BIO: The Mount Stewart Gardens in County Down are widely regarded as among the greatest in the British Isles. They renowned not only for their superb layout but for their unrivalled collection of rare and exotic plants. All statuary and baustrades in the gardens were made by local craftsmen after designs by Edith, Lady Londonderry, nee Chaplin. Edith was the granddaughter of the Duke of Sutherland, Britain's largest landowner. She was brought up in Dunrobin Castle in Scotland and, in 1899, at the age of 20, married Viscount Castlereagh, a descendant of the Foreign Secretary who led the British delegation at the Congress of Vienna when a peace settlement for Europe was mapped out, following the fall of Napoleon. Mount Stewart House, which dates from the 18th century, contains the table and chairs from the congress. Edith's husband was heir to Lord Londonderry, and, when he succeeded to the title in 1915, he became the owner of both Londonderry House in London's Park La! ne and of Mount Stewart on the Ards Peninusula. The vast London residence was visited often by the rich and powerful as well as writers, artists and musicians, especially between the wars when up to 2,500 guests attended eve of State Opening of Parliament receptions. In 1915, Edith hosted Wednesday evening dinner parties for those who were engaged in war work and so the Ark Club was born. She founded the Women's Legion, which carried out vital work during WWI, and, in 1916, became the first woman to be awarded the Military DBE. Edith Londonderry was a fighter for women's rights and, helped by the demands of war and her skill with the pen, she demonstrated that women were perfectly capable of carrying out work that had formerly been the preserve of men. By 1915, Londonderry House had been turned into a convalescent hospital for soldiers, which Edith supervised, but it remained Ark Club headquarters and each member had to adopt the name of a creature, real or mythical. Edith was "Circe the Sorceress" and early members included "Winston the Warlock" Churchill, who was Lord Londonderry's cousin, and "Harold the Hummingbird Macmillan." Edith's husband, the Marquess of Londonderry, known as "Charlie the Cheetah," served in France during the First World War. . At the end of the war, the Londonderrys made Mount Stewart their main home. With an interest in gardening, she recruited 20 ex-soldiers for restoring the gardens, who were happy to swap the noise and destruction of the battlefield for the peace of creation. Gertrude Jekyll, the celebrated landscape gardener, was consulted on a design for an English sunken garden and submitted a plan; Edith had her own ideas but she did develop elements of Ms. Jekyll's scheme. The Mairi garden, with its central fountain depicting the contrary maiden, was laid out in the form of a Tudor rose, the emblem of the Women's Legion. The Dodo terrace near the house with its stone ark and enigmatic stone animals depicting the membership of the Ark Club is a most striking feature. One of Edith Londonderry's gardening mentors was Sir John Ross of Bladensburg. Lady Londonderry collected plants and seeds from every continent and she was supplied with many rare speciments by other gardeners and plant hunters. An unusual tree, the Metasequoia glyptostroboides, was thought to have been extinct for 20 million years until rediscovered in a remote area of China. Mount Stewart has had many important visitors including the Duke and Duchess of York, who later became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, who stayed there shortly after their marriage. The king's own interest in landscaping and especially rhodondendrons, would have been reinforced by his visit. Lady Londonderry, not content to be a society hostess, landscape artist and writer, was also an able pilot. She died at the age of 80. The formal gardens at Mount Stewart are perhaps the finest now in the care of the National Trust. Mount Stewart is located about 15 miles SE of Belfast. -- Excerpts, "Ireland of the Welcomes"