Team Hatfield: Meet Our Senior Horticulturist

Meet Rachel, member of the Gardens Team and our Senior Horticulturist here at Hatfield Park. Rachel is usually based in the Private East Garden and so, we asked her:

Why should people visit the gardens in April?
There’s a definite changing of the seasons in the air. Spring blossom and new leaves are appearing on the trees, with shoots emerging from plants that have lain dormant through the colder months. All show the promise of what’s to come.

What is your favourite area of the gardens?
I am biased as I am based in the East, but one of my favourite areas at this time of year is all around New Pond. We have lots of blossom on flowering cherry, plum, pear, and apple trees. The views back up the hill to the house are also very different to those in the summer once all the trees are in full leaf, it’s definitely worth coming back to compare.

What are some of the things that visitors should look out for?
As the daffodils go over, there are some beautiful trout lilies (Erythronium) and white and purple snake’s head fritillaries (Fritillaria meleagris) to be found around New Pond, with crown imperial fritillaries (Fritillaria imperialis) in yellow and orange in the East Parterre. Before the leaves appear, you can fully appreciate the papery bark on both the paperbark maple and Tibetan cherry trees (Acer griseum and Prunus serrula) also near New Pond.