Edwardian Gardens

The gardens were laid out in the early 1900s, but after wartime neglect were substantially restored by Mary and Bill Dawes from the early 1950s. Mary Dawes is still very much involved in the day-to-day running of the gardens and although it's never been a 'professionally' maintained garden, she has always lovingly tended it. Although comparatively small, Mount Ephraim has a personal charm so often lost in larger gardens.

The Mizmaze

Planted in 2004 on the slopes of a former vineyard, the idea bore fruit after initial research into different types of mazes revealed an ancient labyrinth called a Mizmaze - a touching coincidence given that Mary Dawes, who has lived at Mount Ephraim since 1950, has always been known to family and friends as 'Miz'.

Medieval Mizmazes were nine circuit labyrinths of raised turf paths and thought to have been used by monks for exercise and meditation. The interpretation at Mount Ephraim has been to flank the turf paths not with bare earth but with ornamental grasses and herbaceous perennials, which creates a delightful meadow effect blending into the pastoral landscape beyond.