Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2016 i Gardens Illustrated Magazine

I’m always fascinated by the many and varied ways in which garden owners and designers tackle small gardens. Trying to keep things stylish in a confined space, while allowing for a decent dining or seating area, plenty of plants and possibly some storage is inevitably something of a challenge; it seems editing down the choice of plants and materials is key to success. I’m particularly delighted with the four modest-sized city gardens that we feature this month – from interior designer Abigail Ahern’s garden in Hackney, London, to Scott Lewis’s clever revamp of a shady garden in San Francisco, California – and I hope you’ll find plenty of ideas to steal. In the final part of designer Arne Maynard’s series about his garden in Monmouthshire we focus on late summer…

1 Salvia ‘Hot Lips’ A floriferous, shrubby salvia that has become very popular in recent years. The flowers are entirely red during the hottest part of the summer and become a bicolour red and white as the temperature cools. 1m. AGM*. RHS H5, USDA 7a-10b† . 2 S. oxyphora Happy in full sun or part shade, this is a spectacular salvia with velvety coral-red flowers in late summer and autumn. It needs to be overwintered in a greenhouse or grown each year from cuttings. 1.2m. USDA 8a-10b. 3 S. patens ‘Guanajuato’ Although the same intense blue of the species, the flowers of ‘Guanajuato’ – and the whole plant – are much larger. It forms a tuber rather like a dahlia that is hardy on well-drained soils. 1.2m. RHS H3, USDA…

PERILLA Blissfully comfortable 75 percent alpaca socks keep feet at a perfect temperature. They have ribbed sides and a soft cushioned sole in a great palette of colours from vibrant raspberry and purple to natural colours of mulberry and sedge green. Perfect for gardening. £16. Tel 01886 853615 Web perilla.co.uk STONEBALLS COMPANY These solid sandstone balls can be used to add interest to paved or gravelled areas and will provide a structural contrast to planting – whether exuberantly informal or elegant and formal. Sandstone balls will provide your outdoor space with a permanent sense of unity, balance and style. Tel 01636 626704 Web stoneballs.co.uk PLANT SUPPORTS UK Plant Supports (UK) Ltd is extremely proud to supply totally British, robust, high-quality plant supports, not only for the herbaceous and shrub borders…

Caution: the author’s charm, knowledge and enthusiasm will make you want to walk very slowly around fields.Reviewer Andy Hamilton is a forager, writer and brewer. A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HEDGEROW: AND DITCHES, DYKES AND DRY STONE WALLS by John Wright Profile Books, £16.99 ISBN 978-1846685521 The author John Wright was once a furniture maker and I bet he could talk about dovetail joints at length, and still make it sound interesting. Now a naturalist, John, has done that here with what could have been a very dry subject. There is something utterly charming about the man – it’s in his turn of phrase. When talking about very early Mesolithic field stone boundaries, for example, he knows he is on thin ice with hedge historians and so, he states that…

ROBERT MABIC Robert specialises in photographing gardens from his native Slovenia to the UK, lately in Belgium and the Netherlands, and his features are published in Dutch, German, Belgian and UK magazines. He captures Laura Dingemans’ garden in the Dutch village of Heerle on page 50. “I’d heard about Laura’s garden many times. On the day, the light was good and this lovely garden was ready and waiting for me” TIM RICHARDSON Tim has written numerous books, and a collection of his journalism entitled You Should Have Been Here Last Week is out this autumn. On page 68 he talks to Didier Wirth, founder of the European Institute of Gardens and Landscape, about the status of French gardens. “Didier was a great host in France and I enjoyed meeting a…

“My grandfather told me: ‘Never go into politics.’ I was tempted once – but then I remembered” The cross-channel ferry is a pleasingly old-school way of getting to France, and the six-hour crossing from Portsmouth to Caen, in the Calvados region of Normandy in northern France, proves as smooth as the proverbial water feature. It’s still light as I disembark at 9pm on an August evening, and Didier Wirth is waiting to greet me. Tall and urbane, distinguished yet friendly, he mentions that he woke that morning on one of the Greek islands and has spent all day travelling home to Normandy for our meeting. Before taking me back to his own house we drop by another château in this corner of Calvados. The Château de Bénouville is where Didier…

Autumn glow By August, the yellow-green flowers of Euphorbia palustris (1) that gave this plant its moment of glory during early summer, have gone and the leaves are now developing the early stages of its autumn colouring. Here the golds and reds of its foliage pick out the blue-purple of Symphyotrichum novae-angliae ‘Violetta’ (2) and the yellow of Rudbeckia subtomentosa (3), providing several weeks of vibrant colour combinations. All three are long-lived perennials that flourish in fertile, moist soils. Sunny side up Glebionis coronaria (1) and Nicotiana sylvestris (2) set the cool theme of this yellow and white border. A larger number of small annuals are used to fully explore this combination, including Zinnia elegans ‘Benary’s Riesen White’ (3) and Antirrhinum majus ‘Rocket White’ (4). In contrast are the darker…

1 Stepping up This building is almost too good to be true, in a mellow-mossy, finialed-Cotswold-loveliness kind of way. It is the perfect crescendo to the trickling stream, time-worn stepping stones and casually scattered primulas and ferns. This bog garden, at Cotswold Farm in Duntisbourne Abbots, is possibly not one of the most exciting, but is certainly one of the most enticing. 2 Clotted dream Devon is remarkable not only for its coastline and the quality of its clotted cream but also for its gardens. The congenial (though damp) climate contributes to the general fecundity of the plants and lushness of the vegetation and so it is a natural home for some of the finest bogs in the country, such as here at Marwood Hill Garden near Barnstable. 3 Yakety…

