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The
house was built in 1905 by General Lewis Pugh's grandfather, Lewis
Pugh Pugh, M.P., D.L., Attorney General to the Government of India.
The Gardens were laid out and planted with various species of
trees and R. Ponticum. A small formal garden formerly existed
below the house, but during and after the last war the gardens
were largely devoted to food production and farming by General
Pugh's father, Major H.O. Pugh, D.S.O., D.L.
In
1955, the preliminary steps to landscape the old gardens were
started by Mrs. Pugh. Little progress was made until 1961 when
General and Mrs. Pugh returned to live at Cymerau on his retirement
from the Army.
Below
the house lies a lawn bordered with flowering shrubs, Ericas,
Hydrangeas, and including Embrothium and varieties of Rhododendron
from Nepal and elsewhere. The lawn is divided by a tall hedge
of R. Ponticum from a shrubbery and oakwood containing many varieties
of flowering shrubs.
A
rockery was built over a period of three years using local slate
and stones found on the site. The rockery contains many unusual
plants. In the spring it is a blaze of brilliant colour. From
the top a magnificent view of the Dyfi Estuary, the sea, Aberdyfi
and Borth can be seen.
On
the mountainside of the rockery in sheltered sites there are many
fine shrubs, including Rhododendrons, Crinodendrons, Azaleas,
Camelias, and Laburnum.
Cymerau
Garden is not an old garden, yet its informality, careful and
expert landscaping and its grey dry-stone walls blend to perfection
with the wild beauty of the surrounding country. It is a garden
as characteristic and as much a part of Wales as are the woods
and the hills, the estuary and the sea.
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