Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2016 i Gardens Illustrated Magazine

I’m writing this while sitting on the bullet train travelling from Tokyo to Kyoto in Japan. On my first visit to this fascinating country, just over two years ago, I was fortunate enough to visit the Tokachi Millennium Forest gardens created by designer Dan Pearson in Hokkaido [issue 145, page 28]. Dan and Midori Shintani, head gardener at the Millennium Forest, kindly took me to visit a private woodland garden created over the past 22 years by its owner, Mr Izumi. Sitting on tatami mats in one of the exquisitely built look-outs, perched amid the trees, we contemplated the scene around us; the dappled light enhancing the masses of beautiful plants on the forest floor. It was quite magical, and I am delighted that Dan shares his insights into this…

EXHIBITION Back to black In 2002 award-winning photographer Boo Beaumont took a radiograph of a plant, discovering to her delight that the resulting black-and-white image had a stunning transformative quality. Boo’s new exhibition Metamorph at the Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro features numerous X-ray images and a mesmeric 16-minute film that will take visitors on a visual journey through the inner workings of a flower. Until 30 June, tickets cost £4.50. royalcornwallmuseum.org.uk READER OFFER Capital growth The contemporary garden fair GROW London is fast becoming one of the highlights of the garden fair season. Back for a third year on London’s Hampstead Heath, on 24-26 June, it brings together contemporary garden design and expert horticultural advice with more than 100 exhibitors showcasing the best in garden furniture, rare plants, tools…

Fritillaria meleagris Several years ago, I planted a few bulbs of the snake’s head fritillary in grass on my heavy, moisture-retentive clay soil. They have naturalised freely and I now have a colony some two metres wide with hundreds of flowers appearing each year. Rather squat, square-shouldered bells in shades of pink, purple and pure white tessellated petals dangle over slender, glaucous foliage with bright, mustard-yellow stamens hanging within. Large nectaries inside the flower produce copious amounts of nectar to attract pollinating insects. After flowering, elegant seedheads are produced filled with flat brownish-orange seeds, which when ripe scatter with the slightest breeze. AGM †  . Height 30cm. Growing conditions Moisture-retentive soil; sun or dappled shade. Origin Europe and rare British native. Hardiness RHS H5, USDA 4b-8b. Season of interest…

Earliest gardening memory Flicking through the TV channels when I was nine, and coming across Gardeners’ World – I was immediately captivated. I asked my mum if she would buy me some seeds, pots and compost. I still remember that feeling of excitement and wonder, watching seeds germinate, grow, and then flower. Who are your horticultural heroes? Since my teenage years I have been somewhat obsessed with RHS Chelsea Flower Show, watching the gardens on TV, and idolising the designers. It is ironic that my job is now to grow the plants for these designers, working alongside them to ensure that their plants are exactly as they imagine. Most valuable training Having gone straight from school to spend two years training at Askham Bryan College in York, I took the…

1 Purple reign 1 Heuchera ‘Stormy Seas’ Easy to grow and good for dappled shade and containers. 50cm. RHS H6, USDA 4a-9b. 2 Lunaria rediviva Lovely flower followed by beautiful seedheads. 90cm. AGM*. RHS H7, USDA 5-8† . 3 Pulmonaria officinalis An easy plant that seeds everywhere in both sun and shade. 30cm. RHS H6. 4 Carex comans ‘Bronze Form’ Jacqueline values its ‘graceful performance’ and uses it in pots, where overhanging evergreen leaves ripple in the wind. 30cm. RHS H4. 5 Hyacinthoides hispanica The Spanish bluebell multiplies easily, even in the darkest shade. 40cm. RHS H7, USDA 5a-8b. 6 Matteuccia struthiopteris A wonderful, rapidly spreading fern for damp, shady…

Colour confident Many of us enjoy buying plants that take our fancy from nurseries and plant fairs – this is great fun but can lead to a messy-looking garden. One simple rule that works especially well in a small space is to limit your colour palette. Here I have based my contemporary design around a single bold colour: rich maroon. I’ve used the same paint shade for my boundary fences, door and window frames and bin store. From this starting point I selected my plants to complement the colour scheme. I have chosen a handful of similarly coloured plants that flower at different times throughout the year, and have softened the strong maroon with light, floaty grasses and used hard landscaping in pale colours. Colour really changes the mood of…

