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J ULY 2011 JULY
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Coastal plants Top picks by Toby Buckland
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Sarah Raven ON ATTRACTING BUTTERFLIES
GROWING & COOKING YOUR FAVOURITE BERRIES
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ALSO IN THE JULY ISSUE... ● National Trust tips on PRUNING APPLETREES ● ANDY STURGEON on slopes & level changes ● Great gift ideas for GREEN-FINGERED KIDS ● Native HEDGEROW PLANTS for your garden
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EDITOR’S LETTER
All of you who are hoping I’m about to create the next Hidcote or open for the NGS - hang fire! s I write I’m on the edge of my seat. This could be the day that I exchange contracts on a new house. Well, more to the point, on an acre of garden. I have a notebook full of plants spotted at the recent Malvern and Chelsea flower shows, and I’ve already ordered bulbs to arrive in autumn. The only thing that is going to get in the way of creating my next garden is a lack of time. So, for all of you who are hoping I’m about to create the next Hidcote or open for the NGS - hang fire! However, I’ll give it my best shot and try my utmost to get my five year old to help and not hinder.
On the cover: Design Guide (pg 55) Photograph: Marianne Majerus
THE ENGLISH GARDEN AWARDS 2011 The Nichee Magazine Awards Best Niche Lifestyle Consumer Magazine
The temptation not to plan too much for a ‘possible’ garden has been so difficult - especially when visiting gardens local to me such as Brook Farm (pg 33). I have hundreds of ideas, but from previous experience I know I need to slow down and connect with the plot. This might sound a bit lovey, but it’s vital. Oh, and did I mention I’ll have a polytunnel? Yippee! This issue is packed with inspiration for all of us aspiring Gertrude Jekylls and Christopher Lloyds. We bring you FIVE GARDENS at their peak, all overflowing with stunning PLANT COMBINATIONS and tips from the owners or gardeners. Cooking and growing summer
HOWARD WALKER
A
fruits, prairie planting and COASTAL PLANTS (pg 99) are more of the features that make this month’s magazine the perfect package. I’m also thrilled to have SARAH RAVEN as our Guest Speaker (pg 114), and as a nod to her love of flowers for cuttings, I’m testing GARDEN SCISSORS (pg 22). My family are thrilled the trial is over, as they’ve been protecting their borders from me. I’d love to hear about any gardens you discover, so email me at
[email protected]. Keep your garden forks and fingers crossed for my move - and happy gardening!
2010 Garden Media Guild Gardening Column Of The Year Mark Diacono
2009 Garden Media Guild Gardening Column Of The Year Jackie Bennett
Turn to pg 95 to find out how to claim your 20 free* perennials, pictured below - *just pay £4.90 postage! From left: echinacea, eryngium, kniphofia, physalis and liatris.
Tamsin Westhorpe, Editor
Garden Media Guild New Garden Media Talent Of The Year Stephanie Mahon
2008 Garden Media Guild New Writer Award Joe Reardon-Smith
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Congratulations to Alba Lucia Mulford from Midlothian, the winner of our RHS Chelsea Flower Show competition
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GARDEN FOR EVERYONE WHO LOVES BEAUTIFUL GARDENS
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The English Garden 5
Contents JULY 10 12 14 21 22 104 114
✿ ✿ ✿
The Rake James Alexander-Sinclair talks events and news Shopping… For children Great ideas for garden fun National Trust Head Gardener Chris Braithwaite at Acorn Bank Talking techniques Toby Buckland on growing veg in borders Editor’s choice: Scissors Which pair will perform the best? Library leaves This month’s new gardening books reviewed Guest speaker Sarah Raven on gardening for beneficial insects
Glorious gardens
✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ 26
BERKSHIRE Exquisite aesthetic A garden designer’s
33
WORCESTERSHIRE Flight of fantasy All the ingredients
40
HAMPSHIRE Easy on the eye Chalky soil and lots of old
47
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE Feminine charms Find a rather
country plot is a joy of colour, texture and dreamy planting for a rural retreat, but the challenge of a frost pocket for one florist farmyard buildings didn’t deter this couple for an instant glorious socialite past and lots of garden rooms at Kelmarsh
Design
✿ ✿ 55
DESIGN GUIDE Curvy worthy The twists and turns of an
63
IN CONVERSATION WITH... NEW SERIES! Andy Sturgeon
ultra-chic contemporary garden with open countryside views explains how to work with slopes and create changes in level
89 WorldMags
55
65
On the cover
✿ PAGE
65
PAGE
PAGE
47
33 PAGE
26 PAGE
55 PAGE
22
40
81
33 65
A GARDEN REBORN Making progress In the next part of our series, the flower garden at Bridge Eal has suddenly taken off
69
GLASSHOUSES Heaven is a hothouse Discover how
97 99
✿
Eco-watch What is companion planting and how does it work? Going coastal Toby Buckland looks at the best drought-tolerant plants for coastal gardens and water-parched plots
The English Garden magazine and Hartley Botanic made a real show
75
CREATING A SHOW GARDEN, PART 3 Find out how Tom
Offers, competitions & events
Hoblyn fared during RHS Chelsea Flower Show build up week
25
Subscriptions Claim your FREE signed copy of River Cottage
✿ 95
The edible garden 79 81
✿
Mark Diacono Edible things to grow this month and events Cook your own Summer fruits growing tips and tasty recipes
86
Eats &Treats The Grove in Pembrokeshire offers country charm,
from the famous Ballymaloe Cookery School great gardens, and lots and lots of gorgeous home-grown food
Plants
✿ ✿ 9 89
Veg Patch, worth £14.99, and save 35% on The English Garden
Plant offers 20 FREE Perennials for every reader!
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Just
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Plant swatch Top picks of hedgerow wildflowers for the garden Plant focus Prairie planting laid bare by one of the country’s
POST a cheque made payable to Archant Specialist Ltd to:
leading experts, Chelsea Gold nurseryman Neil Lucas
Oriel Road, Cheltenham GL50 1BB
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The Edible Garden,The English Garden Magazine, Archant House,
For more information about our Gothic Folly standard or bespoke designs, as well as our wide selection of ornaments to decorate your Folly & Garden, please visit…
www.redwoodstone.com FOLLY & GARDEN
See us at the Hampton Court Flower Show Stand No.PK136
The Old Manor House Garden, Capel Manor
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The Potting Shed The Stoneworks, West Horrington Wells, Somerset ba5 3eh England
01749 677777
Opening hours: Weekdays 9.00am – 5.00pm, Saturday 9.00am – 1.00pm
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PLANT SWATCH HEDGEROW PLANTS
Life on the verge SILENE DIOICA/GWI - JOHN MARTIN GEUM URBANUM/GWI - MARTIN HUGHES-JONES CLINOPODIUM VULGARE/GWI - STEFFEN HAUSER COMPILED BY/CINEAD MCTERNAN
For pretty, wild flowers worthy of a spot in your garden, look no further than wild country hedges for inspiration
Silene dioica Red campion
Geum urbanum Wood avens
Clinopodium vulgare - wild basil
In the wild, this dainty plant (above) can also
Clusters of yellow flowers (top right) appear
A drought-resistant plant, this is ideally suited
be found in coppice or woodland clearings,
from June to August, followed by spiky
to growing at the base of a hedge, edge of
so find a semi-shaded spot in your own
seedheads, made to cling to animal fur to
a woodland or in dry grassy places. As its
garden to recreate its preferred habitat.
help spread the plant further afield. Insect
name implies, this plant is lightly scented and
Green leaves appear in spring, closely
friendly, it provides some nectar and pollen
attractive to bees and butterflies. Delicate
followed by pretty pink flowers, which stay
for bees and is a food source for the larvae
purple flowers that whorl around the stems
in bloom until autumn. Its species name
of the grizzled skipper butterfly. It has been
(above right) appear from July to September.
derives from dioecious - a botanical term
used as a medicinal plant since Roman
Herb specialist, Jekka McVicar, suggests
meaning that male and female flowers
times, but more modern uses include
using it to flavour salads as well as an
are carried on separate plants. Height and
mouthwashes and herbal remedies.
infusion to help digestion. Height: to 90cm.
spread: up to 30cm.
Height: to 60cm; spread: 50cm.
CULTIVATION
CULTIVATION
CULTIVATION
Sow the seed of wild basil in spring in a
A hardy variety that will tolerate most soils,
Prefers a shady site and free draining soil. Sow
greenhouse or cold frame. Prick out into
apart from waterlogged and very acidic.
seeds in autumn. Plugs are available from
individual pots when the seedlings are
Divide in autumn if clumps become too large.
specialist nurseries and should be planted in
about 5cm, and transfer to their final
Grow from seed at any time of year.
rich, moist soil. Self-seeds well.
positions in summer.
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The English Garden
9
news ● updates ● events ● trends ● gossip ● news ● updates ● events
M
y most memorable July was just after I had finished my A-Levels, before trotting off into the jaws of the big wide world. It was (in my memory) always hazily warm, and days were spent lying under the shade of the alders by the river. It also involved very flared trousers and Woodbines. Life seemed so very easy in those days. Moments like that can be briefly recaptured: take some time out this month to go and stare at trees and feel the balmy winds on your skin. Just remember: steer clear of cheesecloth shirts this time around.
HAREM OF HERBS Everybody knows Jekka. Like Ronaldo or Madonna, she only needs one name. She is the High Priestess of the Herb, the Empress of Oregano and the Pasha of Parsley. Jekka’s flower show entries are always fabulous: I’ve a particularly vivid memory of clouds of bright yellow woad (Isatis tinctoria) hovering over her display at Chelsea in 2009. As a result, she has trousered 62 RHS Gold medals, and her best-selling books have become an invaluable part of every gardener’s library. Her nursery is only open occasionally to the public. I have been there, and you won’t be disappointed if you go to one of her open days. If you go in July, there’s also a workshop about growing salad herbs for autumn. Tel: +44 (0)1454 418870 or visit www.jekkasherbfarm.com
James Alexander-Sinclair
I think I can say without too much
Tatton Park is the last major horticultural show of the summer. The last
fear of contradiction that this is
chance for a bit of plant shopping and some inspiration before we all
summertime. Whether or not the ‘livin’
beetle off to lie on a hot beach with a good book. It is also the only
is easy’ remains to be seem. In July,
time that great Royal Horticultural Society Show juggernaut moves
people like to sit in their gardens and
northwards. There will be a spectacular floral marquee, show gardens
what, I ask you, could be more suitable
(large and small) and the hotly contested bedding scheme competition.
and romantic than a summerhouse?
This is where rival councils battle with begonias and feud with fuchsias by
Soft cushions, shelter, fine wines and a
constructing increasingly elaborate and colourful displays. It is a small but
view. Grainstore Garden Buildings makes
perfectly assembled show. If you have a spare couple of hours (and the
summerhouses modelled on grainstores
necessary energy), then combine your visit to the show with a trot round
that sit upon four staddle stones, and make a fine place to eat canapes
the gardens of the main house; in particular, the spectacular 100-year-
while watching the setting sun. www.grainstoregardenbuildings.co.uk
old Japanese Garden. 20-24 July. Tickets are available from the RHS by
Many other companies offer contemporary and traditional designs too
calling 0844 3387505 or visiting www.rhs.org.uk
(above), such as HSP Garden Buildings. www.hspgardenbuildings.com
PLANT HUNTERS WEEKEND Tom Hart-Dyke is very slightly deranged, in the
Lullingstone Castle in Kent, where he began to
nicest possible way. It is something that one
construct The World Garden. This is a botanical map
comes across in many plant obsessives. Give
of the world that he designed while languishing in
them an unusual orchid and a gleam flickers deep
captivity in a damp tent. It is now open to the
within their eyes, and they start to shudder with
public. If you go on the weekend of 30-31 July,
excitement. Tom is one of our finest plant hunters,
they are holding a special Plant Hunters Weekend.
who first came to notice by being kidnapped in
The Saturday is also my birthday, but it is unlikely
Colombia in 2000. After nine months, Tom
that this will entitle you to free cake; sorry. Tel: +44
was freed, and returned to his family home of
(0)1322 862114. www.lullingstonecastle.co.uk
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10 The English Garden
RAKE ILLUSTRATION/JO DAVIES JAMES ALEXANDER-SINCLAIR/JENNY LEWIS SUMMERHOUSE/HSP GARDEN BUILDINGS TATTON PARK/RHS WISLEY/RHS
SUMMERHOUSE ROMANCE TATTY BYE
●
trends ● gossip ● news ● updates ● events ● trends ● gossip ● news JULY GARDEN EVENTS EAU DEAR
● Sunday 3 - Sunday 10, Lincolnshire
Water is heavy stuff. I spent
Celebrate sweet pea week at Easton
much of my youth working as
Walled Garden. Tel: +44 (0)1476 530063
a waiter and I know: a tray
● Tuesday 5 - Sunday 10, Surrey
laden with full glasses is not
Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. To
an easy thing to carry. Okay,
book tickets, go to www.rhs.org.uk
most of those glasses were
● Wednesday 13, Buckinghamshire
full of something other than
Enjoy a two-course supper followed by
water, but you know what I
live jazz performances at Waddesdon
mean. Not just heavy but
Manor. £35 per person. For full details,
sloshy: especially when
visit www.waddesdon.org.uk
carrying full buckets or
● Wednesday 20 - Sunday 24,
watering cans. Here’s a
Cheshire Enjoy the RHS Show at Tatton
solution: the H2G0 bag
Park with inspirational displays, stalls
(geddit?) It’s a heavyweight
and expert advice on fruit and veg. Go
polythene bag that sits in a
to www.rhs.org.uk to learn more.
wheelbarrow (left) and lets
● Sunday 24, Derbyshire Plant fair at
you easily transport 80 litres
Osmaston Park with specialist plant
across the garden. It costs
nurseries from the North and Midlands.
£9.99 excluding delivery.
Entry is £2 and parking is free.
Tel: +44 (0)1684 574797.
Dogs are also welcome on a lead.
www.planitproducts.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1335 350279. www.osmastonpark.com ● Sunday 24, Leicestershire Summer
A DAY WITH DERRY
flower photography course at Barnsdale
Personally, and this may be too much detail for some
Gardens. Tel: +44 (0)1572 813200.
of you, I cannot get enough of Derry Watkins. Or her
www.barnsdalegardens.co.uk
plants. Or her seeds. She runs Special Plants Nursery
● Tuesday 26 - Thursday 28,
in Wiltshire, near Bath, which sells a fantastic range
Hampshire The Newforest and
of both hardy and tender perennials as well as an
Hampshire County Show at The
amazing range of herbaceous and rockery plants.
Showground in Brockenhurst, is a
Derry has also introduced many new plants from her
chance to bring the family together and
plant-collecting trips to South Africa and elsewhere,
interact with small animals as well as
and is the owner of a remarkable garden looking
chickens, ducks and geese. There will
over some wonderful countryside. If I was lucky
also be show gardens and local produce
enough to be hovering around the Lechlade area on
on offer to tempt your taste buds.
7 July, I would find it very difficult to resist the lure of
www.newforestshow.co.uk
hearing her talk about ‘Unusual and Long Blooming
● Wednesday 27 - Sunday 31,
Plants’. Especially as there will be plants and seeds
London The Start Festival is held at
for sale, and Derry will be wise, witty and delightful.
Clarence House and in the neighbouring
She is talking at The Coach House, which is at
TOPICAL TALK
gardens of Lancaster House and
Oxlease Farm, from 10am-12.30pm. Tickets are £40.
Wisley. Heart of Surrey and home of the RHS
Marlborough House. It is an eco-friendly
You can get not only Derry but lunch as well for £55.
flagship garden. There is always stuff going on
festival backed by The Prince of Wales
For more details, tel: +44 (0)1367 850216 or visit
and lots of things to see. On the weekend of
providing a fun-filled eco-extravaganza
www.thecoach-house.com
9-10 July, one of those things will be me. A
of entertainment, fashion, gardens,
couple of years ago I wrote a small book called
interactive displays, travel and shopping.
101 Bold and Brilliant Flowers - it was fun and
www.thestartfestival.com
allowed me to be extraordinarily fanciful in my
● Saturday 30 - Sunday 31,
descriptions. It will form the basis of a couple
Warwickshire Whichford Pottery is
of talks and a question-and-answer session. It
celebrating 35 years in the business and
would be fearfully embarrassing if nobody turned
has organised a summer garden party.
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up and I had to answer my own questions, so, if
There will be special offers on pots,
you are at a loose end, then please come along.
home-made teas, musicians and
It will be a jolly occasion and you get to see
demonstrations. The romantic private
the garden. Tickets need to be pre-booked.
garden at the pottery will also be open.
(P.S. The restaurant does a really good ginger
Tel: +44 (0)1608 684416.
cake). Tel: 0845 6121253. www.rhs.org.uk
www.whichfordpottery.com
SHOPPING FOR CHILDREN
Whizz kids Stuck for ideas to entertain energetic little ones? These garden gadgets and toys will keep them busy until bedtime
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2
3
ALL PRICES & DETAILS CORRECT AT TIME OF GOING TO PRINT COMPILED BY/VICTORIA KINGSBURY
6
4
5
7
8
OPPOSITE PAGE Cowboy teepee tent designed to sleep three people, £75.Tel: 0845 0262440. www.cathkidston.co.uk 2 Scarecrow kit including two recycled coffee-bean sacks, one broom handle, two bamboo canes, one ball of orange garden string, two needles, one marker pen and one packet of seeds. £25. Tel: +44 (0)1844 217060. www.henandhammock.co.uk 3 Traditional rounders set with a wooden bat, tennis ball, four wooden stumps and a carry bag. £19.50. Tel: +44 (0)1933 426365. www.wheniwasakid.co.uk 4 Mini bug kit with a 16-page booklet full of interesting facts and illustrations. £12.99.Tel: +44 (0)1539 488100. www.lakeland.co.uk 5 Jumbo twig crayons in blue, red, yellow and green, £9.99.Tel: 0845 2591359. www.notonthehighstreet.com 6 Sophie Conran games bucket containing a whistle, four eggs and spoons, two three-legged race ties, frisbee, four bean bags and a target bucket. £29.95.Tel: +44 (0)1142 338262. www.burgonandball.com 7 Kids’ purple nitrile gloves. £6.99.Tel: 0844 5572233. www.crocus.co.uk 8 Little shoots starter kit for sprouting and growing summer veg such as tomatoes, peas and sweetcorn. £10 for three tins.Tel: 0844 8712010. www.jamieathome.com
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The English Garden
13
NATIONAL TRUST ACORN BANK
HERBAL HEAVEN Set in the Cumbrian uplands, Acorn Bank is a calm oasis of woodland, flowers, herbs and orchards. This month, Head Gardener Chris Braithwaite gets the garden ready for summer visitors PHOTOGRAPHS JASON INGRAM
D
espite its exposed site on the Pennine foothills, Acorn Bank is a wonderfully tranquil and sheltered
garden. Walk through an unassuming gateway and you enter a dreamy herb garden. Originally a vegetable garden, the plot was transformed by the famous 20th-century horticulturalist and rose expert Graham Stuart Thomas in 1969. Redesigned and completely replanted in 2003, Acorn Bank is now home to more than 250 herbs, displayed in large themed beds, including ones relating to digestion, breathing and stress. There is even a bed devoted to ‘women’s herbs’, including the beautiful chaste tree (Vitex agnus-
FACT FILE
castus). Another highlight is the walled
PLACE Acorn Bank Garden is located
garden, a delightful mix of fruit trees and
eight miles east of Penrith in Cumbria
finds the woodland garden with its shady
SIZE Two and a half acres SOIL Slightly alkaline/clay loam ASPECT The site reveals panoramic
walks. Its alkaline soil encourages a variety
views over the Lakeland Fells. Winters
mixed borders. Outside these walls one
of wild flowers. Here you will find yet more delightful orchards, including a collection
are extremely cold
SPECIALISM Walled herb garden with a large collection of medicinal and
of local Cumbrian and northern apples,
culinary herbs; wildflowers; orchards; and
such as the popular mid-season cooker,
cottage-garden style romantic borders
Malus domestica ‘Keswick Codlin’.
WHAT’S IN SEASON The sweetly fragrant Phlox paniculata ‘Blue Boy’ (far left) is a border stalwart and is also great as a cut flower. Ideal for cool borders, Inula hookeri (centre left) likes flowering time, its unusual petals unfurl from tight spirals producing spider-like blooms. With its long-flowering, tufted flowers the wild bergamot (right) acts as a powerful magnet for bees, butterflies
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14 The English Garden
▲
and other pollinating insects.
COMPILED BY/CLAIRE MASSET
moist, rich and well-drained soil. At
‘
Marigolds are not only good for making creams and ointments - their petals are also delicious scattered in summer salads’
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NATIONAL TRUST ACORN BANK
2 1 4
‘
3 By pruning the tree in summer, you are helping it store energy for next year’
STEP BY STEP PRUNING APPLE TREES The essential techniques behind thinning and summer pruning ensure the very best crop - for both this year and next.
1 2
Thin out diseased, damaged and congested fruit. The apples here are showing signs of capsid damage. Go along each branch a number of times, as once is never enough! The idea is to leave just one apple every four to six inches.
