A rosy future

Scents of the season fill the air throughout August with roses of all varieties and colours, along with herbaceous borders dominated by blue and purple swathes of agapanthus, late flowering ceanothus and hedges of lavender.

Around 23,000 visitors a year enjoy the floral spectacle at the National Trust property near Keighley, ambling through the scented pathways after admiring the 17th century manor.

Head gardener Jill Saunders rarely puts her feet up. “I’m busy all year round. Often people think that the garden is busiest in summer time, but that is not true – there is a lot to do during every season.”

Jill, who has worked at the hall for 15 years, has a soft spot for the wild garden, having designed it herself. “It is my favourite area, there is a lovely feel to it,” she says. “It is planted very naturally so the flowers come up through the grass. It is very peaceful in there.

“It is all very subtle. There are lots of creams and yellows and then later in the year the palette of colour changes to blues and whites. In spring there are 8,000 bulbs growing – it is an absolute picture. As some of the bulbs die back the grasses grow taller and there is a glade in the centre with a lime tree.”

The part-walled wild garden is also home to ancient Yorkshire varieties of apple tree. “In August and September we have apples on the trees which we pick and place in baskets in the tea room. Visitors are asked to give a donation and take one – we want them to sample a little part of the garden.”

Visitors can also buy plants grown in the garden. “We sell a lot, including many roses,” says Jill, reeling off a list of the varieties, from the porcelain-petalled Heritage, to the dark pink Gertrude Jekyll, named after the influential garden designer who worked at the turn of the 19th century. A firm favourite is one of the best-loved English roses, the golden Graham Thomas, which has a strong link to the property. A well-known horticulturalist, author and garden designer, Thomas was an authority on roses. He worked as gardens adviser for the National Trust in the 1970s and designed the formal garden at East Riddlesden Hall.

Jill loves roses. “I like them dripping and draping everywhere,” she says, adding to the list of those she grows in the garden: “A Shropshire Lad, Winchester Cathedral, Fritz Nobis, and many climbing and rambling roses too, such as the beautiful pink Constance Spry, with its myrrh-like scent, the sweetly-perfumed Albertine and the pretty, pale pink New Dawn. I’m trying to increase the number,” says Jill. “Rose gardens are very English.”

This year saw the opening of Mollie’s Cutting Garden. Explains Jill: “Mollie is one of our volunteers, who fills the vases in the hall with flowers. She was worried as she didn’t want to pick flowers from the garden so we created a special garden for her, full of flowers which she can pick in summer.”

The garden is planted with hardy annuals such as the bright and cheery cosmos, pastel-coloured flocks, the glorious, lofty blue-flowered echium and roses. “It is very cottage-style,” says Jill.

It was created with help from a group of bankers from New York Melon bank, one of a number of corporate sponsors who lend a hand with various projects at the house. Others include Yorkshire Bank and the local tax office.

Mollie is thrilled. Says Jill: “She was so overjoyed she was in tears, and is now able to pop out to the garden with a pair of secateurs and cut what she needs for her arrangements.”

As well as plants, Mollie’s Cutting Garden contains the hall’s compost heaps. “In that sense, it is the engine of the garden,” says Jill. “We have included information for visitors about how to compost and how to re-use water.”

The garden also contains a wormery and insect habitat. “We encourage insects,” says Jill, “We have habitat boxes for bees and lacewings.” Wildlife is actively encouraged, with specially-created hedgehog habitats. “We leave some patches of nettles as they attract butterflies and we leave areas of brambles too, where small animals and birds can find shelter.”

As far as possible, Jill and her team practise organic gardening, using chemicals only to clear weeds from pathways. “We try to be fully organic, but with so few staff weeding paths and drives would be a huge job,” explains Jill. “But everything else is done organically.”

The National Trust is an advocate of ‘greener gardening’ and has produced literature giving others tips.

“We use peat-free compost and use water collected in butts for watering,” says Jill.

The formal garden is at its most splendid in summer. “Graham Thomas was heavily influenced by Gertrude Jekyll and her planting plans, so I’m following her too,” says Jill, “The borders are influenced by her style of planting – overfilled, with herbaceous perennials. She planted in flowering blocks rather than individual plants.”

Formal elements of the garden include clipped box hedges, one surrounding a sunken rose border. The herb border contains more than 50 varieties of herb including bay, lemon balm, fennel, chives and rosemary. These are used in the kitchens which cater for the hall’s tea room. “We included them in a soup tasting, which went down very well,” says Jill.

Throughout the year volunteer gardeners play a vital role. “Without them, I could not keep on top of the garden,” says Jill, who works in tandem with groundsman Nick Chuck.

Recently, the hall has begun to offer educational packages, allowing school parties to experience the garden. “They come along and spend time taking part in different activities,” says learning and community officer Cassandra Cowie. “We hold mini-beast hunts, make bug houses and teach the children about composting, growing vegetables and other aspects of gardening.”

This combines with history, as the youngsters also learn about the importance of the hall and garden through the ages.

Future plans are causing much excitement. “We are looking to develop three fields belonging to the hall which used to be farmed, and cut paths through them,” says Cassandra. “The bottom field contains the remains of a mill, and an ox-bow lake. It would be lovely to turn this into a wildlife area.”

Interpretation boards are planned for the garden and grounds to enable visitors to learn about the different plants. “We also want them to let people know what is going on in the garden and why we are pruning trees or cutting grass,” says visitor experience manager Carla Weatherall.

“It is a beautiful garden, with something to please everyone.”

• East Riddlesden Hall, Bradford Road, Keighley, BD20 5EL. Tel: 01535 607075 or visit nationaltrust.org.uk /main/w-eastriddlesdenhall
• The hall is open five days a week until October 31, then two days until December 19. For opening times and days contact the hall or check the website.