A topiary garden of heartstopping beauty was shown in an episode of Agatha Christie’s Hallowe’en Party.
The great Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, traveled to the English countryside to investigate a murder. The gardener turned out to have done it – which gave us a glimpse of the monumental topiary garden composed of sculpted yews [top] at Beckley Park, a private estate in England. Organized around walls of huge neatly-clipped hedges, there are giant topiaries in the form of pyramids. This topiary garden was created in the 1920s and is a form of living sculpture. Hedges divide it into areas akin to outdoor rooms. I am paraphrasing Poirot when I call it “a garden most amazing” but I find topiary gardens to truly be amazing. It is not the only one.
I quickly realized that I had seen a series of similar geometric gardens, mainly on the pages of English House & Garden. The first which came to mind is this 16th century Normandy Manor house, restored in 1973 and now a French historic building. The garden is the work of the late English landscape designer Russell Page who placed pyramid and square topiaries in the center of boxwood parterres – low, symmetrical shaped hedges trained into in geometric shapes.
The zig-zag hedge in one section of the garden is set against a double row of squared-off trees. The artfulness required to create these forms (not to mention the skilled maintenance) is principally found on the grounds of stately homes in England and France where the aesthetic of landscape architecture is well understood. However, an ambitious gardening enthusiast might well take up the style, shaping a spectacular garden as his or her DIY know-how progresses.
English decorator Nancy Lancaster (of Colefax & Fowler fame) purchased Haseley Court in 1954. A feature of that 80-acre property was a late 19th century sunken garden centering on a topiary chess set. Fortunately, a local man kept it up during World War II. The current owners have maintained the garden in its original form (including 4 outdoor rooms) since 1982.
On a simpler note is this French provincial garden composed of parterre boxes around white roses. Globe-shape myrtle trees flank a walkway.
Apart from the general style and dramatic scale of architectural gardens, the attribute I find especially appealing is the lack of multiple colors. Generally, these are green-on-green affairs which sometimes include a color such as white or lavender. The added bonus is cold climates is a garden that remains somewhat the same throughout the year and, in some cases, even defies the weather.
(Source: Masterpiece Mystery, House & Garden, picasa.google.com)
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mbwife says
July 5, 2011 at 8:36 pmThis is inspiring.
Kat@LowTideHighStyle says
July 5, 2011 at 10:08 pmI love a well manicured formal garden, there is something so stately about them! I wish I knew how the French manage to get their roses to climb so beautifully up the sides of their manor houses. I wonder if they use chicken wire as a base…I need to figure this out and soon as my roses are itching to climb!
Kat 🙂
Jane F @ Atticmag says
July 6, 2011 at 8:52 ammbwife — I feel the same way. I would love to just have one beautiful hedge wall.
I’m no gardener — no idea on the climbing roses but for sure that info’s on a gardening forum. I started out with roses — a 3 year experiment. I can’t even get them to grow here — too cold, too buggy (Japanese beetles attracted to the fragrant trees). Had to rip them out. Where you are Kat they do beautifully. Lucky.
Jarrod says
May 28, 2012 at 2:18 pmI don’t suppose anyone knows in which garden the poirot episode was filmed?
Jane F @ Atticmag says
May 28, 2012 at 4:42 pmSorry Jarrod, I don’t know. Here are the show credits:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/poirot/halloweenparty_credits.html
which include location mangers but no specific location, alas. If it’s real, I would love to see it.
Wendy says
December 15, 2012 at 11:30 pmHello Jane, I wondered if you had ever found out any information regarding the location of the stunning garden filmed in the “Hallowe”en Party” episode of masterpiece’s Poirot. All my best. Wendy
Jane F says
December 18, 2012 at 4:52 pmHi Wendy,
Unfortunately, I have no information to add. But I may do a bit of research on this as I am curious as well. Thanks for stopping by. Best, Jane
Jane F says
December 19, 2012 at 8:30 amUpdate! Wendy, both of us can thank Allison for sleuthing out the information on the Poirot garden. It appears to be Beckley Park, in Oxfordshire, originally a medieval royal hunting property that was purchased in the 1920s by a man named Feilding who created the elaborate yew garden on the grounds. Here’s a link to the background. https://bit.ly/2TeYwCp
The house is still in private hands and appears to be in the Feilding family which has a foundation.
These two shots of the gardens are from different angles than the Poirot photo I posted but this garden is so distinctive I do believe it’s the very same.