Osterley Park House owes much to the splendour of its setting, sited as it is at the heart of 357 acres of parkland and gardens.
Early descriptions of Osterley show that the woods and ponds were the most important elements of the estate. Indeed, there was no garden, just pasture.
Beginning in the 1760s, the process of landscaping Osterley Park saw the ponds and streams integrated to form three long lakes in the serpentine fashion. Lawns, pasture and shrubs were introduced. The designer at Osterley is unknown.
In the late 18th century, the park's main attraction was its menagerie by the North Lake. This contained a host of rare and unusual birds, supplemented by a number of colourful pleasure boats.
Substantial tree-planting over the centuries, including the introduction of cedars, has brought additional colour and shade to an estate once regarded as rather too flat. A collection of oak trees includes an impressive cork oak, a Japanese Daimyo oak, Hungarian oaks and North American red oaks.
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