Mount Stewart
Great
garden
visits
Italian Garden
and Dodo Terrace
The great profusion at Mount Stewart, both of
remarkable plants and eccentric statuary, is
well demonstrated by a view from the Dodo
Terrace of the Italian Garden. The house and
terrace are guarded – and softened – by
venerable Laurus domes and swags of choice
climbers cascading from the classical façade.
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The Garden | May 2016
Mount stewart
On the shores of Strangford Lough, outside Belfast in Northern Ireland,
stands Mount Stewart, its magnificent gardens filled with whimsical
features amid a tremendous collection of rare and tender plants
»
Author: Phil Clayton, Assistant Editor, The Garden. Photography: Neil Hepworth
May 2016 | The Garden
47
Mount Stewart
S
ome gardens have gnomes, others are replete
with putti striking classical poses; my own is
home to a rather grubby reconstituted rendition
of the Three Graces. Mount Stewart in Northern
Ireland, however, has dodos: four of them. And
dinosaurs, Noah’s ark, griffins and (my personal favourites)
great 4m (13ft) pillars topped by characterful monkeys
wearing flowerpot top hats. Idiosyncrasy runs through
this wondrous place; there are humour and political
statements here and there, but the beauty is undeniable.
History of Mount Stewart
✤F
rom 1744: original house and
estate, known then as ‘Mount
Pleasant’, bought by the Stewart
family. Becomes home of the first
Marquess of Londonderry.
✤ 1780s: elegant Temple of the Winds
built; overlooking Strangford
Lough it remains the last survivor
of the 18th-century garden layout.
✤ 1 840s: house and grounds lavishly
and extensively remodelled.
✤ 1 915: 7th Marquess succeeds;
during the First World War Mount
Loughside setting
Positioned by the shore of Strangford Lough and enjoying
the mild, wet climate that makes Ireland the proverbial
Emerald Isle, it is hard to imagine a place where a wider
range of plants can be enjoyed. The gardens cover 32ha
(79 acres) and include lake, wooded, rhododendron-filled
hillsides and elaborate formal areas.
The elegant neoclassical mansion is best viewed from
its superb Italian Garden, and sheltered at each side by
towering stands of Eucalyptus globulus. The south-facing
façade of the house is bedecked admirably by choice
climbers, and softened further by a carefree profusion of
plants flourishing on the balustrade-edged terrace at its
feet. The huge clumps of Beschorneria yuccoides are the
best I have seen; rosettes of glaucous, lance-shaped leaves
The terrace by the
house (above) is a
sun trap: clumps
of Beschorneria
yuccoides bear
scarlet spikes
of flower and
Rosa banksiae
cascades from
the elegant,
pillared portico.
Summerhouse and fountain in Mairi Garden
Rhododendrons scent the air and the sound of a tinkling fountain
summons up a contemplative air in this area. A giant Cordyline
and characterful summerhouse provide focal points.
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The Garden | May 2016
overtopped by coral-coloured flower spikes emerging
characteristically at a 45-degree angle – at Mount Stewart
it is a signature plant. Walls shelter such delights as
Lapageria rosea with its immaculate waxy bells and
yellow-flowered Rosa banksiae. Below a window, in a
narrow border, is a thriving clump of Myosotidium
hortensia, azure heads shining against lush, pleated
leaves, while the joyous daisies of self-seeded Erigeron
karvinskianus dance from cracks in paving. Balustrades
Dodo Terrace, from the Italian Garden
One of Mount Stewart’s best-known features, the eccentric Dodo Terrace,
was created by Edith, Lady Londonderry as a tongue-in-cheek reference
to the Ark Club – a group of socialites she had founded.
Stewart becomes a hospital.
✤ 1921: 7th Marquess moves in,
restoring house after years of
neglect. His wife Edith, Lady
Londonderry starts creating
the gardens seen today.
✤ 1955: gardens handed over to the
National Trust, followed by house
and its contents in 1977.
✤ 2015: Trust buys surrounding
estate, including walled garden
housing the oldest grape vine in
Ireland; restoration continues.
support gnarly Wisteria and Clematis montana, climbers
that always go well together. Mention must also be made
of a pair of clipped, potted bays (Laurus nobilis) flanking
the central steps; said to be the largest in Europe, they
were brought here in 1922.