5 Traditional techniques Summer pruning of apple trees reduces their growth hormone and
6
3 4
gather energy for next year’s crop.
branch. This will encourage the branch to produce fruit next year. Reduce new wood, leaving about six to eight buds. Make sure you cut at a bud that is facing outwards. When cutting always use clean sharp secateurs.
5
Slide the secateurs along the twig until it butts up against the bud, then cut straight across, not diagonally, as this creates the smallest possible wound.
makes them go into what’s called ‘ripening mode’, helping them
Remove any lateral growth from each
6
Gather up the cuttings, then shred and compost them. Burn diseased wood.
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16 The English Garden
▲
Turn over for gardener’s diary
Guernsey
Discover our wild≥owers, then take in our water features.
One minute you’re exploring our abundant floral heritage, the next you’re relaxing on a picturesque cove. That’s what makes the stunning Channel Island of Guernsey so special – there’s so much to discover, you never know what you’re going to be doing next. From seafood lunches to cliff top walks, if it’s variety you’re after, you’ll find it here. And it all comes with a liberal sprinkling of French influence and a slice of Guernsey charm.
Everything about visiting Guernsey is easy. The language and currency are the same as the UK’s (so no exchange rate worries), and you can fly from 12 UK airports in as little as 45 minutes. Fast ferries also make the crossing in around two and a half hours from Poole and Weymouth and a traditional ferry sails from Portsmouth.
To order your free brochure & DVD, freephone 0800 028 5353 quoting ref: 716/ 7 or go to visitguernsey.com
FLY FROM Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, East Midlands, Exeter, Gatwick, Isle of Man, Manchester, Newquay, Norwich, Plymouth, Southampton & Stansted.
SAIL FROM Poole, Weymouth & Portsmouth.
Not long haul, but miles away.
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VISITGUERNSEY.COM
GARDENER’S DIARY
July
IN THE GARDEN THIS MONTH
with Chris Braithwaite
July is a bit of an ‘in-between’ month in the garden, but there are still lots of jobs to be done. ● Prune wisterias to about 30cm
COLLECTING SEED
of this year’s growth to control vigour
This is the perfect time to collect seed
and promote flowering next year.
from Welsh onions (Allium fistulosum). Wait until the seedhead is completely dry, then turn it over and shake gently into your hand or a container. You can either scatter them straightaway on the ground, or store them for future use. I usually plant them in small rows and then transplant the seedlings in autumn. They make a very useful winter crop. The leaves can be used as a substitute for chives or spring onions. When you have harvested the seed, cut off the stalks and discard.
PLANTING CYCLAMEN SEED Once a cyclamen has flowered, its seeds develop for a whole year until the following July, when they start to uncoil and spread out. When the ‘seedpod’ develops a paper seal and starts to wrinkle, you can gather the seed. Mix the moist seed in a compost of leaf mould and grit. Sprinkle where you want the plants to grow. Some seeds will germinate in August; others will do so the following year. ● Cut back herbs to the ground, such as this lemon balm (above). They will quickly produce a second flush. ● Stop picking rhubarb this month in order to allow the plant to build up resources for next year. ● Prune early flowering shrubs such as philadelphus, deutzia and weigela. Cut about a quarter of the stems to the ground to encourage new shoots. ● In the west of the country it’s a good time to sow grass, as it often rains quite a bit in July and August.
CABBAGE CAGE
Garden information
If left unchecked, cabbage
Acorn Bank, Temple Sowerby, near Penrith,
white butterflies will lay their
Cumbria CA10 1SP. Tel: +44 (0)1768 361893.
eggs on your brassicas and their
www.nationaltrust.org.uk
caterpillars will damage your
The garden, watermill, woodland walks and shop
crop the following spring. To
are open from 12 March to 30 October, Wednesday
avoid this, protect your veg with
to Sunday and Mondays in school holidays, 10am
a mesh-covered cage. Once in
to 5pm (also open 26 February to 6 March,
place, make sure there are no
Saturdays and Sundays). The tea room is open
butterflies trapped inside!
from 11-4.30pm.
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18 The English Garden
Greenhouses
Lean To’s
Patio Glasshouses
Coldframes
Shed Combi
Staging
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EXPERT ADVICE
Talking techniques Border vegetables Toby Buckland offers tips on growing veg among ornamentals he idea of flowers and vegetables growing together in borders that look good enough to eat has beguiled gardeners for centuries. However, in my experience, that is all it is - a nice idea. It offers the possibility of saving space and what the Shakers would call ‘beauty through utility’; but, in reality, the appearance of flower-veg borders goes to pot along with the vegetables as soon as they are harvested. The only way around this is to plant vegetables as embellishers, and stick to robust types that can cope with the crush of neighbouring flowers without becoming diseased or diminishing crops. My favourite ‘long cropper’ is Tuscan black kale. It has inky grey leaves with white ribs, which sprout from its stem like the plumes of an ostrich. I first saw it used ornamentally years ago in France, planted with orange pot marigolds and the feathery annual grass Stipa tenuissima; and I have used it with flowers ever since. You can pick it little and often once the plants reach 60cm, and it keeps looking good throughout summer. On a free-draining soil, it’s perennial, living for two or even three summers, getting bigger and better each year. In a gravel garden, it’s just the thing to set off vivid orange California poppies in summer and still looks
T
IMAGE/COURTESY OF EBURY PRESS, GARDENERS’ WORLD PRACTICAL GARDENING HANDBOOK - JASON INGRAM
The idea of flowers and vegetables growing together in borders that look good enough to eat has beguiled gardeners for centuries’ perky right through winter when the delicious young leaves are at their best. Beans are brilliant with flowers too. Climbing Borlottis pushed into the earth at the base of silver cardoons or roses will scramble up to 6ft high, provided you water while they are growing and bear plump seed-filled pods, which at summer’s end turn ivory-white and crack open to reveal a treasure of mottled pink and red beans. The yield is small - this is true of all veg grown among flowers - but you don’t need many ‘Lingua di Fuoco’ to thicken a winter soup or casserole.
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Runner beans are good for forming shaggy wigwams of leaves and flowers, wonderful for adding height among sprawling cranesbills. My favourite is the vermillion ‘Scarlet Emperor’. Like all runners, as long as the pods are regularly picked, it will carry on producing long into summer and happily grow in semi-shade. Salads are ideal for shade and for sowing in gaps now. It hardly needs saying but if you can keep the slugs off you can’t go wrong. Even when summer heat triggers their flowers, they look good, especially the Lollo types that rise like skyscrapers of red and green.
Sweetcorn is perfect for mixing with exotics and it’s not too late to plant it. The usual advice is to grow in blocks to ensure pollination, but I’ve used them singly among dahlias and ornamental bananas and still had a harvest. Red orache, the large purple relative of sorrel, is my favourite leafy vegetable for growing among flowers. It self sows, and its seed sprout so early in spring that it’s there with the daffodils. Picking off the soft leafy tops does it good, and stops it engulfing its neighbours. Cooked in butter, it tastes like spinach, so it’s as much of a delight in the pot as your borders. The English Garden
21
SCISSORS
❇
Editor’s
Choice
1
W
ith a five-year-old son who has visions of creating all sorts of wonderful things out of paper, I have to keep a close eye on my scissors. Yes, I’m worried that he’ll cut himself, but I’m also not keen on losing my decent pair. Having done a short stint in a florist’s shop, I know only too well how a blunt pair can hinder the artistic flow of creating flower arrangements. I love the idea of nipping out into the garden and cutting flowers in a romantic fashion - a simple snip as you waltz from one flower to another is my vision. The thought of wrestling with stems and blades completely ruins this
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idyllic gardening scene that I hold in my mind. I am yet to create a garden where I have rows of alstroemerias, dahlias and chrysanths just for cutting, so I’m more likely to be found pilfering the gardens of my family. My favourite summer treat is to cut a huge bunch of cow parsley from the hedge in my mother’s field and put it in an extremely heavy vase on my garden table. I’m always sure to remember, though, that a pair of scissors isn’t what all gardeners want to see - the thought of someone eager to fill a vase in among the tulips or alliums is horrific to some. But whatever your thoughts on cutting flowers, a pair of garden scissors or snips is vital for cutting garden twine, snipping herbs and
deadheading. As with all blades, they’re better off kept in a dry place and you should always avoid trying to cut through thicker woody stems if they’re not designed for such use. Any florist will tell you that constant use of scissors can cause your hand to feel fatigued, so make sure you buy a pair that’s comfy. Another tip I have picked up along the way is to label them with permanent pen - this avoids the kitchen scissors ending up in the garden and visa versa. After all, they always end up in the kitchen drawer one way or another! With thanks to Stockton Bury Gardens, Hereford. www.stocktonbury.co.uk
IMAGES/JASON INGRAM
Snip, snip away - Tamsin takes her pick of the best garden scissors
2
3 Any florist will tell you that constant use of scissors can cause your hand to fatigue, so make sure you buy a pair that’s comfy
1
The Burgon & Ball Florist’s Shear is my
the back of a border or for cutting when holding a
safe. With spring action to reduce fatigue and
preferred choice for harvesting flowers and
trug in the other hand. Just the tool for the rose
rubberised handles that are warm to the touch, they
foliage from the garden. This set cut through the
gardener for deadheading, or for cutting grapes
are ideal for cutting slightly woody stems. Suitable
stems of fairly woody plants such as ivy like a
from a vine. Ingenious, but not for all-round garden
for the occasional florist and for deadheading in the
knife through butter. The handles open very wide,
use. Priced at £11.99.
garden. The leather pouch can be attached to a belt and is handmade in England. Priced at £18.
so it is ideal as a unisex tool. It also cuts well through wet foliage, and the spring action was
The Wilkinson Sword Multi Shear is exactly
easy on the hands. The high-carbon steel blades
3
are ideal for precise cutting, and I would enjoy
tasks (even wire cutting using the dent in the
5
using them for taking cuttings. There’s a handy
lower blade) and sold as ideal for both left- and
orange pair (you won’t lose these in the greenery)
strap to hang them up. To be honest, I would use
right-handed users. The blades seemed a little
offered the most comfort when used over an
these instead of secateurs for lighter gardening
stiff, but I expect they will loosen over time. The
extended period of time, thanks to the moulded
work, and would want them as well as a pair of
double-ground stainless steel blades with bypass
handles that fit your hands. Because of their
scissors. Priced at £11.95.
action come with a 10-year guarantee and are
comfort, they are my EDITOR’S CHOICE. Fiskars
large enough for gents’ hands. A good all-round
was founded in 1649 in Finland, so has been
Victorinox Cut and Hold Scissors are completely
pair, but was just pipped to the post on comfort
making scissors for decades and it manufactured
unique and offer something very different from
by the Fiskars model. Priced at £16.99.
2
that. It’s a handy pair ideal for a long list of
all the other snippers in this trial. The traditional
impressive lifetime guarantee. This bright
the first plastic-handled scissors in 1967. This pair has rust-resistant stainless-steel blades and a
Bradleys Pink Flower Scissors and pouch make
4
scalloped edge that gives a secure cutting grip.
catches the stem and prevents it from falling to
the perfect gift. Choose either a green, pink or
Very straightforward, and I found them great
the ground - this makes them ideal for reaching
chocolate pouch to keep your stainless-steel snips
when flower arranging. Priced at £13.99.
4
5
STOCKISTS ● Burgon & Ball Florist Shears Tel: +44 (0)1142 338262.
ALL PRICES CORRECT AT TIME OF GOING TO PRINT
design allows you to cut one handed, as the blade
Fiskars Universal Scissors come with an
www.burgonandball.com ● Victorinox Scissors Tel: 0800 7832202. www.qualitygardentools.com ● Wilkinson Sword Multi Shear www.wilkinsonsword-tools.co.uk ● Bradleys Pink Flower Scissors and Pouch Tel:+ 44 (0)1746 766563. www.bradleysthetannery.co.uk ● Fiskars Universal Scissors Tel: +44 (0)1159 277335. www.fiskars.com
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The English Garden
23
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GLORIOUS GARDENS BERKSHIRE
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26 The English Garden
Exquisite aesthetic PHOTOGRAPHS & WORDS NICOLA STOCKEN TOMKINS
The front garden has a pretty assortment of pots, blending geraniums, lobelias, surfinia petunias, hostas, busy Lizzie ‘Fiesta Appleblossom’, phormiums and also echeverias.
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▲
Colourful plant compositions inspired by the gentle art of watercolour make this designer’s garden a visual delight
GLORIOUS GARDENS BERKSHIRE
tooping as you enter via a low doorway, the first glimpse of Boxwood garden is one of instant loveliness combined with the promise of more to come. At its heart lie summer borders, producing a scintillating picture of fabulously arranged plants. ‘The effect I’m looking to achieve is similar to that in a watercolour, where the paint is still wet and the colours gently merge one with another,’ owner Paul Morrow explains. A garden designer by trade, his is a deft touch, of delicately applied light and shade, colour and texture, with no overbearing blocks of colour or jarring shades. ‘The overall effect is relaxed and natural, and encourages the unexpected to happen - it’s those chance plant associations that inspire you to start afresh each season,’ he adds. Inspiration is in plentiful supply in this Berkshire plot, which is cocooned by oaks, rhododendrons, conifers and pines that create a neutral backdrop to the colour within. The garden gate opens into a shady space beneath a huge old amelanchier, which allows teasing
S
glimpses of what lies beyond. There is a pond, its still surface a mirror for flowers and scudding clouds; a pergola clothed in vines and clematis; a summerhouse that seems to have stepped off the pages of a fairytale; copious pots; and hidden places to pause and sit. The garden unfolds in a series of pictures viewed either from the rounded lawn or snaking paths. ‘I don’t like straight lines, so I designed curving flower beds, walls and paths,’ Paul says. ‘One thing leads to another in a continuous flow.’ With the focus firmly on herbaceous perennials, the three-quartersof-an-acre garden largely sleeps in winter but, by early spring, life returns. ‘I never cease to be amazed at the transformation between March and May - it’s absolutely magical, and even though it’s expected, every year it takes me by surprise. It’s so uplifting after winter and, as if on a wave, it picks you up and carries you forward on a journey that lasts until autumn. I’m not someone who just admires my garden from a window. I want to be in there, with all my senses tickled. I’m an oldfashioned gardener who believes that proper gardens are high-maintenance
BELOW, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Clematis x jouiniana ‘Praecox’; an elegant Cornus kousa var. chinensis sets off the Edwardian house; Lavatera trimestris ‘Silver Cup’; Paul’s two young miniature wire-haired dachshunds, Stanley and Harry; Angelica ‘Ebony’; a Cretan pot in leafy bed of hostas. OPPOSITE PAGE The welcoming terrace is edged with Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’, lavatera, Verbena bonariensis and Phlox paniculata.
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28 The English Garden
‘The overall effect is relaxed and natural, and encourages the unexpected to happen - it’s the chance plant associations that inspire you to start afresh each year’
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and the plot levelled in preparation for terracing. The ground falls sharply away from the house, and by levelling the lawned area, Paul created a 2.5m drop that required a stout retaining wall, and steps leading down to the ‘hot’ beds and greenhouse. ‘Then I linked the terrace, lawn, pond and the lowest area with a winding, sloping gravel path,’ he adds. The pond was formed from a liner, secured under an outermost shelf which, placed 30cm below the water level, was created from dry turf and planted with aquatic plants. ‘Only then did I fill the pond with water - if you do it the other way round, soil is washed into the pond,’ he warns. The pond is now edged in mature trees and shrubs. ‘The acers are wonderful; whatever the season, I can never have enough of them,’ Paul enthuses. Planting young saplings takes a leap of faith, but his early selection has worked well, especially the specimens with variegated foliage - a graceful wedding cake tree, liquidambar and Japanese angelica tree (Aralia elata) - to add lightness to shady areas. ‘As you get older, you build up a history of disasters and successes, and become wiser for it. Nowadays, I focus on creating beautiful plant associations - it’s very personal, and I’m able to do things that I couldn’t for my clients because they’d be too labour intensive.’ With maturity comes depth, and the spirit of the garden is of great importance to Paul. ‘Gardens of any substance take years to mature,’ he says, ‘and the joy of gardening lies in guiding them along the way.’ Boxwood House, Sunninghill, Berkshire SL5 0AL. Open by appointment in July and August for groups of 25+. It also opens in aid of the NGS on 7 August, 2-6pm; and in aid of the local Air Ambulance Trust on 14 August. For more information, tel: +44 (0)7730 201925.
Turn over for garden notebook The English Garden
29
▲
affairs filled with superb plants that need staking, pruning and training.’ The garden itself dictates when things should be done, but all the hard work is done in advance. ‘By the time it peaks, there’s very little to do apart from deadheading, mowing the lawn, and enjoying and sharing it.’ The borders are largely filled with perennials that put on a display from summer until autumn. ‘Many gardens are past their best by then, but there’s a wonderful range of plants for late colour.’ Paul isn’t one for drawing planting plans. ‘I like to lay out each plant on the ground, seeing it in my mind’s eye, and imagining it in association with others.’ Tiered planting is not for him, either. Instead, he blends solid flowerheads - phlox, campanulas, hydrangeas and dahlias among others - with tall diaphanous plants such as angelica and Verbena bonariensis, often planted near the front of the border. While Paul uses flowers to add seasonal colour, he focuses on foliage to add form and definition. ‘I love the embroidery effect of an English garden, with its refined mix of herbaceous and leafy plants. But to make it work, you need four-fifths bone structure balanced by just one-fifth of the pretty bits.’ His garden is divided into sunny areas filled with herbaceous perennials, and shady spots where foliage thrives in all its myriad forms, tones and textures. ‘Foliage plants are interesting in their own right,’ he says. With the garden’s gentle transition from the sunny open borders and pond to dappled light beneath the pergola, and then to deep shade under an aged amelanchier, the understated subtleties of green are emphasised by a succession of planting combinations using ferns, hellebores, epimedium, heuchera, brunnera, alchemilla, saxifrages, euonymus and dozens of hostas. It is a far cry from the overgrown, rubbish-strewn plot that Paul and his partner Robert Beard first saw on a sunny evening in 1994. It took two years to renovate the Edwardian semi-detached house, clear the garden and finally sketch out a plan. First, the pond was excavated
GLORIOUS GARDENS BERKSHIRE
The notebook Boxwood garden covers about three-quarters of an acre. The soil is acid and called Bagshot sand. The emphasis is on long-flowering borders in summer and interest from foliage for the rest of the year PRETTY POTS Ideal for this gravelly, sunbaked area, these sculptural
PAUL MORROW’S GARDEN & PLANTING TIPS
succulents in pots have been
● People think of phlox
artfully arranged (below).
as a three-week wonder,
Handmade pots such as the
but if it is deadheaded
two on the left can be bought
after flowering, provided
from the famous Whichford
it has sufficient moisture,
Pottery in Warwickshire.
it will flower again.
Whichford Pottery,Whichford,
● Give all of your
Near Shipston-on-Stour CV36
Campanula lactiflora
5PG. Tel: +44 (0)1608 684416.
the ‘Chelsea chop’ by
www.whichfordpottery.com
pinching out the buds in late May. Instead of
HIDDEN SUPPORT
flowering on a single, top-
The borders (above) are invisibly supported
heavy flowerhead, they
on a framework of hazel pea sticks. Starting
will then bloom on side-shoots, creating a fuller
as soon as the plants emerge, Paul places
and more attractive effect.
the sticks close to the roots of each plant,
● You can successfully grow hostas and ferns
so that it can grow through. Once a plant
in dry shade by thoroughly mulching the ground
has achieved its full height, he cuts off any
and watering new plants in well.
of the support’s visible lengths.
● Train Clematis viticella such as ‘Alba Luxurians’ or ‘Madame Julia Correvon’ through
HOTHOUSE FLOWERS
host plants. Cut them right down in February,
Brightly coloured tibouchina,
twine them through the plant and you’ll enjoy a
pelargonium, begonia, fuchsia and
marvellous display well into August. It’s the
geranium look wonderfully tropical in
perfect way to cheer up early flowering shrubs
the warmth of the greenhouse. Set
and trees such as rhododendrons and lilacs.
out in pots, on wire stands, an antique
● Hostas are best grown in dappled shade
bird bath and greenhouse staging, this
because the sun burns the leaves. The exception
tiered arrangement is highly theatrical
is yellow-leaved varieties, which colour best in a
and effective (below).
sunny position, but even they need some shade.
CONTACTS GARDENS TO VISIT ● Mariners, Bradfield, Berkshire RG7 6HU. Tel: +44 (0)1189 745226.
HEAVENLY HOSTAS While Paul loves colourful flowers at the height of summer, it is greens, particularly those of hostas (above), that dominate for the remainder of the year. ‘There really are endless variations of green, and in my opinion hostas show this better than any other plant,’ he says. ‘No two hosta leaves are the same. Study them
www.mariners-garden.com ● RHS Garden Wisley, Surrey GU23 6QB. Tel: 0845 2609000. www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley
RECOMMENDED NURSERIES ● Hillier Nurseries, Ampfield House, Ampfield, Romsey, Hampshire SO51 9PA. Tel: +44 (0)1794 368733. www.hilliertrees.co.uk ● Long Acre Plants, Charlton Musgrove,
and you will find they’re just like
Nr Wincanton, Somerset BA9 8EX. Tel: +44
fingerprints. Every one of them has
(0)1963 32802. www.longacreplants.co.uk
different markings or textures.’
