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    Learning & Discovery
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    Arches and pergolas

    The Laburnum Arch at Bodnant Garden, Conwy

    The Rose Garden at Nymans Garden, West Sussex A cottage garden in Selworthy on the Holnicote Estate, Somerset

    A hornbeam tunnel at Ham House, London

    Bodnant Garden, Conwy

    Bodnant’s famous Laburnum Arch becomes a magnificent, long, glowing tunnel of golden yellow each early June.

    The Laburnum Arch at Bodnant Garden, Conwy
    © National Trust

    Much care has gone into this glorious long walk of pleached Laburnum X watereri ‘Vossii’ over the years, with each of the saplings replaced many times since the arch was created.

    Ham House, London

    Formality triumphant: the photograph shows one of the Cherry Garden’s two hornbeam tunnels, referred to at Ham House as berceaux or vaulted trellises, that were created during the garden’s restoration in 1975.

    A hornbeam tunnel at Ham House, London
    © NTPL / Stephen Robson

    The iron strapping which helped with the training of the trees and has since been removed.

    Holnicote, Somerset

    Traditional cottage gardens on the Holnicote estate are planted for maximum impact in early summer. This wisteria pergola is underplanted with fragrant wallflowers flanking a gravel path.

    A cottage garden in Selworthy on the Holnicote Estate, Somerset
    © NTPL / Nick Meers

    Mount Stewart, Co Down

    There is more than a hint of Moorish Granada about these painstakingly clipped topiary arches in Mount Stewart’s Spanish Garden.

    The Spanish Garden at Mount Stewart, Co Down
    © NTPL / Stephen Robson

    Shaped from X Cupressocyparis leylandii, not only are they a monument to artistic inventiveness but they also offer enticing glimpses into other parts of the garden.

    Nymans, West Sussex

    The Rose Garden at Nymans is a classic example of English garden style at its best. The central metal arches span the gravel path supporting pale pink and white roses.

    The Rose Garden at Nymans Garden, West Sussex
    © NTPL / Stephen Robson

    Originally underplanted with a double row of Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’, pictured, the over exuberant catmint has now been replaced with an elegant stone edging.

    This feature was taken from the 2006 edition of the Gardening with the National Trust magazine. The latest edition of the magazine is available now from National Trust shops.

    Words: Sue Corbett

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    Roses on the pergola in the Rose Garden at Polesden Lacey, Surrey
    © NTPL / Nick Meers
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