Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2016 i Gardens Illustrated Magazine

There’s a long-standing debate about whether or not gardens and gardening can be considered as art forms. I strongly believe that they can, so a few years ago, at the opening of the gardens at Durslade Farm, the Somerset gallery of contemporary art dealers Hauser & Wirth, it was heartening to see an entire gallery space devoted to Piet Oudolf ’s planting designs. The colourful, highly detailed, hand-drawn plans are remarkable in their own right and it was significant that garden design was so unequivocally recognised as a work of art. Arguably the most famous garden designer in the world, Piet has worked on some impressive projects, notably the High Line in New York, and we are delighted to feature his Oudolf Field at Hauser & Wirth Somerset on page…

The air is filled with birdsong and the buzz of insects as Simon Damant mows the meadows on the Wimpole Estate where he works as a forester. The scythe in his hands makes barely a whisper as it slices effortlessly through a stand of grass and wildflowers in a wide arc. The tool he is using might look primitive but, Simon passionately believes, it has yet to be bettered, whether you are cutting small garden meadows or the paths in your allotment. “The modern alternative is a strimmer, which guzzles fossil fuel, makes a racket and can injure wildlife. It doesn’t even do a particularly good job” he says. “I can cut a meadow faster and neater with my scythe than anyone with a strimmer” Nor is this an idle…

1 Veronicastrum virginicum ‘Album’ Tidy spires of white, midsummer flowers on very upright stems, which are good as seedheads too. Flowering lasts well in sun and fertile soil. 1.2m. AGM*. RHS H7, USDA 4a-9b† . 2 Physostegia virginiana ‘Miss Manners’ Selected by American plantsman Darrell Probst for its well-behaved, non-invasive habit. Late-flowering and a particularly pure white. Best in sun or light shade in damp, fertile soil. It runs but can die out. 60cm. RHS H7, USDA 4a-8b. 3 Astilbe chinensis Purple Candles (= ‘Purpurkerze’) Too bright a pink? But this is the one astilbe that looks good in winter too, as it has interesting, firm, narrowly conical seedheads. Mid to late summer. Sun or light shade in moist, fertile soil. 1m. RHS H7, USDA 3. 4 Onoclea sensibilis This…

1 Shapes and sizes One of the most remarkable topiary gardens in Britain is at Levens Hall in Cumbria. The gardens were laid out in the late 17th century by Guillaume Beaumont, one-time gardener to James II. In the mid 1700s, when fashionable landowners were ripping out their formal gardens, this one survived and has steadily become evermore fantastical and extravagant, as this plan, recording just some of the many shapes in the garden in 1927, shows. Today you should look out for chess pieces, a judge’s wig, Queen Elizabeth I and a small flock of peacocks. 2 Flights of fancy I’m not 100 per cent sure what these chaps are – possibly peacocks – but they are particularly remarkable because they’re not even faintly formal. The yew hedge at…

An often lyrical and in-depth exploration of the impact 17 of our most common trees have had on our culture and lives.Reviewer Lia Leendertz is a garden writer and allotmenteer. THE LONG, LONG LIFE OF TREES by Fiona Sta ord Yale University Press, £16.99 ISBN 978-0300207330 This is a book that instantly enriches your experience of the natural world, overlaying the trees around you in myth, poetry and hidden meaning. The author Fiona Stafford – professor of English language and literature at the University of Oxford, and presenter of two Radio 3 series on The Meaning of Trees – has chosen 17 of the most common trees and here presents an incredibly thorough and engaging exploration of each. To take just one example, for the Rowan chapter we start in…

Every gardener needs a good set of tools they can trust and our hand tools – made for us by the excellent Dutch toolmaker Sneeboer – are a joy to use and look good too. Exaggerated handweeder The offset blade of the hand weeder gives greater manoeuvrability when weeding between established plants or in confined spaces, such as containers. Most often used as a hoe, it can also be useful for hooking out and uprooting weeds. Hand scratcher This garden scratcher is a great multi-weeder for use throughout the garden. Online Visit gardensillustrated.com/shop238 Telephone Call 0344 245 8098† quoting code GI238…