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30 The English Garden
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32 The English Garden
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GLORIOUS GARDENS WORCESTERSHIRE
Flight of
fantasy ▲
This plot is the stuff that country dreams are made of, and its owners are more than happy to share it with you PHOTOGRAPHS JULIA STANLEY WORDS TAMSIN WESTHORPE
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The English Garden
33
GLORIOUS GARDENS WORCESTERSHIRE
real country welcome awaits at Brook Farm, with a greeting the same. Both are committed to creating a garden that fits the space, and party of two dogs, a cat and three hens at the door of a Sarah is determined that her plant choices blend with the mature willows house that speaks of history. The Grade II-listed property and banks of cow parsley and buttercups that come with this country is in itself a treat, with beams to duck under and original idyll. They aren’t trying to create a razzmatazz of a garden, but one that flagstone floors. Owner Sarah Wint takes me into the offers a soothing setting in which to relax. kitchen, and Mrs B the chicken gets shooed out as she tries to follow. ‘I’m not a fan of garden rooms,’ Sarah remarks, ‘but we have plenty of Here, I spot a table decorated with a cluster of tiny vases featuring little areas with slightly different themes.’ Surrounding the house are the cottage blooms from the garden. I’d assumed that Sarah was an artist, but these garden borders, and just beyond that, in front of the hop kiln, is a pergola vases give the game away and reveal her previous work as a florist. clad with wisteria and Rosa ‘Bantry Bay’. The old stables look out over From the kitchen I can see into this scheme, but though there are the garden, and it’s a gem. ‘Willy donkeys in the field, these out‘I’m not a fan of garden rooms, but we have and I were looking for a place buildings have no livestock now plenty of areas with slightly different themes’ to create a garden, and this plot and have been converted into a took a long time to find,’ Sarah charming self-catering cottage. explained. Eight years ago, they found their home in Brook Farm, and Hornbeam hedges create a slight change in tempo when moving from what a home it is. Having previously lived in Oxfordshire, a move to this the cottage borders on to what are called the wiggly borders. These contain remote country corner allowed them more space for their money. Willy, mostly late summer plantings with grasses, cirsiums and astrantias. The an entomologist, has made an office in the old hop kiln that is the most edge of each border is marked with wooden-panel edging, which Willy prominent feature in the garden. The setting is perfect for his interest in managed to bend to shape by soaking in the stream. The oak trees that insects and butterflies, his love of which grew from childhood holidays overhang this area are showing signs of frost damage. ‘The garden is in a spent collecting moths in the garden of his grandmother - none other valley and the late frosts have really hit our plants. We do suffer from than Dorothy Clive, of the famous so-named garden in Shropshire. being in a frost pocket, but I have never seen an oak suffering like this.’ As I walk around with them both, it becomes obvious that they garden The ground here is very damp, and to improve the drainage before together. They may not always agree on plant choice, but their vision is laying the path between the borders to lawn, six inches of aggregate was
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the cottage. OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP The brick garden; front gate and path are lined with alchemilla; cottage borders and the hop kiln.
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PREVIOUS PAGE You’ll find the old stables, now a self-catering cottage, along a path of nepeta. BELOW Rosa ‘Masquerade’ is slowly covering the front of
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GLORIOUS GARDENS WORCESTERSHIRE
planted with wild strawberries, which offer an attraction to insects. All placed under the top soil. This took six friends a whole weekend to this and Willy’s veg garden are on a area that used to be home to a vast complete - but what a great place to volunteer. pig shed. ‘We removed this and it transformed the site,’ Willy delights. Beyond the hornbeam hedges, which I’m told are a great food source He explains that this used to be a pig farm, and I spot a weathervane for moths, there is the area called ‘the ride’. This is an open, grassy featuring a pig on the top of the hop kiln. Keeping links to the past is all space that’s home to a newly seeded bank of wildflowers and a bog part of the charm of this place. garden. The banks here have a succession of colour and interest, The immediate future for their little piece of heaven is to open the starting from February with bullace (green damson), then damsons, picket gate for the National Gardens Scheme. Both Sarah and Willy openly apples, hawthorn and wild roses. As we walk around this area, Sarah admit to being terrified about this, as the roses are running ahead reveals to me her dislike of a gunnera, while Willy is frantically of schedule and it is a whole new searching for a sign that it has experience for them. But the made it through the frost. ‘I wouldn’t want a gardener - I’d rather have a charm of the buildings, the The blue-and-silver garden cleaner to allow me more time to garden!’ sympathetic planting and the seems to be Sarah’s favourite spot. magic of the place is more than In the corner is a still pond, home enough to delight any gardener. As for long-term plans, Willy says: ‘They’ll to newts. Blueberries grow happily here in pots of ericaceous compost. have to take me out of here in a box.’ Sarah explains that they are thinking Facing south, this is a spot to enjoy the sun and listen to the brook. about how they will manage the garden in their dotage, and they keep Opposite the blue garden is another new project. The ‘bug border’ this in mind when planning new areas. ‘We don’t want the garden to run has just been planted, and the plants have all earned their place due to away with us, and I wouldn’t want a gardener - I’d rather have a cleaner their insect-attracting qualities. Echinacea, pyrethrum, marjoram, to allow me more time to garden.’ Now who could disagree with that? leucanthemum, hemerocallis and buddlejas will all add nectar-rich excitement. ‘The idea is that this border will be alive with dancing insects,’ Brook Farm, Berrington, nr Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire WR15 8TJ. Willy enthusiastically explains. His plans to keep bees in this area will Open on 24 June for the NGS from 12-5pm. B&B and self-catering available. add to the excitement in the next few years and not only will guests be Tel: +44 (0)1584 819868 or visit www.brookfarmberrington.com able to enjoy fresh eggs but honey too. The edge of the bug border is BELOW The wiggly borders are planted for late summer colour. OPPOSITE,TOP LEFT Cottage garden borders feature a mix of colours and a collection of Peter Beales roses. TOP RIGHT Take a seat in ‘the ride’ among the wild flowers. BOTTOM The veg bed before it was transformed into the bug border.
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The English Garden
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GLORIOUS GARDENS WORCESTERSHIRE
The notebook Brook Farm garden covers one and half acres and extends to a seven-acre plot containing fields and trees. South facing but with boggy soil, it sits in a valley and has a stream running through it
REMAINS OF THE DAY The 1960s caravan (left) was in the garden when the couple moved in. It remains as it’s too heavy to move and they have become fond of it. They are tempted by the thought of a natural swimming pond, so it may be renovated soon as a pool room. It offers a certain romantic charm.
BE SEATED The garden offers plenty of places for B&B guests to sit back and relax. This bench (left) is in the blue garden, and has a halo of Rosa ‘Wedding Day’ around it. There’s a hammock by the stream and a large table and chairs that live under the wisteria-clad pergola, used for meals in the garden. The conservatory offers the couple views over the cottage garden this was an addition that Sarah and Willy
COVER STORY
added when they arrived, and makes for
This image (above), of the table that greets you at the
the perfect all-weather garden room.
front door of Brook Farm, features on the cover of the 2011 NGS Yellow Book. This year is the first time that
TIPS FROM SARAH AND WILLY ● Make a plan before you start - we didn’t and we think
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the garden has been open under the scheme.
it would have helped greatly with long-term plans.
CONTACTS
● Go with your gut feeling. We have been led by the
GARDENS TO VISIT
feel of the place and created a garden to suit the setting.
● The Dorothy Clive Garden, Willoughbridge,
● Don’t be put off by all the to-do lists that you find
Market Drayton, Shropshire TF9 4EU.
in books and on the internet. Read Mirabel Osler’s A
Tel: +44 (0)1630 647237.
Gentle Plea for Chaos and Anne Wareham’s The Bad
www.dorothyclivegarden.co.uk
Tempered Gardener. They'll both help you to relax about
● The Dower House Garden, Morville Hall,
the importance of certain gardening tasks.
Bridgnorth, Shropshire WV16 5NB. Tel: +44
● Buy large plants. If you have a garden that is home to
(0)1746 714407. www.morvillefestival.co.uk
large numbers of slugs and snails, invest in larger plants,
● Stockton Bury Gardens, Leominster,
as they are less likely to be lost. Allowing our five hens
Hereford HR6 OHB. Tel: +44 (0)1568 613432.
to roam around the garden has helped tremendously.
www.stocktonbury.co.uk
However, we have netted the veg patch to keep the
RECOMMENDED NURSERY
hens out of this area.
● Mynd Hardy Plants, Delbury Hall Estate,
● Add organic matter to clay soil. We improve ours with
Diddlebury, Craven Arms, Shropshire SY7 5DH.
home-made compost, grit and well-rotted donkey manure
Tel: +44 (0)1584 841222.
every year to make the heavy clay more workable.
www.myndhardyplants.co.uk
38 The English Garden
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The English Garden 39
Easy on the eye An eager home accessories designer bought this tranquil plot when it was a barren chalky farmyard, and has turned it into a visual, colour-driven dream PHOTOGRAPHS NICOLA STOCKEN TOMKINS WORDS ANNE LOCKYER
ABOVE An allée of domed Pyrus salicifolia adds drama and height to the yewenclosed beds. OPPOSITE Robinia x slavinii ‘Hillieri’ grows by the pond, which has marginal plantings of ferns, lysimachias, primulas, astilbes, geraniums, daylilies, hostas and rodgersias.
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There is no trace of what the Sheffields found on their first visit in 1995. ‘There was a motley collection of derelict flint-and-stone farm buildings dating from the early 1800s, surrounding an abandoned farmyard,’ recalls Carolyn. The late architect Frances Johnson transformed the buildings into a one-storey house that wraps around the original farmyard on three sides, an ‘E’ shape without its middle bit, like a courtyard open on one side. ‘It’s a layout typical of old English barns, and gives the garden an intimate feel.’ One boundary flanks a country lane, and before building work began, it was planted with a line of Caucasian limes (Tilia x euchlora). ‘Then, the garden had to wait until the house was complete. I was blessed with a blank canvas, but was keen to keep the size manageable.’ She was not so blessed when it came to the ground, which is underpinned by solid chalk. ‘Having gardened on chalk all my life, I knew that the only way to establish a garden in this part of the world is to import loads of top soil, manure, leaf mould and compost,’ says Carolyn. Once the ground was prepared, Carolyn consulted garden designer Ian Mylles. ‘I needed help with designing the bones - I wasn’t confident that I’d get the proportions
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40 The English Garden
n idyllic view in a garden is a rare thing, so when Carolyn Sheffield created her new garden on barren ground, she allowed nothing to detract from its outlook: the tranquil Hampshire valley where she lives with her husband Julian. ‘We’re very fortunate to look out over lovely rolling Hampshire downland, so the garden was designed to lead the eye to the landscape beyond,’ she explains. The summer garden at Spring Pond scintillates, with flowers contained within a masterfully balanced layout. At the heart of the one-acre garden, an avenue of domed pears leads to a 19th-century gazebo, which stands among pink roses and frothy Crambe cordifolia at the point where formality gives way to the natural landscape. ‘The natural backdrop of fields and hills forms a perfect foil to flower colour,’ Carolyn points out. Beyond the gazebo, wildflowers edge a ha-ha, and from early spring there is a changing carpet of cowslips, narcissus, ox-eye daisies and yarrow. Within this, a pond’s dark surface reflects passing clouds that skim overhead, or is ruffled by its central fountain.
GLORIOUS GARDENS HAMPSHIRE
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ABOVE Pale pink Rosa ‘Fritz Nobis’ combines with Crambe cordifolia around the garden room, to romantic effect. LEFT, TOP TO BOTTOM Clematis ‘Blekitny Aniol’ and Rosa ‘Eden Rose’; Rosa Bonica; the long-flowering viticella clematis, ‘M. Koster’; Rosa ‘Sally Holmes’ has fragrant blooms, offset against glossy, deep-green leaves.
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42 The English Garden
right.’ The main garden was divided into different sections with a combination of hornbeam, box and yew hedges, which form linking pathways and small garden rooms. ‘In some instances, we used double hedging of yew and hornbeam to add interest in the winter months.’ Two central lines of clipped domed pears, Pyrus salicifolia, are separated by a York stone path, its hard edges blurred by clumps of hardy geranium and Alchemilla mollis. With their domed shapes echoing the roof of the gazebo, the pears have exactly the right proportions and colour for their setting. ‘They’re clipped about three times a year when the shoots are short and easily manageable,’ she says. Originally, there were two more pears beside the gazebo, but with great trepidation Carolyn removed them because they were blocking the view. ‘It was the right decision, but you could only be absolutely certain after the event.’ The pears are underplanted with a diamond-shaped parterre of low hedges filled with a froth of plants that flower all summer long, the outer sides edged in Teucrium chamaedrys. ‘We’re in a frost pocket, and I’m fed up with losing lavender, so I have given up and replaced it with teucrium.’ Different shades of pink are provided by various alliums such as A. cristophii, A. macleanii, A. rosenbachianum, A. sphaerocephalon, A. schubertii and A. unifolium, which flower from spring to August, accompanying the very first foxgloves, aquilegia and nectaroscordum, and then the repeat-flowering pink rose Many Happy Returns, centaurea, heuchera and hardy geraniums. Later on, prolonging the season, come Aster
GLORIOUS GARDENS HAMPSHIRE
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ABOVE A home for wildlife and waterlilies, the natural pond is edged with lush plantings and looks out over the rolling Hampshire downlands.
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x frikartii ‘Mönch’, Aster turbinellus and Japanese anemones. asters and late-flowering clematis such as purple ‘Polish ‘Once everything is over,’ Carolyn says, ‘it leaves the box Spirit’ and yellow ‘Bill MacKenzie’. latticework to provide form in winter.’ She also charts progress in the arboretum in a The walls of the house flank three sides of the 1.5-acre field to the south of the house, which she and main garden, supporting different varieties of climbing Julian established to mark the millennium. Having roses and clematis. ‘Clematis do very well here because served for many years on the advisory committee of they like being on chalk, and they’re rewarding because Sir Harold Hillier’s garden, Carolyn has developed a real they flower over a long period, with a wide range of love of trees. Her own arboretum here features mainly colours and flower forms. While she grows a wide range ornamental trees, and includes specimens of malus, of climbers and perennials, some stand out more than crataegus, pyrus and sorbus. ‘I was like a child in a sweet others. ‘I love Rosa ‘Sally Holmes’ because she is such a shop when it came to choosing the trees,’ she admits. good doer, has glossy clean leaves, and is such a good At the back, there’s a row of Prunus avium, and the repeat flowerer.’ boundary is flanked Her planting is by the ash Fraxinus As each season progresses in the garden, she colour co-ordinated, angustifolia subsp. makes notes of what areas need to change with a white-themed oxycarpa. ‘It’s so soft garden and a blue one filled with Clematis ‘Arabella’, and creates a very pretty effect blowing in the wind.’ aconites, nepeta, agapanthus and eryngium. ‘It makes As well as Sir Harold and Roy Lancaster, Carolyn sense to design in colour-themed sections, because it’s so admires the designer Arabella Lennox-Boyd, and found much easier when it comes to adding plants.’ her book Designing Gardens inspirational. Looking at this And with Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants nursery nearby, solid evergreen structure, relaxed pond, colour-themed Carolyn is never short of new plants or ideas for schemes. flower-filled beds, budding arboretum and beautiful She has an excellent eye for design and a true love of backdrop, it looks like Carolyn has succeeded in turning flowers, so it’s no surprise to discover she founded this barren plot into a garden sure to inspire visitors just a company that designs decorative home accessories, as much as the work of those great gardeners before her. many of which have flower motifs. As each season progresses in the garden, Carolyn The Sheffields’ garden is open by appt only to groups of 10 makes notes to remind herself of what areas need or more. Email Carolyn at
[email protected] to change, focusing most recently on extending the flowering season until early November by adding Turn over for garden notebook
The English Garden
43
GLORIOUS GARDENS HAMPSHIRE
The notebook Spring Pond garden covers about one acre. The chalky soil has been improved with lots of top soil, manure, compost and leaf mould. The garden sits in a frost pocket and is planted accordingly
GORGEOUS GAZEBO Whether viewed from the neighbouring meadow of ox-eye daisies or framed by the avenue of domed pears, the 19th-century gazebo (left) provides a focal point that sits well within either landscape. It was moved from the Sheffields’ previous home, where it had been installed in memory of Julian’s mother.
CONSERVATORY STORY Pink and white bougainvilleas are trained along the walls within the Malbrook conservatory (left). French windows open onto a courtyard planted with white roses Iceberg and ‘Marie Pavic’, which stands out
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44 The English Garden
CLEMATIS COMBINATIONS
against the tranquil rural landscape
Clematis ‘Blekitny Aniol’ climbs through the lovely pink
beyond. Since it was built, Carolyn
Rosa ‘Eden Rose’ (above), creating a delightful colour
has been advised on caring for the
contrast. With house walls on three sides of the back
conservatory plants inside by Lisa
garden, Carolyn grows many clematis, mostly viticella
Rawley of Fleur de Lys. For more,
varieties, which are supported on a framework of
see www.conservatoryplants.co.uk
galvanised wires, attached to the house using vine eyes.
CAROLYN & JULIANS’ TOP TIPS
CONTACTS
● We prune our Clematis texensis and viticella in
GARDENS TO VISIT IN THE AREA
February or March, before new growth starts, trimming
● Bere Mill Open for the NGS on 18
the stems right back to a few healthy buds. Then, we
September 2011, 1.30-5pm. London Road,
feed monthly with Vitax Q4 from March until June.
Whitchurch RG28 7NH. www.ngs.org.uk
● When planting clematis or climbing roses to train up a
● Sir Harold Hillier Gardens and Nursery,
house wall, dig a deep hole at least 40cm from the wall,
Jermyns Lane, Ampfield, Romsey, Hampshire
and half fill with compost to retain moisture, before placing
SO51 0QA. Tel: +44 (0)1794 369318.
the rootball so that it’s shaded but flowers are in the sun.
www.hants.gov.uk/hilliergardens
● When it comes to pruning fruit trees, we follow the
● Longstock Park Water Gardens, Longstock,
old adage: ‘Prune fruit trees with pips in winter, and fruit
Stockbridge, Hampshire SO20 6JF. Tel: +44
trees with stones in May.’ They fruit better that way.
(0)1264 810904. www.longstockpark.co.uk
● Encourage self-seeding plants - Eryngium giganteum
NURSERIES NEARBY
(aka ‘Miss Willmott’s Ghost’) has a mind of her own, coming
● Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants, Priory
up wherever she pleases, as we shake the seeds about.
