The formal parterre to the south of the house is one of the largest in Europe at 4 acres (16,000 m2).
The formal parterre to the south of the house is one of the largest in Europe at 4 acres (16,000 m2).[37] and is best viewed from the 20-foot () high terrace on the south side of the mansion. This part of the garden has received the most attention over the centuries. The first arranging of the large plateau to the south of the house took place during George Hamilton, Earl of Orkney's ownership.[38] Although he had previously commissioned plans for elaborate parterre schemes from Claude Desgots, the nephew of André LeNôtre (both designers had previously worked at Versailles), Orkney eventually chose a much simpler plan involving an open expanse of lawn surrounded by raised gravel walks and double rows of elm trees.[39] At the far end there was (and still is) a sunken feature in the turf where Orkney's horses were exercised in a form of open-air manège.[40] Orkney referred to the garden as his "Quaker parterre" because of its simplicity.[41] The parterre endured in this form until the mid 19th-century when the estate was owned by the Duke of Sutherland and by which time the garden had been neglected. It was described by the Duke's son Lord Ronald Gower as "a huge field of grass and wild flowers."[42] The Duke commissioned both Charles Barry (who had rebuilt the mansion after the second fire) and John Fleming (the head gardener) to produce designs for a complex parterre of flower beds. Fleming's design, which featured two sets of eight interlocking wedge-shaped beds, was chosen and is the template for what can be seen today.[39] The beds were planted with a seasonal mix of bulbs, annuals and shrubs such as gladioli, hollyhocks, tulips, pansys and azaleas. Fleming pioneered this style of planting at Cliveden, which was later to be named "carpet-bedding."[39] The Cliveden scheme in the 19th-century is well documented in Fleming's handbook Winter and Spring Flower Gardening (1864). The Trust planted the present clipped yew pyramids at
Size: 5496px × 3672px
Location: Cliveden Taplow Buckinghamshire UK
Photo credit: © Barrey / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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