Available only from this website, from December 2025.

The Alpine Ravine at Warley Place in Essex flourished for fewer than forty years before melting back into the hills from which it had burst.

During that fleeing heyday Miss Ellen Willmott’s three-acre masterstroke was visited by royalty – gardening and regal – searing into the memories of all who witnessed its jewel-studded glamour.

Alpine expert Jacob Maurer was enticed to Warley from his native Switzerland aged nineteen. A quiet soul who devoted his life to this flashy horticultural diva, his contribution was not so celebrated.

A new exploration of the once world-famous alpine garden at Warley Place, and its expert keeper, Jacob Maurer, Miss Willmott’s Secret Weapon aims to put the record straight.