Lane, Freefolk Priors, Whitchurch, Hampshire
● When creating a pond, it’s essential to ensure the sides
RG28 7NJ. Tel: +44 (0)1256 896533.
slope gradually so that marginal plants can be kept moist.
www.hardys-plants.co.uk
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GLORIOUS GARDENS NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
Feminine charms ▲
A glamorous divorcée left the wonderful gardens she created at Kelmarsh almost 60 years ago, but now, with a new team, they are coming back to life PHOTOGRAPHS ANDREA JONES WORDS WIDGET FINN
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The English Garden
47
GLORIOUS GARDENS NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
PREVIOUS PAGE Looking towards Kelmarsh parish church. ABOVE Statuesque Digitalis purpurea, Macleaya cordata and Cirsium rivulare ‘Atropurpureum’ fill the double borders. OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP The peaceful walled garden; stately alliums; an unusual lady’s mantle border; quirky topiary.
elmarsh Hall is one of team to restore the garden to its former glory. was little variety; bindweed was rampant; and Northamptonshire’s best-kept Nancy Lancaster was a glamorous, strongthe borders had a limited period of glory. Yet secrets. The Hall, built in 1732, willed outsider, but she still exemplified the there was something magical about it, a sense is a Palladian gem, and its essence of English upper-class country living. of time standing still, which was irresistible.’ romantic garden with old roses In the 1950s, she translated her ideas with her The decision was taken to avoid the route of and herbaceous borders is quintessentially business partner John Fowler into the highly slavish historical authenticity, instead taking the English. Yet the creator of this garden was successful interior-decorating firm Colefax and established themes of pastel colours and scent, an American - Nancy Lancaster - who came to Fowler, which is still going strong today. At while aiming for a longer flowering season. Kelmarsh as a tenant with her then husband, Kelmarsh, she invented ‘shabby chic’ and the ‘Norah designed her garden around the social and later went on to marry its owner, Colonel art of apparent effortlessness. calendar,’ she says, ‘but we have visitors from Claude ‘Jubie’ Lancaster. April until September.’ No garden plans have The garden has been ‘At Kelmarsh Hall, Nancy Lancaster invented ‘shabby survived from the 1920s, described as ‘a woman’s chic’ and the art of apparent effortlessness’ if they ever existed, but garden’ because of its soft, a Country Life article sensuous atmosphere, but When Esther became head gardener in published in 1931 with black-and-white also because three women have overseen 2004, the Kelmarsh Trust had been running photographs gives clues to the planting. With its evolution. When Nancy first came to the estate for eight years since the death of no documentation, it is difficult to distinguish Kelmarsh in 1927, she engaged the society Valencia Lancaster, who had inherited the which ideas originated with Nancy or Norah, gardener Norah Lindsay to help her design estate from her brother Claude. Esther admits though their characters give clues. ‘Box edgings a plot that would complement the elegance of she faced a tough challenge when she first to the beds were probably Nancy’s choice,’ the house. Nancy left Kelmarsh in 1953 after took on her job there. ‘Without any firm Esther points out, ‘as Norah always talked about her separation from Colonel Lancaster. Now, direction, the garden had declined,’ she admits. the effect of old ladies’ petticoats flopping over half a century later, the Wisley-trained head ‘The vigorous plants had taken over, so there the paths.’ Nancy and Norah shared a love of gardener Esther McMillan is leading a new
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48 The English Garden
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GLORIOUS GARDENS NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
ABOVE, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT The elegant feathery flowers of Aruncus dioicus create a dramatic contrast with hostas and Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’; frothy and feminine Digitalis purpurea, Alchemilla mollis and the pincushion flowers of Astrantia major subsp. involucrata ‘Shaggy’; cows in the meadow.
cottage-garden plants and a sense of gardens as the Sunken Garden, surely Nancy’s conception straggly, and is clearly not the ideal solution.’ a place of repose. But while Norah indulged in and the entrance to her kingdom. Further along, glimpsed through the arch of an almost mystical attitude to gardening, Nancy It is heady with the scents of sweet peas in an 8ft-high yew hedge, the strong double border was more down to earth in every sense. Known lovely sugared-almond hues and sweet rocket, contrasts dramatically with the soft airyness of to her smart society friends as ‘Mrs. Dirty Nails’, as well as nicotianas and Rosa ‘English Miss’; the Sunken Garden. ‘I want it to lean out and hers was a no-nonsense approach to planting. and the colour scheme is one of soft pinks, grab people as they go past,’ explains Esther. Apart from Nancy’s two Roses, jasmine, passion husbands (who paid the flowers and clematis She has avoided the route of slavish historical authenticity, gardening bills), there was scramble up the 18thaiming instead for a longer flowering season another key man involved century brick walls that in this most feminine of form the outside of the gardens: the great landscape architect and garden lavenders and creams, sharpened up by the kitchen garden, creating a backdrop for designer Geoffrey Jellicoe (1900-1996). In 1936, lime-green ruffles of Alchemilla mollis. delphiniums of the Black Knight and Guinevere Colonel Lancaster hired him to create a terrace Recently, Nancy’s box edging caught box Groups, ruby Astrantia major ‘Claret’ and on the west side of the house, with lawns and blight, and Esther has some reservations about carmine-red ‘Hadspen Blood’. Norah’s favourite, large horse chestnut avenues leading down to replacing it with shrubby evergreen honeysuckle scented Iris germanica is there, as is the mauvethe lake. But Jellicoe’s plain design gives no hint Lonicera nitida. ‘It’s good in shade or sun, but it flowered Nepeta grandiflora ‘Dawn to Dusk’. of the horticultural abundance that lies beyond. grows so fast that it needs trimming five times The Fan Rose Garden is a tribute to the Turn left across the west terrace, and you enter a year,’ she says. ‘It can sometimes look quite colonial style of Nancy’s beloved American
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50 The English Garden
GLORIOUS GARDENS NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
ABOVE A border of self-sown poppies with stately foxgloves, sky blue cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus) and towering angelica is edged with a frothy circular mass of Alchemilla mollis, creating a naturalistic spectacle opposite the picturesque red-brick vinery within the spacious walled garden.
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self-seeded verbascums and angelica, Allium bucharicum and grey-leaved meadow rue (Thalictrum flavum subsp. glaucum), putting forth frothy clusters of delicate yellow flowers. All of these different gardens are arranged around the boundary walls of the triangular kitchen garden, which is the heart of the estate - and Esther’s favourite place. ‘When you open the wooden door to the kitchen garden, and the sun is shining on the dahlias, it really lifts your spirits,’ she explains. Esther has focused on cutting flowers in this area, reflecting the demand in Kelmarsh Hall’s heyday for a constant supply of flowers for the house. She grows 40 different dahlias; and big wigwams of sweet peas including ‘Mollie Rilestone’, smelling like a tuberose; massed Alchemilla mollis; and a triumphantly rescued crescent of peonies, once covered in thistle and bindweed.
She passes on her enthusiasm for growing cut flowers through talks at the Hall, and to local groups and schoolchildren who come for ‘herb hunts’, outdoor cookery demonstrations and craft activities. Thanks to Esther and her team, the borders and beds are being adapted to changing 21st-century needs. Nancy Lancaster knew that a garden’s spirit is intangible and ephemeral, but the task of restoring her garden legacy at Kelmarsh is now in safe hands. Kelmarsh Hall, Kelmarsh, Northamptonshire NN6 9LY. For details of opening times and the programme of garden events including talks on growing cutting flowers, and special visits for schoolchildren, tel: +44 (0)1604 686543 or email
[email protected]. www.kelmarsh.com
Turn over for garden notebook The English Garden
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childhood home, Mirador, in Virginia, with a seat painted in her favourite garden shade of ‘Confederate Grey.’ The scents and colours of old roses - ‘Fantin-Latour’, ‘Madame Hardy’, ‘Tuscany Superb’ - are intoxicating on a warm summer’s day. Beyond them is a pastoral view, reminiscent of an 18th-century painting, across a meadow where cows graze among the bumps of a lost medieval village to the ancient parish church. Nancy had a group of farm buildings in the field removed because they spoilt the effect - ‘Capability’ Brown would certainly have been proud of her decision. The long border, an amazing 60m long and 8m deep, is Norah Lindsay’s tour de force. It comes into its own with the strong colours of late summer, particularly asters, chrysanthemums, phlox and rudbeckias. In June and July, foliage holds the interest, with
GLORIOUS GARDENS NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
The notebook Kelmarsh Hall gardens cover three acres, plus parkland. The soil is clay throughout, though the kitchen garden has wonderful topsoil, according to Esther, ‘because some poor gardener has been digging it for 300 years!’ HEAVEN SCENT You can soften the hard edges of brick steps or gravel with a dramatic plant like Morina longifolia (below), whose leaves have a delicate citrus perfume when crushed.
WICKER WORKS Display pelargoniums in wicker baskets (above) lined with polythene - a cheap and attractive alternative to common clay pots.
CONTACTS GARDENS TO VISIT IN THE AREA
EYE-POPPING POPPIES
● Coton Manor, Coton, Northants
Gardeners get obsessive about weeding out self-sown
NN6 8RQ. Tel: +44 (0)1604 740219.
poppies (above), but leave them to flower, and even
www.cotonmanor.co.uk
encourage them by shaking the ripe seedheads, and
● Cottesbrooke Hall, Cottesbrooke,
they’ll reward with a dramatic show in unexpected places.
Northamptonshire NN6 8PF. Tel: +44 (0)1604 505808. www.cottesbrookehall.co.uk
STATELY HOME
● Lamport Hall, Lamport,
Elegant in its simplicity and
Northamptonshire NN6 9HD.
symmetry, Kelmarsh Hall (left) was
Tel: +44 (0)1604 686272.
designed by the influential 18th-
www.lamporthall.co.uk
century architect James Gibbs. It
● Old Rectory Gardens, Sudborough,
was described by the architectural
Northamptonshire NN14 3BX.
historian Nikolaus Pevsner as a
Tel: +44 (0)1832 733247.
‘perfect, extremely reticent design,
www.oldrectorygardens.co.uk
done in an impeccable taste’.
HEAD GARDENER ESTHER’S TOP TIPS ● Self-sown seedlings are a gift, but don’t be over-sentimental about them. Even if they are your favourite plant, if they are in the wrong place you should dig them out and find somewhere better for them. They could make a good addition to a border. ● Make sure you start staking early, so plants aren’t overwhelmed by bossy neighbours and get the support they need. ● Go with the soil you’ve got. There’s no point trying to grow Mediterranean plants that like sandy, well-drained soil if you’ve got heavy clay like ours. There are lots of alternatives though - roses being just one of the most obvious choices. ● Remember the bigger picture. Plant in groups or drifts - if you just go for one or two of a kind, you’ll end up with a spotty, blotchy effect. ● Pruning all our roses takes several days, so now we prune them just once in autumn, then mulch them thoroughly - with highly successful results.
...AND SOME QUIRKY ADVICE FROM NANCY LANCASTER: ● Gardening is best done on your stomach, weeding with your teeth!
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52 The English Garden
DAVID AUSTIN’S PLANT CENTRE AND ROSE GARDENS D avid Austin has created what many consider to be one of the most beautiful, fragrant rose gardens in the world. At their best from early June through to August, these are open to the public all year round, free of charge.The Renaissance Garden’s central canal leads to a beautifully proportioned loggia, creating a feeling of peace and tranquillity. In the Lion Garden, four long borders are filled with a wonderful combination of shrub roses, including many English Roses. The gardens are interlaced with pergolas, clothed with many climbing and rambling roses. Open from 9am to 5pm. Accessible to wheelchairs.
David Austin’s beautifully illustrated Handbook of Roses includes over 800 varieties of roses, including fragrant shrub roses, climbing roses and ramblers. If you share our passion for roses, please request a free copy of our catalogue, quoting EG48
PLANT CENTRE We offer one of the largest collections of container roses to be found anywhere in the country, together with companion plants, trees and shrubs.
TEA ROOMS & RESTAURANT Our restaurant is housed in a half-timber framed building with exposed oak beams serving delicious home-cooked food throughout the day. Traditional afternoon teas are served at 3 o’clock each day. Book in advance so that your table will be beautifully prepared when you arrive – decorated with fresh cut roses.
Please send me a FREE Handbook of Roses Name ....................................................................................................................... Address .................................................................................................................. ...................................................................................................................................... Postcode ................................................................................................................ E-mail ....................................................................................................................... EG48
GIFT SHOP Our garden gift shop has been completely rejuvenated and moved to a new, custom-designed space and provides a wide range of outdoor lifestyle and home décor ideas as well as great gifts. Plant lovers may like to take the opportunity to browse our collection of horticultural books.
COURSES & EVENTS We hold a series of events and courses at the Plant Centre, designed to help gardeners get more pleasure from growing their roses. Please check our website for details.
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DAVID AUSTIN® ROSES Bowling Green Lane, Albrighton, Wolverhampton WV7 3HB Telephone: 01902 376300 Fax: 01902 375177 e-mail:
[email protected]
www.davidaustinroses.com
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PRACTICALITY BROWN Ltd Iver Stud, Iver, Buckinghamshire SL0 9LA Tel: 01753 652022 Fax: 01753 653007 Email:
[email protected] www.pracbrown.co.uk
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DESIGN GUIDE CONTEMPORARY CHIC
CURVY WORTHY ▲
This ultra-chic garden is built in a stunning series of loops and curls that twist through the landscape, blending contemporary style with long-lasting planting PHOTOGRAPHS MARIANNE MAJERUS WORDS ANNE GATTI
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DESIGN GUIDE CONTEMPORARY CHIC
pproaching this handsome Georgian manor house in Sussex, you expect to see a garden of similar grandeur, featuring perhaps clipped yew hedges, lawns, allées and formal pools. What’s revealed, as you step through the door, is a complete surprise: a bold, contemporary garden, which snakes its way down the grassy slope through a series of paved and enclosed seating areas to a large natural pool and, beyond that, a swathe of wildflower meadow, which leads onto a small orchard. The south-facing garden looks out to a panoramic view of this part of the South Downs, a landscape of folded chalk hills that presents a tapestry of light and dark greens formed by pastureland and clumps of native trees, and incised by a network of lines created by man-made hedges and flint walls. When designer Ian Kitson first saw how the garden, he decided that ‘the design had to develop a dialogue between the garden and the larger landscape, but it also had to have its own character’. He believed it needed to stand up to the surrounding landscape and the
A
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The English Garden
Garden profile DESIGNER: Ian Kitson PLACE: East Sussex. This private garden is open on 26 June 2011 - book through the Society of Garden Designers by emailing
[email protected] SIZE: Designed area, including renovated orchard, is 80m x 40m STYLE: Contemporary garden on a slope, shaped by bold, sinuous hard landscaping linking a series of viewpoints
house and say: ‘Look at me, I’m beautiful too.’ The creation of the garden was an intrinsic part of the plan owners Geoff and Anne Shaw had to give a new lease of life to the whole property. When they bought the house in 2006, it needed complete renovation, and the garden was just a grassy slope dotted with trees and shrubs, leading to a tennis court. They gave Ian carte blanche with the design, having discussed their love of vibrant colours and a
wish that the garden be attractive to wildlife. Initially, they wanted to keep the tennis court, so Ian’s original design introduced a walled, sunken garden where they could sit and soak up the wider view without having to look at the court. When the Shaws decided to forego it, Ian created a serpentine pool in its footprint. The planting was provided by designer Julie Toll who, like Ian, took clues from the landscape. ‘I wanted a tapestry effect of grasses and perennials to link to the meadows,’ she says. The species chosen had to thrive on the chalk soil and had to be drought tolerant. Central to the design is a series of stopping places with their own seats, where the owners can enjoy different views on their journey down to the pool and wildflower meadow beyond, starting with a terrace of Cumbrian stone and brick outside the back door. ‘Four years on,’ designer Ian says, ‘it has become what I had hoped it would be: something that enriches the experience of living there, rather than something you might occasionally want to go into.’
ILLUSTRATION/NEIL GOWER
N
Arches and contours The language of the design borrows from the surrounding landscape and is one of sweeps and curves, including great arching blockwork walls and organically shaped paths.
WHORLING REFLECTIONS The crescent shape of the hardwood decking disappears into the water at its furthest point (above), and echoes the pattern created by a cluster of trees on the hilltop across the valley.
ORGANIC PATHWAYS The central path to the lake widens in a curve to allow for seating (above). The pointing between each piece of Cotswold stone is sunk
‘The design had to develop a dialogue between the garden and the larger landscape’
by an inch to highlight their irregular shapes. WAVY WALLS Curving flint walls that enclose the sunken garden (in the foreground) and part of the garden’s central path make a visual and cultural link to the man-made enclosures and sheep pens of the wider landscape (below).
TWISTS AND TURNS The grass path through the wildflower turf provides a winding circuit (above) and is wide enough to lie down
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and enjoy the sensation of being in a wildflower meadow.
Golden Achillea
This elder tree was
The south-facing loungers
The free-flowing shape
‘Moonshine’ and grasses
retained to provide a
on the hardwood deck
of the iroko deck, which
such as bronze Carex
vertical backdrop to the
mark the end of the
floats above the water
flagellifera are repeated
horizontal plane of the
journey to this part of the
on a wooden sub-
through this massed
pool and to link with the
garden. A mown grass
structure, required that
planting, which creates
native trees in the valley
path behind the pool
each piece of wood had
a bank of colour and
beyond the garden.
defines its organic shape,
to be cut individually.
texture from the water-
and creates another
side up the grassy slope.
weaving circuit to the bottom of the garden.
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58 The English Garden
DESIGN GUIDE CONTEMPORARY CHIC
An arc of umbrella
Salvia nemerosa
Grasses such as Stipa
mulberry trees create
‘Caradonna’ was chosen
gigantea, Anemanthele
This hardwood bench has its back to the
strong vertical interest,
to add verticality and,
lessoniana and Carex
boundary hedge that
their horizontal forms
with several of the
flagellifera help blend
screens a public path,
allowing views through
grasses, extend the
the ‘designed’ planting
and offers a view across
to the landscape beyond
seasonal interest, as the
with the landscape
the full width of the
while also linking
architectural seedheads
beyond and, in the wind,
pool and beyond to
visually with the pool.
are left standing
add movement and
the meadows where
throughout winter.
grace to the scheme.
sheep graze. ▲
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DESIGN GUIDE CONTEMPORARY CHIC
SUNKEN SPOT This part of the sunken garden was designed to be large enough to hold a dining table (right). Low clipped box encloses a simple planting of Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’ and Alchemilla erythropoda. WOVEN POD The black basket seat in synthetic rattan (below) is called Neptune and is made by Go Modern (www.gomodern.co.uk). It provides a secluded spot to read a book, surrounded by Calamintha nepeta.
Seating solutions The seating is a mixture of teak chairs and benches by Barlow Tyrie and bold, black woven seats in weatherproof synthetic materials, which complement the clean lines of the design
TRADITIONAL TEAK A table outside the back door (left) provides an ideal spot for morning coffee. The vibrant planting, including Rosa Fellowship and Geum coccineum ‘Werner Arends’, links to the pinks and reds of the interior. DECKED OUT The decking was designed to fit the two loungers - Savannah by Barlow Tyrie (www.teak.com) - which look back to the massed perennials and grasses planting on the lower half of the grass slope (below).
THE DESIGNER ● Ian Kitson is a chartered landscape architect with a degree in architecture and a postgraduate diploma in the conservation of historic parks and gardens. He has designed gardens and open spaces for a wide range of clients, from private owners to local authorities and private/public institutions. His work is marked by a precise but free-flowing approach. His practice is based in central London. Tel: +44 (0)7742 301799. www.iankitson.com
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IN CONVERSATION WITH... ANDY STURGEON
Slopes, terraces & levels
ALL IMAGES/ANDREW DUFF
In the first of his new series, Andrew Duff of the Inchbald Garden Design School talks to Andy Sturgeon, one of the UK’s top garden designers, about how to tackle awkward changes in level Q Is it hard to sell changes in levels to clients? A Significant differences in height can offer all sorts of interesting design potential, particularly with water, which can cascade from one level to another. Slopes are more interesting to design, but the cost can be prohibitive. To communicate to a client, I often make plasticine models of the site, as a drawing on paper just does not present a true picture of how a sloping garden will look.
Q Is it true that the cut-and-fill method is more cost effective? A The cut-and-fill method essentially means that a terrace is partially cut into the slope, and the resulting excavated soil is then compacted and piled up on the outer edge so that the terrace also protrudes from the existing slope. The aim is that no extra soil should be either imported or removed; therefore the costs are kept down.
Q When w e think of alteri ng the l evel s in a garden, we tend to think it will be costly. A Retaining walls and steps will usually be necessary to make the garden useable and to create flat terraces. These structures are costly as they require substantial foundations. If money is no object, then these walls can become the major features of the garden, and often the best solution is a compromise whereby expensive feature walls are kept to a minimum and cheaper slopes are used as well.
Q Can sloping gardens simply be turfed? A As a general rule, slopes cannot be more than 45 degrees or they become unstable, and should ideally be more gentle than this. They can be lawned, although they are difficult and dangerous to cut. A slope that can be walked on should ideally be no more than one in 12. If a lawn can be included then it will bring space into the garden. A lawn can also make the garden more useable.
Q What if I am on a budget? A Cheaper walls made from new sleepers are useful for retaining banks, and they can be hidden with planting. Too many visible walls will spoil a design, and can be quite intimidating to look at if they tower over you.
Q What are the alternatives to lawn? A Slopes can be planted, which prevents the erosion of soil. Hemerocallis are good on banks as they have contractile roots which hold the soil together. Low-maintenance evergreen shrubs are also a good idea on steeper slopes. They can be planted through a membrane, which will prevent erosion and weed growth until the plants are established and knit together to form a dense mat of foliage. The result could be a combination of planting, gentle slopes, steps and feature retaining walls. Q W h a t s t y l e o f p l a n t in g w o u l d b e b e s t t o accentuate these levels? A I like to use large blocks or drifts of plants or mono-cultures, used to emphasise the different levels and terraces within a design and can become an integral part of it. However if you wish to disguise the different terraces, mixed planting is preferable. Q Are there any rules for designing steps? A Where a garden slopes up away from the house, steps should be kept fairly wide, as they encourage movement into the garden. Narrow
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TOP RIGHT Leading designer Andy Sturgeon. ABOVE Add interest by changing the level of the lawn. BELOW LEFT An example of raised ponds and a supporting wall in a show garden designed by Andy.
steps make a psychological barrier, which would tend to encourage people to stay at the bottom of the steps. Q Do I need to think about drainage? A Yes. Drainage on a sloping site is usually not a problem, as the water will naturally flow away down the slope, although you may need to install gullies to direct surface water in heavy rain, as it can erode soil and pathways. Where the garden slopes down towards the house, it is vital to ensure good drainage at the base to avoid flooding. For design courses, visit www.inchbald.co.uk The English Garden
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64 The English Garden
T: 01767 262636 F: 01767 262288
Please visit our website www.deepdale-trees.co.uk
A GARDEN REBORN NORTHUMBERLAND
ABOVE The flower garden is awash with colour as California poppies, anthemis and yarrow come into flower. BELOW LEFT Cornflowers stand out against bright orange poppies. BELOW CENTRE The old roller is put to good use levelling the paths. BELOW RIGHT Stargazer lilies thrive in containers.
