On the Ground: 2025

This month, as a team, we have been getting festive and have created many handmade decorations for the hotel. Foraging from our beautiful grounds for materials, we were able to create another large archway with lights outside the main entrance, leaving the stone-carved dog peeping through the foliage. We repurposed the Cornus siberica stems, which were removed to make way for the new phase 2 development, to add more depth. We also created a sister garland to the front of the Lakehouse, smaller but just as beautiful, to spread some Christmas cheer to this building, along with a wreath and our rustic take on the traditional Christmas tree in the small window. We are always on the lookout for cones in the garden – our Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) and umbrella pine (Sciadopitys verticillata) are the team’s favourites, and we have amassed quite a collection! We put these to good use by spraying them with a hint of gold and hanging them as baubles on interior Christmas trees. To use up the remaining foraged materials and spend time with other departments in the hotel, we organised a staff wreath-making workshop. Team members from gardening, housekeeping and food & beverage all enjoyed an afternoon together creating our own wreaths to take home.

– Claire

At this time, we also began replacing the three yew pyramids (Taxus baccata) around the bar – an element originally installed during phase one of the redesign, but that had unfortunately struggled to establish. As the yew domes were growing successfully in nearby areas, we introduced more here to form an informal screen, providing much-needed protection to the border from persistent wind exposure. The pyramids were swapped for Hornbeam columns (Fagus sylvatica), still drawing inspiration from the building architecture, but far better suited to the damp and exposed conditions this bed faces. To blend into other phase one areas, we planted some large Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii to contrast against the hornbeam frames, which we lifted from the slope behind the hotel. We then re-positioned the remaining perennials, including Veronicastrum ‘Album’, Agastache ‘Blackadder’ and Geranium ‘Patricia’, to provide a beautiful floral display in summer. The photos highlight the improvements in structure we’ve made since this border’s initial planting in 2023.

Early November marked the arrival of the first large trees and shrubs for phase two of the redesign. With Lakeland Gardens having completed most of the hard landscaping, we were finally able to begin placing out the new plants. We were joined by garden consultant and designer Martin Ogle, who led the setting-out process and helped bring the plans to life.

Key specimens include four multi-stem Osmanthus fortunei, which make an immediate impact and have introduced a new sense of scale and height. We also planted seven Prunus subhirtella ‘Autumnalis ‘Rosea’, positioned around the edge of the circular lawn to supplement those planted in phase one, along with three Cotoneaster ‘Cornubia’, providing seasonal interest with their red berries from late summer to early winter.

This stage of the project has been especially exciting for everyone involved – a rare moment when change can be uncharacteristically fast-paced. Heavy rainfall, however, posed a challenge, limiting our ability to plant on certain days due to the risk of compaction in our clay soil. Correcting this issue has meant long days spent turning over the soil and working in grit and compost – all without the help of heavy machinery. It’s been tiring work, but rewarding to know that the new plants will now be growing in far more suitable conditions.

Halloween this month brought a request for hotel decorations in keeping with its Victorian Gothic interior. Alex did a beautiful job creating these displays: in the entranceway, on the hall mantlepiece, and at the entrance to the small sitting room. He used an antique walnut treen vase, a selection of pumpkin varieties from a pick-your-own company, and various autumnal flowers, foliage and cones from our grounds. These displays have been commented on and enjoyed by many guests throughout this period and demonstrate Alex’s skill for design. We will repurpose most of the materials for use in the future and gift the pumpkins to staff and the chefs for home cooking. Well done, Alex!

– Claire

This month, we have been joined by landscapers from Lakeland Gardens to assist with the hard landscaping elements and some of the bigger-scale clearance. This has involved the removal of multiple tree roots, soil movement, and the building of steps to provide access to the newly shaped lawn. The addition of new soil to the eastern side has created the amphitheatre surround key to the new design, providing a sense of seclusion and once planted, the feeling of being enveloped and immersed in the garden from the lawn. The new steps improve access and have been faced with slate from nearby Elterwater quarry, tying it into the local landscape, and paved with Purbeck limestone for continuity with the phase one areas.

