Newspaper Article

A haven for both Hons and rebels The Cotswold lawns on which the Mitford children played are now the backdrop for an exhibition of modern sculpture. Words by Mary Keen

Keen, Mary

2002

Overview

When [Rosie Taylor] moved in three years ago, the garden was the least of her worries. But with the help of Julian and Isabel Bannerman, famous for their work in the Prince of Wales' garden at Highgrove, the place has been transformed into a sunny and welcoming family house set in idyllic grounds. Huge high-profile gardens are the Bannerman thing (they are currently enlarging the Highgrove stumpery, as well as working for Lord Cholmondeley at Houghton) but they can also \"do\" domestic like no one else because they know how to make a garden comfortable. And, now that the gardens are open to the public until July 7, to host an exhibition of modern sculpture in the garden, there is a rare chance to see the sort of work that these designers create for their private clients. To the west of the house, where the [Nancy Mitford] family drive used to be, there is a huge stone terrace, surrounded on three sides by the house. Outside the kitchen there is room for a table to eat and another for Ping-Pong, as well as a collection of large pots filled with plants such as angelica. Rosie's children grow sunflowers in the beds which are crammed with more roses. Beyond all this are banks. \"We became so bored of banks and the mowing,\" Isabel says, so they made two sloping parterres with compartments for vegetables and cut flowers. Tradition with an idiosyncratic twist is a favourite Bannerman trick. On the lawn above, there are phalanxes of the great white cherry, Tai Haku, under wedges of yew which disguise more banks.

• Publisher: Daily Telegraph
• Subject: Bannerman, Isabel / Keen, Mary / Mitford, Nancy / Taylor, Rosie