Making progress ▲
As paths are laid and preparations made for a new summerhouse, Susie and David discover they aren’t the only ones enjoying the fruits of their labours - wildlife is thriving in the garden too PHOTOGRAPHS TOM WHITE WORDS SUSIE WHITE
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A GARDEN REBORN NORTHUMBERLAND
ABOVE LEFT Susie records which wildflowers are growing in the meadow strip before adding more varieties. ABOVE RIGHT David finds time to complete the path in the flower garden - he starts with a base layer of rubble, covers it with black membrane and finishes with a layer of dolerite.
he flower garden here at Bridge only design constraint being to use hot colours with other soft colours for later. There will be Eal has suddenly taken off. near the house and muted colours at the back, white daisies on slender stems, which angle their Last month I described how the to give an enhanced sense of space. The annuals faces towards the sun; pink speckled trumpets drought was keeping the plants have followed this pattern too, so I have orange of stargazer lilies; pale violet asters; and a blushstunted, but now, with soft and yellow California poppies at the front, coloured old rose that I grew from a cutting. July rain, the whole place is blooming like mixed with rich blue cornflowers, a wonderful Now a large bush, I have been willing it to live, a desert after a cloudburst. combination. Further back, I have introduced along with the other large shrubs that we moved Towards the front are swathes of yellow that the different blues of larkspur, and beyond that in difficult weather conditions, including the give the impression of sunlight, even on a dull in August will be a great froth of white Ammi dainty, late season Fuchsia magellanica ‘Alba’. day. Gardeners often avoid yellow and it is not majus and pale, narrow spikes of annual lupins. Around the base of two richly green topiary a colour that I have used in the past. Now I am For now, there is calm from the pure spikes yews, I planted a circle of Lamium maculatum revelling in the uplifting, ‘White Nancy’, which draws light-filled joyfulness, and at bees to its white flowers. I’m thrilled my favourite thyme has survived the move the different heights of lemon It is fascinating to see anthemis daisies, burnished the self-seeders that I have and is already cascading over the retaining wall heleniums, shaggy inulas unwittingly brought with and flat-topped yarrow. me. Long used to spotting of white willowherb, Chamerion angustifolium them at seedling stage from the informal way Out of all this profusion rise the sturdy spires ‘Album’, which looks serenely beautiful against that I managed the garden at Chesters, I spare of mulleins, and flouncing around them are the lichen-covered old stone wall. Its shorter them the hoe and am rewarded with pokeroot, luminous orange California poppies. These are relative, a bi-coloured willowherb named ‘Isobel’, onorpordum thistles, purple toadflax, musk the first to bloom of the large swirls of annuals has pretty salmon and deep-pink flowerheads, mallow, bronze fennel, sweet rocket, black that I sowed to fill in gaps between the first-year and is growing next to the candy-coloured mullein, purple plantain and feverfew. This last perennial plants. I bought seed by the gram so sidalcea. At Chesters Walled Garden, I used to one I let flower so I can keep the double forms, that I could sow plentifully, and raked it into grow another willowherb, ‘Stahl Rose’, with and put the singles on the new compost bins. loose shapes in the soil. It was great fun to do, flowers very similar to ‘Isobel’ - but taller and David has just dug up the first potatoes, the playful and exuberant, especially not knowing much more of a thug. Lovely if you have the first of our garden produce from Bridge Eal. It quite how it would look later. space, but I decided it was just too big for here. feels like quite a celebratory moment, for not With no planting plan, I’ve delighted in the These are planted furthest from the house along only have they helped to break up the ground freedom to make it up as I go along, with the
T
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The English Garden
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A GARDEN REBORN NORTHUMBERLAND
ABOVE LEFT Bridge Eal’s first harvest - David digs up ‘Charlotte’ potatoes. ABOVE RIGHT Susie grows a wide variety of annuals and perennials, including foxgloves, viper’s bugloss, thyme and heleniums (pictured), all of which attract hoverflies, bees and other flying insects.
after so many years, but we have a supper of his heavy old garden roller to firm it in. After garden is coming truly alive as it beckons such favourite variety, ‘Charlotte’. He finds these the months of teetering on uneven stones, it’s an abundance of insects. The numerous bees best for Northumberland: reliable, generous and such a treat to walk on. that are now visiting the flowers are watched less likely to get blight or scab. The new herb He also builds some stone steps to lead up with fascination and wariness by our tabby border is doing amazingly well, with plants to the central path, using some of the large cat Jack, whose favourite stakeout is below revelling in the free-draining alluvial soil, and blocks that were unearthed by the digger back the viper’s bugloss. The wildlife in the we have plentiful parsley, thyme and chives too. in March. These rise out of a rectangle that we valley is fantastic, with huge variety of birdlife, David is very busy with the structural side of created in the low retaining wall that edges tawny owls calling at night, bats emerging at making the garden, creating paths, steps and the flower garden, and which we made the dusk and a hedgehog often found wandering constructing the base for the summerhouse. same width as the stone steps that lead down among the potatoes. A small, square Amdega design, it is arriving in to the house. Around the base of this rectangle, To allow this naturalness into the garden, I August. We hope it doesn’t am ‘tweaking’ the area of rain too hard beforehand and long grasses that leads to Tawny owls call at night, bats emerge at dusk and make our long, rutted track the river gate, recording impossible for the wagon. what is there already, a hedgehog often wanders among the potatoes Bridge Eal’s abundance of planting more wildflowers stones is at least of some use into the turf and, just for I have planted Alchemilla mollis, determined the first season, using a lawn weedkiller in making the base, which he concretes and that this is the only place where I will allow it, to eliminate nettle and burdock but save methodically checks with a spirit level to make and visualise its cool apple-green colour leading the grasses. Foxgloves are blooming by the sure he gets it exactly right. the eye up to more vibrant colours. I am thrilled wall, polypody ferns crest the coping stones, Fed up of nearly breaking our ankles on the that my favourite thyme has survived the and hogweed, crosswort, wood avens and rocky sub-base of the garden paths, we are move and is already cascading over the retaining woundwort are already there. I also add delighted when a lorry arrives with 10 tons of wall, and that the rooted pieces of Thymus meadowsweet, scabious, cranesbill, ragged crushed dolerite, to be deposited in a golden longicaulis I pushed into the soil in spring are robin and the beautiful melancholy thistle. It pyramid just outside the kitchen window. We doing so amazingly well. is all part of making a garden that is perfectly cut strips of black membrane to the width of Thymes are wonderful bee plants, and from in tune with the valley. the flower garden paths, and David spends the the moment I saw the first bumble bee on a next couple of days barrowing in the honeylungwort back in early spring, I have felt the Next month: Susie focuses on the back terrace coloured gravel. He rakes it level and uses our
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Statuary
RHS CHELSEA REVIEW GLASSHOUSES DISPLAY
Hartley Botanic’s glasshouses are the stuff of dreams, so The English Garden magazine was thrilled to accessorise three of their designs on display at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show PHOTOGRAPHS PAUL DEBOIS
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wning a glasshouse is likely to feature at the top of any gardener’s wish list. Whatever the structure, from simple aluminium frame to the most luxuriously crafted designs, most of us would love the opportunity to garden under glass. It promises a world of new and exciting horticultural opportunties, where you can try out new techniques and flex your greenfingers. Working with Hartley Botanic’s latest designs, including the Grange, the Victorian and the Vista, we created three different interiors at the
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RHS Chelsea Flower Show this year. They were filled with tools, products and furniture to inspire you, and show how easy it is to create the perfect space to grow in. Hartley Botanic’s glasshouses inspired the crowds, as each offered a very different growing environment - one to suit every gardener, from the beginner who wants to try their hand sowing seeds and growing veg; to a more experienced gardener, cultivating rare orchids and other tender species in need of tropical conditions; as well as the leisure gardener who regards a glasshouse as both a practical and recreational space. The English Garden
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COMPILED BY/TAMSIN WESTHORPE & CINEAD MCTERNAN AND WITH THANKS TO STYLIST KARINA GARRICK
Heaven is a hothouse
RHS CHELSEA REVIEW GLASSHOUSES DISPLAY
The Victorian Terrace The Victorian Terrace, a new addition to the Hartley Victorian range (left), is an elegantly proportioned glasshouse, designed to suit both small and medium-sized gardens, or for those who might just prefer its particular dimensions. It is the perfect solution for the leisure gardener, and offers a very flexible growing space, with plenty of room for a comfy chair to allow you to relax in the warmth of the house. With solid cast aluminium ball finials as an interesting design feature, plus many optional accessories and a range of colour options to suit your specific taste, it could easily be your very own pied-à-terre in the garden. The highly durable polyester powder-coated finish that is applied to the glasshouses is available in a range of nine natural heritage colours to complement the aspects and character of its surroundings. As designer Roger Platt demonstrated in his planting at the show, you can have great fun co-ordinating the glasshouse to the planting. With such an attractive feature, it’s no longer necessary to tuck the greenhouse in the far corner of the garden: now you can use it as a focal point.
The Hartley Vista You know you’ve reached giddy heights as a gardener when you can find the space for a glasshouse. While gardening without this luxury item is not to be sniffed at, you simply can’t beat having all the benefits that this structure provides. Just think what you could grow! For your first forray into greenhouse gardening, you can’t go wrong with Hartley’s new Vista Greenhouse (right). A more robust alternative to standard aluminium designs, the distinctive lean-too shape provides maximum height and internal space for the size of footprint too. This contemporary greenhouse with its distinctive modern curved roofline will fit any size garden - large or small, urban rooftop or country plot. It offers a contemporary look that will appeal to those that want the option to propagate plants in a modern space.
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RHS CHELSEA REVIEW GLASSHOUSES DISPLAY
The Grange
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which makes it the ideal spot for creating impressive displays of tender specimens. For more hands-on endeavours - propagating, sowing seeds, potting-on - you can access tools, compost and pots from both sides. Hartley Botanic’s latest design, The Grange (above), features a high pyramid roof, which has an integral apex vent that sets the temperature and allows air to circulate. It is also excellent news for tall gardeners, as well as offering a solution to the problem of
overwintering precious - and large - specimens like tree ferns, olives and banana plants. It provides ample room for furniture too, so you can sit and relax among your tropical plants. This would make a stunning addition to any garden, and offers an ingenious design for experienced greenhouse gardeners. For more information, contact Hartley Botanic Ltd, Wellington Road, Greenfield, Oldham OL3 7AG. Tel: 0800 7838083. www.hartley-botanic.co.uk The English Garden
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While square glasshouses, like their octagonal and rectangular cousins, are an attractive feature in a garden, they are also exceptionally practical when it come to siting staging. Not just because they allow for generous lengths to run along three edges, but also because they offer the opportunity to have a central ‘island’ bench - the same sort of thing you might see in a well-designed kitchen. If the staging is placed in the middle of the building, plants can be seen from all angles,
make an entrance... door canopies wall trellis planters
Chenies Manor
Famous Plant & Garden Fair 17TH JULY - 10AM - 5PM Visit the charming Plant & Garden Fair in the grounds of the Historic Manor House. 75 Specialist Nurseries from around the country, Helen Yemm from the Daily Telegraph. Lunch and light Refreshments. (The Manor will be Open from 2pm (Extra £4) Entrance Adults £6 - Children 5yrs-15yrs £3 (Prices include Manor Gardens with its Dahlia Festival) Free Car Parking, House & Gardens open every Wednesday & Thursday. and Bank Holiday Mondays 2-5pm until October inclusive.
01494 762888 www.cheniesmanorhouse.co.uk
catalogue available
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a space for all seasons
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72 The English Garden
w veranda-living.co.uk
EG0711
A veranda is a sheltered space that helps you to extend the outdoor season and to enjoy the sights, sounds and scents of your garden long after everyone else has retreated indoors. Breakfast with birdsong, alfresco meals at sunset… a veranda puts you in touch with the elements and your garden.
RHS CHELSEA REVIEW GLASSHOUSES DISPLAY
Fabulous features & top tips Hartley Botanic was delighted to be awarded the crystal trophy for ‘Excellence of Presentation’ from the RHS for their exhibit at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show. We’ve picked out some features that made them stand out from the rest UP, UP AND AWAY Experienced gardeners’ will tell you that a tidy and ordered glasshouse will result in a more successful growing space. Though it can be hard to keep everything looking ship-shape if space is an issue. Hartley Botanic suggest aiming high if this is an issue for you, with a range of shelves that come in varying widths and lengths - just the place to get seedlings off to a great start (below).
A MOVEABLE FEAST Containers are a flexible idea when it comes to growing fruit and veg in a glasshouse. Starting them off under glass will encourage early crops as well as offering protection from wet and cold weather. You can then take them outdoors on hot sunny days. This strawberry planter from Crocus (above) - see panel for details -
BREATH OF FRESH AIR
can also be used for herbs.
Keeping the air circulating in a glasshouse, whatever the size, is vital to the success of growing in this type of environment. While
BORDERING ON GENIUS
you can buy an automatic vent system to
Soil beds are a useful feature in a glasshouse,
add as an accessory, they come as an
though can be untidy if soil spills out onto the
integral fixture (above) with Hartley Botanic’s
floor. Hartley Botanic solve this issue with
glasshouses. Fitted on the roof or on the
woven hazel hurdlesfrom Burgon & Ball.
sides, they allow the internal atmosphere
Other practical, as well as tidy, solutions for
to remain cool when needed, as well as
creating veg beds are these clever potato
help reduce the risk of pests and diseases.
bags that can be packed away after use (left).
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TIPS FROM HARTLEY BOTANIC MD JOHNNY MOBASHER & DESIGNER ROGER PLATT
WITH THANKS TO:
● Choose the right location for your glasshouse.
8899. www.conran.com
Don’t pick a shady spot - you’ll want to benefit from
● Crocus. Tel: 0844 5572233.
plenty of sunshine. Also, overhanging trees will result
www.crocus.co.uk
in debris blocking the guttering. Use blinds to add any
● Garden Trading. Tel: 0845 6084448.
shade you need during summer months.
www.gardentrading.co.uk
● Think about your glasshouse as an integral
● Hen & Hammock.
part of your garden design, and create borders and
Tel: +44 (0)1844 217060.
beds around the structure.
www.henandhammock.co.uk
● Don’t be afraid to experiment. Grow more exotic,
● Oka Direct Ltd. Tel: +44 (0)1865 342300.
unusual plants or propagate favourite varieties.
www.okadirect.com
● Make the most of your glasshouse as a growing
● Petersham Nurseries.
space. You’d be suprised how often gardeners start to
Tel: +44 (0)20 8940 5230.
see them as an additional store for tools!
www.petershamnurseries.com
● Burgon & Ball. Tel: +44 (0)1142 338262. www.burgonandball.com ● The Conran Shop. Tel: +44 (0)20 7403
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74 The English Garden
RHS CHELSEA REVIEW CREATING A SHOW GARDEN, PART3
Cornish dream
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In the last of his series, designer Tom Hoblyn looks back at the exciting build up to his RHS Chelsea Flower Show garden
PREVIOUS PAGE Tom’s 2011 show garden. ABOVE, FROM LEFT Work gets underway on the garden for Homebase; it’s hard work getting the big trees into their final position; Scots pines must be craned in; planting is a crucial element; polythene protects the pavilion during the build. BELOW Tom Hoblyn.
t the end of April, during a spell off my beautiful granite pool edging, I know of unseasonably warm weather, that we have some re-constituted granite for I nervously do the nursery repairs. When my amazing pavilion roof was rounds to check up on my show lifted in and found to be 25mm out, skewing plants. My rhododendrons are the pillars by a few millimetres, I knew we could at the swollen bud stage, with one of my comfortably accommodate this discrepancy ‘Cunningham’s Blush’ beginning to bloom. within our precision-cut granite floor. Deepdale Trees owner Matthias assures me that Much of this is down to the pre-Chelsea the shock of re-potting and transportation will organisation I’ve done, and the experience of retard flowering sufficiently - phew. my contractors. For example, this year they My visit to Howard Nurseries, grower of my arranged use of a type of mini remote-controlled perennials, isn’t so good. A lot of my first-timecrane, so we can lift the one-ton granite pieces seen-at-Chelsea plants are in full flower. Even and place them with millimetre precision while though in a shade tunnel, Disporum cantoniense standing beside the intended destination. was already blooming furiously. Fortunately But in the first week of the build, disaster David Howard has been doing this for more strikes. The beautiful, 7m-tall Scots pines I chose than 30 years and was not perturbed; disporum in Germany all those months ago arrive on site. has fantastic berries and he is going to push A full-sized crane is needed to hoist them into them on past flowering. As for the rest, I pray position, but despite following the proper treefor cooler weather. lifting procedure, somehow the last tree gets this year I am keen to conduct this duty in a The week before we are allowed to start damaged and has a gaping bark wound. Mad calm and controlled manner. I am feeling building the garden, my mind is completely panic follows. The tree has to be sent back to psyched, I have worked out a plan of action dominated by Chelsea; and I’m ready to begin anyone talking to me is in earnest. ‘In the first week of the build, disaster strikes... a tree gets on a par with an adult Then, I check out damaged and has a gaping bark wound. Mad panic follows’ talking to a child in a the competition. The Peanuts cartoon: unless it standard seems very has the word Chelsea in the sentence, I’m just the nursery, and I have to find another one at high this year and doubt about my garden starts not listening. I’m desperate to get going. The short notice. Luckily, the nursery comes to the to creep in, depriving me of sleep. plants are ready; the pavilion has been mocked rescue, and I learn that while I was tagging my On Press Day, the rhododendrons are greeted up; water feature tested off-site; and the pots three Scots pines in Germany, the nursery man with affection by members of the media and furniture have arrived from Italy. was running behind me, tagging extra ‘just in notably by Telegraph writer Steven Lacey. I’m Walking around the corner on the first day, case’ plants for exactly this kind of situation. comforted that fellow designer Andy Sturgeon I’m full of anticipation and excitement. Here is This accident happened on Friday the 13th, says: ‘You’ve cracked it’; and Homebase, my interestingly - but we mustn’t dwell. delightful sponsors, seem pleased. The wind on our plot, where I’ll be spending the next 17 days In the last few days of the build process, we site has been tricky, though, so the tree ferns overseeing the build up. Our surveyors have are in the thick of planting up the garden. have suffered a bit and petals from surrounding marked out the garden in spray paint. The next Trolleys of perennials surround me; at first glance gardens float on the swimming pool. few days are a blur of machinery; builders it would appear that I have drastically overThe English Garden editor Tamsin joins me excavating and revealing the bare bones of the ordered. I am desperate to get them planted, as on the garden on the day of judging. It’s design. One gets an idea of the proportions. The many of the other show gardens appear much wondeful for people to step onto the plot and pool looks massive in comparison to the more advanced than ours. But I have a terrible see it from another angle. At this point, my pavilion, the roof of which was craned in one habit of finding ‘much more important things’ nerves are on edge, but Tamsin assures me the day; and the granite rivulets in a matter of hours. to do, rather than getting stuck in, as I know Cornish theme comes accross in spades and This is my fourth year at Chelsea, and one this is the element that can make or break the visitors will love it. A Silver-Gilt medal is would think it possible to become a little blasé garden. In the past, I have been known to rush awarded to me, so I can relax in my coastal about the whole thing. Yes, I’m more relaxed and maybe over-stuff the garden a little, but retreat - that is, until I have to dismantle it! about the build: when a chip of granite breaks
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PREVIOUS PAGE/PAUL DEBOIS THIS PAGE, TOP ROW/TOM HOBLYN PORTRAIT/PAUL DEBOIS
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There’s still time to sow some veg, says Mark Diacono, and pick up tips from the experts at gardening shows and festivals home of the National Fruit Collection. It’s a great place to visit at any time of year for courses, tours and events - the Cherry Festival from 9-10 July is one of the best.
LEFT,TOP TO BOTTOM The orchards at Brogdale hold an impressive collection of fruit; visitors enjoy the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show; Florence fennel. ABOVE Try growing the delicious purple-sprouting broccoli ‘Santee’.
S
MARK/JASON INGRAM BROCCOLI/DELFLAND CHERRY TREES/BROGDALE LADIES/RHS FENNEL/MARK DIACONO
ummer proper, and I’m feeling fruity: almost everything that’s newly coming out of the kitchen garden is sweet. Early apples, crisp and perfect from the tree; apricots; and the first of the blackberries, blueberries, cherries, peaches and plums. Even the beetroot making it from the veg patch are stacked with sweetness. But as well as enjoying edible rewards, make time to enjoy gardens and events around the country - it’s a great time for picking up ideas.
