The Manor House

Upton Grey, Hampshire. UK

The most authentic Gertrude Jekyll restoration

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The Garden

Just over 32 years ago this historic garden at Upton Grey, was nothing more than an unkempt jungle. What we didn't realise when we bought the property was that underneath the jungle were the foundations of a very special garden, indeed one that Gertrude Jekyll had designed in 1908 for a house belonging to Charles Holme, a leading figure in the Arts and Crafts movement. The work on this garden's restoration has been an exciting and rewarding adventure of discovery.

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We had very little knowledge of gardening until we came to Upton Grey; that was soon to change with the unearthing of this important piece of garden history. We decided to research the garden and, having discovered a full set of plans in the Reef Point Collection at The University of California at Berkeley, we obtained copies and set about the restoration. What we recreated is now believed to be the most complete and authentic Jekyll garden in existence - a living museum of Jekyll design. We hope the following pages give you some insight into the restoration, together with some notes about Gertrude Jekyll herself.

Rosamund Wallinger's first book, Gertrude Jekyll's Lost Garden The Restoration of an Edwardian Masterpiece

was published by Garden Art Press in 2000 ISBN 978 1 87067 380 8,
price £ 25.00.
This book gives an amusing and well illustrated account of the garden's history and its restoration (with, adds her husband, John, all its trials, tribulations and lessons).

Rosamund Wallinger's second book, Gertrude Jekyll. Her Art Restored at Upton Grey

ISBN 978 1 87067 377 8, price £30.00 was published in 2013.
It provides a comprehensive record of Gertrude Jekyll's art and her planting at Upton Grey. Illustrations include almost every plant, each of the 19 area plans, and copies of Miss Jekyll's Munstead Wood Nursery's list of the plants she supplied for this garden together with their price and quantity