Abbeywood Estate: Simon Cooper Shares His Remarkable Tropical Garden In Cheshire

Abbeywood Estate in Cheshire is home to several garden rooms, including an exotic tropical garden that features plants from all over the world.

I explored the gardens with Simon Goodfellow, Head Gardener at Abbeywood.

I was particularly interested in learning how he has managed to achieve such a remarkable tropical effect in a garden this far north.

History Of Abbeywood

“I’ve been Head Gardener here at Abbeywood since 2009,” shares Simon.

“It was originally a family home, and the family have been here since 1987.

“The basic design had been set in the pool garden and the old vegetable garden by David Stevens, but when I started here, I put my own planting style and design everywhere and increased the size of the garden.

“The layout has remained pretty much the same since I started here in those areas.

“Beyond those more formal areas is my own design.”

The Tropical Garden

“The tropical exotic garden is planted out anywhere from the middle of May to the end of May, depending on the weather,” Simon explains.

“I started a lot from seed 15 years ago. I always try and get some interesting plants in there.

“Even though some of the plants are not exotic, when they are put in combination with others, it gives an exotic feel.

“In here is Eucalyptus, which I have to pollard, otherwise it gets too big.

“We planted some Bromeliads in the palm trunks just for the summer. Some of them have worked, some obviously don’t like direct sun because they burn, but it’s interesting to see how they work.

“We’ve also got some Bird of Paradise, which are just going over now, and little florist’s pineapples, which are an added bonus for this year.”

Exploring The Wider Estate

“The Pool Garden originally featured a formal parterre made up of box, which we had to get rid of six years ago when the box blight set in,” says Simon.

“We decided to do something completely different, so we’ve got yew and copper beech, and then we’ve tried a few things in between.

“There is always something flowering in between the shrubs for the rest of the year.

“The Pergola Walk was originally installed by David Stevens and I then widened the herbaceous borders so I could get more depth in the planting.

“There’s a beautiful wisteria here in spring and then there’s honeysuckle, clematis and roses on the pergola.

“The prairie garden, with the big swathes of herbaceous plants and grasses, is looking good now in July.

“Where I’d had just pure block planting, things have now helped themselves and joined in – it’s all for the better, really.”

How To Visit Abbeywood

“It’s the compliments you get from visitors that mean the most,” Simon muses.

“Sometimes you put in lots of hard work and effort and you think, oh what am I doing this for, but in the end, it’s worthwhile because it’s bringing pleasure to so many other people.”

To find out more about opening times and how to visit, head over to Abbeywood’s website.