Sir Roy Strong bequeaths England’s most written about garden to Perennial – the charity for people in horticulture.
Perennial, the charity for people in working in and retired from horticulture, was bequeathed England’s most written about garden at the start of 2021. The garden will help in supporting the charities’ vital work and is now open to the general public and also to book group visits.
The Laskett, set in the idyllic countryside of Herefordshire on the Welsh borders, is the creation of Sir Roy Strong CH and his late wife Julia Trevelyan Oman CBE. The gardens – created from a bare field – were begun in 1974 and have continued to evolve ever since.
The four acre location in Herefordshire is the creative fruit of a happy marriage between two people who were at the centre of the arts world for much of the latter half of the twentieth century. That story is uniquely etched into soil. Everyone exploring the gardens can enjoy the story via an audio guide, which details the very personal story of the creation and evolution of the gardens as told by Sir Roy himself.
The Laskett, joins Perennials other gardens; York Gate in Adel, North Leeds and Fullers Mill in West Stow, Suffolk. The gardens are available for commercial filming, photography and events. If you would like to arrange a private visit please contact us directly.
York Gate, Leeds
York Gate is a magical one-acre garden created by the Spencer family, who bequeathed the garden to Perennial. It is now one of the finest small gardens in the country. The garden is divided by yew and beech hedges into a series of smaller gardens, each with its own theme and style. The design of ‘rooms’ interlinked through a succession of vistas and executed with meticulous attention to detail owed much to the Arts and Crafts movement, complemented by a beautiful array of plants. The garden underwent a redevelopment in 2020 in which a new Mediterranean sunken garden was unveiled. With other exciting new additions including a fantastic new café and sun terrace for visitors to enjoy, as well as a new gift shop, plant centre and heritage centre dedicated to the Spencer family.
Fullers Mill, Suffolk
Fullers Mill is an enchanting and tranquil seven-acre creation on the banks of the River Lark. It combines a beautiful site of light dappled woodland with a plantsman’s collection of unusual shrubs, perennials, lilies and marginal plants. Earlier this year ITV’s first logo ident of 2021 was filmed at Fullers Mill, in an ITV-first, two creatives from different industries were chosen to craft the logo ident shown between programmes on ITV thanks to a unique collaboration between broadcaster and garden/landscape designer Mark Lane, and collage artist Sharon Walters. Inspired by the beneficial power of nature, the pair reinvented the ITV logo using an intricate layered hand-crafted paper cut collage and landscape design, temporarily installed for filming in Fullers Mill’s silver birch woodland.
For bookings or further information on the Perennial Gardens:
The Laskett – thelaskett.org.uk | 01372 384045 | thelaskett@perennial.org.uk
York Gate – yorkgate.org.uk | 0113 267 8240 | yorkgate@perennial.org.uk
Fullers Mill – fullersmill.org.uk | 01284 728888 | fullersmillgarden@perennial.org.uk