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COURSES & EVENTS You should visit the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show in London between 5 and 10 July. Gardens, stalls, exhibits and talks will fill your day, many of which have an edible leaning. The RHS Edible Garden should be a particular treat. Book tickets online at www.rhs.org.uk or call the box office on 0844 3387505. If you feel like celebrating the start of the home-grown fruit season, few places are better than Brogdale (www.brogdalecollections.co.uk),
IF YOU HAVE NEVER GROWN IT… Now’s your last chance to sow Florence fennel. Closely related to herb fennel, this variety forms aromatic, aniseed-flavoured bulbs at its base that are as delicious raw as they are cooked. Late direct sowings are good, as it can bolt if sown earlier in spring, and it means that you can enjoy eating it up until November. Thin sowings to 25cm or so apart and water frequently, but not too heavily. ‘Romanesco’ and ‘Finale’ are two excellent varieties - go to www.otterfarmshop.co.uk for seeds. THINK AHEAD TO NEXT YEAR… July is a good time to be thinking about what fruit you might want to grow next year. It might seem a little early, but if you think about it now, you give yourself chance to taste plenty of varieties ahead of ordering for winter delivery and planting. Jill runs the mail order enterprise at Delfland Nurseries (www.organicplants.co.uk), which specialises in high-quality organic seedlings. ‘We’re busy throughout the season,’ she says, ‘but the summer is particularly flat out, as people either get the bug for growing some of their own food, or have realised that they forgot to sow some varieties in the spring. Luckily, our successional sowing programme means we send out many plants over extended periods, so even in July people can play catch up - ordering collections of cauliflowers, sprouting broccoli, kale, beetroot and salads that will be productive over a long period. Starting with seedlings also means beginners bypass the often intimidating step of sowing and nurturing young plants through early weeks. It helps build confidence’. The English Garden
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Hampton Court Stand No PK/149
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THE EDIBLE GARDEN COOK YOUR OWN
TOP LEFT Jacky helps to pick ‘Autumn Bliss’ raspberries for a class at Ballymaloe Cookery School. BELOW LEFT It’s hard to beat a simple bowl of freshly picked berries. RIGHT Red currant ‘Red Lake’.
Summer berries Tempting as they are to eat straight from the bush, home-grown berries are the perfect ingredient for delicious desserts PHOTOGRAPHS MICHELLE GARRETT WORDS JACKY HOBBS
uly, and we’re off to taste the delights at the world-famous Ballymaloe 100-acre organic farm and cookery school in Co. Cork, Ireland. Here armfuls of fresh produce are picked every day for use in the cookery school kitchens, and eager students of chef Darina Allen magic up a delicious lunch that also serves to feed staff, students and visitors alike. The big lesson is the ingredients: organic, flavoursome and bursting with freshness, a luxury afforded to kitchen gardeners. Visiting here, it became difficult to pick one ‘produce of the month’, but we finally plumped for summer berries. There are sun-drenched avenues of summer fruits beside the beehives, so placed to ensure a good harvest. We find raspberries; red, black and white currants; and blackberries; as well as alpine strawberries in the herb garden. They are complementary fruits, in the growing site and situation as well as in the kitchen, where they seem to combine perfectly, whatever the proportions - invaluable when you have a handful of each, but not enough for a single dish. While the quantities at Ballymaloe are not an issue, they still combine the berries for taste. Surpluses are frozen, jammed or even lollipopped. To grow your own fruits, buy all plants, whether bareroot or pot grown, from a certified supplier, and plant them during the dormant season from November to March. Autumn-fruiting raspberries are the key to hasslefree success, as they don’t require supports, are relatively disease-free and simple to winter prune (just cut all canes back to ground level).
J
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THE EDIBLE GARDEN COOK YOUR OWN
Recipe 1 Summer fruit salad with sweet geranium leaves Sweet geranium (Pelargonium graveolens) sunbathes on the Ballymaloe windowsills. Its scented leaves make this dish a perennial favourite. Serves 8-10 people Ingredients - 110g raspberries - 110g loganberries - 110g red currants - 110g black currants - 110g small strawberries - 110g blueberries - 110g wild strawberries - 110g blackberries (You can alter the ingredients’ proportions according to supply.) And for the syrup: - 400g sugar - 450ml water - 6-8 large sweet geranium leaves ● Hull the freshly picked berries and put them into a bowl. ● Combine the sugar, water and sweet geranium leaves in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. ● Boil for two minutes. ● Cool for four to five minutes, and then pour the hot syrup over the fruit. Leave the dish for several hours. ● On returning, remove the sweet geranium leaves. ● Serve chilled, garnished with a few fresh sweet geranium leaves.
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THE EDIBLE GARDEN COOK YOUR OWN
OPPOSITE PAGE, FAR LEFT Summer berry salad. CENTRE Scented pelargonium leaves add a distinct flavour to the syrupy dessert. THIS PAGE, LEFT A mix of fresh organic berries from the garden. BELOW Darina Allen (right) with a student on a rare break from her busy teaching schedule.
Fruit events and contacts ● Visit Ballymaloe Cookery School garden or book yourself on a demonstration or culinary course. For more information, tel: +353 (0)21 4646785 or visit www.cookingisfun.ie ● ’Pick your own’ is the the next best thing to having a berryfilled plot. To find your local farm, visit www.pickyourown.info or www.pickyourownfarms.org.uk ● Ken Muir’s specialist fruit nursery holds a selection of certified fruiting canes and bushes. See www.kenmuir.co.uk for varieties available.
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Prune blackcurrants in winter, removing about 30% of the older, At Ballymaloe, they only grow high-yielding ‘Autumn Bliss’, on a darker stems, leaving one- and two-year stems untouched to bear next post-and-wire system. ‘Autumn Bliss’ is a bit of a misnomer, fruiting year’s fruit. Prune red and white currants in late autumn/winter, cutting from July until October, with timed pruning trials promising to bring back the main branches by a third. At Ballymaloe, old Irish varieties it forward to coincide with summer-fruiting varieties. Plant in a are grown that are periodically attacked by sawfly. They demolish the 5-8cm trench, 30cm apart, in a well-drained, open, sunny spot foliage, but thankfully leave the fruit. You can combat them organically prepared with lots of rotted manure and compost (Ballymaloe make by hand-picking off the sawfly larvae or spraying with pyrethrum. all their own and also winter mulch with a top dressing of local Varieties to try incude ‘Red Lake’, which is a great, prolific red; ‘Ebony’, seaweed). Expect heavy crops from year two. Head gardener Eileen a huge, plump and sweet black; while ‘Blanka’ and ‘White Dutch’ O’Donovan swears that the more you pick, the heavier the total yield. are reliable, high-yielding whites. Other autumn varieties include ‘Joan J’, which is really big and juicy; If you can’t access abundant supplies of hedgerow blackberries, and ‘Allgold’ - a colourful golden variety. which are trouble free, introduce at least one big-berried cultivar Summer-fruiting varieties ripen sooner - the ‘Malling Minerva’ to your plot. They variety is one of are tasty and they the earliest, while the Red, black and white currants are jam-packed with extend the season ‘Glen Fyne’ variety is vitamin C, and colourful and fun to mix together for summer berries. a flavoursome midPlant them in a less prestigious, shady, damp part of your garden, season berry, its thornless stems making picking and pruning less painful. and support them up a fence, shed or wall. To maintain them, prune ‘Tulameen’ was introduced in 2010, a heavy cropper that’s good in out all in-season fruiting stems and tie in new shoots for next year’s containers. These types all need robust support, however, and the crop. Like roses, they are more productive if stems are held canes have a life span of about 10 years. Pruning them is also more horizontally. ‘Karaka Black’ produces enormous fruits from July complicated. Summer varieties fruit on new canes from the previous onwards, and ‘Loch Maree’ has pretty, double, pink flowers before season, so you have to cut back all the current year’s canes, leaving producing sweet autumn berries. new ones for next year’s crop. Raspberry beetle is a problem pest, Ideally, we would protect all of these berries from birds in purposeand is best avoided by planting autumn varieties. built fruit cages. I love the new pavilion-like metal one from Room in Red, black and white currants are jam-packed with vitamin C, the Garden (www.roominthegarden.com) but regular meshed structures and colourful and fun to mix together. They grow on free-standing will do the job too. Harrod Horticultural have styles and sizes to fit bushes or against warm west-facing walls. At Ballymaloe, they always every plot and pocket (www.harrodhorticultural.com). Failing that, put in an extra bush for the pigeons. Plant at 1.5m intervals in good, you can do your best with bird scarers! rich soil. Water in well and mulch.
THE EDIBLE GARDEN COOK YOUR OWN
Recipe 2 Almond tartlets with raspberries This recipe makes 12 tartlets. Ingredients - 55g butter - 55g caster sugar - 55g ground almonds - Fresh raspberries - 150ml whipped cream ● Cream butter well before adding sugar and ground almonds. ● Spoon the mixture into 12 individual patty tins. ● Bake at 180ºC for 10-12 mins or until golden brown. ● Allow to cool and set for five minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. ● Just before serving, arrange fresh raspberries on the tartlet base, and glaze with red currant jelly (warm to thin, adding a tiny dash of water if necessary, so that you can easily brush it over the fruit). Decorate with piped rosettes of whipped cream.
Recipe 3 Raspberry ice lollies These measurements make eight 75ml ice lollies. Ingredients - 400g washed, hulled raspberries - 150ml syrup (as for the fruit salad recipe featured overleaf, but without the leaves) - Lemon juice, to taste - Ice lolly moulds ● Liquidise the raspberries. ● Strain, and add the stock syrup (dissolve 110g sugar in 120ml water, boil together for two minutes and then cool) and then the lemon juice to taste. ● Pour into 75ml ice-lolly moulds and freeze for at least three to four hours.
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THE EDIBLE GARDEN EATS & TREATS
Passion for produce Set your sights on a kitchen garden in the grounds of a newly restored hotel in West Wales, run by a dedicated couple who love nothing more than a project WORDS VICTORIA KINGSBURY
he Grove, a charming 18thfirm believer in working with nature,’ David Historical Monuments of Wales uncovered what century country house with four says, ‘so we converted the whole site to organic could possibly be ‘lost’ formal gardens that preself-catering cottages, is in the with the help of the Soil Association, using green date the existing walled garden, set well away heart of the rolling Pembrokeshire manure crops and home-made composts.’ from the main house. This area has recently countryside. There are 20 acres of The head chef Duncan Barham also has a been devotedly restored, with the help of beautiful grounds and parkland to wander passion for organic veg and local food. He works Monmouth-based designer Cheryl Cummings, through, offering a beautiful display of colour closely with David and his kitchen garden team to create the extensive kitchen garden. in every season, but especially in spring with to ensure that the right produce makes it onto Head gardener David Butt has divided the his seasonal menus. ‘I am crocuses, daffodils and in the privileged position bluebells. There are now ‘I have an amazing resource... it gives me the opportunity to of having an amazing also more than two acres use ingredients I wouldn’t have been able to source’ resource in the grounds,’ of kitchen garden, which he says. ‘Working with David gives me the supply the hotel restaurant’s kitchen with main growing area into eight beds and created opportunity to use ingredients I wouldn’t have plenty of home-grown fruit and veg. an eight-year crop rotation. This year, the first been able to source from local vegetable Owners Neil and Zoe Kedward fell in love full growing cycle of the plot, he is growing suppliers, such as micro herbs, seed pods and with the area and bought the then derelict more than 70 varieties of vegetables, summer edible flowers; all of which give me unique house in 2007. They were eager to turn their fruits and herbs, providing delicious ingredients flavours and textures on the plate.’ renovation ideas into projects, and were for the restaurant including asparagus, early It’s no wonder The Grove has won numerous interested to learn about the history of The purple-sprouting broccoli and rhubarb. awards. These include the accolades of two Grove. Aerial archaeological photographs taken Traditional crops and unusual salads are also AA Rosettes, awarded in September last year to by The Royal Commission on the Ancient and grown, all using only organic methods. ‘I am a
T
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THE EDIBLE GARDEN EATS & TREATS
OPPOSITE PAGE The Grove, an 18th-century country house. THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT The outdoor eating area; after your meal, you can relax in the hammock and soak up the sun; the beautiful rear gardens of the self-catering holiday cottages; the kitchen garden in its full glory; head chef Duncan Barham proudly picks home-grown fennel.
The Grove Restaurant. In addition to this, the main eaterie, there is also a new Garden Room Restaurant and Terrace at the rear of the house. It is surrounded by trees, gardens and wildflower meadows - the perfect place for guests to sit and enjoy freshly prepared dishes during the warm summer months. Those who stay in the self-catering holiday cottages have the luxury of picking their own fruit and veg for their meals, and also have free use of the garden. Any excess produce is sold to the local fruit and vegetable shop, making sure these tasty treats don’t go to waste. Neil and Zoe still have lots more plans and ideas, such as adding a herb topiary to the kitchen garden, as well as meandering footpaths bordered with lavender and local varieties of fruit trees. They also wish to continue the fresh and local theme by investing in beehives and chickens. And as if that’s not enough, next year they will develop a water garden using the lovely stream that runs through the property. So much yet to come - but with the enthusiasm of their fabulous team, Neil and Zoe have already perfected a newer and fresher look to The Grove and its gardens. The Grove, Molleston, Narberth, Pembrokeshire, Wales SA67 8BX. Tel: +44 (0)1834 860915. www.thegrove-narberth.co.uk
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EG411
Broadwalk ‘Wave’ Seat, hand-crafted in oak
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PLANT FOCUS PRAIRIE PLANTS
GOING NATIVE ▲
Neil Lucas champions the perennials and grasses that were once found in abundance on the plains and prairies of North America PHOTOGRAPHS DIANNA JAZWINSKI
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PREVIOUS PAGE Echinacea purpurea ‘Leuchtstern’. ABOVE LEFT Rudbeckia laciniata can reach up to 3m in height. ABOVE RIGHT Papaver orientale Goliath Group ‘Beauty of Livermere’ makes a bold addition. OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP Thalictrum ‘Elin’ provides a mass of purple flowers from mid- to late summer; seedheads of Chasmanthium latifolium; Panicum virgatum ‘Hänse Herms’ with its striking wine-red tips.
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o the purist, prairie planting involves recreating style - the mix of grasses and ‘forbs’ is open to personal the rich mix of native vegetation that once covered interpretation. The percentage of grasses used can be vast expanses of the USA. Although as most of us anything from about 20% to up to 80%. It is important do not measure the size of our garden by the acre, to use enough grasses to achieve that open grassland especially here in the UK, prairie planting is for the most feel, but not too many varieties. part an evocative term referring to a style that imitates the The choice of plants is also wide: there are many true ethos and effect of those wide open spaces, and, as such, prairie plants that we already recognise as excellent garden can be equally effective in comparatively small areas. plants, such as echinacea, rudbeckia and eupatorium. But Prairies are primarily a mix of grasses and perennials there are many other non-prairie plants that will serve (also known as ‘forbs’), which can comprise relatively equally well in our gardens. few or a complex matrix of different plants. Tall or Aquilegias and Pulsatilla vulgaris make an early short, early or late, acid or alkaline, and wet or dry, show, while poppies such as Papaver orientale Goliath G ro up ‘ Be a u ty o f this style of planting Li v ermer e’ will go can be tailored to There’s no set formula for planting prairie style: well with Euphorbia fit many different the mix is open to personal interpretation palustris and maybe garden situations; the native daisy and it’s regarded as Leucanthemum vulgare for a late spring display. Always low maintenance, free from many of the constraints of popular, rudbeckias such as Rudbeckia fulgida var. deamii more traditional herbaceous plantings such as staking, and the much taller Rudb eckia laciniata make perfect deadheading and spraying. When successful, it also choices. Their clump-forming, erect habit provides an results in a very long season of interest, extending from excellent foil for other perennials and grasses, as well early spring to late winter. as providing a late show of colour. As with any planting scheme, the larger the area, the Cone flowers, the echinaceas, come in myriad bright easier it is to achieve the ‘wow’ factor to which we colours, but are arguably still at their most eloquent in gardeners constantly aspire, so it is important to make their seed-raised strains such as the aptly named the most of any space available. This style encourages Echinacea purpurea ‘Leuchtstern’ (meaning ‘bright star’). us to place pathways, seating areas and other features Joe pye weeds, the eupatoriums, come in several shades within the zone of the planting, rather than apart from of purple. Their massive domed heads, which also attract it, as is found in more traditional layouts. An obvious butterflies and other insects, are magnificent when advantage of this is that walking in and through planting partnered with the blowsy flowers of a grass such as is a more sensual experience than viewing it from a prairie switch grass. The more restrained Thalictrum ‘Elin’, remote path. There is no set formula for planting prairie
PLANT FOCUS PRAIRIE PLANTS
PRAIRIE PLANTING & CARE ADVICE ● Siting is best in open, generally sunny areas. Extremes of wet, dry, acid or alkaline soils will limit the range of plants from which to choose. ● Preparation requires the removal of any unwanted plants, including perennial weeds. Break up any underlying compaction in the soil and prepare the area as for any other type of planting. ● Planting can take place at almost any time of year, providing the ground is not frozen in winter or too dry in summer periods. ● Once planted, mulch the area with home-made compost (up to 5cm deep). Bark is also a practical initial covering, especially if it is used to cover pathways within the planting. ● Subsequent care is minimal compared to more traditional plantings. Most grasses and forbs are deciduous, so require cutting back to the ground in spring (anytime from late February to early April), to make way for the new season’s growth. The debris can be taken away and composted or if cut into smaller sections kept on the border as a surface mulch. This is the ideal time to carry out any necessary tasks such as moving, dividing, weeding and mulching, before the area is clothed in the new season’s growth. Other than occasional weeding, if necessary, very little work is required subsequently. ● Grasses and many perennials require very little in the way of supplementary feed. ● Spring bulbs work well with this style of planting to cover bare earth at the start of the season, and can range from early snowdrops through to laterflowering narcissus and camassias. ● After planting, watering may be required for a period, but once established these plants are very drought tolerant.
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The English Garden 91
PLANT FOCUS PRAIRIE PLANTS
ABOVE The free-flowering Rudbeckia fulgida var. deamii or black-eyed Susan looks best planted in bold drifts. ABOVE RIGHT Unlike other varieties, Euphorbia palustris will tolerate heavier soils.
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Veronicastrum virginicum and Verbena bonariensis provide echinacea appear to simply float. Panicum virgatum ‘Heavy frothy flowers at height, which is helpful for this style Metal’ provides a symphony of blue stems, leaves and of planting. Divide clumps in early spring to boost flowers, while the comparatively lax habit of Panicum virgatum ‘Hänse Herms’ has wine-red foliage good enough plant numbers and bulk up the planting scheme. to drink. Newish and unusually upright, Panicum virgatum Helenium, baptisia, coreopsis, dianthus, monarda ‘Northwind’ is all but fastigiate, and offers warm and liatris are just a few of the many easy-going perennials yellow ‘fall’ colour into the bargain. Reaching heights that thrive in full sun as well as most soil types, and of up to 2m, it is a so find prairie living useful addition to a to their liking. Grasses are a must when it comes to this style, planting scheme. Grasses are a as they thrive with hardly any attention But Deschampsia must when it comes cespitosa offers a to this style, as they fluffier effect at a lower height, and being a UK native, thrive with hardly any attention. Andropogon gerardii and it has no problem with our climate. Two really excellent Schizachyrium scoparium are two beautiful true prairie selections of this species are the shorter ‘Goldtau’ and the grasses, but are not always so happy in our climate. taller variety called ‘Schottland’. Prairie switch grass Panicum virgatum, on the other Another native to the UK, Molinia caerulea, while hand, is a true denizen of prairie that has no such not a true prairie grass, does excellent duty; as does problem in adapting to our gardens and, together its magnificent taller relation Molinia caerulea subsp. with its cultivars, ranks very highly on the list of arundinacea, especially in heavier or wetter soils. most garden-worthy grasses for the UK climate. Both have given rise to excellent cultivars. Sporobolus Sheaves of initially bright green foliage produce tiny heterolepis and Ch asma nthium la tifolium are yet more often purple flowers that are so enthusiastically options, as are Calamagrostis brachytricha and the rather produced as to create cloud-like masses, through which upright Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Waldenbuch’. perennials such as veronicastrum, verbena and
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20 FREE* perennials for every reader! Pre-order for autumn - FREE* Hardy Perennial Collection of 20 plants worth £29.95, *just pay £4.90 postage! Your collection consists of four plants each of Echinacea purpurea, Eryngium planum, kniphofia (red hot poker), Liatris spicata and Physalis franchetii (Chinese lanterns). All plants are illustrated on the Editor’s Letter page (pg 3). Bareroot plants will be dispatched from October 2011 to ensure correct time for planting. And while you’re at it, take a look at our other fantastic offers, below...
Pinks Collection
Wisteria sinensis
‘Gran’s Favourite’ has white flowers with dark pink-mauve centres and edges; ‘Haytor Rock’ has fragrant white petals, streaked with salmon pink; ‘Valda Wyatt’ (AGM) has excellent double pink flowers on compact plants; and ‘Doris’ has pale pink flowers with magenta centres. Height and spread: 30cm. Buy 20 plants, five of each variety, (worth £35.96) for just £17.98, PLUS get 3 ‘Haytor’ FREE.
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ECO-WATCH
Let’s get together Companion planting has long been lauded by organic growers, says Anne Gatti, but what does it mean exactly and how does the concept work?