Rich flamboyance Delicate species tulips are wonderful for peppering spring meadows and gracing restrained knot gardens, but in borders, surrounded by herbaceous perennials that are starting to race away, you can make bold use of the amazing, lustrous colours of cultivated tulips. In this spring performance, I favour a few characters from the circus mixed in with the elegance of classic players. A surprise appearance In the kitchen garden, tulips, rhubarb and artichokes mingle with currant bushes and a red cabbage that’s gone rather stunningly to seed. The whole scene with a backdrop of pear blossom, is rather like a naïve painting, with the broad brush strokes of the giant leaves and the candy striped marvel that brings the tulip medley to life: Tulipa ‘Carnaval de Nice’. Softly spoken With…

That the honeybee is under threat is old news. Pesticides, disease, a catastrophic decrease in habitat have all been cited as reasons for its decline. But could it also be the way we have been keeping bees that is putting them at risk? If so, the alternative could be natural, or apicentric beekeeping, which puts the health of bees first. A natural beekeeper uses local bees, preferably a swarm, allows them to draw their own comb down from top bars, rear their own queens and crucially swarm to make new colonies. Natural beekeepers avoid smoking the bees and don’t feed with sugar. Instead, the bees are left enough honey to survive the winter independently. All these things help the bees to use their natural physiology to promote resistance to disease…

• The Outdoor Office, a joint design by finalists of the Young Designer of the Year, will form part of the RHS London Spring Extravaganza, showing how plants can be used to liven up office spaces. 1-2 April, Lindley Hall and Lawrence Hall; 10am-5pm. rhs.org.uk • The Roof Gardens in Kensington High Street, London, is hosting a talk by Nigel Dunnett on the re-planted roof gardens at the Barbican and the planting of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. 17 April, 9am-12pm. £10 for members of the Gardening Club, £15 non members. For tickets email gardeningclub@roofgardens.virgin.com • Discover Angela Conner’s large-scale kinetic sculptures in a new interactive book Angela Conner (Elizabeth Beecher Publishing, £5.49), which features videos that bring the works to life. Available from the iTunes store. • Landscape historian Dr…

SHAKESPEARE’S GARDENS by Jackie Bennett, photographs by Andrew Lawson Frances Lincoln, £25 ISBN 978-0711237261 Brush up your understanding of Elizabethan plants and gardening in this beautifully illustrated tour of Shakespeare’s gardens. Reviewer Juliet Giles is production editor at Gardens Illustrated. Gardens may not be the first thing most of us associate with William Shakespeare, but the link is not as tenuous as it first seems for Shakespeare’s plays and poems are filled with so many references to plants and gardens that it’s not too hard to imagine he had more than a passing interest in the subject. But there’s the rub, because we know so little about the Bard’s life (let alone his gardening habits), every book about him inevitably owes more to the imagination than hard fact. It’s a…

5 Baker’s Twine (RRP £3.50/£6.50) This high-quality, biodegradable cotton twine comes in two sizes – 20m and 100m – and three charming colourways: brown and white; grey and white; and burgundy. Non-subscriber offer price £3.15/£5.85, plus p&p Subscriber offer price** £2.70/£5.40, plus p&p 6 Maubach trowel (RRP £45) The wide, flat, tapered blade is perfect for digging planting holes. It has an ash wood handle. Non-subscriber offer price £40.50, plus p&p Subscriber offer price** £36, plus p&p 7 Exaggerated handweeder (RRP £45) Perfect for use as a hoe or for uprooting weeds. Ash wood handle. Non-subscriber offer price £40.50, plus p&p Subscriber offer price** £36, plus p&p 8 Hand scratcher (RRP £45) A great multi-purpose weeder with a lovely ash wood handle. Non-subscriber offer price £40.50, plus p&p Subscriber offer…

1 ABBOTSBURY GARDENS A recent winner of the HHA/ Christie’s Garden of the Year Award and described by Alan Titchmarsh as ‘one of the finest gardens I have ever visited. Established in 1765 by the 1st Countess of Ilchester as a kitchen garden for her nearby castle. It has developed since then into a magnificent 30-acre tropical paradise with many exotic features including a Burma rope bridge. Address Bullers Way, Abbotsbury, Dorset DT3 4LA Tel 01305 871387 Web abbotsburygardens.co.uk 2 BUSCOT PARK & THE FARINGDON COLLECTION The gardens and pleasure grounds at Buscot Park were designed in the late 18th century and enhanced in the 20th century by the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Lords Faringdon. They include the spectacular water garden and the Four Seasons Walled Garden. Open 25 March-30…

