July 2024 Meeting and Talk: The Savill and Valley Gardens, Windsor Great Park

John Anderson has a very distinguished horticultural career. Trained at Kew, he has been head gardener at a range of famous gardens, and his contribution to horticulture was recognised in the award of the RHS Veitch Memorial Medal. In 2016, he became Keeper of Windsor Great Park Gardens, part of the Royal Estate, and managed by the Crown Estate.

It was a particularly interesting and informative talk. The gardens are unusual, situated as they are in a Royal Estate of 8000 acres, and Windsor Castle being a world tourist attraction. Yet the gardens and their management are less well known to the public. John Anderson showed  a range of photographs of the gardens, described their history and development over the decades, and the challenges they now present.

The challenges include managing people whether they are tourists, cyclists or picnickers; dealing with vandalism and littering; and protecting its historic landscapes. Also the problems of climate change: evidenced in its Long Walk tree avenue, at over two miles the longest in Britain, where elm and horse chestnut were succumbing to disease, to be replaced by more resistant species such as ginkgo (Maidenhair) trees.

Woodland gardens were fashionable in the 1930s. Instigated by King George V and Queen Mary, the 35 acre Savill Garden was created by Eric Savill in 1932. It has evolved over the decades. An all-year-round garden, it has plants and trees from round the world, an ornamental area, and a pond. In the 1930s plants such as azaleas, magnolias and rhododendrons were brought back by plant hunters such as Frank Kingdon-Ward whom John clearly admires and whose footsteps he had recently followed in China.

In 1946, a much larger new woodland garden  covering over 200 acres was established in the Valley. Sixty thousand spring bulbs have been planted which make a magnificent show in Spring. Most of the plants and trees are labelled for those visitors who like to know the names.

Being a royal estate the gardens have a unique management structure. Much to John’s relief it doesn’t have a committee managing things (!) which gives him personal reward, and personal responsibility, and allows for flexibility. He answers to the Deputy Ranger, and to the Ranger: now King Charles III. John has 40 gardening staff. Unlike at most large gardens, he doesn’t use volunteers. He asks job applicants to sum up themselves in one word. When he asked his family to sum him up, they said he was an ‘anorak’. He encourages staff to exhibit at local shows because it is important to have an external profile.

The gardens hold a range of national collections such as rhododendron, fern and magnolia.  Rare and endangered species are also grown there as he felt it was important to play a part in their survival.

If you plan a day out in Windsor, the Savill and Valley Gardens and other horticultural sites in Windsor Great Park are well worth  a visit.

Overall, a most enjoyable and well-attended meeting. Thanks to all who helped make the July meeting run smoothly. We had the usual raffle, a plant sale that raised £136 and the usual high standard on the Show Table.

Angela B