In the latest HortWeek podcast, editor Matt Appleby speaks with Andy Mills, head gardener at Blenheim Palace. Since August 2022, Mills has led a 10-year restoration of Blenheim’s 90-acre gardens. He reveals how his team is balancing 300 years of horticultural heritage with the realities of a changing climate.
The renovation has also thrown up unexpected surprises and discoveries. Partly due to a surprising lack of historical records, Andy has unearthed whole new garden areas by exploring neglected corners. One foray through the undergrowth revealed an ornate bridge and the long-forgotten Cascade Garden:
"I came across a bowl... imagine like half the size of a tennis court, a beautiful ornate stone bowl. And then there was a couple of little grottoes like druid cells and a subterranean cave with a spring in it."
Historical accuracy must now balance with climate resilience. Mills is actively adapting Blenheim’s planting for hotter, drier conditions replacing "thirsty fuchsias" with exotics like Agave, Astelia, and Hedychium. Similarly with trees, Mills is shifting to smaller, highly ornamental species like Paulownia and Catalpa.
Perhaps the most controversial change has been Mills's decision to leaves 60 acres of grassland to grow long, which while reviving dormant wildflowers and boosting pollinators, has drawn questions from some visitors.
"I love those conversations with people... they say, 'We're not used to this.' Well, you should be. This is what we gave to the world."
Conversely, Mills is reversing years of unmanaged laurel growth that blocked key vistas, restoring the intended "English Versailles".
Ultimately, Mills hopes this restoration shifts public perception. "We're known as Blenheim Palace and Gardens, not just Blenheim Palace," he states. "At the end of 10 years, that's where I'd like to be."
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