BAKSAVER BARROW Take the strain out of moving heavy loads in the garden. Ergonomically designed, the Baksaver has three wheels to take the weight that normally puts pressure on the arms and shoulders and it won’t tip over like an ordinary barrow. To empty, just release the foot operated catch and the pan tips up to deposit the contents. RRP £139. Tel 01932 878570 Web organiccatalogue.com ADOPT A BEEHIVE Give the gift of armchair beekeeping, and help save the honey bee with the British Beekeepers Association. Receive a delightful welcome pack of bee goodies and three award-winning newsletters with a year’s subscription to Adopt a Beehive for £30 plus P&P. You will also receive a jar of pure British honey. Tel 0845 680 7038 Web adoptabeehive.co.uk CARPET BAGS These individually…

• Preview of the 2016 RHS Chelsea Flower Show – the gardens, designers and trends to look out for • Three eye-catching container displays • A plantsman’s dream retreat in rural New York • A pale and interesting canalside garden ON SALE 28 APRIL Save money when you subscribe to the digital edition – see page 32. Also in selected Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Tesco stores, as well as WHSmith, and all good magazine retailers.…

MARCUS HARPUR Marcus has found that the thrill of capturing gardens with a camera is the same as growing plants from seed, year on year. He is currently working on a book about East Anglian gardens. You can see his photographs of riverside garden, Langton Farm on page 44. “Gardens, like the one at Langton, seem serene in the face of flooding. There’s nothing like a new project to help you move on ” ADELE FORD Adele is an award-winning garden designer who trained at the University of Greenwich and Hadlow College. She has a variety of projects on her books from small courtyards to large country estates. She shares her passion for planting with three front garden designs on page 50. “What a great opportunity to encourage people to…

• Conwy Seed Fair Peruse plant stalls, seed stalls, traditional crafts and home-made produce at the 730-year-old Royal Charter Fair in Conwy. 1 April, 9am-4pm. The High Street, Conwy. Tel 01492 650851, conwybeekeepers.org.uk • Head Gardener’s Guide at Woburn Abbey Woburn Abbey’s head gardener, Andrew Bedford, is running a propagation workshop, offering expert advice and demonstrations, in the first of four one-day courses. 2 April, 10am-4pm. Cost included in garden admission price. Woburn Abbey and Gardens, Woburn, Bedfordshire MK17 9WA. Tel 01525 290333, woburnabbey.co.uk • Knoll Gardens Plant Fair As well as Knoll Gardens’ own multiple award-winning grasses, locally grown azaleas, ferns, camellias and blueberries will be available to buy. 23 April, 10am-4pm. Free admission. Knoll Gardens, Stapehill Road, Hampreston, Wimborne BH21 7ND. Tel 01202 873931, knollgardens.co.uk • Toby’s Garden…

“If anyone thought I was mad, no one dared say it; it focussed my attention away from the dehumidifiers” In brief Name Langton Farm. What A country farmhouse garden bordered by the River Swale. Where Near Northallerton in North Yorkshire. Size The garden is an acre, with the paddock another four acres. Soil Alluvial soil, very free-draining; extremely favourable to bulbs. Climate Temperate with an average rainfall of around 70cm per year. Hardiness rating USDA 8b. Tulip choices Annabel uses plenty of tulips to add colour in spring. In the tall grass to the front of the house she’s naturalised Tulipa ‘China Pink, alongside sky-blue camassias, cowslips and some scented pheasant’s eye narcissi. Nearer the house she grows several cultivars in pots using 90cm alder twigs with some soft twine…

In brief What About 500 species of herbaceous flowering plants with many garden hybrids and cultivars. Origins Most are from temperate parts of the northern hemisphere, mainly the Himalayas, Japan and China with a few species found in South America. Season Most are spring-flowering. Size In the wild plants range from a few centimetres to over a metre. Garden plants tend to range from around 20cm up to about 75cm tall. Conditions Primula are native to a range of situations from alpine scree to boggy meadows. Most garden forms need cool, moist soil and shade. The Victorian botanical painter, Marianne North, travelled the British Empire studying and painting plants and flowers, becoming familiar with extraordinary, extravagant, exotic flowers that would have astonished her gardening contemporaries. Yet, in spite of…

