Dunsborough Park Gardens NGS open day with garden designer, Caroline Garland

by caroline / Wednesday, 12 June 2013 / Published in Gardens Visited

You may have read my recent blog about the wonderful gardens and statuary at Dunsborough Park which I visited at their recent NGS open day. Well I am adding to the blog because the entire collection of garden statuary is coming under the hammer at Christie’s South Kensington. The collection – several of the pieces originate form the gardens of the great treasure houses of Europe – has been built up by the current owners: The Baron and Baroness Sweerts de Landas.

They’ve delighted many visitors. The unique collection of garden statuary and ornament brings together the best names in English and Dutch sculpture and the decorative arts from Coade and Compton to Van Baurscheit and Van Nost.

here is the link to Christie’s e-catalogue: http://bit.ly/ZrQdU9

The restoration of this 10 acre garden was done by Penelope Hobhouse and Rupert Golby and they have between them created different “rooms” which house fabulous statues, lovely old roses, a white garden, a classic Italian garden and an eighteenth century walled garden lined on one side with a large 45 metre Victorian greenhouse. There is an usual 70ft gingko hedge, an ancient mulberry tree, beautiful standard wisterias and wide herbaceous borders which sadly were a little behind on flowering as I gather the dahlias are spectacular. The garden is open again on the 14th September so go and see if you can!