5. New River Lawn

This is the part of the garden that has changed the most since Bowles’s time. Then the main feature was the river, as it curved round, passing under the two bridges. As you looked towards the Tulip Terrace, the river was flanked on the left by a narrow grass verge. It was here that Bowles planted his main collection of irises.

MUSIC:  (Reprise) Hide & Seek Rag (McConnell - ATV 8B 43) FADE IN AND UNDER

To the left of the Wisteria Bridge are three old yew trees. They would have looked more striking in Bowles’ day than they do now. One of the winter jobs he assigned to the Bowles Boys was to peel off any loose bark and scrub the trunks until they glowed a rich crimson. Peter Deering remembers it well.

MUSIC: FADE UP FOR A MOMENT THEN UNDER THE FOLLOWING AND FADE OUT ON LAST PIECE OF SYNCH

Peter Deering:

,… the drill was to get a bucket of water and scrubbing brushes and you would just scrub and scrub it away and it would just flake off and scrub it clean all shiny bright. It was really great fun. …

Narrator:

This would have added a dash of colour to the garden in wintertime. It was an idea Bowles got from a visit to Glasnevin Botanic Gardens in Ireland.

A Poncirus, or hardy orange, grows opposite the Tulip Terrace. In Bowles’ time it was a rarity. He was given it as a seed from Canon Ellacombe, one of his first gardening mentors. It was Ellacombe who encouraged Bowles to join the Royal Horticultural Society, which played such an important part in his life in later years.