Our work at Emmetts Garden

Restoring the historic garden

A long-term project is under way at Emmetts Garden to restore the North and South Gardens to Frederic Lubbock’s original 19th-century designs. Following Lubbock’s death and the subsequent change in owners through the years, much of these areas grew untamed and the original designs became clouded. 

The South Garden project 

Lubbock’s original design for the South Garden was for his rare plants to be presented like an exhibition, following William Robinson 'Wild Garden' idea of planting trees and shrubs set in grass with naturalized bulbs underneath them. Visitors today are able to see past, through and under each specimen, catching a glimpse of other plants in the distance and the landscape beyond.  

In 2007 a box of antique black and white images was discovered at the neighbouring Chartwell showing the South Garden in the 1920s. By looking at these, along with historic maps and literature, we were able to compare the garden then and now, and created a plan for restoring the garden to its former glory. 

To start with, we reduced the size of the huge, overgrown plants and took out extra layers around the original specimens. Every plant has a character in its growth, form and habit and we tend to each one carefully, trying to keep it perfect. Rhododendrons, for example, should keep a compact shape like a cloud. If left alone they can get quite long and leggy, so we follow the three Ds: pruning out dead, diseased or dying wood. 

'A good understanding of William Robinson’s gardening precepts will be paramount in order to bring the current garden projects close to the intention of the original design. This understanding will not only will help to keep Lubbock’s legacy alive, but also to ensure that the garden thrives and adapts to the pressures of increasing visitor numbers.’ 

– Ignacio Silva, Head Gardener at Emmetts Garden

The North Garden project 

Unlike the ‘wild’ scheme of the South Garden, with trees and shrubs set in grass, the North Garden, or Shrub Garden as it was historically called,  the specimen shrubs are interplanted with herbaceous plants and bulbs in a way that corresponds closely to William Robinson precepts for creating a garden of flowering shrubs.

Later owners obscured much of that framework. Lubbock’s bog garden was lost, a bank of rhododendron hybrids hid many of the views that were originally intended, and overcrowding made it difficult to appreciate the individual specimens that were meant to be highlighted. 

Drifts of replanted lupins and cistus, as well as hebes and daphnes, can now be seen as you look up the slope towards the house. We have created a viewing platform, giving views of the North Garden that hadn’t been seen in years, and we are planning on increasing this area in the future with the addition of some comfortable seating.

Other specimens grown by Lubbock have also been reintroduced, including fragrant azaleas, colourful kniphofia (more commonly known as red-hot pokers), gentiana, ferns and iris. Work has already come a long way to restore the pond that was filled in during the 1930s.