Dorothy Clive Garden

Creation of the Garden

The origin of the Dorothy Clive Garden has a heart-warming story behind it. About a husbands love for his ailing wife.

Colonel Harry Clive’s wife Dorothy, had failing health due to Parkinson’s disease. As a result she couldn’t venture far from the house, but did like to have a regular walk. To make her walks more interesting than just a stroll around the lawn, he decided to develop the overgrown gravel pit, into woodland walks.

Sadly Dorothy died just a couple of years after the work started, but apparently she was involved in some of the planting and did get pleasure from the newly created woodland garden.

As the colonel wanted the garden to live on as a memorial to his beloved wife, he set up The Willoughbridge Garden Trust in 1958, which still manages the garden to this day.

September visit – Deciding on our route

When my husband I visited in September, we had an extremely good start, being warmly greeted at the ticket office by a lovely man. I know this is no reflection on the garden, but it always helps!

In the car park you can take a look at one of the two conveniently placed map boards, to decide where to start.

There are three entrance points, one which brings you straight into the rose garden and very close to the Royal Botanic Glasshouse. The second by the pond and the third is a driveway that leads up to a disabled car park, conveniently near to the tea room.

We chose the middle one by the pond.

At this entrance the enjoyment starts straight away, as you immediately find yourselves in a small maze of yew hedging. You don’t need to worry about getting lost though as there’s only one way to go!

You emerge right in front of the pond, with the alpine scree up a slope behind it.

The pond had lots of lily pads, but looked like it had recently been cleared out and the borders surrounding it replanted.

Late colour from the herbaceous borders

We meandered up the gravel path through the alpines, and on up to the herbaceous borders. They still had plenty if colour from dahlias, helianthus, and rudbeckia.

One border had mass planting of Japanese anemones in front of Eutrochium purpureum (Joe-pye weed) which worked really well.

Rare Hoverfly

As I was looking at the flowers, I spotted an unusual looking insect on the herbaceous clematis. I was pretty sure it was a hoverfly, but not one I’d seen before .

On my return home I searched online. I found it was a Hornet-mimic Hoverfly ‘Volucella zonaria’.

According to The Wildlife Trusts website, they are usually only found in the south of the country but are known to be spreading north – and this one clearly has!

Time for refreshment

Above the herbaceous borders you reach the tea rooms. In front of them is a lovely lawned terrace area for those warm days – which we appear to be having more of.

There are lovely views, and plants all around giving it an intimate feel.

When you’ve finished your homemade cake, the plant sales area is conveniently right outside the tea room and gift shop.

Woodland Walk

Carrying on up past the edible garden, it takes on a proper woodland feel. I would imagine in the spring the colours from azaleas and rhododendrons must be spectacular.

We came across a beautiful tree with bronze coloured peeling bark, I’m not sure if it’s a Acer.

The whole garden is set on the side of a hill, so you are gently climbing to this point, but it finally flattens out at the top.

On the right hand side we came across a few little viewing gaps, you can see the surrounding beautiful open countryside, of Staffordshire.

In the corner of three counties

The Garden is located on the edge of three counties. It is actually in Staffordshire, with Newcastle-under-Lyme to the right and Market Drayton in Shropshire to the left. The garden is just a short walk to the Shropshire border and only a few miles from the Cheshire boundary.

On the left hand side of the garden, the viewing gaps actually look across to Shropshire. We wandered down the azalea walk which in September was obviously not in flower. But we were treated to the delicate autumn flowering crocus ‘Colchicum Autumnale’.

Sound of Water

Now able to hear the sound of water, you can be guided by your ears to find the waterfall.

There is a life sized bronze stag above the falls. It was commissioned by sculpture Ben Pantang. There are numerous sculptures in the gardens and other artists including poets have run workshops in the grounds.

Back down to the Rose Garden

As you make your way down out of the woodland area, you pass by the tea room again. Meandering down the left hand side of the garden, you have the Camelia walk taking you on to the rose garden.

There were a surprising amount of roses still in flower for the time of year.

Royal Botanic glasshouse

We found the Royal Botanic glasshouse just as the few few spots of rain started to fall. I love the smell and atmosphere of greenhouses, the air thick with humidity.

As you approach, the plant that draws your eye is Abutilon, it has lots of common names including, ‘Indian mallow’, ‘Velvetleaf’, and ‘Flowering maple’ – as a result of its maple shaped leaves. I personally thought the yellow flowers it was covered in, reminded me of little lampshades.

The Brazilian native ‘Brugmansia Suaveolens’ yellow angel trumpets, are really quite spectacular. Sadly they are thought to be extinct in the wild.

You can smell the ‘Cestrum ‘Newellii’ before you see its stunning crimson flowers. It has a horrible common name of ‘bastard jasmine’. It originates from the Americas, only found in the southern states of Northern America. It can be grown outside, but is tender so best grown in a conservatory or heated greenhouse.

Planning our return

We had a thoroughly enjoyable visit to the Dorothy Clive garden in autumn. With its woodland walks and newly planted ‘Winter Garden’ area, it would be a pleasure at any time of the year. But I feel spring would be it’s most spectacular time with Rhododendrons, Azaleas and its Laburnum arch, so we will most certainly be returning!

Coming soon Chelsea Flower Show visit 2021