Fonmon Castle welcomes the Rare Plants Fair to the Vale of Glamorgan.

THE FAIREST OF THE RARE

Fonmon Castle was originally built around 1180 and it must be presumed that some form of garden was commenced from that time to help supplement the diet of the owners, their families and staff. However no early records remain of anything close in to the main building.

Further out it is clear that the orchard was more extensive than it is today and beyond the paddocks for the domestic animals was an area for ‘harvesting’ rabbits. Earlier called the Coneygrye, it now survives, as do the rabbits, as a field named the Cernacre.

The Castle itself had a wall curtilage extending to some acres which is supposed to have been for the protection of the animals and possessions of the local villagers during times of what was politely called ‘unrest’ - this normally meant the local Welsh rebelling against their Norman French rulers. Today, this forms the primary boundary of the gardens although it is not always obvious where the original edges ran owing to 17th, 18th and 19th Century alterations.

The prime changes came in the 18th Century when the Castle itself was remodelled by Robert Jones III the great, great, great, great grandfather of the present owner Sir Brooke Boothby. Robert III’s changes between 1760 to 1790 left the gardens much as they are today with the one major exception being that the approach drive was moved around 1870 from the South to the West.

Therefore, today a visitor comes over the bridge crossing the modern Cardiff airport bypass to find, firstly an area of large trees acting as a protective screen from the prevailing Westerly winds. The trees are interspersed with shrubs to provide glimpses of the Castle, stables and gardens to the East.

After parking, the route to the Castle passes by the old well head and through the 1870 gap in the walls. The driveway to the front door bisects the gardens into North and South. On the South side three herbaceous borders run around the stable block, itself an 18th Century conversion from the old tithe barn. Various large shrubs are interspaced with roses and climbers running up the walls. Beyond is a lightly planted area mostly of specimen trees, which used to be the old grass tennis court.

Then to the South East lies the Watch Tower with the remains of the old walls flanking it and a small grass border to the North. Further North lies the Dell garden which holds typical plants such as gunnera, a collection of ferns, bamboo and bulbs. A pale Metasequoia Glyptostroides contrasts with the enormous copper beech overhanging from the upper terrace.

The top of the Dell is planted with small borders backed with climbing roses and leads round to the copper beech. This exceptional specimen is thought to have been planted in about 1815 and, effectively, sits in a giant pot comprising buttressed walls on three sides and the edge of the limestone underlying the lawns on the fourth.

From the copper beech a border leads back to the South front of the Castle, again with herbaceous and shrub planting. The Castle itself is partially covered by virginia creeper planted before 1900 and making a spectacular crimson sheet in Autumn. Just to the West of the South wing is a century old Garrya Elliptica, which offers fine catkins up to 30 centimetres long in early Spring.

The North lawn is flanked by further borders and a small shrubbery. One border is largely given over to hardy fuchsias, Clara, Lady Boothby - Sir Brooke’s grandmother being the founder President of the British Fuchsia Society (1938). Through a gate in the wall backing the fuchsia border is an intimate small walled garden with a wide variety of shrubs and an old sundial. From the North West corner of this garden a door leads through to the Scented Garden with its small summerhouse and another sundial of a different style.

From the scented garden another door leads into the larger Walled Garden with a Herb Garden on the right behind a fine beech hedge. This garden is mostly given over to fruit and vegetable production and is believed to be the largest fully functioning kitchen garden in Glamorgan. A small iron gate in the North wall leads out to the orchard area beyond and a level track can be followed past the bees, through the beech grove and back across the Cernacre and the Forty Acre fields (the latter once know as the ‘Lord’s Denmesne’).

Almost all the areas described are accessible by wheelchair with the Dell garden requiring some skilled ‘driving’ (although it can be seen more safely from above). Other parts require crossing grass which may be a problem in wet weather.

In total there are over 1,000 cultivars in the gardens and they provide a softer and prettier counterpoint to the rectangular grey Castle and the formal lawns.

There is something to enjoy at almost all times of the year, with the best periods being from April to September when the gardens are open to the public every Tuesday and Wednesday from 12 noon to 5pm.

Castle tours
Castle tours are available at 2pm, 3pm and 4pm on the same days.



FONMON
Fonmon Castle Rare Plants Fair
Sunday May 4th 2008
10am – 4pm



Rare Plants Fair is a company of Nurserymen and Growers who are passionate about the plants they grow. From the smallest Alpine plants to the giant Redwood trees, they have nurseries in their ‘stable’ who can advise you on any aspect of the plants you see at any of the Plant Fairs they organise.

Crucial questions like position, preferred soil type, hardiness, sun versus shade are questions they deal with every day. Given a common name, they’ll give you the Latin – that’s not showing off – that’s called in-depth knowledge!

You can’t meet them in shops or Garden Centres – they’re too busy doing the growing, but every year they arrange to travel to various locations around the country and bring along a selection of plants that represent their individual passion. Fifteen nurseries will be present at Fonmon this year.

Come to Fonmon and have a day to remember! Entrance £4. Bar, Teas and Sandwiches Available. For information call 0845 4681368. Please follow signs to Plant Fair or Castle. Please do not approach via Fonmon Village.