Upton House

Upton’s gardens are springing into life with stunning displays of tulips. The spring bulbs are a welcome sight not only because of their bright and cheery colour after the dark days of winter but also because they’re bringing a touch of 1930s glamour back to the gardens.

We’re currently in the middle of a five-year project to restore the gardens’ planting style to how it was in the 1930s when Upton was the weekend country home of the oil millionaire Lord Bearsted. He and his wife hosted house parties at Upton for their wealthy friends.

Lady Bearsted was passionate about gardening and appointed Kitty Lloyd Jones, who was an influential plantswoman, to work with the Head Gardener Mr Tidman. They created the beautiful gardens that you can see today at Upton.

Tulip displays were a prominent feature of the gardens in spring. Mr. Tidman was instructed by Kitty Lloyd Jones to plant thousands of tulips on the terraces in order that the Bearsteds and their guests could enjoy wonderful spring garden displays.

After the Second World War, the house and gardens went into decline and the original planting style changed which wiped out the 1930s influence on the gardens. Upton’s Gardening team have read articles and letters and looked at numerous photographs to research how the gardens looked in the 1930s.

As part of the restoration project, the team have planted four thousand tulips on the terraces in order to return them to their 1930s splendour. The sweet scent and vibrant colour of different varieties of tulips complemented by spring bedding plants such as forget-me-nots make for an amazing display.

Discover more about the tulips and the 1930s Garden Restoration project on our new website “Local Voices” which is available at: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/uptonhouse.

Anna Lawrence, Upton House

This site is maintained by villagers of Oxhill for the benefit of the community and those interested in the history, news and activities that make the village such a pleasant place to live.

Send mail to the editor of the Oxhill News at news-editor @ oxhill.org.uk.

Last modified: May 04, 2011