The gardens of Cheshire’s Abbeywood Estate burst into life in high summer, when Harry and Lynda Rowlinson’s exuberant tropical planting in a scorching palette of red-hot colours proves a real hit with visitors
WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHS JOE WAINWRIGHT
Exotic planting that blazes with the colours of the tropics; swathes of perennials and grasses that merge into hillside views; and bold, broad herbaceous borders. It is no wonder that Abbeywood Gardens has become one of Cheshire’s top garden destinations as well as a popular wedding venue.
While the six-acre garden may appear to be long established, it is in fact the relatively recent creation of its owners, Harry and Lynda Rowlinson, with help and inspiration from head gardener Simon Goodfellow. It all looked very different when Harry and Lynda moved into the Edwardian property here in 1987. As Harry explains: “There were some beds but no plants to speak of, and at the rear of the house was a narrow terrace and a set of feeble steps down onto the lawn. Lynda and I set about planting the existing beds, and we spent most weekends and evenings working on it when the weather was fit. I thought the garden was looking good, but Lynda felt we could do better, so we commissioned designer David Stevens, who created much of the structure of the garden we see today. Many changes have since been made, and large new areas have been added by our head gardener, Simon, who joined the team in 2009.”
Simon, who had worked in various nursery and head gardener roles since moving to the UK from South Africa in 1999, could immediately see the potential of the garden. Relieved to find its sandy, acid soil to be perfect for his plans, he set about transforming an existing vegetable plot into the Exotic Garden. Inspired by the Exotic Garden at Great Dixter, this area has a scorching colour palette that transports visitors from the often windy and cool Cheshire hillside where Abbeywood is located. Reds are provided by Canna ‘Red Velvet’ and Begonia boliviensis ‘Firecracker’ in terracotta pots.
Phormiums burst upwards adding height and texture, while salvias such as ‘Hot Lips’ spill over paths. The showy yellow trumpets of brugmansia hang over the borders, and extra height comes from cordylines and trachycarpus with their fan-like leaves.
“Maintaining this part of the garden, with its tender species, can be fraught with difficulties,” explains Simon. “Many of the plants are overwintered in heated greenhouses, but those
