The clipped pathways invite the explorer on a journey through the long grasses, over arched wooden bridges painted in Waltham red, to a soap-stone sculpture nestled in the sward. The grass maze is planted with Iris sibirica, white ragged robin, white Autumn crocus and sorrel, but it is the iris which gives the maze much of its character. Flowering in May and June, the tough leaves provide colour and impact throughout the year while the seed heads stay in place throughout the Winter, offering a refuge for small invertebrates.
The leaves are favoured by a community of the estate’s wasp spiders; visitors in August may explore the maze looking for the large webs of this species, decorated with a signature woven stabilimentum (zigzag), and will usually find the large black and yellow striped spider at home, suspended in the centre of the web. Alive with crickets and often visited by dragonflies the grass maze is an interesting spot to sit for a while. A perfect place to pause and take in the views across the bulb meadow to the lake and woodland, or back to the main house and the beautiful tree scape that circles the meadow.
