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A Visit To Myddelton House Gardens
A Visit To Myddelton House Gardens
Ali Barwani visits Myddelton House Gardens, Enfield, the former home of the influential gardener, plantsman and garden writer E.A. Bowles – and is bowled over by their Iris Collection!
The House
Myddelton House is a Georgian House built of white Suffolk brick and named in honour of the creator of the New River, Sir Hugh Myddelton. The house was the family home of one of Britain’s great gardeners, E.A. Bowles. It is also the ancestral home of the Parker Bowles family as Mr Bowles was the great, great uncle of Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles.
E.A. Bowles
Edward Augustus “Gussie” Bowles was born at Myddelton House in 1865. Originally destined for a career in the Church, the death of two siblings resulted in him giving up his calling and remaining at the family home where he studied natural history and taught himself horticulture. Bowles spent the rest of his life creating its magnificent gardens, collecting and learning about plants, breeding plants, and writing about gardening. E.A. Bowles was an expert on several plant groups, but was particularly interested in the genus Crocus, earning him the title ‘The Crocus King’.
There are a large number of plants bearing his name, the most well-known is probably the perennial wallflower, Erysimum ‘Bowles Mauve’. Bowles often named plants after his friends and neighbours.
E.A. Bowles joined the RHS as a life member in 1897 and was elected to its council in 1908. Bowles was awarded the RHS Victoria Medal of Honour in 1916 and served as an RHS Vice President from 1926 until his death in 1954.
Myddelton House Gardens fell into decline following his death. It has been owned by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority since 1968, and recently has been refurbished following a major Heritage Lottery funded restoration project.
The Gardens
As E.A. Bowles wrote in the introduction of his second book ‘My Garden in Summer’ “here is my trowel-hardened hand before we set out to see… this my garden.”
Myddelton House Gardens occupies an area of 8 acres. The gardens reflect the interests and idiosyncrasies of its creator. Mr Bowles was an enthusiastic collector of unusual plants, many of which can still be viewed in the garden today.
The gardens are packed with botanical treasures. There is always something to see throughout the year including snowdrops, daffodils crocus, colchicums, cyclamen and bearded irises. There are rare shrubs and trees a plenty too.
Did you know? E.A. Bowles coined the name ‘Galanthophile’ for a collector of snowdrops!
The ‘Lunatic Asylum’ is where E.A. Bowles grew his ‘demented’ plants. And where you will still find botanical curiosities such as the corkscrew hazel (Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’) and Hedgehog holly (Ilex aquifolium ‘Ferox’).
‘Tom Tiddlers Ground’ is where Bowles grew his variegated plants.
The gardens also contain a Victorian conservatory, rock garden, Alpine meadow, kitchen garden, a long lean-to glasshouse, peach house, and an ornamental lake. In the rose garden you can view the Enfield Market Cross Mr Bowles rescued from destruction in a builder’s yard – one of many architectural curiosities acquired for his gardens.
In Bowles’ time a cut of the New River ran through the garden, dividing it in two. All though the river no longer flows through the grounds, and the former channel has been filled in and turfed – it now flows as the ‘New River Lawn’. And you can still cross an old cast iron footbridge that remains in the garden.
Myddelton House Gardens has a visitor centre, and the Bowles Museum is where you can learn more about the gardens and the man who created them. There is a tearoom where you can take a break from exploring the gardens and enjoy hot and cold drinks and light refreshments.
Myddelton House Gardens is worth a visit at any time of the year – there are wonders to enjoy every season.
For example, when I visited the gardens last week the bearded-irises were starting to take centre stage. Irises were one of the many plant groups Mr Bowles was interested in. Myddelton House Gardens is now home to an important National Collection of Bearded Iris. These irises are varieties which have won the Dykes Iris Society medal – the top award given to irises by the American and British iris societies. The collection is mainly planted out in chronological order.
In Conclusion
Myddelton House Gardens is the perfect place to explore, as there are gems to be discovered at every turning. The rich botanical diversity found in the gardens reflects its former owner’s diversity of horticultural knowledge and interests. It is a ‘must see’ for any keen gardener.
To get to the gardens, their opening times, and accessibility:
https://www.visitleevalley.org.uk/myddelton-house-gardens
To learn more about the life of E.A. Bowles and his importance as a gardener:
https://www.eabowlessociety.org.uk/
2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the E.A. Bowles Society.
Bowles’ Corner, RHS Wisley – a special area dedicated to E. A. Bowles and the curious plants that he loved.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley/garden-highlights/bowles-corner?compactView=true
Further reading: ‘The Crocus King’ by Bryan Hewitt (Rockingham Press).
