Photo from archive showing the stone garden as Mr Bowles knew it.
The Stone Garden
Mr Bowles created the stone themed bed using the trunk of a fossilised tree found during the excavation of the King George V reservoir at Chingford.
The cylindrical column of stone is from the first test bore for the pumping station at Whitewebbs in 1897. The mounting block is from the village blacksmith forge in Forty Hill. The round stones were collected by “Bowles Boys”.
Photo of Ostriches flanking the New River
The New River
The New River was masterminded By Sir Hugh Myddelton (1560-1631), a welsh goldsmith, banker, entrepreneur, MP and self taught engineer.
The canal (The New River) which was originally 38 miles long brings fresh water from Ware in Hertfordshire to Clerkenwell in London and was built between1608-1613.
This loop in the river became redundant in1859 but was kept at the insistence of the Bowles Family (one of the share holders). It was filled in 1967 with waste from the construction of the Victoria tube line.
The Alpine Meadow in full bloom
The Alpine Meadow
In this area of the garden Mr Bowles created an alpine setting inspired by his plant hunting holidays in the Pyrenees.
In spring a mass of snowdrops, snowflakes and crocuses appear. These are followed by daffodils and camassias.
In summer the area is carpeted in a blue cloud of wild geraniums.
EA Bowles weeding in the Rock Garden
The Rock Garden
The south facing slope is where Mr Bowles first started to develop the garden we know today. A keen Alpinist he took a very personal interest in this area, positioning each rock in place himself.
He siphoned water from the New River to feed the lead lined pools in the lower rock garden.
Mr Bowles’ ashes were laid here in 1954. There are plans to restore this area to its former glory in the future.
View of the lake with Mr Howard and Mr Bowles’ maid Florence Darrington.
The Pond
The pond was created by the extraction of gravel which made the mound the house stands on. It was a “puddled pond” (lined with clay) and always leaked, so Mr Bowles diverted water from the near by “New River” to keep it topped up.
In summer it was common to see him in his blue and white striped Edwardian bathing costume and straw boater pulling up blanket weed in the pond, assisted by the “Bowles Boys”.
The Market Cross in Enfield
The Market Cross
The Enfield Market Cross dates from 1826 and stood in the market place in Enfield Town until 1904 when it was taken down and stored in a builders yard destined to become builder rubble.
Mr Bowles rescued it and had placed as the centre piece of his rose garden. It’s approximately 3½ feet shorter here as the upper section was possibly damaged in the dismantling
Japanese Knotweed
Now regarded as an invasive species. This is a prolific weed originally from Japan. The Latin name for Japanese Knotweed is Fallopia japonica.
Planted by Mr Bowles who admired it for its architectural qualities. He had frames constructed to stop it flopping similar to the ones you see today.
It’s our intention to contain these two plants with a tough membrane and use the plant as an educational example of the dangers of introducing alien plants, plus to aid the correct identification of this plant within your own garden or local area.