a recent issue of Spadework - Cardiganshire Horticultural Society

hillside into the mill pond and that I knew to have been the subject
of much recent clearance. To honour this I took the path alongside
it, enjoying a striking turquoise-blue hydrangea on its bank, and
doubled back past The Poem (mausoleum). Now I had the river
below me on my left, with vistas through the several layers of
planting down the steep slope to the valley floor. The Yew Garden
afforded a particularly good viewpoint. On either side of the path
ran the Shrub Borders, also showing much evidence of the
chainsaw and of encouraging new growth. I especially enjoyed an
elegant Aralia elata still in flower and a tall Cornus kousa whose
fruits showed red against a deep blue sky. Bulbs and herbaceous
perennials are intended to enrich these borders in years to come.
Back at the terraces, I made my way up past the Croquet
Terrace to the Upper Rose Terrace; here major construction work
was in progress to extend the beds and render the terrace perfectly
symmetrical. Crossing the front lawn again I made sure to revisit
the borders where asters were receiving the attentions of bees and
red admirals. Along with the cornus fruits and brilliant leaf colour,
this image was fast fixing itself in my mind to epitomise Bodnant
in autumn as the Laburnum Arch, the rhododendrons, camellias
and azaleas do in spring. I was in good spirits, and as if to reinforce
my mood, I learned at the Garden Centre checkout that next year
they will be selling asters grown in the garden.
Georgina Winkley
Maenan Hall
It is always an anxious moment
when searching for an unmarked
drive somewhere in farmland off the
main road. Maenan Hall’s owner,
Christopher McLaren, said his
gardeners would be waiting for us:
and they were. Well back from the
main road were rather splendid gate
posts with griffins perched on top,
guarding the drive and giving an
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