I do not know a lot about Water Lilies but I know a man who did. GARDENERS TIPS
Major Percy Stewart carved out the two lakes at Burnby Hall Gardens to provide private trout fishing for himself and his friends. In the 1950’s he planted a small collection of water lilies to beautify his trout lakes. Now this garden is home to a National Collection of Hardy Water Lilies. If you visit you will see why it is the biggest collection, of over 80 varieties, to be found in a natural setting in Europe.
The two lakes that contain the lilies are set in eight acres of beautiful gardens – including rock gardens, a natural shrubbery, formal beds, the Secret Garden, a Victorian Garden and many other attractions, details of which may be found here on our website.
The Gardens were the inspiration of Major Percy Stewart who, on his death in 1963, left his estate in Trust for the enjoyment of the people of Pocklington and the thousands of visitors who come from all over the world. The Stewart Museum in the Gardens provides a fascinating glimpse into his life.
Tips for visiting Hardy Water Lilies
‘Adventurer, traveller, scholar, philanthropist, soldier, collector, environmentalist Major Percy Marlborough Stewart was an extraordinary man: a descendant of the Earls of Galloway, godson of the Duke of Marlborough, and second cousin to Winston Churchill. He was born in 1871, one of the 14 children of the Reverend James Stewart, Rector of Little Stukely, Huntingdon. He gained a 1st Class Honours degree in Semitic Languages at Cambridge University.’ A great traveller he collected many artefacts that are now in state-of-the-art display cases at Burnby Hall Museum.
Studley Royal also has water gardens to admire.