Beningbrough Hall is a National Trust property and as year 2016 marked the 300th anniversary of Beningbrough Hall and in celebration of this historic milestone Andy Sturgeon, the RHS gold medal winner, was set the task of creating a long-term plan to refresh, improve, and  re-invent some areas, the eight-acre gardens there. The Pergola was the first area that I and my husband went to see not long after it opened and we always said we would go back to see how all the plants and climber were coming on but we never got back to see it together.
Beningbrough is one of the nearest National Trust properties near to where I live and this summer Phil’s wife read in a newspaper that Beningbrough had a new garden opening and sent me the information. They live south of Reading and had planned to visit me for a weekend this summer in August, a week after the new garden had opened to the public.
Well, you can guess the rest. When Phil and his wife arrived we all went to visit Beningbrough on the Saturday afternoon. It was a lovely, sunny day and it was very busy as we were not the only ones eager to see the new garden which they have call The Mediterranean Garden.... Yes, in North Yorkshire!
The combined talents of Andy Sturgeon and Sam Shipman’s dedicated garden team at Beningbrough has ensured this new long-term garden design will continue to attract visitors for many years to come. I was keen to see which part of Beningbrough this new garden occupied and found that what had been the Italian Garden on my first visit and then a Wildflower Garden on my last visit is now the Mediterranean Garden and what a big change it is.
I have read that “This garden has been designed and future-proofed for a changing climate. Plants and shrubs have been selected from Mediterranean climates from around the world due to their versatility and ability to tolerate extremes in temperature and rainfall, providing the opportunity to experiment with planting. Extensive drainage has been incorporated into the garden design to ensure that any fluctuations in rainfall can be managed going forward.” This was very interesting reading if you have time here is the link:-
www.yorkshirewaterfeatures.co.uk/beningborough-hall-mediterannean-garden-project-2024/
We found it all very new and very bright in the sunshine and it looks much larger than it does in my video. It is very different but beautifully designed and must have taken a lot of hard work from start to how it looks now. Their gardeners have worked hard planting it all out with plants and shrubs chosen to tackle our Yorkshire winters. I do like the Rill, that is made of copper and it flows through the garden ending with triple copper spouts where the water then falls into the pond below. The calming sound can be heard all around the garden. Also there is a number of large, white, water bowls situated around give a cooling effect on a warm day and the one we sat near had been was planted with a water-lily and will look lovely next year. I didn’t get as much footage as I would have liked as there was a lot of visitors that afternoon, however Phil also took his camera and kindly let me borrow some of his photos to put in my video.
I would like to go back again when it is a little quieter and see it again but at a slower pace. I hope you like this short video and I think it is best viewed in HD. Thank you for viewing.
All my videos are non-profit and music used belongs to its legitimate owners that I give credit to when I can.
Music: - “Try To Remember” a lovely waltz by Harvey Schmidt Arranged for Piano Solo by John Kember