Chatsworth dates from the 16th century, and, of course, there were gardens then too. The great breakthrough was in the 19th century, with the landscape architect and gardener Joseph Paxton. He made his name at Chatsworth, and went on to do the Crystal Palace in London, Central Park in NYC, and some other things. The conservatory at Chatsworth was one of his greatest achievements, a football field sized glass-enclosed and heated indoor garden (at this latitude?!) that could grow all manner of sub-tropical and tropical plants. It is gone now, a victim of wars and war economies, but much of his work...the rose garden, the flower garden, the cook's garden, the pine forest, the maze, the grotto, and most especially the incredible rock garden (acres of it! giant boulders heaped on one another in amazing shapes), remains and could take a whole day to explore just in themselves. Unfortunately, or not, our camera battery died in the midst of the gardens, and I had forgotten to bring the spare.
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Grand canal and fountain from House
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The Wall here is an enclosed heated wall that supports larger arboreal specimens
not-native to the climate; a remnant of Paxton's great conservatory
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At the top of the Cascade
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The Cascade, down to the House
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In the Gardens...
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Looking toward the Maze
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Beginning the Rock Garden
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My definition of a cool place...Missoula, Chamonix, Nelson (South Island,
NZ)... includes the presence, on clear, calm days, of parasails, even the
motorized types...
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