The Rococo Gardens in Painswick

Summer is well and truly upon us, and with summer comes colour.

We have indeed been blessed with glorious weather to enjoy what England does best.

For me, this means the prolific gardens.

My favourites are those that do not require an entry fee as many stunning views can be seen and enjoyed on my daily walks. The gardens have been bursting with colour and form surrounding both houses and shops in most areas of England that we have been during this summer.

One garden that did require me to open my purse to shell out a few pounds was The Rococo Garden, not far at all as the pigeon flies from where we are housesitting. Not far at all even to walk, though this visit I was driven there by the Squire.

Painswick Rococo Garden is the country’s sole surviving complete rococo garden.

Designed in the 1740s as a fanciful pleasure garden for Benjamin Hyett and his guests, this hidden valley offers spectacular views of the surrounding countryside and intriguing garden buildings.

A visit to Painswick Rococo Garden will take you back to the elegance and sophistication of the early 1700s. This was a time when gardens were fashionable theatrical sets, providing a stunning backdrop to decadent garden parties.

It has an incredible mixture of flower and vegetable gardens, which are beautifully framed by the stunning countryside with a variety of fanciful Rococo garden buildings scattered around the many acres.

My first impression was the vastness of these gardens which are spread over acres. Then it was noticing that the leading players of a summer’s garden had finished their best display though there were others worth a few smiles and admiration from myself, such as the Antirrhinum (or snapdragon), Coreopsis, perennial Rudbeckia, Cerinthe Major ‘purpurescens’ (or honeywort), Astrantia, Bergamot and Mallow to name just a handful.

A late summers feast for the eyes in all the colours of the rainbow.

The garden sits in a valley, with a string of pools at different levels, and natural woodland at the bottom.

While at the bottom I headed to the Plunge Pool Garden beds and found that tall foxgloves were still showing off their best. As a side note, this was one of the first plants I brought for my very first home. I am sure to this day, that the plant seller at the market saw me coming, a newbie with no plant experience! I paid the princely sum of $2 for just one.

Back to writing about The Plunge Pool Garden area, which has a lovely shady backdrop of the wooded Snowdrop Grove. As you can imagine a mass of snowdrops during a cold winter would be stunning. At the very least a reason to visit a garden in late winter to early springtime.

As I headed up the path from the valley, I came across far more structured and formal gardens. Within this area is the Kitchen Garden, this is the garden that caught my attention the most and was indeed the most pleasurable place to lose oneself and time. These gardens are unique, and definitely, a place to visit for those who are lovers of garden eccentricity and playful design.

The main reasons for my love of a good vegetable patch or with most gardens if the truth is told. Would have to be the enormous amounts of energy over the years I put into establishing small to large potage gardens. Not forgetting to mention the Squires assistance along the way. While admiring outdoor areas, I am forever secretly taking notes for my next one. In our “forever home”. I write that last comment was written with tongue in cheek!

Now if you aren’t a gardener, I have great news for you.

In that, you can purchase at a reasonable price; broad beans, runner beans, turnips, beetroot, black Spanish radishes, [recommended by me] courgettes, onions, garlic, blackcurrants, and strawberries Plus, lavender, rosemary and our lovely posies of colour.

With even more good news is that if you are a local, you can purchase something yummy for dinner or a bouquet of flowers and much more for no entrance fee.

If you are thinking of heading over to the Cotswold area, you may want to take a note to visit this garden.

On our previous stay, I wrote a post about our walk around Painswick, which gives you another option if you just happen not to be a garden enthusiast, check it out HERE.