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he theory behind companion planting is that certain plants help others to grow healthily and keep pests under control. Plant asparagus to prevent a particular nematode attacking tomatoes; chervil to keep aphids off lettuce; or strong smelling tansy to deter ants these lists of which plant to use for which situation can seem bewilderingly specific. I suspect many gardeners are practising companion planting without even knowing it. I planted clumps of chives at the foot of a climbing rose with a vague memory that the chives, which I wanted to use in the kitchen anyway, would in some way help keep the rose healthy. Five years on, the rose continues to be aphid-free and shinyleaved - I can’t say for sure if it’s because of the chives, but I’m certainly leaving them there. Interestingly, this pairing, which is often quoted as a classic example of companion planting, is not one that Andy Strachan, head gardener at Garden Organic’s Ryton garden, has had success with. He does, however, use the pungent smell of chives to ward off aphids on three specific plants in the Warwickshire garden - chrysanthemums, sunflowers and tomatoes. Like many other vegetable growers, he also swears by planting onions or leeks with carrots to deter carrot root fly, which detects its foodplant by smell. ‘You have to plant four rows of onion to every one of carrots for it to work. Once the onions or leeks go to flower, the smell must lessen, because then it no longer works,’ he explains.
ILLUSTRATION/EMMA DIBBEN
MARIGOLDS & MORE He uses two other plants that feature in most organic gardeners’ list of favourite companions: marigolds (tagetes species) and nasturtiums. Both seem to work as multi-functional companions. Marigolds produce a scent that deters whitefly, Andy explains, so he puts pots of them in the greenhouse. They’re also attractive to hoverflies, one of the most useful predators of aphids, so he puts them beside vulnerable plants such as tomatoes. Mexican marigold (Tagetes minuta) is planted around potatoes and root crops, as it releases a chemical from its roots that keeps wireworms and millipedes away.
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This tall annual (seeds are available from Chiltern Seeds) seems to be a bit of a wonder companion, as it can allegedly also help suppress troublesome weeds such as ground elder and bindweed. Andy reports that colleagues of his have used it to successfully clear a large area infested with ground elder, leaving the plants in place for a season.
NATTY NASTURTIUMS They plant nasturtiums around fruit trees and ornamental shrubs every year, and alongside brassicas and squash, where their pungent smell drives away woolly aphids. Beside cabbages, they lure the cabbage white butterfly to lay its eggs. The nasturtiums are then shredded by the caterpillars but the cabbages are saved. Other veg growers use nasturtiums specifically as an attractant of blackfly.
Once they become infested and tatty looking, it’s easy enough to pull them out. According to Andy, by far the most important companion planting at Ryton is incorporating lots of different kinds of ornamentals in the veg garden to attract populations of beneficial insects. ‘At least 30% of the planted area should be ornamentals, and they should be within feet of the crops. I can’t imagine growing our veg any other way.’ Jane Moore, head gardener at the Bath Priory Hotel, needs her kitchen garden to look smart all season long. The challenge is to find pairings that work aesthetically as well as horticulturally. For several years, her carrots were attacked by carrot root fly, and although planting onions alongside worked, she didn’t like the look of them. Then she experimented with parsley, another strong-smelling plant, but with much more attractive foliage, and found that by brushing the parsley as she thinned the carrots, their scent was masked by the herb. To keep aphids off the roses, she uses ornamental alliums such as A. cristophii rather than chives, and underplants them with herbaceous flowers such as asters, geraniums and penstemons, which attract lots of beneficial lacewings and hoverflies.
WORKING IN PAIRS National Trust Head Gardener Nick Fraser always grows either onions or garlic either side of the carrot rows at the kitchen garden at Nunnington Hall. ‘Companion planting is never a complete solution,’ he says. ‘We use it in combination with having a good population of blue tits, plenty of flowers that attract hoverflies, and washing with horticultural soap.’ Using one plant to improve the growing condition of others is another aspect of companion planting that Nick adopts, underplanting currant bushes with strawberries, which help keep the weeds down and the soil moist. He also recommends growing a crop of nitrogen-fixing beans to improve the soil before making a formal bed. Lupins, sweet peas and laburnum all make nitrogen accessible to other plants too.
FIND OUT MORE ● Free tours at Ryton every Sat and Sun until Sept, at 11.30am and 2.30pm. Tel: +44 (0)24 7630 3517. www.gardenorganic.org.uk
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PLANTS COASTAL FLOWERS
Going coastal Toby Buckland explains how to make the most of your plot, whatever the position or season, in his new book, Flowers. In this extract, he looks at plants suited to poor, dry and sandy soil PHOTOGRAPHS JASON INGRAM
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to stop any moisture escaping. Some, like eryngium, have very deep, carrot-like roots to search for water, while others store moisture in their fleshy leaves. Many coastal plants are prolific self-seeders, and look after themselves once introduced. Self-sown plants acclimatise to the garden they find themselves in, growing large and lush if conditions allow or, if times are tough, staying
small and compact, reproducing when young. True coastal conditions also require plants to cope with salt-laden winds. There are many that do this, including shrubby, evergreen santolina (cotton lavender), elymus, seathrift and crambe (sea kale). In fact, a covering of salt crystals on crambe stops it dying out.
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oastal, drought-tolerant plants have evolved to survive where rainfall is sporadic or where the soil is dry and free-draining. Many of them have special ways of conserving water, like the hair-covered leaves of santolina, designed to slow down moisture loss; while others stay low to the ground, shading the soil around their roots
PLANTS COASTAL FLOWERS
EVERGREENS Euph orbia my rsinites (AGM) Fl ow ers: May onwards This is a ground-hugging plant, with succulent blue-green leaves and zesty, lime-green bracts. Remove spent flowers to keep plants neat and to show off emerging fresh leaves. Use this euphorbia as an edger, so it gets the light it needs and to bring its evergreen leaves to the fore in winter. Holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM). Phormium ‘Sundowner’ (AGM) Flowers: July A lax-leaved evergreen with sheaves of arching foliage striped with coppery-red, pink and chocolate. Mature specimens grow to 2m tall and sometimes produce dramatic, zig-zagging flower stems. Cut out tattered leaves in early spring, along with any that have reverted in colour to green or grey-brown. It’ll provide interest and stand out through winter. It’s a good plant for exposed gardens on the coast and takes some shade.
PERENNIALS A rmeria marit ima Fl ow ers: May-August Thrift is a coastal-garden classic, which pops all around the British shoreline. I like the powder-pink drumsticks, although white and dark pink forms are available. I’d grow it in extremely sandy soil as it has deep roots that hunt out moisture, and self-seeds freely. Ce ntranthus rube r ‘Alb us’ Fl ow ers: May-October A white form of valerian with textured grey leaves and lovely airy flowers that give two flushes per year - one in late spring and another in late summer. It has really fleshy roots so is a survivor in inhospitable spots. It’s also a magnet for bees and butterflies. Valerian self-seeds profusely, so be careful it doesn’t take over. If you start to feel overrun, deadhead plants immediately after flowering. You’ll miss out on fluffy seedheads, although it will encourage another flush of flowers. The dark red and pale pink forms are also excellent dry garden plants.
Santolina chamaecyparissus (AGM) Flowers: July Cotton lavender is a tough, knee-high, sprawling shrub with woolly, grey foliage. It has small, yellow pompom flowers, although you can trim these off if you’d rather just grow it for the leaves. Santolina thrives in dry weather - in fact, the tougher the conditions the longer they live. They are also fairly easy to propagate by taking summer cuttings. Trim plants in late summer to keep them in shape and stop them becoming bare at the base. GRASSES S tip a tenuissima Fl ow ers: June-September A small grass, which looks particularly good in swishing drifts around boulders. Comb out dead growth with your fingers in early spring, and replace plants when they start to look tired. It’s a reliable self-seeder that looks beautiful back-lit by sunshine. Ely mus hispidus Fl ow ers: July A knee-high grass which brings an authentic sand-dune look to a scheme. It’s amazingly resilient to hot conditions thanks to its fleshy roots and silver leaves. Cut out the flowers to keep the plant tidy. It’s short-lived so collect seed and re-sow every few years. It may also self-seed and spread of its own accord. Plant singly or in ribbons.
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schemes together and cover bare gaps. Cut back dead and tatty growth in spring. Eryngium giganteum (AGM) Flowers: June-August A must-grow perennial with beautiful, silver thistle flowers that develop a metallic sparkle in dry conditions. It’s a delicate-looking plant, but it doesn’t need staking and it’s perfectly proportioned. It’s also called ‘Miss Willmott’s Ghost’ after a 19th-century lady gardener who was apparently known for sprinkling the seed when she went garden visiting. I’m thinking of trying that. Eryngium pandanifolium (AGM) Flowers: July Silver-grey leaves with tall, spiky flowers that stay intact through winter, and look stunning back-lit by low sunshine. Although a real showstopper, this plant doesn’t enjoy severe winters. With this in mind, it’s worth taking root cuttings to ensure you’ve always got spare plants in the wings. Glaucium fl flaavum f. fulvum Flowers: June-August This is a horned poppy that produces tangerine flowers, which shimmer like a silk skirt. The foliage is silver-grey. The seedpods have long, curved, raptor-like claws, hence the plant’s common name. As autumn approaches, the pods dry and crack open, spilling their precious progeny about.
Crambe maritima (AGM) Flowers: June Sea kale has a mound of gun-metal-grey leaves that combine beautifully with pebbles. It also has tall flower stalks, each holding a dome of sea-spray-like blooms. Young stems emerge purple and can be eaten if covered for a week to exclude light and make them tender. Stems have a salty, cabbage-like flavour and are best steamed and served with butter, like asparagus. Sunlight is the key to growing crambe well, so choose a sun-baked spot. It also self-seeds. Erigeron karvinskianus (AGM) Flowers: June-October This plant has semi-evergreen leaves and white daisies that are kissed with pink. It flowers for an incredibly long time among pebbles, cracks and crevices. Plants eventually create low airy mats of foliage and flower, helping to knit
Limonium platyphyllum Flowers: July-September Sea lavender creates an authentic coastal feel, as in the wild it colonises sand dunes, salt marshes and cliffs. It grows best in free-draining soil and is loved by bees and butterflies. The papery lavender-blue flowers are borne on stiff, upright stems and are good for drying. Pinch out the first flowers for a bushy, floriferous plant. Verbascum bombyciferum Flowers: July-August This biennial verbascum starts life as a rosette of flat felt leaves, and shoots out tall flower spikes bearing tactile, wool-covered buds that open into small yellow blooms. It grows best in chalky soil, so is good among limestone chippings. Leave spent flower spikes in place as they’ll look good through winter and help the plant self-seed. Flowers, £20, published by BBC Books, is available from all good bookshops.
PREVIOUS PAGE, OVERLEAF Eryngium giganteum, also known as ‘Miss Willmott’s Ghost’. OPPOSITE PAGE Toby Buckland brightens up the coastal garden at Greenacre with lampranthus grown from cuttings. THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Cotton lavender thrives in hot sun and dry conditions; Stipa tenuissima is best planted in drifts; white valerian flowers twice a year but can be a bit of a thug; woolly flower spikes of verbascum soar to above head height; the aptly named horned poppy; fishwives traditionally piled up stones over the crowns of Crambe maritima to keep them tender; plant out lampranthus after the risk of frost has passed; Erigeron karvinskianus is an excellent plant to fill small cracks and crevices.
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THE ENGLISH
GARDEN In the AUGUST issue…
HOT STUFF Planting ideas for fiery-coloured borders... and much, much more WITH 5 LUSH LATE-SUMMER GARDENS
● Flowers that come alive at night ● Growing and cooking chillies ● Garden art: places to visit & where to buy ● Toby Buckland on watering ● Expert advice on jungle plants ● Chris Beardshaw on weeds we want
PLUS WIN £1,500 worth of Gloster garden
DIANNA JAZWINSKI
furniture* - great plant offers - testing trugs flower arranging - National Trust tips
On sale 20 July 2011 Sold in selected Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and WH Smith *COMPETITION ONLY OPEN TO UK RESIDENTS
WorldMags
BOOKS
Library leaves This month there are hardback beauties and coffee-table treats as well as guides, manuals and all sorts of growing advice
CONSERVATION THE LAST GREAT PLANT HUNT (Kew Publishing, £28) Two years ago, Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank announced that it had succeeded in collecting, banking and conserving 10% of the world’s wild plant species. The programme now works with more than 120 institutions in 54 countries, and this book celebrates its history, its work and the people who are responsible for making it such a success. Being a wannabe popular science nerd, I lapped up this whole hardback tome over a weekend, and though it may
Fascinating stuff, presented with beautiful illustrative photographs; case studies on significant people, plants and projects; and plenty of well-presented information’
not instantly appeal to many ‘works with hundreds of partners
which are intricately linked to our
there is some fascinating stuff
around the world, identifying and
relationship with plants and seeds.
sometimes be analysed to detect disorders, seeds too may be able
here, presented with beautiful
and studying plants and their
Authors Carolyn Fry, Sue Seddon
to indicate their state of health.
illustrative photographs from
habitats and assessing their
and Gail Vines handle the material
around the world; case studies
complex relationship to human life
well, explaining the scientific side
The seed bank itself at Wakehurst Place is a wonder of
on significant people, plants and
and well-being. This knowledge
(such as the difference between
architecture, planning and ecology,
projects within the programme;
has never been more important
orthodox, intermediate and
and the people who work there are
and plenty of well-presented
as the world population grows
recalcitrant seed) clearly, and
doing constant research to make
information that made the botany
exponentially and as we face the
engaging the reader with amazing
sure these second 10 years of the
side easy to understand.
consequences of climate change’.
seed facts, interviews and stories.
project reveal even more about how
HRH The Prince of Wales wrote
This quest Kew started 11 years
Find out about endangered,
to store, germinate and propagate
the foreword, and as Patron of
ago to save biodiversity is like an
endemic and economic plants; how
the seeds of the millions of species
The Foundation and Friends of the
insurance policy for the planet, the
all the orchid seeds in the world
known and as yet undiscovered on
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, he
book explains, and especially for
could fit in three freezers; and that
our fast-changing globe. Wonderful.
knows better than anyone that it
human history and evolution,
just as human breath can
WorldMags 104
The English Garden
Stephanie Mahon, books editor
BOOKS IMAGE/KELLY WEECH MAIN IMAGE/RBG KEW
gardeners as an interesting read,
Other books out this month
HIGH-IMPACT LOWCARBON GARDENING
(Storey Publishing, £14.99)
GROW YOUR FOOD FOR FREE
Marketed as the ‘ultimate resource
GARDEN LANDSCAPING MANUAL
American Tammi Hartung’s guide to
(Green Books, £14.95)
for gardeners who are serious
(Haynes, £19.99)
‘growing, using and enjoying more
Dave Hamilton stuck ‘Well, almost’
about green gardening practices’,
This step-by-step projects book
than 100 herbs’ opens your mind
on the title, to show that though it’s
this in-depth, comprehensive book
is exactly what every gardener
to what constitutes a herb, with
not always possible, he has best
is for the advanced sustainability-
faced with a blank plot and no
some nice ideas for designing herb
intentions of being self-sufficient,
concious gardener.
idea how to start needs.
gardens and good plant profiles.
eco-aware, and gardening frugally.
(Timber Press, £16.99)
HOMEGROWN HERBS
COFFEE TABLE GREAT GARDENS OF BRITAIN
The ‘complete package’: a first-class introduction to Britain’s great gardens’
(Frances Lincoln, £16.99)
knowledge. Each of her books is
INDOOR ADVICE DON’T THROW IT, GROW IT
the result of serious research and
(Storey Publishing, £6.99)
Helena Attlee’s writing bears the stamp of experience and
repeated visits, but she wears her
For people with little garden or
learning lightly, charming her reader
room to compost, there is now, it
with evocative and engaging
seems, an alternative to throwing
descriptions of style, setting,
out some kitchen waste - simply
history and creator - even the
condenses the ideas behind the
effects of changing light and
more challenging gardens and
York-based authors Deborah
weather are covered. Her choices
reveals their mysteries. At the
Peterson and Millicent Selsam, you
for this book are wise, ranging from
start of each section, she deftly
could grow 68 windowsill plants,
how to grow them. This little book
the conceptual (Garden of Cosmic
summarises a garden’s ‘essence’
from kitchen veg, fruits, nuts,
is an interesting guide with simple
Speculation, Little Sparta) to the
into a few short, pithy sentences,
herbs and spices, to more exotic
instructions and surprising results.
natural (Scampston, Beth Chatto
and sets it in within its unique
plants. The first section of the
Although there are illustrations on
Gardens); the historic (Kew) to the
context, leading the reader on a
book contains basic horticultural
each page, I can’t help but feel
quirky (Mount Stewart); and the
short and compelling journey of
information as well as descriptions
cheated by the lack of photography
iconic (Great Dixter, Hidcote) to the
discovery. The photos - shot by
of the pests you may encounter
and colour, especially as the front
dramatic (Powis Castle, Alnwick).
Attlee’s partner, award-winning
and how to deal with them. The
cover is so bright and enticing.
Fundamentally, Attlee is a ‘holistic’
photographer Alex Ramsay - are
next section covers propagation;
That said, the book may encourage
writer, and this is what makes this
gorgeous too, making this book
how to take the seed, pit, root or
people to think about what they
book truly gratifying. She moves
the ‘complete package’: a first-
stem of each plant to get it to
put in the bin from now on.
from specific plant species to
class introduction to Britain’s
sprout into a new one. The final
An inspiring guide.
garden history to descriptions of
great gardens.
chapters detail different types of
a garden’s atmosphere. She ably
Claire Masset, gardens editor
growing it. With help from New
Victoria Kingsbury,
plants from around the world, and
editorial assistant
FOR GREAT OFFERS ON THESE BOOKS AND FREE UK DELIVERY, VISIT OUR NEW BOOKSHOP AT WWW.EFCBOOKSHOP.COM/TEG OR TEL: +44 (0)1872 562327
WorldMags
The English Garden
105
ADVERTORIAL
Summer gardens to 2
BIRMINGHAM BOTANICAL
Westbourne Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 3TR Tel: 0121 454 1860
[email protected] www.birminghambotanicalgardens.org.uk Fifteen acres of landscaped gardens containing over 7000 trees, shrubs and plants – including four glasshouses and Rose, Alpine, Historic and Cottage Gardens; Woodland and Rhododendron Walks, Rock Pool, Pinetum, Herbaceous Borders and Japanese Garden.
1
WADDESDON MANOR GARDENS
Waddesdon, Nr. Aylesbury Buckinghamshire HP18 0JH. Tel: 01296 653226
[email protected] www.waddesdon.org.uk
Also Children’s Playground, Growing Schools Garden, four-flight Lawn Aviary, art gallery, gift shop and tea-room. OPEN: Every day except Christmas day 9.00 -7.00. Bank Holidays open at 10.00. Family ticket £22, adults £7.50 and children over 5, students, senior citizens, disabled and helpers £4.75. Children under 5 Free.
This National Trust property has one of the finest Victorian gardens in Britain and can be enjoyed at any time of the year. Its main features include a parterre, seasonal displays, intricate carpet bedding, fountains, statuary, parkland, contemporary sculpture, a woodland
3
playground and an aviary housing many exotic birds. Guided walks take place daily from April to September. There is also a restaurant, café, shops and plant centre. OPEN: Wednesday-Sunday and Bank Holiday
2 4 1
Mondays 10.00-5.00. The Manor is open on the same days from 12.00-4.00. Call or check on line for admission prices.
3
NEWBY HALL
Newby Hall, Ripon, North Yorkshire, HG4 5AE. Tel: 01423 322583 opt 3
[email protected] www.newbyhall.com Newby Hall’s 25 acres of award winning gardens
4
WATERPERRY GARDENS
Waterperry, Near Wheatley, Oxfordshire OX33 1JZ. Tel: 01844 339254.
[email protected] www.waterperrygardens.co.uk.
include superb double herbaceous borders, flanked by smaller compartmented gardens. A National Collection of Cornus (dogwood) is held at Newby and 2011 sees the launch of a new free publication to guide visitors through this stunning range of shrubs and small trees. Many of the rare and beautiful plants found in the
Waterperry Gardens - 8 acres of beautiful gardens, a
gardens are on sale at the plant stall. From June
quality plant centre and garden shop, gallery, gift barn
to September, Newby will host a solo show by
and teashop serving home baked lunches and some of the best cakes and patisserie in the country!
willow weaver Emma Stothard; 15 life-size
Enjoy year round arts, crafts and gardening courses and wonderful summer outdoor theatre, concerts
animal groups can be found in the formal
and special horticultural weekends. Book now for Jekka Mcvicar’s inspirational talk on planning a herb
gardens. For further details, tickets and events
garden with buffet lunch on August 2nd. Book online now. Party bookings welcome by arrangement.
visit our website.
OPEN: 10am to 5.30pm. 12 Feb to 31 Oct 2011. 10am to 5pm the rest of the year.
WorldMags
106 The English Garden
OPEN: 1 April - 25 September 2011, Tues - Sun and bank holidays; every day in July/August.