As a garden team, we have been focusing on clearing the vegetation around our beautiful rhododendron varieties and pruning out dead stems for improved shape. Rhododendrons and azaleas have become synonymous with the Lake District since the Victorian era, when plant hunters searched for interesting cultivars from distant lands. Some of the existing, larger rhododendrons are likely to have been planted as part of the initial design by Thomas Mawson, such as our fine, scented specimens, Rhododendron loderi ‘King George’. As such, it is important to all involved that such historic specimens be retained and celebrated, and it was our pleasure to refine their beautiful forms.

– Claire

As we progress with our preparations for the second phase of our garden works, we have moved our attention from the cleared stream to the main lawn. This is intended to form a central ‘lung’ to the new design, a space for the garden to breathe and to be enjoyed by our guests. We marked out a central marker as per the design plans, set a tape measure to the required radius, and spray-painted a perfect circle. We hired a turf cutter to remove the outer turf efficiently and used the rolls to bank up the volume to the eastern side, where the addition of fresh soil will create an amphitheatre surround. We carefully edged by hand the direct circumference; we’re all extremely happy with the view and impact of this new design feature from the dining room and rooms above!

We also cleared the circular border adjacent to the new lawn, which was full of Telekia speciosa. Telekia is a tall, herbaceous perennial with large, heart-shaped leaves and yellow, daisy-like flowers in late summer and autumn. It looks especially good over the winter, in our opinion, as it retains its upright structure and beautiful seedheads. Though we love leaving them, it has meant that it has self-seeded rampantly, and there were many to dig out to make space for the new planting. We have gifted some to guests, friends, and have kept some aside to replant in other areas of the garden.

– Claire

It was lovely to take some time out of the hotel in September as a team and learn some new skills together. We attended a foraging course at the National Trust, Longshaw, and with our knowledgeable tutor, Sam, identified numerous edible mushroom varieties, including a bumper haul of Porcinis! Apparently, it’s been a very good year for mushroom growth, with a hot, dry spring followed by a warm summer and moist autumn. We learnt about indicators of edibility – such as a spongy underside – plus other uses of mushrooms, such as the medicinal properties of birch polypore, whose lower pores can be used as plasters. Alex and Charlotte even indulged in some wood ant tasting, reminiscent of lemon sherbet due to their formic acid defence system. We enjoyed a two-course menu inspired by the day’s finds, and finished with a garden tour from the head gardener of Fischers, Baslow Hall. Along with team building, the day gave us lots of ideas for how we can improve the kitchen garden and related guest experience at Langdale Chase.

– Claire

This month, we began preparations for the next phase of our exciting garden development, with designers Annie Guilfoyle, Patrick Clarke and Martin Ogle. We started by clearing the vegetation from our streamside area and loosening the soil structure to aid drainage when the area is replanted. Previously, the stream was largely obscured by vigorous Athyrium felix-femina (lady ferns), making it a pleasure to uncover this original Mawson design feature and celebrate its beauty. We have selected some plants to remain in place, such as Asplenium scolopendrium (hart’s tongue fern), numerous rhododendron species and a previously shaped Prunus lusitanica, whilst recovering other plants, such as a Miscanthus sp., for use elsewhere in the garden.

– Claire

In the height of summer, the garden is at its most full, and we can take a step back and appreciate the many successes of our recently planted borders (autumn 2023).

There have been various losses, mainly of perennials, due to pests and wet conditions. However, our efforts to rectify these problems have finally paid off, and many perennials are filling out and making an impact in the borders, such as:

• Salvia verticillata ‘Purple Rain’
• Veronicastrum ‘Alba’
• Nepeta govaniana

We can truly appreciate the improvement in plant vigour in this beautiful border in comparison to previous years.

– Claire

On the 24th of July, our fellow gardener, Trevor, completed the final day of his charity fell walking for My Name’5 Doddie Foundation. Trevor has walked over Wansfell every day for a year, sometimes multiple times in one day, come rain or shine (mostly our famous Lake District rain). This equates to over 180,000m of ascent, or around 20 ascents of Everest. His dedication, kindness, and sheer energy have amazed all of us.

To celebrate Trevor’s hard work and success raising money for Motor Neurone Disease, he was joined by the garden team, along with other colleagues from Langdale Chase, and friends. Luckily, we were blessed with a warm sunny day, champagne, and cake.

Well done, Trevor, and thank you to everyone who donated.

If you would like to donate to this worthy cause, please click here.

