Bloggers perks are fairly rare and generally a very mixed bag, but occasionally something comes along that is quite irresistible. An invitation to tour the gardens at Glyndebourne with their gardens advisor John Hoyland and the gardening team and then attend the final dress rehearsal of Handel’s opera Rinaldo was definitely up at the top of the list.
I’m not a great opera aficionado, but I knew the music would be lovely – and reading the synopsis established that there was a happy ending – so I accepted. I know that makes me a bit of a lightweight, but I have a theory that serious opera needs to be saved for times when life is less-than-happy – those times when sitting in the dark for several hours sharing extreme emotions with the cast is cathartic and healing.
Anyway, enough of my thoughts on opera – back to the garden. It was a perfect summer’s day and the garden looked lush and lovely.
Like all great gardens, it is in a constant state of evolution as the team introduces new ideas and replant over-mature borders.
The recent relocation of the coach park has allowed the family’s private gardens in front of the Manor to be planted with drifts of pictorial meadow mixes which give a wonderfully informal feel to what might otherwise be a more conventional setting for the house. This has also had the effect of making the fabulous double borders along the Terrace the main entrance to the garden for those who have been wise enough to use the shuttle bus from Lewes Station (recommended). Read more on blog.theenduringgardener.com