Ralph Court Gardens

Ralph Court was built in 1850 and the present garden was made by Stephen and Paula Morgan after 2004. It is a playful 3-acre garden with sculptures and water features. They are placed in 12 compartments devoted to a range of themes, including:

• an African Jungle Garden with a tree top walkway
• a Pirate Garden with a galleon
• an Italian Piazza Garden with a church and bell tower
• an Alice in Wonderland garden
• a Japanese garden with a tea pavilion and waterlilly pool
• a Willow Garden with a Toad Hall and a Gunnera Maze
• a dragon, named Edwina

The idea of 'collecting' compartments in varied styles has a distinguished history. It was used in the bosquets at Versailles and advocated by Humphry Repton, in his Ashridge Red Book, as a way of managing the area closest to the mansion on a large estate.