As you start the route around the gardens, the John Arnold Garden is the first you come to, and the colourful dahlias are one of the first things to catch your eye. They come in small and large, simple and complicated petal arrangements but all are vibrant in colour. The simpler flower shapes are loved by the bees while the large ones with the curled petals look like they have been starched into shape. The japanese anemones on the other side of the path are equally beautiful in their simplicity, holding their white blooms above the foliage. Nearby, the plumes of the ornamental grasses are waving in the breeze, their soft structure a beautiful contrast to the more formal shapes around them.
In the Victorian Flower Garden, the plants have grown into their positions, the silvery grey cinnerarias providing a cool backdrop to the bright colours of the other bedding plants. Don’t just look for colour as you walk through the different areas of the gardens, the shapes of bark and leaves is fascinating when examined in detail. Lady Lucy’s Walk looks and feels like a cathedral as you stroll between the towering trunks of the lime trees; you can imagine why this is such a popular setting for Wentworth brides to have their photographs taken.
The cup and saucer vine is cascading down from the roof of the conservatory where it has been meticulously trained across the supports to show off the structure of the blooms. It’s hard to believe that it is less than two years since it was planted, and it has had to be pruned back at least three times already. The climbers are all doing really well, the black-eyed susan is covered in orange blooms and the jasmine is showing little white flowers from the floor to the roof.