Myddelton House Gardens

Have you ever wandered through a garden that felt like stepping back in time? Myddelton House Gardens, nestled in the heart of Enfield, are just that place. These enchanting eight-acre grounds were once home to Edward Augustus Bowles, one of Britain’s most renowned self-taught gardeners, artists, and expert botanists. He dedicated his life to the gardens at Myddelton House, often bringing back unusual plants from his travels. The garden feels like a hidden oasis, with a wide variety of trees, shrubs, and flowers, including an extensive heritage kitchen garden and cut flower beds. If you look closely, you’ll find evidence of Edward Augustus Bowles’s unique passion for plants. In the ‘Lunatic Asylum’ beds, designed and built by Edward Augustus Bowles, you’ll find plants with contorted stems and foliage. He believed that the ‘Lunatic Asylum’ provided a place to explore the unusual in the world of plants. This unique garden within a garden was a tribute to his love for plant varieties that might not be considered ‘normal’ but were fascinating to him. The gardens are a treasure trove of hidden oddities, and the beautifully reconstructed Victorian Glasshouse is no exception. With four climatic zones, you’ll find exotic plants from around the world, ranging from cacti that thrive on dry arid conditions to air plants that obtain all of their nutrients from water vapor in the air. The sunken glasshouse, known as the Peach House, is perfect for harvesting fruits that thrive on high humidity. Today, you can walk through Edward Augustus Bowles’s legacy—a garden that captures both the beauty of nature and the passion of one man who dedicated his life to creating a unique and inspiring space.