Author(s): Mike Kipling

Gardening

In keeping with the grandeur of the house, the grounds at Castle Howard in Yorkshire were designed on an heroic scale. The result of the fruitful collaboration between the 3rd Earl of Carlisle and the architects John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor, they were laid out in the early eighteenth century with sculpture, waterworks and an astonishing array of monuments. They are also rich in variety, with subsequent additions including a Victorian parterre designed by W.A. Nesfield, walled rose gardens, herbaceous borders and a potager. Given free access to this 1,000-acre landscape, Mike Kipling has photographed it in its many moods - in the summer light that brings the detail of the scene into sharp focus and on misty days in winter when a more mysterious atmosphere pervades. Through his skilled eye we see here vistas across lakes and ponds; Ray Wood and its serpentine pathways; the five-mile Avenue with its mock fortifications; the Temple of the Four Winds, the domed Mausoleum, the Atlas Fountain and other memorable sights. Turning his lens, too, to the planting - the carpet of snowdrops that are the first signs of the garden's awakening after winter, its abundant daffodils, its exceptional collections of rhododendrons and azaleas, and of 2,000 roses - Kipling has captured the beauty and magnificence of this spectacular place, which delights visitors with perpetual drama and event throughout the year.