– Claire

By June, our roses have become a floriferous and prolific feature in the garden, and now is a good time to appreciate the success of our hard work maintaining them. There is no doubt that our earlier visit from the David Austin rose consultants in March gave us the ability to reinvigorate some of the varieties that were previously struggling. The elegant shrub rose ‘Penelope Lively’ has mid-pink, cupped blooms in open sprays. With her medium-strong fruity scent, she is the embodiment of summertime. Our appropriately named rambler, ‘The Lady of the Lake’, is beginning to soften the railings above the car park, its pale pink flowers and fresh fragrance welcoming guests on arrival. Shrub rose ‘The Lark Ascending’ really is ascending, an incredibly healthy and vigorous rose with graceful semi-double apricot flowers.

– Claire

Rabbits are particularly fond of tender, young plants, whose softness and high nutritional content provide a food source. We have trialled multiple methods to try to protect new planting – organic sprays, which alter the taste of the plant but cause no harm to the rabbit, barrier methods, and encouraging natural predators through habitat provision. Unfortunately, we are not frequently blessed with the dry weather required for effective spraying, and there seem to be more rabbits than natural predators can handle! As such, we have found the most effective measure has been the creation of barriers, either through fencing or attractive guards around individual plants themselves. All guards have been created using materials foraged from the grounds and artistically arranged by our gardener, Alex. Thankfully, we can now see many of our damaged plants recovering and far fewer rabbits gaining access to our site on its northern boundary.

– Claire

Due to our weather, soil, and pest-related difficulties, we decided to start many of our susceptible late spring-flowering bulbs in pots in the autumn. The tulips we subsequently planted have been a real showstopper around the entrance and terrace areas. Here we have three different cultivars: ‘Burgundy Lace’, ‘Ballerina’, and ‘Princess Irene’, which together contrast in colour, height, and flower texture, and pop against the paler Narcissus varieties surrounding them, which we planted last season. The Allium ‘Gladiator’ also garnered much admiration from guests. Its giant heads, spreading over 20cm in diameter, contain countless miniature florets, each a rich pink or rose-purple. They’re also magnets for bees, and standing at over 1 metre tall, they add valuable height and interest to the borders.

– Claire

Due to the wet and stormy winter of 2023/2024, soil compaction, and our cute but formidably pesky rabbit friends, many of our new plants in our exciting garden redesign project failed. This was most noticeable in the borders surrounding our beautiful terrace – a prime spot for our guests to relax and be enveloped by nature. To resolve this and improve the guest experience in this key area, we began moving out surviving plants, hand-digging and improving both the soil structure and composition, to a depth of 850mm, in our worst-affected section. By Maytime, we finished re-planting according to the original planting plan provided by Creative Landscapes to recover this area to its former glory!

– Claire

In March, we were very kindly visited by two rose consultants, Joseph and Nathan, from David Austin Roses – the company that supplied us with 80 roses in the first phase of our garden redesign. Conscious of giving all our plants the very best start, we knew that we would benefit from their expertise on all rose-related matters, and they did not disappoint. From feeding to pruning, optimum positioning to disease control in a rose’s early years and beyond, they armed us with detailed and up-to-date information. As a bonus, they replaced some of our roses that had failed up to this point as part of their guarantee! A very valuable afternoon for the garden team, many thanks to David Austin Roses for providing such great aftercare.

– Claire

We’ve all been admiring our newly planted multi-stem Amelanchier ‘Lamarkii’ trees around the entrances this month. A truly graceful tree, with an open branching structure, it is covered in small, star-shaped white flowers which appear in unison with the emergence of bronze-tinged young leaves. This provides a beautiful and eye-catching contrast. Having had time to settle in the ground, they have flowered better than last year.

– Claire

Many plants selected by our designers have been chosen for their seasonal interest. This ensures that our guests can always enjoy flowers, scent, and structure in the garden, whatever the time of year. One of our first bulbs to bloom is Crocus ‘Flower Record’. Its delightful cups of violet mauve open up to reveal bright orange stigmata when the early spring sun shines on the flower. Our Acer palmatum ‘Sango Kaku’, also known as the Coral bark Maple, has multiple seasons of interest. In winter, it reveals a structure of bright red stems that glow as they catch the low winter sun. Our harbinger of spring, the Cornus Mas, really steals the show, though. With bright flowers on bare stems before its leaves appear, it creates a striking display of yellow froth.

– Claire