GOOD GOOD FOOD by Sarah Raven photography by Jonathan Buckley Bloomsbury, £25 ISBN 978-1408835555 250 health-boosting, Mediterranean-style recipes that use wholesome ingredients to aid wellbeing. LANCELOT BROWN AND THE CAPABILITY MEN by David Brown and Tom Williamson Reaktion Books, £30 ISBN 978-1780236445 Step into the professional world of Capability Brown and landscape design in Georgian England. BEAKS, BONES & BIRD SONGS by Roger J Lederer Timber Press, £15 ISBN 978-1604696486 Read all about the intricate and diverse life of birds and how the struggle for survival has shaped their behaviour. ONIONS AND GARLIC: A GLOBAL HISTORY by Martha Jay Reaktion Books, £10.99 ISBN 978-1780235875 Find out how plants belonging to the allium family have made their mark across the world. IDEAS OF CHINESE GARDENS: WESTERN ACCOUNTS, 1300-1860 edited by Bianca…

The most that is possible is to check that the odd thing is alive behind a curtain of weed Absentee gardening is not the ideal, but it can sometimes force your hand. When in Worcestershire I can only concentrate on the smaller beds which are home to the precious things. Besides those, once I’ve squeezed in the necessary minimums of mowing, strimming and pruning, there isn’t time to attack the big borders in any meaningful way. The most that is possible is to check that the odd thing is still alive behind a curtain of weed and free it from immediate stranglehold. Not that I am fooling myself that those beds weren’t already getting more and more out of hand before the abandonment. That was due, in the worst place,…

NEW EXHIBITION Larger than life Known for her abstract paintings of enlarged flowers, Georgia O’Keeffe (1887- 1986) was one of the most pioneering artists of the 20th century. Now Tate Modern is mounting a major exhibition of the American modernist’s work, which offers a rare opportunity to see more than 100 of her paintings outside of the USA. Until 30 October. Admission £19. tate.org.uk MAZE FESTIVAL Let’s get lost Just 15 miles from Cambridge, in the small town of Saffron Walden, two historic labyrinths have become stars of the Saffron Walden Maze festival, which takes place from 20-21 August. The first is a traditional hedge maze located in the Grade II-listed Bridge End garden and the second, found on Saffron Walden common, is the largest example of only eight surviving…

Daucus carota ‘Dara’ I grew this ornamental carrot for the first time in 2013 since when it has rocketed in popularity. The wild carrot is a biennial with white flowers with a central dark spot mimicking an insect to entice visiting flies to pollinate. D . carota‘Dara’ is an annual with reddish-purple umbels that are quite variable in colour and grown as a seed strain. It makes an unusual cut flower and will stand for several days in water. As the seedhead matures the outer umbel stems elongate resulting in an almost cup-shaped form, colloquially known as ‘bird’s nest. Height 60-90cm. Origin Europe, central Asia. Growing conditions Well-drained soil; sun. Hardiness RHS H7, USDA 3a-9b. Season of interest Summer to autumn. Scabiosa columbaria subsp. ochroleuca Scabious are excellent nectar producers…

Earliest garden memories My grandfather was an officer of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a very methodical and quiet gentleman. I have memories of him clipping the box parterre or raking the gravel with the patient dedication of a Zen monk. Who has inspired your career? I trained in molecular biology and my first job was as a scientist. It was in my early thirties that my green fingers seriously started to itch. Observing my mother’s passion for gardening played a key role in my career change. Favourite garden The Courts in Wiltshire, where I worked at the beginning of my horticultural journey. It is a living lesson in planting and garden design and the most atmospheric garden I have ever encountered. It will stay in my heart for ever. Favourite planting…

Twenty-five years ago Bob Foltz was a renowned dancer and choreographer and Andries Bierling had a successful career in public relations. Today the couple are the owners of one of the most important plant nurseries in the Netherlands and the holders of the Dutch collections of Salvia and Echinacea. This unlikely metamorphosis started when Bob helped out for a few weeks at a bedding-plant nursery and realised that growing plants was what he wanted to do. “As soon as I started growing and propagating plants I knew that this is what I wanted to do with my life,” says Bob. At the end of the 1990s, after eight years of partnership in the nursery where Bob had originally worked, the pair decided it was time to have their own nursery.…

• The Savage Garden is a new development at the National Trust for Scotland’s Inverewe Garden in Wester Ross where carnivorous species including the Venus flytrap are the attraction. A raised bog has been created for the trumpet plant Sarracenia flava, and other species are displayed in a Wardian case. nts.org.uk • A residential topiary course, led by expert James Crebbin-Bailey, is suitable for all levels of expertise, and includes cutting techniques and tips on care and maintenance, and pests and diseases. Missenden Abbey, London Road, Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire HP16 0BD. 25-26 August, £190 (includes accommodation and meals). topiaryarts.com • Designer Dan Pearson is charting the development of his Somerset garden, and writing about the wider world of horticulture, landscape, food growing and producers, at digdelve.com • Capel Manor College…

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1 ABBOTSBURY SUBTROPICAL 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 ABBEYWOOD GARDENS Abbeywood is a 45-acre estate nestling in the Delamere countryside, right in the heart of Cheshire. It has lots to offer, including acre upon acre of woodland, six acres of informal and formal gardens, plus you can relax and enjoy the atmosphere in our Garden Cafe, which…