a recent issue of Spadework - Cardiganshire Horticultural Society

element of secrecy to the property. As we walked up the long drive
we admired a splendid pollarded oak with a huge girth which may
have been used for construction of the hall.
We continued up past the hall and through some parkland to
climb a round tower, probably a folly from the 18th century. We
all seemed to fit on the roof, were we enjoyed the spectacular view
across the Conwy valley.
The gardens consisted of spacious grassed areas dotted with
trees and shrubs, a walled garden with extensive rose beds, and a
large informal garden at the bottom of the drive. The two
gardeners, Philip John and Debbie Hemmings, explained that the
stressed condition of some of the trees and shrubs was due to the
previous head gardener’s shortcomings. Apparently he never
prepared the ground before planting and they had found some
stunted specimens planted on top of old paved paths with nowhere
for their roots. The benefit of starving these poor trees was some
lovely early autumn colour. There were fine specimens:
particularly Nyssa sinensis turning orange and an amazing tree
with leaves turned deep red and racemes of white flowers out
together, obligingly boasting a label as Oxydendrum arboreum, a
native of SE United States.
The Dell was an extensively planted area at the bottom of the
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