a recent issue of Spadework - Cardiganshire Horticultural Society

gardens – one could easily think oneself in the lost gardens of
Heligan or at Trebah. Valley gardens like these usually had laurel
planted round them for shelter, and when maintenance was
subsequently lacking, it usually spread out of control. When
Anthony Tavernor took over everything was hugely overgrown
and the river at the bottom was heard but not seen. With the aid of
much chainsawing and relaying of paths, the upper part of the
woodland garden has been opened up just in the last few years. The
results here are truly dramatic, with a great amount of planting for
spring colour as well as all-year-round effects – persicarias being
particularly notable to give effect en masse.
By contrast, with more shade, the lower part has not been
planted for colour, but still has much of interest and is a joy to
explore. John’s active involvement with the Picturesque at Hafod
led us to approach this area with great interest. This part of the
garden was particularly exciting and restoration is ongoing, but use
of the chainsaw has had dramatic effects and a wonderful
Picturesque landscape hidden for generations is having new life
restored to it with the river, waterfalls, rocks and viewpoints
opened up. We noted that in the early 20th century there are
records of a watermill with pool down there.
Most of the huge amount of work has been done by Tavernor
himself. His approach is to tackle the major clearance projects
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