The history of RHS Garden Rosemoor

Set in the heart of the Devon countryside, RHS Rosemoor has a rich, horticultural history
The Stone Garden created in the 1930s

A family home

In 1923, Lady Anne Berry’s father, Sir Robert Horace Walpole, bought the Rosemoor estate to use the house as a family fishing lodge, positioned as it is next to the River Torridge, which was then rich in salmon. Following the death of her father in 1931, Rosemoor became home to Lady Anne and her mother. At that time the garden was, as Lady Anne described it, ‘dull and labour-intensive, typically Victorian with a great use of annuals in beds around the house’. The Stone Garden, designed by Lady Anne’s mother, was the first area of hard landscaping. Its walls were built from stone taken from the lime kilns that were constructed in the 19th century at the edge of Rosemoor. Slate for the paving came from the western boundary of Rosemoor.
View of Rosemoor House in the 1950s

Rosemoor during the war

During wartime, Rosemoor House had been used by the Red Cross as a temporary refuge from the bombing for people from London’s Docklands and East End. After the Second World War Lady Anne came to live permanently at Rosemoor with her husband, Colonel Eric Palmer, and young son. The Palmers ran the estate as a dairy farm for a number of years, but due to the combined pressures of having a young family and a career in local government, the farm was eventually rented out to local farmers for grazing.

Lady Anne’s interest in gardening began in 1959, when she met noted plantsman Collingwood ‘Cherry’ Ingram in Spain while recuperating from measles caught from her children. He opened her eyes to the beauty of the Spanish maquis shrubland and this became her first of many expeditions in Spain and England to observe plants. Ingram also invited her to visit his garden in Kent and to take some cuttings and young plants back to Rosemoor to help start her own garden.
Lady Anne unveiling plaque donating garden to the RHS

A gift to the RHS

Over the intervening years Lady Anne travelled widely to form her collection, including North and South America, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Japan, contributing to the great diversity among the plants represented in Lady Anne’s Garden. Some of the rhododendrons are now very rare, and these have been propagated to ensure that they are not lost to horticulture.

When Lady Anne gifted Rosemoor estate to the RHS in 1988, it consisted of the 18th-century house, the eight acre garden and 32 acres of pastureland. In 1989, work began on building the new visitor centre, named the Robin Herbert Visitor Centre after the Society’s President at the time.
Construction of the lake in 1990

Garden development

The vision of landscape architects, Elizabeth Banks Associates, was to create a large formal garden out of the existing pastureland. First, the sloping site had to be re-graded to achieve a gentle fall to the river. More than 13,000 tonnes of soil were removed from the new entrance area and car park, and redistributed in the Formal Garden area to level off the site.

For the first couple of years Rosemoor was a sea of mud, and attention was drawn to the small seasonal stream that rose above the estate. It was diverted and dammed to form a series of pools and falls, with massed streamside plantings leading to the Lake. This doubled as a reservoir to provide irrigation for the garden. With an underpass built to link the new and the old gardens, the garden opened to visitors on 1 June 1990. The Formal Garden was outlined by more than 1,200 hedging yews, and 2,000 roses formed the first ornamental plantings.
Rhododendrons in Lady Anne’s Arboretum

The garden visitors see today

RHS Rosemoor is a jewel in the RHS Garden history. Filled with an astounding collection of plants including rhododendrons, camellias, roses, and champion trees, a series of garden areas leads visitors from one joyous area to the next. With new areas such as the Cool Garden and a current refresh of the Winter Garden, Rosemoor continues to flourish.

Landmark dates in Rosemoor’s history
The vision of the landscape architects was to create a large formal garden, and one of the first ornamental plantings was this garden of modern roses, which is now the Queen Mother’s Rose Garden. Rosemoor has become known for its outstanding rose gardens.

1992

The vision of the landscape architects was to create a large formal garden, and one of the first ornamental plantings was this garden of modern roses, which is now the Queen Mother’s Rose Garden. Rosemoor has become known for its outstanding rose gardens.

By 1993 the structure of the Formal Garden had been laid out and planting was well advanced.

1993

By 1993 the structure of the Formal Garden had been laid out and planting was well advanced.

Starting with just five personnel, the Rosemoor garden team has grown to 21 permanent staff, aided by four student gardeners, four apprentices and around 50 garden volunteers. There is also the Curator and two support staff, who also keep plant records.

1988

Starting with just five personnel, the Rosemoor garden team has grown to 21 permanent staff, aided by four student gardeners, four apprentices and around 50 garden volunteers. There is also the Curator and two support staff, who also keep plant records.

Seen here shortly after completion, the bare grassy banks have since been replaced by the rocky terrain and lush plantings of the Rock Gully. The Underpass was needed to link the new and old gardens, either side of the A3124, which bisects Rosemoor.

1990

Seen here shortly after completion, the bare grassy banks have since been replaced by the rocky terrain and lush plantings of the Rock Gully. The Underpass was needed to link the new and old gardens, either side of the A3124, which bisects Rosemoor.

The vision of the landscape architects was to create a large formal garden, and one of the first ornamental plantings was this garden of modern roses, which is now the Queen Mother’s Rose Garden. Rosemoor has become known for its outstanding rose gardens.

1992

The vision of the landscape architects was to create a large formal garden, and one of the first ornamental plantings was this garden of modern roses, which is now the Queen Mother’s Rose Garden. Rosemoor has become known for its outstanding rose gardens.

By 1993 the structure of the Formal Garden had been laid out and planting was well advanced.

1993

By 1993 the structure of the Formal Garden had been laid out and planting was well advanced.

Starting with just five personnel, the Rosemoor garden team has grown to 21 permanent staff, aided by four student gardeners, four apprentices and around 50 garden volunteers. There is also the Curator and two support staff, who also keep plant records.

1988

Starting with just five personnel, the Rosemoor garden team has grown to 21 permanent staff, aided by four student gardeners, four apprentices and around 50 garden volunteers. There is also the Curator and two support staff, who also keep plant records.

Seen here shortly after completion, the bare grassy banks have since been replaced by the rocky terrain and lush plantings of the Rock Gully. The Underpass was needed to link the new and old gardens, either side of the A3124, which bisects Rosemoor.

1990

Seen here shortly after completion, the bare grassy banks have since been replaced by the rocky terrain and lush plantings of the Rock Gully. The Underpass was needed to link the new and old gardens, either side of the A3124, which bisects Rosemoor.

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