Building Bridges...

We have long wanted to build a bridge over the lake end of the brook. It is an essential part of the landscaping, as without it one has to either walk around the lake or jump the brook (easy to do on horseback, but not so easy for a bride in a wedding dress. Initially we were going to build a dry stone wall along the brook, and were therefore going to have a dry stone bridge to match, like the ones below. ..

However, due to a lack of schist in the north island, the cost of transporting the stone and hiring the hard-to-find dry-stone wallers (for it is a dying art), we decided to plant Dietes orchids thickly along the bank of the brook where the wall was to have gone. That left us considering other options. 

Wooden bridges are a very cheap and easy alternative that we could have built ourselves, but are not the right look for Willowbrook. Even a grand oriental-styled bridge such as at Stowe or as seen in Monet's waterlily paintings would not fit with the Palladian architecture of the folly, or the manor house. 

We had to think about something more neoclassical, more Georgian. So we began taking inspiration from the Palladian bridges of Stowe and Wilton, and down-scaling them somewhat...

We were working on this when we stumbled across these perfect examples on Tumblr of little neoclassical bridge (above and below), which could be made simply out of the same urns, plinths and balustrades that we are casting en mass for the terrace. It would tie in well with the architecture of the park, be simple and cost effective to make. So, this Winter when the terrace is being made and the lake folly erected, we will have our team build us a bridge...

The Wild Flower Project

This winter we will sow a strip of wild flowers along side the brook and under the willow trees. We have found inspiration for this in several places...

Above and Below: The famous wild flower meadow at Highgrove. The wild flower project there was started by the Prince in 1982, with the help of Miriam Rothschild. It was in response to the effect that modern farming techniques were having on native wild grasses and flowers due to spray drift and country road verges being mown before the flowers had flowered and hence seeded. It took several years for the 120 different varieties of flowers and grasses from 33 differing species to take a hold. The first couple of years were not so rewarding (so we shall know what to expect), but after they established themselves amongst the natural flora they found their stride.

Above: Painting by Jenny Causer.

Below: The great Southern Motorway idea of planting between the lanes of traffic south of Auckland with wild flowers. They have unfortunately not been replaced after 2 years, but they brought much pleasure while the project was running.

Below: Poppy Meadows

The strip of flowers will hopefully give some definition to the brook, as a temporary measure until we get our dry-stone wall built. Leigh at Brabourne Farm has some more stunning photos of meadow flowers here...

Dry stone walling

We are putting a dry stone wall along the entire length of the brook, by the Willows, as an added barrier and also for aesthetics. It is only going to be about 2 feet high, but with a 4 foot drop on the other side of it to the brook it will be functional enough. Dry stone walling is a dying craft and an art, which is further explained on the website for the Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain.

There is something quite romantic about the ribbon of stone weaving itself through the natural countryside. It inspires thoughts of an Austen or Bronte novel: gentlemen in riding britches and clutches of women parading as ingenue - a period drama in the making.