1 Modern art Copacabana Beach front is famous for Roberto Burle Marx’s patterned mosaic walk. It stretches – unbroken for nearly three miles – along the entire length of the beach. The ever-changing views are regularly punctuated by graphic groupings of palm trees and variations in pattern. Burle Marx’s influential, abstract style also extended to planting; he would often mass native Brazilian plants in interlocking patterns that emphasised contrasts in foliage texture and colour. 2 Making a mark Textile artist, Linda Florence referenced ornate knot gardens on this lawn installation at Tattershall Castle in Lincolnshire. The floral patterns were drawn and cut by hand over a period of five days. As the grass grew, the pattern slowly disappeared. In some areas the grass grew back stronger than before resulting in…

THE BEE BOOK by Fergus Chadwick et al. DK, £16.99 ISBN 978-0241217429 A complete guide from bee evolution and the structure of the hive to harvesting honey and creating a more bee-friendly garden. OFFER PRICE £14.99 BULBS OF THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN by Oron Peri Alpine Garden Society, £38 ISBN 978-0900048975 A photographic field guide to more than 400 species of Mediterranean bulbs. OFFER PRICE £35 THE PRODUCE COMPANION Meredith Kirton and Mandy Sinclair Hardie Grant, £20 ISBN 978-1742709192 A book of two halves: cultivation advice for growing at home; and more than 100 recipes to make use of your harvests. OFFER PRICE £18 THE CHILDREN’S GARDEN by Matthew Appleby Frances Lincoln, £14.99 ISBN 978-0711236332 Full of possibilities, this book is filled with creative ideas and fun projects to transform your…

A bluebell needs the shimmering green of the woodland floor for its magic Green, more than any other colour, is either overlooked or overdone. as much as I, anyone, have been guilty of the former error, but now, every time the plane breaks the clouds over Birmingham, I see what had been blind to while I it was in front of my eyes. It used to happen before, when I first began to spend time in England, and would go home to Ireland to be dazzled by the comparative green. It was my mother’s opinion that green was God’s favourite colour and so something they had in common. She had never been anywhere that wasn’t green, so you could forgive her for thinking it. And now also I commend her…

Order your bulbs before 15 July so you can ensure you get what you want. Plant at the right time. Snowdrops should not be planted later than early October. Smaller, early flowering bulbs, such as scilla and crocus, should be planted in the first half of October; daffodils in late October; tulips in November, when the soil is cold; and alliums in December. Plant in the right conditions. Tulips like well-drained soil and sun; daffodils can handle more moisture and shade. Let the style of the garden dictate your choice of bulbs. If it’s formal, Fritillaria imperialis would be a good choice, while a woodland area would suit bluebells. Sequence your plantings so they flower at different times: crocus, muscari, tulips and scilla, daffodils, bluebells. Better to plant too deep…

1 Pyrus calleryana ‘Chanticleer’ A columnar pear tree with masses of scented white flowers in spring. Its glossy leaves turn a rich, coppery red well into autumn. Prefers well-drained soil. 12m. RHS H5, USDA 7b-8a† . 2 Prunus tenella ‘Fire Hill’ A compact, deciduous shrub with narrow, glossy leaves and carmine pink flowers that open when the leaves emerge in early spring. Moist but well-drained soil. 1.5m. RHS H7. 3 Malus x robusta ‘Red Sentinel’ Pure-white blossom in the spring is followed by crimson fruit in autumn, which lasts well into the winter. 8m. AGM*. RHS H6, USDA 6b-7a. 4 Narcissus ‘Actaea’ A scented, pure-white daffodil with an inner, red-rimmed yellow cup. Excellent for naturalising in grass and flowers a month earlier than the classic pheasant’s eye narcissus. 45cm. AGM.…

“I thought I’d write a book about my own experience of gardening. I explained my plan to my boss and he kindly said there’d still be a job for me if it didn’t work out” Meeting Stephen Lacey, for someone like me who only writes about gardens among many other things, is a fairly daunting prospect. Formidably knowledgeable and occasionally acerbic in his opinions, he is arguably Britain’s leading garden writer, with a reputation built on a series of brilliant books and his regular columns for The Telegraph, which he has been writing since the late 1980s. So I await his arrival at a restaurant in central London a little nervously, checking through my notes and wondering if he’s going to eat me, rather than the food, for lunch. Yet…

