Posted On Aug 30, 2022.

The expansive lawns of grand estates across England have shriveled under the summer’s heatwave and drought, revealing remnants of long-lost gardens, according to caretakers.

Time turned backward on the sunbaked lawn of Chatsworth House — an elegant estate about 150 miles northwest of London. The parched ground revealed a “lost” 17th century garden usually “hidden from view,” the estate announced in a July 29 news release.

Drone footage showed the lawn with wide swaths of scorched Earth forming a cross around a central fountain. At one end, dramatic curves look like waves. In other portions, the ground shows intricate, swirling fleur-de-lis-shaped patterns.

These were a European-style garden with “ornamental arrangement of flower beds and paths” in 1699, the estate explained.

But the garden went out of fashion. Around 1730, the grass of a new design covered the landscape features, hiding them from visitors for the next nearly 300 years, the estate said.

But these aren’t the only “lost gardens” to appear recently. About 170 miles southwest, “tantalizing glimpses” of centuries-old gardens emerged on the parched lawn of Longleat House, a stunning 16th century estate, according to its Aug. 16 news release.

Markings under the greenish-brown grass showed snippets of what the garden looked like in the 1680s, complete with walls, pathways, fountains and ornamental flower beds, the estate explained.

According to the Longleat House curator, “it is fascinating to be able to see these ‘ghost’ gardens and other features literally appearing out of the ground around the house.” The gardens provide “an invaluable window into a lost world,” the curator said.

Another piece of “garden archaeology” appeared from the drying lawn of Lydiard Park, about 40 miles northeast of Longleat House. Lydiard Park is a historic estate that now houses a hotel and events center, according to its website. 

Aerial photographs show distinct, highly visible lines running across the brown lawn. The parallel lines form T’s, some running through — or below — a green circle that looks like part of the current landscape design. 

These dusty-brown lines once formed a gridded ornamental garden around 1700, Friends of Lydiard Park explained in an Aug. 16 news release.

Once again, “fashions changed,” the estate said, and the gridded gardens “were swept away” around 1740 for in-style landscaping with natural-looking features.

The grass that covered these historic landscape features grew in shallower soil than the grass in surrounding areas, the Longleat House’s new release explained. With shorter roots, the grass covering these features burns easier and dies off quicker than the rest of the lawn, revealing the design underneath. 

England’s recent heatwave and drought has scorched the once-rolling lawns into revealing their hidden histories. 

England declared a drought in almost all its regions on Aug. 12, adding the final one a few days later, The Guardian reported. The announcement came after England struggled with prolonged above-average temperatures and below-average rainfall. Over 70% of England is now experiencing drought conditions, according to an announcement from the British Government on Aug. 23. 

Across the continent, almost two-thirds of Europe remains under drought warning or alert conditions, according to the European Drought Observatory. The region has struggled with historic, record-breaking droughts — amplified by human-induced climate change — that have shrunk vital waterways in Spain, Italy, Germany and Ukraine, among other countries. Dropping water levels have revealed “hunger stones,” an explosive-laden WWII ship “graveyard” and other ancient sites. 

The duration of the U.K.’s drought remains uncertain, The Guardian reported. Experts told the outlet that they fear the drought and connected water restrictions could continue until the end of the year if the country does not receive above-average rainfall in the coming months.

Original Post: ‘Ghost gardens’ emerge from drying lawns of grand estates in drought-stricken England