Fantasy land
Kent Life|October 2020
Balmoral Cottage in Benenden showcases how topiary can create a fantasy landscape in talented hands
Leigh Clapp
Fantasy land

Topiary is an ancient art and here in Kent we have one of the most charming examples in the country. It’s a real privilege to enter artist, topiary expert and flower arranger Charlotte Molesworth’s creative world.

Once through a weathered old gate at Balmoral Cottage in Benenden, you are immediately drawn into a magical landscape as you pass along the narrow front path, edged in lollipop topiaries protruding from tall buxus hedges and on to her characterful cottage.

A group of containers and collection of vintage watering cans nestles by the door and as the scene slowly unfolds and you spot fanciful topiary creatures atop organically shaped hedging, you feel as if you have journeyed with Alice into Wonderland.

Originally the Edwardian gardener’s cottage for the Collingwood Ingram estate, Charlotte and her husband Donald, a professional gardener, bought the property in 1983 and created a romantic paradise.

“Eclectic and eccentric are words I use to describe the garden, I don’t have a deliberate style, it has very much evolved, with no initial plan,” says Charlotte.

With an artist’s eye, instinctive knowledge of gardening honed since childhood and a nimble speed with the clippers, Charlotte has transformed the land into a series of flowing and hidden areas, united by evergreen topiary and uncontrived rustic ornamentation. While a haven for the two of them, it also has wildlife very much in mind, in particular the needs of nesting birds and small mammals.

It’s difficult to imagine from the maturity on the show today that this garden was made almost entirely from cuttings and seedlings from friends and family, along with recycled, unwanted items.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 2020-Ausgabe von Kent Life.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 2020-Ausgabe von Kent Life.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS KENT LIFEAlle anzeigen
The choice of leaders
Kent Life

The choice of leaders

It’s a small, scenic Kentish market town on the border with Surrey, famous for not one but two great leaders. We take a look around Westerham

time-read
5 Minuten  |
November 2020
The eco-warriors
Kent Life

The eco-warriors

Awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2019 in recognition of its research in global nature conservation, the role of Kent-based DICE has never been more relevant

time-read
7 Minuten  |
November 2020
Kent's most CURIOUS MONUMENTS
Kent Life

Kent's most CURIOUS MONUMENTS

Our county can boast some of the most celebrated and downright unusual protected mouments in the country

time-read
6 Minuten  |
November 2020
Ghosts of a river's life
Kent Life

Ghosts of a river's life

Kent Life discovers an an other-worldliness about the marshes, creeks, and saltings of the lower reaches of the river Medway

time-read
5 Minuten  |
November 2020
The return of the son
Kent Life

The return of the son

The Unknown Warrior’s journey from the World War One battlefields via Dover to his resting place in Westminster Abbey is 100 years old this month

time-read
5 Minuten  |
November 2020
We will remember
Kent Life

We will remember

In a year when we got an inkling of what living through a war means, we remember the 75th anniversary of the end of the Great War

time-read
6 Minuten  |
November 2020
Age-old advice
Kent Life

Age-old advice

Just become a grandparent for the first time? Perhaps you need a little guidance, so here are some top tips about how to embrace your new family role

time-read
3 Minuten  |
November 2020
10 GOOD REASONS TO VISIT Medway Towns
Kent Life

10 GOOD REASONS TO VISIT Medway Towns

A vast Dockyard, a Napoleonic fort and a JCB diggers theme park - let’s visit Chatham and Medway

time-read
4 Minuten  |
November 2020
KENT'S CREEPIEST- GHOST STORIES
Kent Life

KENT'S CREEPIEST- GHOST STORIES

Here are 10 tales to make you shiver as we celebrate All Hallows’ Eve

time-read
7 Minuten  |
October 2020
Joking apart
Kent Life

Joking apart

From his home in Broadstairs, Royston Robertson comes up with satirical, topical and sometimes just plain silly cartoons

time-read
5 Minuten  |
October 2020