Flame throwers - Thenford Arboretum, Thenford House, Northamptonshire The home of Lord and Lady Heseltine

More than 3,000 different trees–in particular, the fine collections of oaks and maples–are about to put on a striking autumn show, writes Charles Quest-Ritson

- Charles Quest-Ritson

MICHAEL and Anne Heseltine bought Thenford House in 1976 and immediately set about creating its garden and arboretum. They did so with an energy and passion that continues unbounded today. The story is thrillingly narrated in their book Thenford: The Creation of an English Garden (2016).

Lord Heseltine is an enthusiastic and knowledgeable plantsman, with a special interest in trees and shrubs. His collection amounts to an arboretum, within which are many self-contained gardens and architectural features. These include an array of stone troughs planted with alpine plants, a spectacular cascade of water known as the Rill and Lady Heseltine’s splendid sculpture garden. But it is the trees—more than 3,000 different species and cultivars—that offer the greatest horticultural interest. The presence of water—lakes and streams—has added immensely to the possibilities and the beauty of the display. ‘Water is the making of the garden,’ says Lord Heseltine.

Much of the tree planting has been carried out within the thin and neglected woodlands that surrounded the park in 1976. The Heseltines have received advice and help from many distinguished experts over the years— including Sir Harold Hillier, Roy Lancaster and Keith Rushforth—but the driving force behind making the arboretum has always been Lord Heseltine himself.