Feigning illness to allow time to compose himself, he sends his faithful councillor Topfglanz to meet the count at the newly erected Gothic Temple.
Comte de CT (in lavender coat) - "I am sorry to hear of your master's ...indisposition Topfglanz, I trust he will be fully recovered by this evening?"
Topfglanz (in green) - "His excellency the Margrave sends his apologies for not receiving you in person Comte, and begs you amuse yourself in his garden until it is time to dine at the palace."
Comte de CT - "Garden? I see no order or geometry about me. All is wild and uneven and in disarray as if nature has run riot. Do you have no canals or parterres such as we value in Arnheim? Where are your pleached avenues and patte d'oie. ? "
Topfglanz - " We do have such conceits my lord, but it is the Margrave's intention to grub them all up, sell his topiary and follow the English into a new Arcadia."
Comte de CT - " Tcha! Arcadia? That will result in many of your gardeners being dismissed will it not, with no miles of box and privet to trim or gravel paths to rake?"
Topfglanz - " I trust not my lord, and the odour of the box hedges disagrees with the Margravina, she keeps blaming her cat Nibbins for the smell."
Comte de CT - "Nevertheless, should your gardeners hear of these plans, there might be unpleasantness as there are many of them."
Topfglanz - "I pray not. Now Comte, what think you of the Margrave's new edifice in the Gothic style?. His new English designer Percival Longprong has been hard at work."
Comte de CT - " It is true that I find the Gothic style agreeable, reminding me as it does of sepulchres and tombs, but this building sets me in mind of another English architect, Sanderson Miller who has recently escaped from an English madhouse. Come Topfglanz, show me the prospect the temple commands."
As the pair walk to the temple, Old Hodge the gardener hobbles as fast as he is able towards the gardeners bothy.
Figures- Topfglanz by Eureka, Comte de CT and Hodge by Front Rank.
A splendid scene with a lovely backdrop too.
ReplyDeleteFantastic temple, in every sense of the word! Great write up. Thanks for the inspiration
ReplyDeleteCheers
Ths
Thanks, this blog is a rather dormant at the moment, as I'm concentrating on 54mm ECW and WSS over at http://mercuriusatticus.blogspot.co.uk/ but once those projects are finished I hope to concentrate on building my up the landscape garden .
DeleteSpringinsfeld,
ReplyDeleteIs there any truth to the Comte's claim re: Sanderson Miller having spent time in a madhouse, or is that just a thinly-veiled insult of his architectural and landscaping style??? I've never heard of the "mad" aspect before, but considering the somewhat whimsical nature of what he became famous designing and building, it does not seem impossible! If you happen to spot this comment, despite the dormant nature of this blog-post from the past, I'd love to know the answer!
Hi Mad Guru/ Thanks for your interest. I hope to get this blog up and running again. I have all the figures and ideas...but not the time!. Of course Percy Longprong IS Sanderson Miller in this Imagi-nation. Sadly the real Miller did go mad, and as far as I remember did die in an asylum. A tragic end to a great architect. He is rather a hero of mine, and I was lucky enough to grow up within sight of one of his follies. Do keep an eye on the blog even if you are a garden historian rather than a modeller. I have loads of ideas for the Margrave's garden, which will pull in many conceits from gardens all over England.
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