© Clive Nichols
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Chatsworth

We have been working with the gardens team at Chatsworth since 2016, with several projects now ongoing across the garden. The Rockery and Arcadia are underway with phased works continuing and we are consulting on the design and development of further areas including The Ravine, The Rose Garden, The Cottage and Sensory Garden.

2018 saw the planting of the first phase of our plan for Paxton’s extraordinary Rockery of 1842, set in the heart of this magnificent landscape. It was built both as a reminder of the 6th Duke’s visit to the Alps, and of the Bolton Strid - a narrow chasm on the River Wharfe near Bolton Abbey, the Devonshire family home in Yorkshire. The Rockery’s transformation started in 2018 and each year has seen a new phase with construction by the in-house team of new paths and rock work over the winter season and planting in the spring.

In 2018 we also started work on an 18-acre area of woodland known as Arcadia, south of the cascade and adjacent to the Trout Stream. We worked to clear glades through the overgrown woodland, revealing views across the garden to the Brownian landscape beyond. A new network of paths has opened up Arcadia, allowing visitors to explore the area for the first time.

Following the clearing, an ambitious amount of planting has been added to Arcadia. A large damp bog garden was planted with large leaved damp loving plants. This is continued south along the new path to a smaller glade where the artist Laura Ellen Bacon has built a large stone sculpture, a new contribution to the landscape. The biggest glade, which runs up from the maze, will be planted in huge swathes as a perennial meadow. The development of Arcadia will continue with the seeding of a further glade with perennials. This work is being directed by James Hitchmough.

The site of Paxton’s Great Conservatory, completed in 1840, has been the location for the maze since 1962 within the stone walls that once supported this extraordinary building. Either side of the maze, within the remaining walls, are flower beds which historically have been planted with seasonal displays that, although magnificent at their best, leave a gap for visitors at other times of the year. In 2019 we replanted one side of the maze garden. Iron flower baskets and further planting are to follow.