2017

SH5573 : Secrets of Mrs Fanning Evans' Secret garden

taken 7 years ago, near to Menai Bridge, Isle of Anglesey/Sir Ynys Mon, Wales

Secrets of Mrs Fanning Evans' Secret garden
Secrets of Mrs Fanning Evans' Secret garden
Mrs Fanning Evans was the last passionate gardener until the 1940's when the garden and area became desolate and neglected.
Only to be restored by the current owner.
Plas Cadnant - the Hidden Garden

In 1996, the present owner bought the 200 acre Plas Cadnant Estate and work began on the restoration of the historic garden and grounds.
Former owners of Plas Cadnant were related to the Tremayne family of Heligan House, now famous for its Lost Gardens.
Three different gardens have been discovered, including an unusual walled garden with curving walls and pool, a secret valley garden with three waterfalls and river, and an upper woodland garden with stone outcrops and the remains of a 19c. folly.
The first stage was to rescue the house and lodges, and to carefully restore the outbuildings and gardener's cottage using traditional techniques and materials; these are now let as holiday accommodation to provide some supporting income.
Work started on restoring the gardens and grounds in 1997, this was a huge undertaking as large areas had not been maintained for over seventy years. In 1998 the area immediately behind the main house became a ‘herb garden’. The following year the sheltered courtyard between the cottages was planted as a garden.
Gardening essentially began at Cadnant in 1804 when John Price chose a highly scenic position for his new Georgian house, the walled garden was used as a kitchen garden and orchard, and the pleasure grounds had their path systems. The estate continued well maintained under the Price’s until after the First World War. In 1928 the estate was split and sold to various owners.
The penultimate owner, Mrs Fanning Evans, was a keen gardener and plant enthusiast but had to contend with dwindling staff, resources and energies, the areas maintained were reduced to a small area around the main house and a small section in a corner of the walled garden. So by the 1940's the garden and area had became desolate and neglected.
The present owner, who is very much hands on, has been restoring the estate and gardens since 1996, as by this time the gardens had been long neglected and almost completely overgrown with sizeable self-sown tree seedlings, cherry laurel and ponticum (Rhododendron).
Unfortunately a large area was devastated by the effects of Storm Eva on Boxing Day 2015 when a build up of surface water destroyed the 200 year old wall, which had survived until then without harm. Finally the bottom section of the wall was breached. A massive torrent of water and rocks, surged down the through the Valley Gardens, destroying everything in its path and carrying two stone obelisks and the new ‘eye catcher’ bench with it.
Since then an amazing amount of repair work has been undertaken, the wall and pond having been restored and continues to this day (updated April 2017).


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Richard Hoare and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Historic sites and artefacts Park and Public Gardens Wild Animals, Plants and Mushrooms Country estates Place: Plas Cadnant Primary Subject: Garden other tags: Hidden Gardens Person Mrs Fanning Evans Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
This photo is linked from: Galleries: · Selected tweets, Week 20 Automatic Clusters: · Fanning Evans' Secret Garden [4] ·
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SH5573, 143 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Richard Hoare   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Sunday, 30 April, 2017   (more nearby)
Submitted
Sunday, 30 April, 2017
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SH 5575 7322 [10m precision]
WGS84: 53:14.1816N 4:9.7683W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SH 55730 73237
View Direction
East-southeast (about 112 degrees)
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Image Type (about): geograph 
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