Waterperry Gardens are gardens with a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

in the village of

Waterperry Waterperry is a village beside the River Thame, about east of Oxford in Oxfordshire and close to the county boundary with Buckinghamshire. The Church of England parish church of Saint Mary the Virgin is partly Saxon and has notable medieval sta ...

, near

Wheatley Wheatley may refer to: Places * Wheatley (crater), on Venus * Wheatley, Ontario, Canada * Wheatley, Hampshire, England * Wheatley, Oxfordshire, England ** Wheatley railway station * Wheatley, South Yorkshire, England * Wheatley, now Ben Rhydding, ...

, east of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in Oxfordshire, England.

Description

Beatrix Havergal Beatrix is a Latin feminine given name, most likely derived from ''Viatrix'', a feminine form of the Late Latin name ''Viator'' which meant "voyager, traveller" and later influenced in spelling by association with the Latin word ''beatus'' or "bles ...

(1901–1980) established in 1932 the Waterperry School of Horticulture, a school of

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

for ladies, that continued until her retirement in 1971. The story of the Waterperry school is told in the book ''Waterperry: A Dream Fulfilled'' by Ursula Maddy. The Waterperry estate provided Royal Sovereign strawberries to

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

and the

Chelsea Flower Show The RHS Chelsea Flower Show, formally known as the ''Great Spring Show'',Phil Clayton, ''The Great Temple Show'' in ''The Garden'' 2008, p.452, The Royal Horticultural Society is a garden show held for five days in May by the Royal Horticultural ...

. In 1972, the

School of Economic Science The School of Philosophy and Economic Science (SPES), also operating under the names the School of Philosophy and the School of Practical Philosophy and legally named the School of Economic Science (SES), is a worldwide organisation based in ...

purchased the Waterperry Estate, including Waterperry Gardens, which it continues to run to generate revenue for the school. There are eight acres of landscaped ornamental gardens with an

alpine garden An alpine garden (or alpinarium, alpinum) is a domestic or botanical garden, or more often a part of a larger garden, specializing in the collection and cultivation of alpine plants growing naturally at high altitudes around the world, such as in ...

, formal

knot garden A knot garden is a garden of formal design in a square frame, consisting of a variety of aromatic plants and culinary herbs including germander, marjoram, thyme, southernwood, lemon balm, hyssop, costmary, acanthus, mallow, chamomile, rosemary ...

herbaceous border A herbaceous border is a collection of perennial herbaceous plants (plants that live for more than two years and are soft-stemmed and non-woody) arranged closely together, usually to create a dramatic effect through colour, shape or large scale. ...

s, riverside walk,

rose garden A rose garden or rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses, and sometimes rose species. Most often it is a section of a larger garden. Designs vary tremendously and roses m ...

, and water-lily canal. There are also five acres of orchards, and two collections of

saxifrage ''Saxifraga'' is the largest genus in the family Saxifragaceae, containing about 465 species of holarctic perennial plants, known as saxifrages or rockfoils. The Latin word ''saxifraga'' means literally "stone-breaker", from Latin ' ("rock" or " ...

s which are accredited with

Plant Heritage Plant Heritage, formerly known as the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens (NCCPG), is a botanical conservation organisation in the United Kingdom and a registered charity. It was founded in 1978 to combine the talents of bot ...

under the

National Plant Collection The National Plant Collection scheme is the main conservation biology, conservation vehicle whereby the Plant Heritage charity (formerly the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens) can accomplish its mission: to conserve, g ...

scheme. The gardens are considered notable for the broad variety of

snowdrops ''Galanthus'' (from Ancient Greek , (, "milk") + (, "flower")), or snowdrop, is a small genus of approximately 20 species of bulbous perennial herbaceous plants in the family Amaryllidaceae. The plants have two linear leaves and a single ...

that grow in the spring. The Museum of Rural Life is housed in an 18th-century granary building, with displays of implements and tools. Other facilities include a gallery, garden shop, gift shop, museum, plant centre, and tea shop. The music video to the song "Yesterday" by artist Natalie Shay was filmed at Waterperry Gardens. Since 2017, the Waterperry Opera Festival has taken place in the grounds and the house. Over 4,000 patrons attended their 10-day festival in August 2022. In 2023, the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

programme ''Make it at Market'' used Waterperry Gardens as the backdrop to the second series.

Notable alumnae

* Mary Spiller, teacher at the school, presenter of ''

Gardeners' Question Time ''Gardeners' Question Time'' is a long-running BBC Radio 4 programme in which amateur gardeners can put questions to a panel of experts. History The first programme was broadcast in the North and Northern Ireland Home Service of the BBC at 22 ...

'' *

Pamela Schwerdt Pamela Schwerdt was the joint head gardener at Sissinghurst Castle Garden from 1959 to 1990, and a pioneering horticulturalist. Early life and education Pamela Schwerdt was born on 5 April 1931 in Surrey, the granddaughter of Edith Vere Dent, ...

, joint head gardener at

Sissinghurst Castle Garden Sissinghurst Castle Garden, at Sissinghurst in the Weald of Kent in England, was created by Vita Sackville-West, poet and writer, and her husband Harold Nicolson, author and diplomat. It is among the most famous gardens in England and is design ...

Valerie Finnis Valerie Finnis (1924–2006) was a well-known British photographer, lecturer, teacher and gardener.Ursula Buchan and Anna Pavord (2007) Garden People: Valerie Finnis and the Golden Age of Gardening. Thames & Hudson. , Life Finnis was born in Crow ...

, specialist in alpine plants

References

External links

Waterperry Gardens website
1932 establishments in England Gardens in Oxfordshire Museums with year of establishment missing History museums in Oxfordshire Rural history museums in England {{UK-museum-stub

Description

Notable alumnae

See also

References

External links