The Endsleigh Gardener
Spring 2026
Even the usually unwelcome molehills are greeted as a sign of the world bursting back into life
Ben Ruscombe-King
The Endsleigh Gardener
Taking a break from a garden one tends can be a rewarding experience, especially at this time of year, not just in terms of breaking the familiarity but also because things progress at such speed at the beginning of the season. I have just returned to Endsleigh after a few days visiting winter gardens in Cambridge and found a completely different garden to the one I left. Last week it was cold, grey, wet and wintry, today, upon my return, I am greeted by blue sky, sunshine and springtime. Daffodils line the drive, accentuating the sunshine with their joyful yellow flowers. Camellias that were dotted with blooms a week ago are suddenly prodigious in flower and their colours are made more intense by the change in the quality of light. Magnolia flowers push forth from the winter protection of their furry bracts, the languid nature of their drooping flowers offering an effortless beauty, in contrast rhododendron and azaleas are just beginning to break into flower with their somewhat more demanding allure and will continue their show into early summer with a riot of colour and perfume. The banks are swathed in primroses, croci and vinca. Wild garlic begins to blanket the dell, no doubt soon to make its seasonal appearance on the menu. As spring progresses the picture will be enhanced by the appearance of wood anemone, red campion, bluebells and candelabra primulas, ferns will start to colonise the shadier corners and the myriad shades of green once again clothe the boughs of the arboretum.
Fauna too bursts into life: the morning chorus suddenly envelopes the garden, the tapping of woodpeckers echoes around the valley, birds flit to and fro, squirrels scurry from tree to tree and even the usually unwelcome molehills are greeted as a sign of the world bursting back into life. Gardeners are woken from their torpor and become as frantic as the wildlife: suddenly there is limited time to repair the ravages of an unusually wet winter and to carry out the preparations for what is, at this stage, going to be the best year in the garden ever, somehow in springtime hope is always more influential than experience.
In the long border there are signs of awakening: those winter stalwarts – the freckled hellebores and Iris unguicularis are joined by the vanguard of the spring bulbs as scilla, ipheion, leucojum, muscari and Iris reticulata tentatively pop their heads above the parapet to test the conditions. They will soon be joined by their comrades to create a predominantly blue carpet offering a contrasting foil to the lime green Euphorbia chariacas. At present there is a lone and perhaps rather confused red tulip hinting at things to come later in the spring as tulips, camassia, asphedoline and allium join the throng and the dark black winter mulch rapidly disappears beneath the spring verdure.
On the parterre 3,000 wallflowers (Erysimum cheiri ‘Fire King’) have valiantly battled through the wet winter and will be joined by 1000 tulips (Tulipa ‘Black Parrot’) in the geometric beds surrounding the fountain, as wisteria cascades from the walls, creating a stunning display through April. The rockery surrounding the shell house has now been replanted after its rebuild and should soon soon be a picture of taste and restraint, planted in various shades of white, to reflect the fairytale character of the grotto. I suspect nature has other ideas however and I can already see some bluebells sneaking in, it seems churlish to remove them but maybe I should enforce the rules, at least initially.
A few days away from Endsleigh has proven to be something of a filip, looking at other people’s gardens and appreciating what has been achieved rather than worrying about what has not, along with a return to the garden just as it is accelerating into growth, and a renewed appreciation of just how beautiful Endsleigh is, is proving most invigorating. I highly recommend the tonic of a spring break and of course there’s nowhere I could recommend more highly than the gardens at Endsleigh.
Witness the garden at Endsleigh as it bursts into bloom. Book a two night dinner, bed and breakfast stay (Sunday-Thursday) and receive a complimentary glass of Champagne on arrival, a cream tea for two and tickets to The Garden House, one of the finest spring gardens in Britain.
