Hyde Hall (RHS Garden Hyde Hall (Essex))

Member Name: kayers

Product:	RHS Garden Hyde Hall (Essex)
Date:	27/08/09 (43 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A lovely walk in a beautiful garden

Disadvantages: none

Hyde Hall Estate is a beautiful Royal Horticultural Society garden in the middle of the Essex countryside.

A bit of history
The garden was started in 1955 when Dr & Mrs Robinson came to live in Hyde Hall. When they arrived there was no garden just old farmland and a house on top of a windswept hill. They decided to create a garden and after much hard work improving the soil and putting in plants that would survive in these dry, windy conditions they gradually produced a beautiful garden which has gone from strength to strength.

Where it is
Hyde Hall is located just 20 minutes from the centre of Chelmsford and is sign posted from the A130 (southbound) and from the M25 (junction 29 A127 Southend) if coming from other directions.

About the garden
I have been visiting Hyde Hall over many years and I have seen it change from a small, well designed garden surrounding a home to a much larger garden since the RHS became involved with it. I must admit to being worried when the RHS first took over that they would spoil the intimacy of the garden by making it too large. However, they have made an excellent job, taking things slowly and keeping many of the existing features and incorporating new ones in a complementary way.
All my old favourite parts of the garden are still there. Such as the lovely fish pond with its enormous carp and pretty waterlillies. The Rose Walk at the bottom of the original garden is still as pretty as ever and the herbaceous boarders are spectacular. The dry garden always attracts me because my own garden also suffers from lack of moisture, so I try and take heart that it is possible to grow plants with very little water! The woodland garden is always pretty and cool on a summer's day.

The Robinson garden is one of the new features and has many unusual plants. The Millennium Avenue with its lovely Ash Trees is due to be planted with a selection of wild flowers which should be stunning when completed.

There have been significant changes since I visited the garden earlier this year. A new visitor entrance has been created with better sign posting from the main roads. The car parking area has been moved and made more attractive. Just this week a brand new visitor centre has been opened incorporating a much bigger shop offering many plant related books for the enthusiasts together with plenty of gift ideas, such has pretty mugs, fancy jams and chutneys, ornaments etc. Within this building is also a tearoom with seats inside and out offering a good selection of refreshments to revive you following a good walk around the garden. There is also the existing tearoom in the old barn area where cakes and tea can be enjoyed but also a light lunch such as quiche or jacket potato.

Throughout the garden are colourful signs explaining things to children. To capture their interest they have taken a number of different plants and explained how they were used to make magic potions in the Harry Potter films. My daughter is now a teenager but I can imagine that when she was younger she would have identified with this and found it fun to look out for the signs. In addition there are also various events on during the year for children to take part in and so encourage them to like plants and gardening.

If you want to find out more about any of the plants in the garden there is a library near the house where you can go and browse to your heart's content.

The vegetable garden is also of interest, showing how easy it is to grow a variety of vegetables in a small space.

The garden has hard gravel paths throughout so easily accessible for wheelchairs or pushchairs. However, the garden is on a hill so some inclines are inevitable. There is also an open vehicle which drives around the garden for those unable to walk very far.

On the way out don't forget to visit the excellent plant centre and buy one (or more) or those plants that you have just admired in the garden!

Opening & Cost
This garden is open all year except Christmas Day so it can be seen during every season giving an idea which plants are at their best at any given time.
RHS members: FREE
Adults: £5.50
Children (6 to 16 years): £2.00
Under 6 years: FREE
Groups of more than 10 *: £4.50

What else
Many other events are held at Hyde Hall throughout the year such as plant sales, talks by experts on plants and gardening in general and practical teaching days. More information can be found on the website - http://www.rhs.org.uk/WhatsOn/Gardens/hydehall/

Summary: A lovely outing for anyone who likes gardening and gardens