Sheltered in beds below the balustrade are camellias,
Acca sellowiana and sizeable fuchsias, while in more
open beds, white Allium heads bob between shimmering
blue Meconopsis, making an admirable pairing among
Sunk Garden with its climber-covered pergola
the silvery architecture of Onopordum (Scotch thistle)
and yet-to-flower Echium candicans. A pair of vast Taxus
baccata ‘Fastigiata’ stand sentry at each side.
Italianate ideal
The Italian Garden is a parterre with informal planting;
twinned circular pools and 12 separate beds are arranged
on each side of a central avenue of venerable (some
might say decrepit) but still impressively exotic Cordyline
australis. Edith, Lady Londonderry who created the
garden (see panel, left), disliked box hedging so here
alternatives can be seen edging the beds (with varying
degrees of success): purple-leaved Berberis looked terrific
and I was surprised by the effectiveness of Erica. Potentilla
fruticosa, however, was less convincing. To add height,
standard roses and wisteria feature, while yet more roses
grow up poles, taking interest above head height.
The inventive planting in these beds is exciting;
herbaceous fare such as peonies, Aconitum, Clematis
stans, Phygelius and lofty Ferula rub shoulders with
flowering exotics grown as standards bedded out for
summer, such as Lantana and Sparrmannia africana.
Statuary here makes great theatre; griffins atop soaring
columns and the monkey-pot pillars look like props from
DW Griffith’s 1916 movie Intolerance; over the top, of
course, but unlike anything anywhere else.
Filled with scent from deciduous azaleas, this garden is bounded by a raised, plant-clad pergola.
Low Erica (heather) and Laurus (bay) hedges edge borders filled with lilies and delphiniums
– both yet to bloom – and feature metalwork ‘balloons’ over which Clematis will scramble.
»
Statues and arches
The arched Leyland cypress hedge in the
Spanish Garden, glimpsed across the Italian
Garden. Rhododendrons soften statuary.
May 2016 | The Garden
49
Mount Stewart
Planting diversity
2
3
Mount Stewart: a garden
of distinctive elements
1
1 At the end of the Dodo Terrace stands an
elegant loggia topped by a pair of griffins.
Eucalyptus trees scent the air.
2 Monkey-pot pillars lend a humorous touch
to the formality of the Italian Garden.
3 With its green-tiled loggia, oval central pool
and wonderfully trained galleries of Leyland
cypress, the Spanish Garden has an unusual
feel, quite different from the other areas.
4 Framed by a pair of crowns, this fine topiary
Irish harp, underplanted with Oxalis, is central
to the Shamrock Garden. A golden-leaved Acer
forms a suitable backdrop.
a fine view of the house), but most remarkable are arches
of carefully trained x Cuprocyparis leylandii – echoing a
celebrated feature in the Generalife in Granada, Spain,
and an example of what this maligned plant can do when
its vigour is put to good use. An oval central pool is fed by
rills which, with cobble paths, divide turf panels. Raised
beds on either side are planted with old tree peonies,
sprawling wisteria, Kniphofia caulescens and hostas,
the whole spangled with free-spirited yellow and orange
Meconopsis cambrica. Potted palms and cycads complete
a kitsch yet oddly endearing corner.
East of the house, the famed Dodo Terrace continues
this theme. A paved walkway leads to an understated
loggia, but plinths on each side are topped by dodos, dogs
and other creatures, not to mention Noah’s ark, all playful
references to the Ark Club, a group of socialites founded
by Lady Londonderry in the First World War. More
towering Eucalyptus stand to one side, one swathed with
Rosa banksiae, which during my visit was showering its
yellow petals onto repeated pots of white tulips below.
Varied gardens, distinctive aura
Beyond the Dodo Terrace lies the Mairi Garden with its
dovecote-topped loggia and central, fountain-fed pool.
Five flower beds radiate like the petals of a flower. When
I visited, these had recently been replanted with an
eclectic range of plants – testament, in part, to the high
rainfall. (Oh to be able to grow choice, white-flowered
Meconopsis or Astilboides tabularis with its supreme,
peltate, dinner-plate-sized leaves in the same company
as Nepeta and Veronicastrum.) Established plants are
impressive: tree-like, cinnamon-barked Fuchsia
excorticata, vast Pittosporum eugenioides underplanted
with Dianella, a huge monkey puzzle and some choice
additions – Schefflera, restio Elegia capensis and fern
Lophosoria quadripinnata, its fronds with silver-blue
undersides. Amid the glowing bluebells that proliferate
here, all is calm, cool and reflective.
