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 Estate and Gardens
Head Gardener, Christin Dredge, and the dedicated garden team, are constantly working to maintain and develop the thirty acres of 18th century parkland and the Victorian Kitchen Garden, so that guests can continue to enjoy the fresh produce used in Head Chef, Matthew Butcher, creative menus, and the freshly cut flowers used in the fabulous floral displays around the house, created by our by our inspirational Florist Jude.
The parkland at Ston Easton Park is now the only remaining Humphry Repton landscape in Somerset. His ‘Red Book’, a facsimile demonstrating his plans in ‘before’ and ‘after’ stages, illustrated in wonderful watercolours, can be found in the hotel reception.
Whether you’d prefer to take a leisurely stroll along the cascading River Norr, or an invigorating walk through the wooded parkland to the old Ice House, there’s a great deal to see and enjoy, and our house Spaniel, Oscar, would be delighted to join you. During your adventure, you might even be treated to the beautiful sight of our three resident deer roaming the grounds, as well as many other wild animals along the way.
Garden News
“The beautiful parkland is full of horticultural surprises. Today I escorted another garden tour and we spotted an unusual plant growing at the side of the river. I had no idea what it could be. The leaves were large and palmate and the flowering stem was thick with many clusters of dirty pink flowers.
The question was, was it a cultivated plant, an exotic alien introduction or an unusual native? It is growing in the most inhospitable conditions imaginable, in a pile of rubble that had been spread alongside the river to re-enforce the bank. The spoil is full of stone and gravel and looks as if nothing should grow there so my best guess was that it was an indigenous wild flower.
I like to think my knowledge of the native British flora is quite good but this was a new one to me. I turned directly to my well thumbed copy of Keble Martin ‘The Concise British Flora in Colour’ that I have owned since my college days 35 years ago. Sure enough, plate 46 yielded the necessary information, it is Petasites hybridus or Butterbur. The leaves grow to two feet across but the flowers only appear in April. It spreads by deep underground rhizomes so I don’t think I will be taking a piece home for the garden, it could become really invasive, however on the river bank at Ston Easton Park, it has room to naturalise and I, for one, am happy to have added it to the list of native flora I have seen growing, and it will be another entry in the Ston Easton Park list of rare and unusual plants.
Please do come and see for yourself.
Christin”
It’s such an exciting time in the Ston Easton Park gardens with an amazing atmosphere of promise and potential that pervades the park. Christin and the team intend to maintain these glorious gardens with careful replanting to ensure delightful vistas for years to come.
We look forward to seeing you.
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