Edwardian garden set to flower again (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

Edwardian garden set to flower again

4:59pm Thursday 14th July 2005 in

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AN Eighteenth Century walled garden at the Luton Hoo estate outside Harpenden is to be restored and opened to the public.

Ms Debbie McIntosh of the Luton Hoo Estate said: "It will soon be a garden for all to enjoy.

"The owners want the garden to be fully inclusive so everyone can enjoy the gardening heritage on their doorstep.

"They and a group of volunteers from the National Association of Decorative Fine Arts Society (NADFAS) have already started asking local groups and communities what they would like to see in the garden.

"Examples of Victorian and Edwardian glasshouses remain and these will be restored so visitors can see the relationship between food production now and in the Eighteenth Century.

"We are currently looking at recruiting a team of volunteers to assist with the first phase of this exciting restoration project."

The six-acre hexagonal walled garden was created by Luton Hoo's owner, John Stuart, the third Earl of Bute, one of the most influential horticulturists in history, in the 1770s.

He was a friend and tutor of King George III, who made him his first prime minister.

The Luton Hoo garden flourished until the late Nineteenth Century, when, like many others, it declined.

Work now needed included clearance of the overgrown perimeter of the garden, collection and cataloguing of bricks and other items for the research archive, planting and creating parking areas.

It is not known how long the project will take, but volunteers willing to help out with clearance and general gardening work should call the estate on 01582 721443.

Although the estate, including the walled garden and surrounding agricultural land, is still the property of the Phillips family, the Luton Hoo mansion now belongs to a hotel group .