They required no fewer than 100,000 individual bedding plants from more than 35 varieties, plus 16 mature citrus lemon specimens to provide an extra dimension. Inside, the theme continues through various aspects of the collections: costume and accessories including Baroness Edmund de Rothschild’s button collection and an exhibition on 18th century French fashion.
Waddesdon is a rare example of a 19th century house that retains its original soft furnishings, which makes it the ideal venue for another autumn date on October 17, when it hosts a day-long symposium (priced at £55) entitled Tassels and Trimmings.
Interior designer David Mlinaric (who renovated some of the rooms at the house) and Waddesdon curator Selma Schwartz take a detailed look at how fabrics were used in 1880s interiors and at Waddesdon’s rich collection of passementerie.
An Oscar for the garden
Waddesdon Manor, the Rothschilds’ country estate in Buckinghamshire, has come over all fashionable. The theme for their 2001 season is Art in Fashion. In the garden, the parterre has been given over to the talents of fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, who has designed two vibrantly coloured rainbow displays of carpet bedding.
