Strawberry hill flower festival
Strawberry hill House Flower Festival
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| Trying on a flower headband |
There is an on site cafe, where I enjoyed a cream tea and woodlands surrounding the property. I visited strawberry hill House for the first time at the end of summer for their annual flower festival in September. This year's theme was nature unbound. The strawberry hill House flower festival is in its 6th year showcasing British grown flowers.
I took a leisurely stroll around the castle starting on the ground floor. Taking photos are allowed and encouraged. I wore unique and spectacular dress designed by Simeogieme - For her spring summer 2024 collection which was showcased at Africa Fashion week. I received many compliments and thankfully the dress with its purples and blues worked well against the backdrop of flowers at the show.
Every designer at the festival has adopted traditional methods to construct their exhibits and no floral foam or single-use plastics have been used in the mechanics. At the end of the festival everything can be reused or safely composted in the garden. Many of the designs utilise dried flowers which can be saved and used again this year. The flower festival is showcasing modern Ikebana designs at the festival. The word means giving life to flowers and the ancient principles align closely with the concept of sustainability. Each stem leaf and flower is considered for its shape line and form uniquely placed for aesthetic effect.
The whole and main staircase by Marzena Joseph. The installation on the staircase is a testament to Marzena's extensive experience in ikebana underpinned by the philosophy of less is more. This concept, which is incredibly pertinent in today's world, is beautifully reflected in her work Marzena and visions the staircase not just as a means of assent or descent, but as a unique vantage point that allows you to see the installation from a multitude of perspectives.
The great parlour window by Joanne Truby floral design and wildstone floral Joanne Truby and Leanne Smith - 'nature's kaleidoscope'. To gaze through a kaleidoscope is to change one's perspective, shapes and forms evolve with each turn of the lens as do the seasons, which each turn of the earth. Nature's kaleidoscope references Joanne's beloved walks through the wild meadows of Kent and Leanne's personal connection to the dramatic North Suffolk coast. With a wooden seat for visitors to sit - handmade by Leanne's father.
The great parlour fireplace inspired by their theme of changing perspectives and the fairy tale qualities of a garden at night. Joanne and Leanne have created an ethereal installation in this beautifully dramatic fireplace. Wispy star-lit clouds delicately waft down the chimney, as if gently floating through the breeze. Evoking a dreamlike moment before billowing into another worldly presence.
The blue breakfast room by Gabrielle Coulter/Citrine
This installation has been inspired by teasels. Teasels remind Gabrielle of stately properties. They are often left on beautiful precious pieces of furniture, to deter would-be users when foraging they are for the brave. Their prickly architectural exterior is worth the reward.
The green closet by design by nature. Emily Ayres.
Emily's work is experiential, rooted in philosophy of wabi sabi - the Japanese appreciation for the transience and imperfections of the world around us. Emily takes cues from both the natural world and modern art. Her work is infused with an instinctive flair, reflecting and engagement with nature, with dried flowers as her primary subject. Rather than resisting the twisted form of a flower or branch. Dried and dead flowers are cherished, celebrated for their beauty. Her display is inspired by nature's untamed possibilities where growth is wild and free.
The blue bed chamber by April rose flowers - April deering. Inspired by the liminal time between summer and autumn and the fleeting moments it creates, April Rose flowers will transform the space to showcase the beauty of the season. April rose flowers want their design to feel as though summer is softly lifting from the landscape, with delicate dried florals, floating above striking seed heads and the late sun ripened fauna of autumn.
The library by Yeon-Hee.
Inspired by the historical place that is strawberry hill House. Leon has created a fairy tale imaginary flower sculpture. Using his collection of pressed flowers. Fragile and plain, but still retaining their own characters. When they are linked to each other, they come back to life with unexpected movements, texture, and the magical Shadow. The flowers are from his tiny balcony, recycled after events, and some additional from green and blue flowers and sitopia farm.
The library by floral Odyssey and Lucy Phillips flowers. Kara Johnson and Lucy Phillips "Be open to every form of beauty, be it a buttercup or a prize. Rose." Constance Spry.
Horace Walpole's bed chamber by Gaia Eros florals.
This multi-sensory installation invites visitors to a dreamlike woodland party, rich with plants, flowers, sounds and sense of the English countryside. Gaia's frequent creative collaborators, Adam Parker of wooden zone driftwood art and Marina Ritschel are both AuDHD I'm sure the hyper vivid experiences of how their neurodiverse brains respond to nature as part of their collaborative display. Flowers grown by Hannah Bryce. Water feature outside the shop by Adam Parker Of minnow and wolf.
The plaid bed chamber by wetherly, Olivia Wilson.
