Levens Hall and Gardens

Levens Hall and Gardens is located on the edge of the Lake District in Cumbria, England a few miles outside Kendal and is one of the best examples of a topiary garden in the world. Topiary is the art of cutting trees and shrubs into shapes which are held in position and trained using wires.

The topiary garden was designed by Colonel Grahame's gardener, Monsieur Guillaume Beaumont in 1689 and completed in 1720. Beaumont was gardener to King James II and helped to design the gardens at Hampton Court. Levens Park was originally a medieval deer park but was formally restructured as a recreational park with a great oak avenue, ancient yew trees, specimen trees and views of the river. 

The trees used for the topiary work at Levens Hall are Yew, Golden Yew and Box. The borders to the beds are of Dwarf Edging Box. The historic topiary garden also incorporates a small orchard of apple trees and medlars, a nuttery and herb garden, a bowling green, a rose garden, herbaceous borders and seasonal bedding.

The Hall is a magnificent Elizabethan mansion built around a 13th century pele tower and contains a collection of Jacobean furniture , fine paintings and the earliest English patchwork.