Uncovering the legacy of Stowe Gardens with Head Gardener Barry Smith

Dig It - Discussions on Gardening Topics

In this edition of Dig It, Peter Brown and Chris Day chat with Barry Smith, Head Gardener at the National Trust’s Stowe Landscape Gardens, near Buckingham. Barry has been at Stowe for over 40 years and head gardener for over 25 so he knows this garden with immense passion and understanding. Stowe, a world-famous 18th century garden was created by such luminaries as Charles Bridgeman, William Kent and Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. For over 300 years these spectacular gardens have been welcoming tourists far and wide.

Plants mentioned: Roses, annuals (bedding), Ash (Fraxinus excelsior), Pinus (pine), Honeysuckle, wildflowers, Snake’s head Fritillary (featured in Barry’s funny story), Lime, Beech, English Elm and Dutch Elm resistant varieties and Snowdrops (Galanthus).

The Gardens Trust, National Trust and the Buckinghamshire Gardens Trust (for networking, sharing knowledge and celebrating success stories locally and beyond).

Barry’s top two favourite gardens: Stourhead Gardens near Mere, Wiltshire and Stackpole, near Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Wales.

Monuments, specific areas and statues mentioned at Stowe. Grecian Valley Ha-Ha, Oxford Water Lake, Lamport Garden (on-going project), Temple of Concord and Victory (Grecian Temple), Stowe School, The New Inn (old coaching house), Grand Avenue approach to the Corinthian Arch, Buckingham Parish Church, Marble Arch, and The Ice House.

Stowe gardens and school have been used for many film locations including The Crown, Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, Slaughterhouse Rulez, Stardust and in the James Bond film The World is Not Enough.

Barry’s Desert Island luxuries Felco secateurs and a Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera).

To find out more about Stowe Landscape gardens click on this link and maybe become a volunteer.

Our thanks to Chiltern Music Therapy for supplying the music.

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