English Country Gardens: Howick Hall
This Northumberland garden is in the UK's Top Five Coastal Gardens
Jun 14, 2008
Although well known as an historic house with a fabulous garden, Howick Hall has another claim to fame. It is the birthplace of Earl Grey tea.
The Grey Family at Howick
Charles, the 2nd Earl Grey, had a special tea blended for him by a Chinese mandarin to suit the water at Howick. This same Earl Grey became Prime Minister from 1830-1834, during which time the Great Reform Bill of 1832 was passed, which greatly increased the number of people who could vote.
Howick has been the home of the Grey Family since 1318. The present house was built in 1782.
Over the centuries the heirs to the title were involved in politics, most notably Albert, the 4th Earl, who became Governor General of Canada from 1904 to 1911.
Howick Hall Gardens
When the 5th Earl (another Charles) inhabited the Hall, he and his wife and daughter transformed the gardens between 1920 and 2001. What had been formal Victorian gardens were gradually changed to a more informal and natural style of gardening. Today these gardens are well known for the flowering of the spring bulbs and the woodland gardens. But throughout the growing seasons there are magnificent displays whereever you look.
The Wild Bog Garden
The Bog Garden is a relatively new feature. Previously a boggy area, it was dug out to form a pond where the surrounding area has been planted with herbaceous plants collected from expeditions abroad: from China, North America, India, New Zealand, Japan and many places in Europe.
A number of trees and shrubs, also from brought from different parts of the world, have been planted around the bog/pond, including a very rare and unusual conifer from North Vietnam.
The Meadows
The meadows on the north and east sides of the Hall are a lovely feature in May, where single coloured tulips in four or five different shades in the long grass to follow on from the daffodils
The Woodland Garden - ‘Silverwood’
Masses of rhododendrons and azaleas originally from America and Japan. Magnolia trees which are seventy-five years old. Japonicas from China and Japan, plus much more. The woodland floor is covered with hellebores, primroses, trillium, and other woodland plants make this a true ‘Enchanted Forest’.
The Aboretum
The newest addition is the Arboretum - a collection of trees. At Howick they have concentrated on wild trees from many countries around the world. Currently there are around eleven thousand trees and shrubs in all colours, shapes and sizes. Some have brightly coloured leaves, others have showy flowers and some grow strange fruits.
The above are only some of what the garden has to offer. and after you have explored the garden and walked through woodland paths to the end of the Howick estate, you will be only about 400 yards from the sea. You cannot return to the Hall the same way but there is a lovely circular walk that takes you along the beach and eventually back to Howick Hall Gardens, where you have probably parked your car. Here you can have some refresments in the Earl Grey Tea Room - previously the grand ballroom. The Hall itself is not yet open to the public, having been very damaged by fire in 1926 but restoration has already started.
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