Olivia has always been inspired and informed by what she can see in the fields, hedgerows and wild spaces around her. She likes to work hyper seasonally, using just a few varieties and giving the material space, taking creative direction from what is abundant in the fields or can be seen resplendent in nature. This way of working requires trust and spontaneity, but the aim is to create a design. Truly, representative of the now, celebrating the ephemeral, fleeting beauty of the natural world in this moment, today.
The print room by Rowan Spray.
'Strawberry hill vignette' takes inspiration from the architecture of strawberry hill, and from the theme of this year's festival, nature unbound, Rowan aimed to create a scene that could fancifully have been encountered by gazing through one of its beautiful windows. The distinctive silhouette provides an elaborate frame for the rambling flora. All of the flowers were grown locally by Treea Cracknell.
The star chamber by Lily Matilda flowers - Lily Fitch.
Inspired by childhood memories. Spent wandering between her home and that of her grandparents in the small village of little Whitley, Worchestershire. This installation captures the essence of nature. Unbound. She invites you to experience the same sense of freedom and connection to nature that has inspired her since her childhood through this foraged installation.
The Holbein chamber by Joanna game flowers.
Joanna game is a floral artist inspired by the wilderness. She is surrounded by at home on Dartmoor. She was present on the Saturday at the festival, to talk about and demonstrate the making of a wild and seasonal urn arrangement. Showing how the seasons, a connection to nature and colour inform her work.
The cabinet by Andy heslop of chobham flower farm.
Nature unbound is represented here in the simple jug containing aged and freshly dried stems of Course lacryma-jobi or Job's Tears. These ancient and pearly grains, age and colour in life; And their twists and turns take on a Vitality of their own. Even when dried. Used as a food source in East Asia, they also hold spiritual and health qualities.
The gallery entrance by Krystal Mead of embrace the space.
Repurposed and discarded gas canisters from the area around her London studio, transformed into striking vessels, are paired with flowers from a grower in Oxfordshire. Her arrangement balances the industrial city with the tranquillity of the countryside, reflecting how she split her time between both places. Each arrangement embodies resilience and rural grace, marrying the two worlds that inspire her floristry.
Gallery windows window one by Chatu Madhvani.
'Unbinding bindweed' - created from waste and excess, she enjoys untangling new life from the unloved and unwanted. Chatu wanted to capture the magic that emerges when nature is allowed to lead a conversation with the gardener with natural forms coming alive from control structures. Special places, such as the river Lee, continually remind her that we are surrounded by beautiful things that we want to grow unbound all by themselves.
Window 2 by Vanessa Jayne floral design Vanessa Merwood.
'An unbound wave'. As a floral designer based in Southsea, Portsmouth, an Island city bound by the sea, it's hard not to be influenced by the pull of the waves, so much so that it has inspired the form and spirit for this gallery window.
Window 3 by Shannon Clifford and Evie Salisbury - feature florals and freckled petals.
Playing on this year's theme 'nature unbound', their design represents garden of England. Their theme focuses on an apple orchid using flour, texture, and form to explore nature's perfect harmonisation between New Life, growth, and decay. Bearing fruit throughout this cycle that we as humans benefit from and enjoy.
Window 4 thistle by nature by Emma Thistlewaite.
Harvesting is an observance and creative response to that which the land provides, from produce to fibres to building materials and of course, flowers. Taking these materials out of their practical context and pairing them with petals questions. The purpose of cut flowers in a commercial sense, why has the flower industry grown to the scale that it has?
Window 5 Louise Langdon florals by Louise Langdon.
Louise's floral display which showcases both fresh and dried British flora, recalls her first impression of the house. So, once within its eccentric walls, the visitor can be reminded of the simple enchanting facade.
The round red Room by Kamil Szczpaniak.
Kamil's work is a celebration of movement, contrast and balance captured in light, airy compositions. He creates art from using natural materials like sticks, grass, and leaves, emphasising negative space to highlight the beauty of simplicity. Since he can remember, he's been fascinated by nature, admiring its beauty and the amazing strategies that evolve into shapes of perfection. Using the potential of specific stems, Kamil bends them into unique shapes and composes them into three-dimensional objects.
The round bedroom by Leigh Chappell
A contemporary arrangement of specialist dahlias grown from seed by Philippa.
Great! North bed chamber by Gillie and Fi of Hortus Poeticus
Gilly and fee have installed a wonderful long dining table which they have darted to dress as if for a sumptuous dinner among friends who are naturalist and obsessed by the beauty, intricacy and opportunities for learning from the natural world. They're living at a time when science and observation of nature are intertwined and new discoveries in both fields are being made all the time. They are excited, curious polymaths who love discourse over dinner and wine! However, the table has been abandoned and all the floral designs, fruits, vegetables, foliage and vines have started to reclaim the table and beyond.