1 Erythronium japonicum This rhizomatous dog-tooth violet, makes an early start ahead of much of the perennial layer. Becomes dormant early. 35cm. USDA 4a-8b† . 2 Polemonium yezoense A clumping perennial with divided basal foliage and a reach of violet-blue summer flowers. 1m. RHS H7, USDA 4a-8b. 3 Caltha palustris var. barthei A perennial that flowers early and quickly becomes lush and leafy. The vivid, yellow-coloured flowers are edible. Does best in wet woodland. 50cm. USDA 3a-11. 4 Chloranthus japonicus A woodland perennial, which features a yoke of bright-green foliage around a pale spike of creamy flower. In early spring, these stand upright in small groups on dark stalks. 20cm. USDA 6a-9b. 5 Diphylleia grayi A rhizomatous perennial with paired foliage at the apex of wiry stems and pale fragile…

SHAKESPEARE’S GARDEN Dramatic transformation To mark the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death, the garden on the site of New Place, the house in Stratford-upon-Avon he bought in 1597, has been given a contemporary redesign by theatre designer Timothy O’Brien and Chris Wise of Expedition Engineering, working with Gillespie Landscape Architects. The house itself was demolished in the 18th century, but its original footprint has been outlined in bronze in the design. Slatted timber and bronze gates on the site of the old gatehouse provide a new entrance to the garden, and a raised linear bed links the entrance to a stage-like circle of pleached hornbeams. Beyond this, a restored Knot Garden leads to the large Great Garden. It is expected to open at the beginning of July. shakespeare.org.uk RESTORATION…

CLASSIC Baluster Bird Bath, £179, Haddonstone, 01604 770711, haddonstone.com CONTEMPORARY DESIGN VT-1 Bird Bath, 149.50, Richard Sinnig for Opossum Design, +49 (0)36652 20010, design-im-shop.de POLISHED STONE Rainbow Flight Bowl, £125, Foras, 01366 381069, foras.co.uk DUAL PURPOSE Fuera Bird Feeder or Bird Bath, £92, Susanne Augenstein for Blomus, 01889 502716, black-by-design.co.uk SCULPTURAL Natural Basin Bird Bath, £234.99, Primrose, 0118 903 5210, primrose.co.uk A DASH OF COLOUR Stake bird bath – sky blue £29.99, Crocus, 01344 578111, crocus.co.uk COPPER CORE Tae Shu Oriental Style Bird Bath, £59.99, Black Country Metalworks, 0800 688 8386, blackcountrymetalworks.co.uk SIMPLE STYLE Hanging Bird Bath, £22, Laura Ashley, 03332 008009, lauraashley.com FROST-RESISTANT Coniston bird bath, £32.99, RSPB, 0345 034 7733, shopping.rspb.org.uk…

1 Tea towel (RRP £9) This 100 per cent cotton tea towel features a bespoke illustration from print artist Hannah McVicar, a regular contributor to Gardens Illustrated . Non-subscriber offer price £8.10, plus p&p Subscriber offer price** £6.30, plus p&p 2 Suede apron (RRP £50) A waist-fitting apron in chocolate-brown suede with an adjustable belt and four pockets for your tools, twine and mobile phone. Non-subscriber offer price £45, plus p&p Subscriber offer price** £40.50, plus p&p 3 Garden kneeler (RRP £35) Our waxed cotton and suede kneeler will help protect your knees. Non-subscriber offer price £30, plus p&p Subscriber offer price** £27, plus p&p 4 Anti-bramble gauntlets (RRP £35) Tough, leather, cotton-lined gloves with long suede cuffs. One size. Non-subscriber offer price £30, plus p&p Subscriber offer price** £27,…

20% off Chiltern Seeds Don’t miss the moment to plant your seeds for a flower-filled season ahead. Chiltern Seeds sells an excellent range of seeds for both the flower and vegetable garden. The 2016 catalogue is now available including a selection of new and exciting seeds to sow. To get your seed sowing off to a good start, Chiltern Seeds is offering readers a 20% discount on all seeds purchased. For inspiration, Jojo Tulloh’s Gardener Cook column on page 27 has some great ideas, such as Tagetes ‘Burning Embers, Limnanthes douglasii and Calendula officinalis – all available from Chiltern Seeds. The list of recommended plants for natural beekeeping on page 81 includes these four lovely plants, all perfect for attracting pollinators. Reader offer To gain your 20% discount, go to…