by Helen Kain | Apr 5, 2026 | Castles & Stately Houses, England, Featured, Great Gardens of England
Wrest Park was something of a surprise. Glenn and I had based ourselves at the Gardener’s Cottage at nearby at Audley End, and knew very little about Wrest Park beyond a vague awareness that it was an English Heritage property with notable gardens. Well, the...
by Helen Kain | Feb 28, 2025 | Fascinating People, Georgians (1714–1837), Great Gardens of England
Lancelot “Capability” Brown is one of the most influential landscape designers in British history, often called “England’s greatest gardener.” His work transformed the estates of the British aristocracy, replacing formal, geometric...
by Helen Kain | Feb 27, 2025 | Castles & Stately Houses, England, Great Gardens of England, Treasure Houses, Tudors (1485–1603)
A House Built for Power Hatfield House is a grand testament to the ambitions of Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, the younger son of William Cecil, Elizabeth I’s trusted advisor. Built in the early 17th century, it replaced the Old Palace of...
by Helen Kain | Oct 12, 2024 | Castles & Stately Houses, England, Gardens and Flowers, Great Gardens of England, Home, Recent
There’s something magical about walled gardens — so ordered, protected and private. Ever since consuming The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett as a child, I’ve been fascinated with them. The high walls, usually brick, create a warm...
by Helen Kain | May 28, 2024 | England, Gardens and Flowers, Great Gardens of England, Recent
Hidcote Manor Garden is one of Britain’s best-known Arts and Crafts gardens. Its fame is all the more astonishing as the stunning masterpiece was not designed by a professional landscape architect but by an amateur with a tremendous interest in plants and garden...
by Helen Kain | Mar 26, 2024 | Castles & Stately Houses, Great Gardens of England, Tudors (1485–1603)
The Old Palace at Hatfield was the childhood home for all three of Henry VIII’s children but is most closely associated with Elizabeth I. During happy periods in her childhood, it was where Elizabeth shared her brother Edward’s education. Later, it served...
