degrees of success): purple-leaved Berberis looked terrific and I was surprised by the effectiveness of Erica. Potentilla fruticosa, however, was less convincing. To add height, standard roses and wisteria feature, while yet more roses grow up poles, taking interest above head height.

The inventive planting in these beds is exciting; herbaceous fare such as peonies, Aconitum, Clematis stans, Phygelius and lofty Ferula rub shoulders with flowering exotics grown as standards bedded out for summer, such as Lantana and Sparrmannia africana.

Statuary here makes great theatre; griffins atop soaring columns and the monkey-pot pillars look like props from DW Griffith’s 1916 movie Intolerance; over the top, of course, but unlike anything anywhere else.

The terrace by the house (above) is a sun trap: clumps of Beschorneria yuccoides bear scarlet spikes of flower and Rosa banksiae cascades from the elegant, pillared portico. »

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Head Gardener Neil Porteous describes the conditions that allow one of the UK’s finest plant collections to flourish:‘Winters here are wet and overcast with hardly any frost, which seems to suit

so many plants, but strong salt-laden winds can do a lot of damage to plants, particularly in the formal gardens. Some, such as the huge Eucalyptus trees, withstand salty winds well, but others, such as many conifers, are easily burnt. Perhaps most protected from the winds is a part of the garden called Tir n’an Og, sited on higher ground with well-drained soil and facing south, receiving about as much sun as

is possible in Ireland; here we grow outdoors, all year round, tender plants such as Aloe

arborescens, Sparrmannia, and many others from Mediterranean climates.

Mount Stewart has a history of trying new or tender plants; in one of Lady Edith’s garden notebooks she talks about the possibility of trying tender

Stenocarpus sinuatus (Queensland fire tree) outdoors; that same pioneering

spirit continues to this day.’

Planting diversity

Mount Stewart: a garden of distinctive elements

1 At the end of the Dodo Terrace stands an elegant loggia topped by a pair of griffins. Eucalyptus trees scent the air. 2 Monkey-pot pillars lend a humorous touch

to the formality of the Italian Garden.3 With its green-tiled loggia, oval central pool

and wonderfully trained galleries of Leyland cypress, the Spanish Garden has an unusual feel, quite different from the other areas.4 Framed by a pair of crowns, this fine topiary Irish harp, underplanted with Oxalis, is central to the Shamrock Garden. A golden-leaved Acer forms a suitable backdrop. 4

3

1

2

150m (165yd)

Tir n’an Og

N

Visiting detailsAddress: Mount Stewart, Portaferry Road, Newtownards, Co. Down BT22 2ADTel: 028 4278 8387Website: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/mount-stewartOpen: 10am–5pm until 1 Nov; 10am–4pm Nov– Mar; closed 25 & 26 Dec Facilities: tearoom, shop.

Vast Eucalyptus (above) help shelter the garden from salt-laden winds. Crinodendron hookerianum (right) revels in mild moist conditions.

Charming climber Elytropus chilensis is rare in cultivation but thrives in the mild conditions.

Rhododendron Hill

entrance

Strangford Lough

Mairi Garden

lake

Sunk Garden

Shamrock Garden

Italian Garden

Spanish GardenDodo Terrace to Temple

of the Winds æ

Lake Walk

to Walled Garden ä

HOuSE

Mount Stewart

East of the house, the famed Dodo Terrace continues this theme. A paved walkway leads to an understated loggia, but plinths on each side are topped by dodos, dogs and other creatures, not to mention Noah’s ark, all playful references to the Ark Club, a group of socialites founded by Lady Londonderry in the First World War. More towering Eucalyptus stand to one side, one swathed with Rosa banksiae, which during my visit was showering its yellow petals onto repeated pots of white tulips below.

Varied gardens, distinctive auraBeyond the Dodo Terrace lies the Mairi Garden with its dovecote-topped loggia and central, fountain-fed pool. Five flower beds radiate like the petals of a flower. When I visited, these had recently been replanted with an eclectic range of plants – testament, in part, to the high rainfall. (Oh to be able to grow choice, white-flowered Meconopsis or Astilboides tabularis with its supreme, peltate, dinner-plate-sized leaves in the same company as Nepeta and Veronicastrum.) Established plants are impressive: tree-like, cinnamon-barked Fuchsia excorticata, vast Pittosporum eugenioides underplanted with Dianella, a huge monkey puzzle and some choice additions – Schefflera, restio Elegia capensis and fern Lophosoria quadripinnata, its fronds with silver-blue undersides. Amid the glowing bluebells that proliferate here, all is calm, cool and reflective.

Perhaps the most curious set piece at Mount Stewart is the Spanish Garden, set below the Italian Garden. A green-tiled summerhouse dominates (and from inside provides

vigorous, dark purple-flowered Lardizabala funaria and enjoyed a pink Holboellia, but the highlight was a jaw-dropping combination of yellow Hibbertia and another first for me – Elytropus chilensis. This Trachelospermum relative, its stems dripping with cream, mauve-marked bells, was a glorious sight. Elsewhere I admired purple Jovellana violacea and a lovely white-and-lilac-flowered Iris innominata filling a gap in the pergola paving.

Off the Sunk Garden is the eccentric Shamrock Garden, named for the shape of its enclosing hedge. There is splendid yew topiary here, not least an Irish harp with Oxalis below, as well as other elements of acquired taste, but I admired a bold rhubarb, Rheum ‘Cally Giant’.

Outside the formal gardens are woodlands filled with rhododendrons, choice trees and other plants such as tree ferns and Embothrium; Cordyline indivisa grows better here than anywhere else I have seen. The gunnera-and-iris-fringed lake is a fine sight, while developments with a recently rescued walled garden hint at future excitements.

Mount Stewart is really special; the air of refined and distinctive eccentricity coupled with exceptional and diverse plant collections flourishing effortlessly is an exciting blend. Some areas will not appeal to everyone, but Lady Londonderry’s single-minded sense of how a garden should be still shines through, something I applaud. In fact I give it a standing ovation.

a fine view of the house), but most remarkable are arches of carefully trained x Cuprocyparis leylandii – echoing a celebrated feature in the Generalife in Granada, Spain, and an example of what this maligned plant can do when its vigour is put to good use. An oval central pool is fed by rills which, with cobble paths, divide turf panels. Raised beds on either side are planted with old tree peonies, sprawling wisteria, Kniphofia caulescens and hostas, the whole spangled with free-spirited yellow and orange Meconopsis cambrica. Potted palms and cycads complete a kitsch yet oddly endearing corner.

Pergola to covetIf I could pick one element from Mount Stewart, it would be the pergola in the terrific Sunk Garden: stone pillars support beams on a raised path running three sides of a square, sunken area with trefoil-shaped lawn and scalloped beds. On the fourth side is the house and terrace, with more bay trees. Beds are filled with fiery deciduous azaleas, their heady scent lingering on the air. Orange Lilium henryi mix with delphiniums, while clematis cover metalwork balloon supports.

The pergola supports rarities; I acquainted myself with

The lake at Mount Stewart (below), with extensive plantings of choice trees and shrubs beyond.

In an Irish Garden – an 8-day tour departing 23 Jun and 11 Aug 2016 – includes Mount Stewart: 020 3735 1855; www.rhsgardenholidays.com

RHS Garden Holidays