Perhaps the most curious set piece at Mount Stewart is
the Spanish Garden, set below the Italian Garden. A greentiled summerhouse dominates (and from inside provides
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The Garden | May 2016
4
Visiting details
to Walled
Garden ä
Tir n’an Og
lake
Lake
Walk
Rhododendron Hill
Sunk
Garden
Shamrock
Garden
ho
use
Mairi Garden
Address:
Mount Stewart,
Portaferry Road,
Newtownards,
Co. Down BT22 2AD
Tel: 028 4278 8387
Website: www.
nationaltrust.org.uk/
mount-stewart
Open: 10am–5pm until
1 Nov; 10am–4pm Nov–
Mar; closed 25 & 26 Dec
Facilities: tearoom, shop.
Italian
Garden
Vast Eucalyptus
(above) help
shelter the
garden from
salt-laden winds.
Crinodendron
hookerianum
(right) revels in
mild moist
conditions.
Head Gardener Neil Porteous describes
the conditions that allow one of the
UK’s finest plant collections to flourish:
‘Winters here are wet and overcast with
hardly any frost, which seems to suit
so many plants, but strong salt-laden winds can do
a lot of damage to plants, particularly in the formal
gardens. Some, such as the huge Eucalyptus trees,
withstand salty winds well, but others, such as many
conifers, are easily burnt. Perhaps most protected
from the winds is a part of the garden called Tir n’an
Og, sited on higher ground with well-drained soil
and facing south, receiving about as much sun as
is possible in Ireland; here we grow outdoors,
all year round, tender plants such as Aloe
arborescens, Sparrmannia, and many
others from Mediterranean climates.
Mount Stewart has a history of trying
new or tender plants; in one of Lady
Edith’s garden notebooks she talks
about the possibility of trying tender
Stenocarpus sinuatus (Queensland fire
tree) outdoors; that same pioneering
spirit continues to this day.’
Pergola to covet
If I could pick one element from Mount Stewart, it would
be the pergola in the terrific Sunk Garden: stone pillars
support beams on a raised path running three sides of
a square, sunken area with trefoil-shaped lawn and
scalloped beds. On the fourth side is the house and terrace,
with more bay trees. Beds are filled with fiery deciduous
azaleas, their heady scent lingering on the air. Orange
Lilium henryi mix with delphiniums, while clematis
cover metalwork balloon supports.
The pergola supports rarities; I acquainted myself with
The lake at Mount
Stewart (below),
with extensive
plantings of
choice trees and
shrubs beyond.
Charming climber Elytropus chilensis is rare
in cultivation but thrives in the mild conditions.
vigorous, dark purple-flowered Lardizabala funaria and
enjoyed a pink Holboellia, but the highlight was a jawdropping combination of yellow Hibbertia and another
first for me – Elytropus chilensis. This Trachelospermum
relative, its stems dripping with cream, mauve-marked
bells, was a glorious sight. Elsewhere I admired purple
Jovellana violacea and a lovely white-and-lilac-flowered
Iris innominata filling a gap in the pergola paving.
Off the Sunk Garden is the eccentric Shamrock Garden,
named for the shape of its enclosing hedge. There is
splendid yew topiary here, not least an Irish harp with
Oxalis below, as well as other elements of acquired taste,
but I admired a bold rhubarb, Rheum ‘Cally Giant’.
Outside the formal gardens are woodlands filled with
rhododendrons, choice trees and other plants such as tree
ferns and Embothrium; Cordyline indivisa grows better
here than anywhere else I have seen. The gunnera-andiris-fringed lake is a fine sight, while developments with a
recently rescued walled garden hint at future excitements.
Mount Stewart is really special; the air of refined and
distinctive eccentricity coupled with exceptional and
diverse plant collections flourishing effortlessly is an
exciting blend. Some areas will not appeal to everyone,
but Lady Londonderry’s single-minded sense of how a
garden should be still shines through, something I applaud.
In fact I give it a standing ovation.
entrance
Spanish Garden
Dodo Terrace
to Temple
of the Winds æ
Strangford Lough
N
150m (165yd)
RHS Garden Holidays In an Irish Garden – an 8-day tour
departing 23 Jun and 11 Aug 2016 – includes Mount Stewart:
020 3735 1855; www.rhsgardenholidays.com
May 2016 | The Garden
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