Iford Manor - “A haunt of ancient peace”

Originally an Italian Renaissance garden, it was masterfully reinterpreted in an English context by Harold Peto around 1900. Formal structures such as terraces, colonnades, and stairs are combined with lush planting. The garden is full of cultural references to Peto’s travels to Italy, Japan, Greece...

I entered the garden through the back court of the house. Not a majestic entrance, but it gives an intimate, and slightly awkward, feeling of entering a private space. The first thing I noticed was the sound. The garden is set on a hill and the wind moves gently through the valley. But even more present is the sound of water: the dripping of fountains and flowing of small streams, a recurring theme that unites the whole, as will become clear.

I passed through the gate with the two-hundred-year-old Wisteria, turned the corner, and these magnificent steps appeared, adorned with Campanula and other wall-loving flowers, inviting you to walk up. The climb unfolds in phases, each terrace revealing a new story, another chapter in the book I am devouring. The rock terrace, the greenhouse terrace, and finally, at the top, a defining Cercidiphyllum japonicum and a wide, open lawn that leaves you a bit restless, unsure where to go first.

I decided to take the slingering path to the right, not knowing where it would lead. It brought me to this Italian-inspired cloister, overlooking the valley. An Acer in each corner and the wind blowing through. A moment of peace in excitement. Afterwards, I followed the path into the woods, expecting nothing, when suddenly a secret pond appeared, the true “Secret Garden” (Movie by Agnieszka Holland, 1993). A film that never left my mind after I saw it as a child, and I am sure I am not the only one. Finally, I made my way to the Water Lily pond, down the colonnade, covered with Roses and Clematis, with Romulus and Remus drinking from the wolf. Entranced by the scent of Jasmine, surrounded by colour explosions.

All seamlessly natural, carefully harmonized. The atmosphere is everything, balancing nature and architecture while mixing cultures and time periods. 

I had landed in this eternal space, where time did not seem to exist. Where the only thing I could do was wonder and contemplate, in this “Haunt of ancient peace”.