The 154-acre estate was opened to the public in May 2021 following four years of planning, construction and extensive landscaping.
As specialists in mature trees and instant hedging, the RHS approached our sister company, Hortlands Nursery, for expert advice on the supply and planting of an impressive 690 linear metres of beech instant hedging.
As the RHS team was creating much of the garden from scratch, specialist guidance was essential. We worked closely with the RHS gardeners, sourcing and supplying the beech hedging and attending site to oversee the arrival of the first lorry load.
We then provided the Bridgewater team with practical training on the correct handling, preparation and planting of instant hedging, as well as advice on the specialist equipment required. Once the team was fully trained and confident, they continued with the planting themselves alongside the wider garden construction. It was a fantastic collaboration between our experienced hedging team and the RHS gardeners.
The beech hedging plays a particularly important role within the walled garden, where it helps create a series of distinct spaces and garden rooms.
The hedges frame areas including the Learning Garden, Wellbeing Garden and Community Garden, creating strong green boundaries that separate each space while maintaining a cohesive overall design.
Beech has also been used around the smaller Community Yards, demonstrating how formal hedging can be incorporated into more compact garden designs. In other areas, the hedging provides screening for staff offices, helping to keep these functional spaces discreetly hidden from visitors.
The finished result demonstrates how instant hedging can provide structure, screening and architectural definition on a major landscape project, while delivering an established appearance from the outset.
Caroline, who lead this project for Bridgewater says:
“The instant hedge is so impressive, it’s all my team could talk about for almost two years. We really enjoyed learning how to plant and care for the hedge pieces, we became really good at fitting it all together, almost like hedge Tetris! We got so many questions about the hedge in the first 2 years of opening the garden, people simply couldn’t believe we had such a healthy and established hedge in a brand-new garden. It really has been integral to shaping the garden right from the beginning.” Caroline Williamson – Team Leader Outer Wall Garden
We loved working with the talented RHS team on this project, sharing our years of experience and expertise in the field. It was an amazing project to be a part of and we are proud to say we helped to get the garden looking as beautiful as what it does today.
Book a free, no-obligation site visit and quote with our landscaping team.