In spring, this magnificent Elizabethan manor house is besieged on all sides by colourful garden rooms
Like many of our stately homes, Sizergh Castle is an open history book. It tells the story of ancestral family fortunes, royal allegiances, and strategic marriages, as well as the changing tastes in architecture, décor and garden design.
Cared for by the National Trust since the 1950s, the castle remains the Grade I-listed home of the Hornyold-Stricklands. At its heart is a 14th century hall and pele tower, around which an Elizabethan manor was built in the 16th century.
Surrounding the castle are seven acres of formal gardens. “Springtime is especially spectacular in the rock garden, where there are lots of spring bulbs and colourful acers coming into leaf,” says Heather Birkett, former head gardener and now outdoor manager at nearby Acorn Bank. “This leads to the Spring Walk, which has a vast collection of narcissi in flower, such as ‘Tête-à-tête’, ‘Minnow’ and ‘Green Pearl’; blue-flowered Omphalodes cappadocica ‘Starry Eyes’; trees and shrubs, such as Lonicera standishii lancifolia ‘Budapest’, which is incredibly fragrant.”
The Spring Walk incorporates a stumpery, added in 2016. “It’s the perfect setting for some of Sizergh’s four National Collections of ferns: hart’s tongue fern (Asplenium scolopendrium); bladder fern (cystopteris), buckler fern (dryopteris) and royal fern (osmunda),” says Heather.
Entering the garden through an avenue of yew pyramids, you’re greeted by a massive Magnolia soulangeana that commands awe in April. “Beyond the yews, a formal lawn in front of the castle drops away on the right, towards the newly planted Dutch Garden, and rises up on the left, towards the castle,” explains Heather. “Trained vines and espaliered pears grow against a sunny, west-facing ‘hot wall’, with bold blocks of tulips planted between alternating yew pyramids and mounds.”
The Dutch Garden has been redesigned for spring 2024, featuring six rectangular grassy beds planted with naturalised bulbs. ��
