York Gate Garden

I recently visited the garden at York Gate, near Adel in Leeds - and was charmed.  Created by the Spencer family around their home, between 1951 and 1994, this one-acre garden is a delight. Frederick and Sybil Spencer bought the property in 1951 when their son Robin was just 17.  Frederick Spencer laid down the bones of the garden but after his death in 1963 it was Robin who took on its development.  He was not a trained horticulturalist but clearly had a flair for design and an understanding of plants and natural materials.  The garden is designed as a series of 'rooms' that lead into one another, each with its own character.  There are beautiful views through from one space to another, architectural features and pleasing little details everywhere.

Robin sadly died in 1982 but his mother Sybil continued to cherish the garden.  On her death in 1994 the garden was gifted to Perennial, the Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Society, who continue to maintain it.  It is open on Thursdays, Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays from April to September.  For more details, see the website.

"The man who has planted a garden feels that he has done 

something for the good of the world." -- Vita Sackville-West  

"Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made
By singing: -"Oh, how beautiful!" and sitting in the shade."
~ Rudyard Kipling, "The Glory of the Garden"