Weston Park set to get a rose garden revamp thanks to donations

The gardeners at Weston Park, on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border near Shifnal, have been working to restore the estate's rose garden to its original Victorian design. It is part of a year-long project to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria.

The trustees of the Weston Park Foundation had originally planned to recreate designs by the celebrated landscape artist Edward Kemp, but after research carried out with help from the Staffordshire Archives, the estate's curator Gareth Williams discovered that the gardens were actually designed by William Brodrick Thomas.

Head gardener Martin Gee and his team have been working with leading rosarian Michael Marriot, from David Austin Roses near Albrighton.

Martin and Michael studied William Brodrick Thomas's original plans for the garden, and the 3rd Earl of Bradford’s correspondence and bills, to inform the new planting schemes. Michael picked out roses based on their colour and scent as well as practical considerations, such as disease resistance and long flowering potential.

Martin Gee said: “Work of this scale to the rose garden was last undertaken in 1993, so the plants are now over 25 years old and showing their age. We started our preparations in November 2018, gradually removing old plantings and box hedges ready for the new roses to go in.

"To complement the planting schemes the lawns will be steel-edged to add definition and crisp clean lines that will improve the overall look and feel.

“Thanks for the rose garden project must go to our visitors, whose Gift Aid donations mean that as a charity we are able to claim 25p in the £1 back from HMRC. Their generosity has been overwhelming and we hope that many will return this summer to see this beautiful garden that they have helped to restore.”