Welcome Gifts From the Past

Deep in winter I’m taking a deep dive into a memorable garden trip. While in England a few years back, I slipped over the border into Wales, only my second visit. It was there that I discovered the world famous Bodnant Garden, not just one garden but many, visited annually by almost 300,000 plant and garden lovers.

Wales and the other countries of the UK are fortunate that many of the mansions and stately homes and their elaborate gardens built in the nineteen century by wealthy industrialists have been saved for the benefit of all by the National Trust, the heritage and nature conservation charity.

A National Trust property since 1949, Bodnant was founded in 1874 by Henry Davis Pochin who’d made his fortune as an industrial chemist. The property was then developed by his daughter Laura McLaren, Baroness Aberconway, and further generations of the family.

They had 32 hectares (80 acres) to play with and over time, in went majestic Italianate terraces and tranquil borders filled with rare plants from everywhere plant hunters ventured in the early 1900s. One, Frank Kingdon-Ward, travelled to the Himalayas, one of his many expeditions during the 1920s and 1930s and returned with new species for Bodnant like the Himalayan Blue Poppy (Meconopsis betonicifolia).

The gardens hold four National Collections of plants including magnolias and rhododendrons, making it the place to go to see all species in one place. Over the last 20 years new areas named the Winter Garden, Old Park Meadow, and the Yew Dell have been added. There’s also a riverside garden called The Far End described as a good walk — it was. New areas are still being planned that include a gorge garden with a waterfall. Bodnant is known for its outstanding trees, twenty-two listed as Champion Trees, noted for their age, height and horticultural merit.

Unfortunately, my fall visit was the wrong time of year to see the beautiful sunshine yellow Laburnum arch, the longest laburnum arch in the UK, best seen during May and June. However, I wasn’t disappointed with the dizzying variety of plants and features. Among them was the Pin Mill, not only for its tranquil appearance but also the story of how it arrived there.

The structure was originally built far from Bodnant as a lodge or garden house in Woodchester, Gloustershire around 1730. It was later used as a pin factory making dressmaking pins, then it became a hide store before being abandoned and dilapidated. It was then discovered in the 1930’s by Henry McLaren, the 2nd Baron Aberconway who had it dismantled, transported and restored at Bodnant.

In 1952 it was designated a Grade II listed building as a fine example of an early Georgian garden building — hardly a shed. Available as a wedding venue, the turreted building in white with grey roofs stands in a backdrop of greenery with lawns in front lining a canal-like water feature, stretching away to form a perfect vista.

Wedding or not, if you’re ever in Wales, don’t miss Bodnant Garden.