Beauclerk Closet - Andy Monaghan
Andy was really drawn to the fact that strawberry hill is acknowledged as a queer house and wanted to combine this idea with the theme of nature unbound, and frame it as releasing ones in a self. I'm binding one's true nature. Whilst thinking through his personal experience and self-acceptance as a gay man, he felt the dichotomy between the perceived, expected, and celebrated parts of who he is, with the parts he's less proud of or struggled to come to terms with. With this work, his aim is to celebrate it all, using flowers and plants. He's grown and foraged in all stages of life and Beauty.
Outside Yan Skates of horseshoe drive.
Yan is undertaking a further exploration of the plant being from last year and how it has evolved.
Henck Roling
Raised meadow. The British roadsides are diverse and colourful. And often overlooked. For the horseshoe drive at strawberry hill House, I decided to raise a meadow on bamboo that grows in my own garden (and kneaded cutting down). To lift the ordinary up so we can play close attention to the Beauty and the diversity of wild flowers. Everything is sourced from within a mile radius of strawberry hill.
Little parlour door/ Pickett office entrance by minnow and wolf flowers Hannah Bryce
Floral feast is a celebration of edible flowers, fruits and vegetables grown on our flower farm in Hampshire. From sunflowers, dahlias and nasturtiums to rainbow corn, heritage, tomatoes and gourds, we want to showcase that flowers and edibles make the perfect partnership when designing seasonally.
Shop doorway while backyard by Ann Schwartz elements of a bowl deconstructed. Scent, air, movement. The beauty of imperfection.
Cafe and Cafe entrance by blooming green Bek and Jen
The wild and overgrown arch of rose, hips, berries and hedgerow-finds is intended to invoke a sense of faded grandeur, like the abandoned walled garden of a country house where nature, if reclaiming its ground. All of the flowers and foliage, as well as the forage, bows and stems, are grown without chemicals on our farm in Kent. The bud vases and larger display reflect the sentiments of the arch. It's hard to improve on nature, so why try? They hope that Cafe goers will enjoy looking closely at the stems.
The copse by Rachel Grimes of the mirror and the veil
Haystacks with fabric
Shop entrance by Janne Ford
An urn design inspired by her North Yorkshire September garden.
Allotment by Julie Woodford of Madge and ivy flowers
Overgrown and wild, once neat row Of flowers are now upskured by climbing plants in the allotment. A broken archway, discarded tools, busted and forgotten, hint at past attempts to cultivate the plot. Rustic vessels, housing, pumpkins, herbs and nasturtiums surround a small greenhouse which offers shelter and protection for tender potted plants and seedlings. Despite the neglect, there is still abundance and Beauty, a final flourish before the garden. Rest for winter. An old bench offers a place of rest and contemplation before next, year's growing season begins.
Uncommon vines by Lillian Highmoor of Lillian's flowers
Uncommon wines unbound, uncommon and unconventional. A design inspired by her unruly garden, which is a stone's throw from strawberry hill House, and the way it weaves and twists to support nature.
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| Horace Walpole's little gothic castle |
Introduction to Strawberry Hill House and Gardens
Nestled in the picturesque landscape of Twickenham, Strawberry Hill House stands as a beacon of Gothic Revival architecture and rich history. With its enchanting spires and meticulously manicured gardens, this stunning estate invites visitors to step into a world where whimsy meets elegance. Whether you're an architecture enthusiast, a history buff, or simply seeking a serene day out in nature, Strawberry Hill House is sure to captivate your senses. Join me on a journey through its storied halls and vibrant gardens that have charmed countless admirers over the centuries. Discover why this remarkable site deserves a spot on your must-visit list!
History of the House
Strawberry Hill House has a rich and fascinating history that dates back to the 18th century. Built by Horace Walpole in 1747, it reflects his passion for Gothic architecture.
Originally conceived as a modest villa, Walpole transformed it into a grand estate filled with elaborate details. He drew inspiration from medieval structures, giving the house an eccentric charm that set it apart from contemporary designs.
Walpole hosted many illustrious guests within its walls, making it a cultural hub of its time. The house was not just an architectural marvel but also a center for artistic expression.
Over the years, Strawberry Hill faced neglect and deterioration but underwent significant restoration efforts in recent decades. Today, visitors can explore this historical gem and appreciate its storied past while enjoying its stunning architecture.
The Architectural Design of the House
Strawberry Hill House is a stunning example of Gothic Revival architecture. Nestled in Twickenham, it captivates visitors with its intricate details and whimsical design.
