Benton End, Suffolk – Former Garden of Cedric Morris – Artist – Gardener

The front of the house at Benton End, Suffolk

One of the highlights of my recent English trip was a chance to see the newly created garden at Benton End. Benton End is the former home and garden of Cedric Morris who described himself as an Artist-Gardener. His paintings are exhibited in galleries and museums including The Tate. His garden plants were disbursed after his death but since the recent extremely generous gift of the property to The Garden Museum – the property is being reimagined with an echo to the past uses of the property as an art salon and gardening hub.

Benton End back view of the house and the beginnings of the new garden designed by Sarah Price with head gardener James Horner and the gardening team.

Poppies, Roses, and Bearded Irises

Cedric Morris was an avid gardener, plant collector, and plant breeder. One of his obsessions was bearded irises. In the mid Twentieth Century he bred many of them but unfortunately a lot of them are lost to cultivation.

Cedric Morris was also known for his single poppies (Papaver rhoeas). The day that I was there they were in full bloom.

Single pink roses match pink poppies at Benton End. Lovely because the scale of the flowers matched and the colors were so similar – and they were pink!
Papaver rhoeas at Benton End
Single pink roses are a favorite for pollinators and gardeners like me that love pink!

Benton Irises

Bearded Irises against a brick wall at Benton End, Suffolk.

In the last few years there has been a concerted effort to gather together as many of Cedric’s irises as possible (that are mainly named with the word ‘Benton’ at the beginning). The holder of the national collection is Sarah Cook, who was the Head Gardener at Sissinghurst. I had the honor to talk with Sarah at Benton End.

Jenny Rose Carey and Sarah Cook – holder of the National Collection of Benton End Bearded Irises.

Sarah has spent decades finding and preserving as many of Cedric’s bearded irises as she can. She propgates them and shares them with other iris lovers.

A Selection of Benton Bearded Irises (my favorite is at the end)

Benton Pearl is a iridescent like its namesake – white with slight hints of lavender and yellow centers.
Benton Nutkin which maybe was named after Squirrel Nutkin?
Benton Irises in front of highly scented sweet peas.
Bright yellow glowing Benton Apollo Iris at Benton End.
Benton Menace is my favorite – named after one of Cedric’s cats – luscious purple with deep yellow accents.

I hope that you enjoyed Benton End. I will make sure to visit again and update you as it grows. Bye for now Gardening Friends, Cheers, Jenny Rose Carey

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