The Gardens Trust

“Sheds, Holmwood”, with [presumably] some of Kerr’s children

When Rupert Murdoch bought a new house for his [apparently soon-to-be-ex-] wife Jerry Hall in 2019 I wonder if he knew much about its history. Holmwood in the village of Binfield Heath near Henley cost over £11 million which might have surprised the person who lived there in the late 18thc/early 19thc,  Mark Kerr.

Apart from being the son of a marquis and having a distinguished naval career Kerr was also a talented amateur artist and seems to have had a particular interest in sketching gardens and landscapes including his own at Holmwood. While his work isn’t as colourful or witty as that of his contemporary Diana Sperling who I wrote about recently they still give a real insight in to a garden of the time.

Holmwood

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Any idea what plant this is? If you grow them you probably know but if you don’t why not have a guess

Yes its an extraordinary title for a post but it’s about an extraordinary project.   Just before Britain celebrated the Platinum Jubilee garden lovers in France were celebrating the re-opening of an amazing garden which itself only celebrates one family of plants.   Housed in the grounds of a huge 18thc chateau it is  the brainchild of one woman who has been building her collection – now the largest in the world – for  less than 20 years and only made it public in 2016.  To make matters more unusual it’s only open a few weeks each year.

Any ideas of Who? What? Why? and Where?

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