ADVERTORIAL
enjoy
The best UK gardens to visit right now
7
HELMINGHAM HALL
Helmingham, Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 6EF Tel: 01473 890799
[email protected] www.helmingham.com These beautiful Grade 1 listed gardens have been redesigned by Lady Tollemache (a Chelsea Gold Medallist) and have an enchanting aura that allows visitors to relax and unwind in the beautiful rose, knot, herb and walled edible gardens. Garden enthusiasts are fascinated by the rare and beautiful plants, many being native to Britain before or introduced prior to 1750. Every year Helmingham offers an exciting programme of events, including a Festival of Classic and Sports Cars, Specialist Plant Sales and a Food Festival. Visit the gardens website for more details. OPEN: Open until 18 September on bank holiday Mondays, Tuesdays to Thursdays and Sundays 12-5pm.
5
THE SAVILL GARDEN
Windsor Great Park,Wick Lane, Englefield Green, Surrey, TW2O 0UU. Tel: 01784 435 544
[email protected] www.theroyallandscape.co.uk
The Rose Garden is an amazing sight with over 2,000 roses chosen for their scent, colour and repeat flowering. A blanket of perfume greets you whilst the contemporary design is a wonderful sight. In the Summer Gardens are swathes of vibrant colour and variety in the double, 100m length Herbaceous Borders and
7
pastel shades of the Golden Jubilee Garden. OPEN: 10am daily, all year (closed Christmas Eve & Christmas Day)
6
ABBOTSBURY SUBTROPICAL GARDENS
Bullers Way, Abbotsbury, Dorset DT3 4LA. Tel: 01305 871387 www.abbotsburygardens.co.uk These Grade one listed gardens boast collections of exotic plants and trees from all over the world. Many of these were first introductions to this country.
● Thirty acres including the world famous Camellia Groves, Magnolia, Rhododendron and Hydrangea collections.
● Superb colonial restaurant for coffee, lunches and teas. ● Specialist plant nursery, buy online.
8
5 6
8
MARWOOD HILL
Marwood, Nr Barnstaple, North Devon EX31 4EB. Tel: 01271 342528
[email protected] www.marwoodhillgarden.co.uk
A magical and inspiring 20 acre private garden with lakes set in a valley. Offers all year round interest. National collection holder of Astilbes, Iris ensata and Tulbaghia. A haven for trees and shrubs from around the world. A huge variety of unusual plants for sale in the plant area, home-cooked food served in the Garden Tea Room. Groups welcome by prior arrangement. Dogs are welcome on leads.
● Magnificent viewing point over the Jurassic Coast
10am – 5pm. Adults £5.50, child (under 12)
OPEN: 10am daily, all year (closed Christmas and New Year)
free, child (12-16) £2.50.
WorldMags
OPEN: Open daily 1 March – 31 October
The English Garden
107
ADVERTORIAL Glorious gardens SMALL GARDEN
2
4 1 3
AL FRESCO LIVING Enhance your garden with accessories and features that will make the garden a perfect place to entertain friends and enjoy the fine weather
1
LA MAISON BLEUE Choose from a wide range of quality metal garden furniture from La Maison Bleue. Made in France and based on classic French designs,
3
LOVERS OF BLUE AND WHITE Beautiful and practical, the Sophie Conran designer range from
Portmeiron is perfect for leisurely summer lunches. There is a wide choice of
including iconic bistro sets to the more sophisticated Opera and Montmartre
tableware, cookware and accessories including a great variety of serving pieces,
ranges, this furniture is specially treated so that it can be left outside all year
amongst which are these sinuously shaped salad bowls available in three sizes.
round. Any piece from this range will add a touch of timeless French style to
The sheer white provides a clean, modern ceramic backdrop whatever your
your garden, terrace or conservatory.
menu. All designed for modern day living as each piece is microwave and
Available to order online from www.lamaisonbleue.co.uk or from our shops
dishwasher safe and can move safely from freezer to oven.
in Leamington Spa, tel: 01926 330386 or Lichfield, tel: 01543 481414. Prices
Available mail order from Lovers of Blue & White, The China People, tel: 01763
start from £104 for a pair of bistro chairs.
853 800 and website www.blueandwhite.com
2
MADE IN OAK Only English oak is used for these hand-crafted garden swings made
by Cotswold artisans, Made In Oak. The oak is exclusively sourced from the
4
SCOTTS OF THRAPSTON Scotts of Thrapston has a wide range of summerhouses that are
perfect for entertaining a number of guests or for holding a dinner party
Cotswolds and only from carefully managed woodlands. They hand pick the
alfresco, whatever the weather. The Burghley Summerhouse (shown) can
trees to make a beautiful and functional range of home and garden accessories.
comfortably seat 6 – 8 people, making it ideal for dining in the garden all year
Many of their items, including the swings, can be personalised with a hand
round. Scotts offers a variety of shapes and sizes within their range of garden
carved inscription. Prices for the swings start from £95. Buy online at
buildings, as well as exclusively offering the National Trust Summerhouses.
www.madeinoak.com or tel; 01793 750025.
For more information, tel; 01832 732366 or visit www.scottsofthrapston.co.uk
WorldMags
108 The English Garden
To advertise contact Emily Bevan tel: +44 (0) 1242 216081 email:
[email protected]
THE DIRECTORY
BROCHURE DIRECTORY To receive a brochure this month from any of the listed companies please complete and return the coupon to the stated address or email
[email protected] with your requests.
3. MOHICAN WIND HARPS is a builder/designer of outdoor metal harp sculptures that sing in the breeze! Our harps are for residential or commercial applications, we will also do special designs to meet customer specs. For shipping to UK add $70. See our video on YouTube.
001-419-368-3415 www.mohicanwindharps.com
[email protected]
4. Q LAWNS Q Lawns specialise in growing top quality, hardwearing turf for gardens of all shapes and sizes. Come to Q Lawns for advice on creating and maintaining a beautiful lawn and for sensible prices.
01842 828266 www.qlawns.co.uk
1. PADDOCK FENCING Enclose all your livestock including cattle, horses, deer and sheep. With an all steel construction this fencing is easy to fix in place. End posts/corner posts extra. Bowtop Gates to match fencing available. Price list available on request. French Drove Farm, French Drove, Thorney, Peterborough, PE6 0QP T: 01733 270580 W: www.paddockfencing.com
2. KIRKLEES DEVELOPMENTS Prestigious 6 burner stainless steel Gas barbecue with flush fitting side burner. Supplied with warming rack, hose and propane reg and overnight cover. Cupboard underneath for cooks tools and accessories. Part of the exclusive range of catering size barbecues and hog roasters designed to make you the envy of your friends and a star chef. Ask for brochure. Tel: 01484 401134 Email:
[email protected] www.kdev.co.uk
5. WIGGLY WIGGLERS We're not just worms! - Wiggly Wigglers has 2000 plus products to Make the Good Life Easy... From composting kits, through to goat socks... from mushroom logs to Ecover and British Birdseed, not exactly a farm shop, not quite a garden centre, we are most definitely.... Wiggly!
6. ARTISAN POSTBOXES & SIGNS Beautiful handmade postboxes and signs in lasting cast aluminium. All can be fully personalised. Lots of styles and designs available including freestanding, built-in and wall-mounted postboxes. Contact 01327 351561 or www.rockartisansigns.co.uk for a brochure and design ideas.
01981 500391 www.wigglywigglers.co.uk
[email protected]
July 2011
PLEASE MENTION
7. BETH RUSSELL NEEDLEPOINT William Morris was inspired to design Strawberry Thief while watching the thrushes eat the strawberries in his garden in 1883. Beth Russell’s printed needlepoint adaptation is for four individual cushions or chair seats. Indulge yourself this summer by stitching in the sunshine and creating something to enjoy for the rest of your life. PO Box 565, London SW1V 3PU. Tel: +44 (0)207 798 8151 www.bethrussellneedlepoint.com Quote EG7 to receive 10% discount.
The English Garden
WorldMags
THE ENGLISH GARDEN WHEN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS
To order up to four of the featured brochures, please indicate the panel numbers in the boxes below and return to the following address: Send to: Emily Bevan, The English Garden Magazine, Archant House, Oriel Road, Cheltenham, GL50 1BB Alternatively Email:
[email protected]
Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms...................Forename.............................................................. Surname............................................................................................................. Address.............................................................................................................. ........................................................................................................................... .....................................................................Postcode....................................... Date of Birth..................................................Tel................................................ Email.................................................................................................................. T+C’s: Your contact details will be collated and passed through to the relevant companies only. Your information will be forwarded once received, please allow delivery time of your brochure from each company. All product sales thereafter will be dealt with directly through each company and not via The English Garden Magazine.
For more information visit us at www.theenglishgarden.co.uk
THE DIRECTORY ACCESSORIES
COURSES
Support where it’s needed. The new Plant Girdles offer all round support for flower, plant and vegetable growing. Create stunning border displays. Natural rusted or olive drab to blend in. Solid steel to last.
RHS Chelsea Flower Show
To advertise contact Emily Bevan tel: +44 (0) 1242 216081 email:
[email protected]
01873 840 297
ARTS AND CRAFTS
A CERAMIC MODEL OF YOUR HOME
SEE YOUR GARDEN DESIGN CAREER BLOOM Established, accredited, and highly regarded, KLC School of Design offers: Professional qualifications Help finding employment Practical, friendly and inspiring training Flexible study options available
TO FIND OUT MORE, CALL 020 7376 3377 OR VISIT WWW.KLC.CO.UK
GARDEN DESIGN
Call me or visit my website Richard A. Rogers
RAR Ceramics Tel: 01777 703711 Email:
[email protected] Web: www.rarceramics.co.uk
BRIDGES COULSON’S BRIDGES
Tel: 01206 262387 www.coulsonsbridges.co.uk
BLINDS & CURTAINS For a complimentary brochure call now on
0800 975 5757 Or visit www.appealshading.com
May & Watts Garden Design
THE DIRECTORY
Creating beautiful gardens for modern living
GREENHOUSES
For all your garden requirements
Contact Mark on 01892 770284
Quote ref: EG
CONSERVATORY BLINDS
The English Garden
WorldMags
For more information visit us at www.theenglishgarden.co.uk
THE DIRECTORY GARDEN DESIGN
NURSERIES
PET SERVICES
Beautiful plants, order online. Beautiful plants ,order online Grown in peat free compost Grown in peat free compost andand sturdy biodegradable pots. sturdy biodegradable pots E:
[email protected] www.withleighnurseries.co.uk T: 01884 253351 T: 01884 253351 E:
[email protected] www.withleighnurseries.co.uk
PLACES TO STAY
GREENHOUSES
GARDEN LOVERS BREAK On the edge of the Cotswolds we are England’s oldest hotel built in 1220. Standing next to Malmesbury’s medieval Abbey the hotel has antique furniture, cosy lounges and is traditionally English. Our 2 night break is now only £325 until the end of October for two people, bed and breakfast, dinner on 1 night and tickets to Abbey House Gardens and Westonbirt Arboretum. The Old Bell Hotel 01666 822344 www.oldbellhotel.com
PLANTS
Encourage wildlife to your garden. Plants and seeds of wildflowers, native trees, shrubs, climbers, bulbs, meadows, etc.
ye gu ar 25 ar fra an m te e e
Visitor centre open April 1st-Sept 30th, 11am-5.30pm daily at Coach Gap Lane, Langar, Notts.
dovetail greenhouses
We design and build to suit your requirements
Colour catalogue and growing guide, send 4x1st class stamps. Naturescape (EG), Maple Farm, Coach Gap Lane, Langar, Notts, NG13 9HP
PUBLISHERS
AUTHORS synopses and sample chapters welcome, please send to: Austin and Macauley Publishers CGC - 33 - 01, 25 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5LQ
0207 0388212 / e d i t o r s @ a u s t i n m a c a u l e y. c o m w w w. a u s t i n m a c a u l e y. c o m All genres welcome
Tel: 01949 860592 Fax: 01949 869047 www.naturescape.co.uk email:
[email protected] Established 1978
PERHILL PLANTS Worcester Road, Great Witley, Worcestershire, WR6 6JT tel:01299 896329 email:
[email protected]
Tel: 0121 311 2900
Dovetail Greenhouses Bonehill Farm,Tamworth Staffs B78 3HP All types of glazing options available. www.dovetailgreenhouses.co.uk
Specialist growers of rarer more unusual perennials. Online shop @ www.perhillplants.co.uk Mail order catalogue available.(six 2nd class stamps please). Open most weekdays, 9am-5pm (Closed weekends)
POTS & ORNAMENTS
HEDGING AND TOPIARY
HOPES GROVE NURSERIES
magazine means that
THE HEDGING PLANT SPECIALISTS
it could come back
Our full colour brochure is FREE on request and includes: HEDGING, TOPIARY, SHRUBS, CONIFERS, FRUIT TREES AND BUSHES, RHODODENDRONS, GROUND COVER PLANTS AND ROSES VISITORS WELCOME BY APPOINTMENT HOPES GROVE NURSERIES, SMALLHYTHE ROAD, TENTERDEN, KENT, TN30 7LT Tel: 01580 765600 Fax: 01580 766894 Email:
[email protected] Web: www.hopesgrovenurseries.co.uk All enquiries and Credit/Debit card orders welcome. Mail order specialist: nationwide delivery. Nursery open 9-5 Mon- Fri, 9-1 Sat. Closed Sunday. VISA, SWITCH, M.CARD, DELTA, AMEX
For more information visit us at www.theenglishgarden.co.uk
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Recycling your
as a newspaper within 7 days. This means using less raw materials which in-turn helps the environment. The English Garden
To advertise contact Emily Bevan tel: +44 (0) 1242 216081 email:
[email protected]
CLARE HOUSE
Park Road, Grange over Sands LA11 7HQ Tel: +44 (0) 15395 33026. www.clarehousehotel.co.uk We offer rest & relaxation, delightful meals, a garden to sit in, a promenade to saunter along and wonderful bay views from our family run hotel. Any 4-Night Break, April 30th – July 8th from £327 pp D,B&B
THE DIRECTORY STONEWORK
PONDS
AQUAPLANCTON
HIGH QUALITY GARDEN STONEWORK
No. 1 Gravesend Road, Strood, Rochester, Kent ME2 3PH email:
[email protected]
Do you have a garden pond? Is it as clear as mud? Is it murky, muddy, slimy, smelly, choked with algae or weed and a chore to clean out? If you have a pump, are you forever cleaning or changing the filter?
AQUAPLANCTON could be just what you’re looking for
www.kentbalusters.co.uk WEB SERVICES
For Every SPECIAL OCCASION
Happy Birthday
Tel: 01939 210380 OVER 1000 Varieties to Choose From
Special Anniversary
VOTED PRODUCT OF THE YEAR 2009
www.countrygardenroses.co.uk
Used successfully with fish all the time. Safe for ducks, plants, pets, all forms of waterlife, U.V. and biological filters. AQUAPLANCTON has cleared greenwater, sludge and BLANKETWEED for hundreds of happy pond owners. It could do the same for you
Every day more gardeners are turning to the natural way of growing - ORGANICALLY
Name ................................................
If you have difficulties in locating 6x within your local garden centre, please visit the products page on our website for mail order details
[email protected] www.6-x.co.uk 01458 272202
www.gardenlines.co.uk Lawnmowers, Hedgecutters, Strimmers, Garden Furniture
10 % OFF QUOTE ELSA45
free 116 page catalogue
The Directory of Garden Designers www.gardendesign-uk.com
SmartSoil Ltd
COMPOST ALL
•
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COOKED AND UNCOOKED
WILDLIFE Recycling your magazine means that it could come back as a newspaper within 7 days. This means using less raw materials which in-turn helps the environment
.......................................................... Bird
Care
life Wild e den & Gar Catalogu 2011
Phone................................................ Pond surface sq ft
Algae Full Sun Green water Sludge Clogged filters Blanketweed Murky water Odour Koi carp Ducks
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EG
Please tick ✓ ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏
harrodhorticultural.com
KITCHEN WASTE INCLUDING MEAT AND FISH
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Does your pond have?
call 0845 402 5300
Tel: 01639 701888 • Web: www.smartsoil.co.uk
Address ............................................
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TIMBER RAISED BEDS
6x is 100% Natural Fertiliser. The Best Thing on Earth!
For free brochure and price list telephone 01298 214003 anytime or send the approx. surface area of your pond to:
AQUAPLANCTON River Lodge Bishop’s Lane BUXTON Derbyshire SK17 6UN www.aquaplancton.com
MISCELLANEOUS
ROSES
jo thin e
To advertise contact Emily Bevan tel: +44 (0) 1242 216081 email:
[email protected]
Tel: 01634 711617 - Fax: 01634 714644
FREE
Next Day Delivery
For more information visit us at www.theenglishgarden.co.uk
THE DIRECTORY ACCESSORIES
HOME SERVICES
CLIMATISED COATINGS ELIMINATES HOUSE PAINTING
Climatised coatings are a superb range of external wall coatings that are tough, flexible, durable and weatherproof
High build breathing coating suitable for all types of external walls All latest colourings available Nationwide service with 30 years experience Guaranteed not to flake, peel or chip for 10 years Not affected by acid rain or a salt laden atmosphere Breathing Coating
This resurfacing is applied by high pressure spray by our own fully trained staff All our work is done by our own highly trained personnel,to an exceptionally high standard of detail, rarely seen these days.
Name . Address
.......................................................... .......................................................... ............................................................... Telephone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . To: Climatised Coatings (UK) Ltd, Freepost, Chester CH2 1ZZ or telephone Chester (01244) 378488
www.climatisedcoatingsuk.co.uk ACCOMMODATION
LIGHTING
For more information visit us at www.theenglishgarden.co.uk
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The English Garden
To advertise contact Emily Bevan tel: +44 (0) 1242 216081 email:
[email protected]
• • • • • •
GUEST SPEAKER
Gardens in general are an excellent source of sustenance for insects, says Sarah Raven, but some nectar-rich flowers are more beneficial than others
Sarah Raven is a TV presenter, writer and gardener. For details of her courses, visit www.perchhill.co.uk
friendly gardening’ left me cold until I stopped dismissing it for its image and saw it for what it is. It doesn’t have to mean patches of nettles, piles of rotting wood and brambles a-go-go, but rather a few straightforward changes and being positively aware of the things that I - and we - can all do to make our back gardens more insect friendly. Together, we can have a big effect.
Our demand for high glamour has left our insects hungry... Think of all the bedding schemes in our towns - the same is true of almost all of those’ in some tropical paradise, not my back garden. There they were living happily right outside my door, and yet until that moment I never knew of their existence. My Perch Hill garden (above right) is a varied and luckily pollen-rich place, as I love lots of colour and picking flowers for the house. What suited me previously, it turns out, really also suits pollinating insects, but the change in me is that this is now something I want to positively enhance. The very phrase ‘wildlife-
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114 The English Garden
There are insects, butterflies in particular, which need a complex set of things to thrive, and it’s the destruction of our countryside that has depleted them so drastically in the past 50 years, but they and all the others will be helped if we garden with them in mind. I’m a lover of dahlias and am a particular fan of the fully double cactus forms, but these flowers have nothing in them on which insects can feed. The parts of the flower - the nectaries - which used to hold the nectar, the carbohydrate essential
for insect life, have been bred into extra petals for show. Our demand for high glamour has left our insects hungry, and when you think of all the bedding schemes in our towns, sadly the same is true of almost all of those. Begonias, bedding pelargoniums, double tagetes and cannas (the list of things we’re likely too see a lot of in the next few months) are a nectarless desert as far as insects are concerned. You can petition the Britain in Bloom brigade of your local towns and villages to move away from the busy Lizzies to the plethora of single dahlias now available - wonderful varieties such as ‘Bishop of Auckland’, ‘Bishop of Oxford’ and ‘Bishop of Canterbury’, which will flower as long and hard as any of the list above, and provide our insects with fuel as well. But easier than that, you can make small tweaks in your own garden. Plant these single dahlias or add more lavender, scabious, echinacea, hardy geranium, allium, Angelica gigas, Cephalaria gigantea or sedum. It’s a winwin situation. Your garden will look just as lovely, if not more so, and the insects will have a free corner shop as well.
ALL PHOTOGRAPHS/JONATHAN BUCKLEY
M
y attitude to my garden has changed dramatically in the past year. Whereas before I loved it for its abundance, its floweriness, its beauty and production of all the things I most like to eat, I now have a new demand of it. As I walk around, particularly if the sun is out, I hone in on a whole new dimension. Are there plenty of hoverflies in their many different shapes and sizes? A good old occasional wasp? How many bees can I spot on a five-minute walk? And do I clap eyes on a single butterfly? In particular, butterfly populations in Britain are struggling, and now I almost applaud when one appears. Then at night, there’s the whole moth department, which has only recently moved on to my radar. I set a moth trap with Steve Head of the Wildlife Gardeners’ Forum (to join, email
[email protected]) in my garden last summer, and we found some extraordinary moths whose existence I’d never even been aware of. There was a funny, endearing one, a Buff Tip Moth, which looked like a twig; and two beauties called the Poplar and Elephant Hawk Moths. These reminded me of the most exquisite Venetian marbled paper, with swirls and curves in subtle yet intense colours - and they were huge, something you’d expect to see
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