The house showcases an innovative blend of styles. Pointed arches, crenellated parapets, and elaborate stonework add to its charm. Each section tells a story of creativity and ambition.
Horace Walpole, the original owner, was heavily influenced by medieval structures. His vision transformed Strawberry Hill into a dreamlike retreat that feels almost enchanted.
Inside, you'll find splendidly decorated rooms adorned with rich colors and unusual furnishings. The use of natural light creates an inviting atmosphere throughout the space.
Outdoor elements complement the architectural marvel as well. Towering trees frame the exterior while manicured gardens provide a serene backdrop to this magnificent estate. Visitors often pause to admire how beautifully nature merges with artistry here.
Exploring the Gardens
Strolling through the gardens of Strawberry Hill House feels like stepping into a living painting. The vibrant colors and fragrant blooms create an enchanting atmosphere.
Wander along winding paths lined with lush greenery. Discover hidden corners that invite exploration and quiet contemplation. Each turn reveals carefully curated flower beds showcasing seasonal delights.
The garden’s layout reflects the romantic ideals of the 18th century, blending nature with artful design. Statues peek out from behind hedges, adding a touch of whimsy to your journey.
Seating areas nestled among trees offer perfect spots for relaxation or picnicking while soaking in the beauty around you.
Don’t miss the tranquility of the ornamental lake; it mirrors both sky and foliage beautifully, enhancing your experience at this historic site. As you explore, let yourself be drawn into the serenity these gardens provide amidst their historical elegance.
Highlights and Must-See Features
Strawberry Hill House boasts numerous highlights that captivate visitors. The stunning Gothic Revival architecture is a visual feast. Each corner tells a story, from the pointed arches to the intricate detailing.
Inside, don't miss the Library. It's an enchanting space filled with rare books and exquisite woodwork. The atmosphere transports you back in time.
The Gallery is another gem worth exploring. Adorned with beautiful artwork, it showcases Horace Walpole’s passion for art and culture.
Stroll through the grounds to discover charming garden features like the lovely grotto and serene ornamental lake. These spots provide perfect photo opportunities or simply moments of reflection.
Keep an eye out for seasonal blooms which transform the gardens throughout the year—each visit brings fresh beauty waiting to be admired!
Events and Activities at Strawberry Hill House and Gardens
Strawberry Hill House and Gardens buzz with a variety of events that cater to all ages. Throughout the year, visitors can immerse themselves in cultural experiences, including the annual flower festival, art exhibitions and historical reenactments.
Seasonal festivals bring the grounds to life, showcasing local artisans and delicious food options. Families can enjoy outdoor movie nights under the stars or participate in interactive workshops designed for children.
The gardens often host guided walks that reveal their hidden gems while sharing fascinating stories about their history. For those seeking a quieter experience, afternoon tea events provide a charming setting amidst blooming flora.
Special tours are available during holidays, offering unique perspectives on this enchanting estate. Whether attending a concert on the lawn or joining festive celebrations, there's always something happening at Strawberry Hill House and Gardens that invites exploration and enjoyment.
Insider Tips for Visiting
Arriving early can make a difference. The morning light enhances the beauty of Strawberry Hill House and allows for quieter exploration before crowds arrive.
Wear comfortable shoes. The gardens are expansive, inviting you to wander through enchanting pathways and lush greenery. You’ll want to take your time.
Don’t forget your camera! Every corner offers picturesque views just waiting to be captured. From intricate architectural details to vibrant flowers, it’s a visual feast.
Check the events calendar before your visit. Seasonal activities often bring unique experiences, whether it's guided tours or special exhibitions.
Indulge in tea at the café on-site. Enjoying refreshments surrounded by stunning scenery is an experience not to miss.
Conclusion
Strawberry Hill House offers a unique glimpse into the past, wrapped in stunning architecture and lush gardens. As you wander through its halls, each corner tells a story of Gothic revivalism and creative expression. The charm of the gardens enhances your experience, inviting you to explore nature's beauty intertwined with historical significance.
Visiting Strawberry Hill is not just about seeing a house; it's about immersing yourself in an era rich with culture. Whether you're captivated by Horace Walpole's vision or simply seeking a peaceful retreat in well-manicured grounds, there's something for everyone.
Make sure to check out their events calendar when planning your visit. Seasonal activities provide even more reasons to fall in love with this enchanting place.
Every visit can be different based on what catches your eye or intrigues you most. Bring along friends or family, and enjoy discovering all that Strawberry Hill House has to offer together. With so much history and beauty at hand, it’s easy to see why it remains a cherished destination for locals and tourists alike.