CLAIRE MASSET Like the garden historian Twigs Way, whom she profiles for us on page 64, writer and editor Claire has a passion for women gardeners throughout history. Her new book, Secret Gardens (published by Pavilion Books in March 2017) explores some of the National Trust’s hidden gems. “Twigs is the most affable and inspiring of garden historians. An hour spent with her will have you reaching out for her latest book.” FIONA McLEOD UK-based Fiona loves the challenge of photographing gardens; having to work so quickly and efficiently to capture the fleeting light. She’s also in awe of the skilful work of the garden owners she meets, including Sean Swallow whose garden is featured on page 46. “I loved photographing Sean’s garden. It is a beautiful and serene space,…

Thalictrum ‘Splendide’ This lovely meadow rue is a recent introduction that appeared spontaneously in the garden of French nurseryman Thierry Delabroye. It is thought to be a hybrid between two Chinese species T . delavayi and T . elegans . As it is a sterile hybrid, it flowers for several weeks longer than either of its parents, providing vast clouds of small, purplish-pink flowers with creamy stamens that contrast with dark, reddish-purple stems. It can grow so tall and flower so profusely that it becomes top heavy and requires judicious staking to prevent it tumbling over into the border. Height 1.2-1.8m. Origin Spontaneous seedling between Chinese species T. delavayi and T. elegans. Growing conditions Moisture-retentive soil; sun…

Autumn extravanganza Autumn is the time of reds and oranges; rich burnt colours, mingled with pinks and purples… anything goes at this time of year. As the sun lowers in the sky, the changing light levels intensify the colours even more. This display will get bigger and better as the season progresses – culminating in a crescendo of fireworks – until cut down by the first frosts. I hope they will inspire you to create a dazzling floral pyrotechnic display of your own. How to achieve the look Container My partner Ian made this container using a discarded tailgate as the frontispiece. The rest was built using offcuts of plywood screwed together. We added drainage holes, covered these with polystyrene chips, and placed it in position in a sunny spot…

In brief What A genus of 420 species of hardy annuals and perennials valued for their adaptability, their ease of cultivation and their abundant flower production. Thousands of cultivars and hybrids have been bred. Origins Geraniums are found in every continent apart from Antarctica, mainly in temperate regions. Common in woodlands and open meadows, they have also adapted to shallow soils and freezing temperatures at high altitudes. Season Mainly summer-flowering, from May to September. Size From small alpines 10cm tall to herbaceous perennials 1.2m tall. Conditions A few species prefer cool, shady conditions but most thrive in sunny, open situations in rich, well-drained soil. GERANIUM ROZANNE (= ‘GERWAT’) A mass of flowers from June to October, G. Rozanne was found in Rozanne Waterer’s Somerset garden in 1989. Once…

Hearing him talk – about the beauty of the woods, the campfires and camaraderie of the shows – it’s clear how much joy every part of the process brings him A couple of years ago, Owen Jones, one of the very few remaining makers of the traditional Cumbrian oak swill basket, was featured on BBC One’s Countryfile. “I don’t have a television so I didn’t see it,” he tells me from his workshop on the shores of Coniston Water in the Lake District. He only realised the programme had aired when he checked his email inbox one evening and realised he’d had 250 orders within half an hour. A couple of days later, he’d had 400. “I printed them all out and it sent me into a bit of a…

NEW PARK Green venue A 32m-high artificial hill in the Athens suburb of Kallithea not only rewards visitors with spectacular views out to sea and across the city to the Acropolis, but also acts as a green roof for the Stavros Niarchos Cultural Centre. This stylish new home for the Greek National Opera and the National Library of Greece, designed by Renzo Piano, is built into the side of the hill and has at its summit a paper-thin canopy, floating on slender columns and covered with photovoltaic panels, that will generate electricity for the building and shade a glass-walled reading room. The hill is covered by a sloping park that helps to regulate the building’s temperature and is open to the public. Landscaped by New York designer Deborah Nevins, the…

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A RUM AFFAIR: THE TRUE STORY OF BOTANICAL FRAUD by Karl Sabbagh Birlinn Limited, £9.99 ISBN 978-1780273860 How in the 1940s a tenacious amateur botanist uncovered botanical fraud on the Isle of Rum. THE STORY OF BEATRIX POTTER by Sarah Gristwood National Trust Books, £16.99 ISBN 978-1909881808 The surprising life of the Cumbrian farmer, conservationist, artist and much-loved children’s author 150 years on from her birth. HERBARIUM by Caz Hildebrand Thames & Hudson, £16.95 ISBN 978-0500518939 A beautifully illustrated guide to 100 essential herbs, with information on how to grow them, cook with them and exploit their healing properties. THE WATER-SAVING GARDEN by Pam Penick Ten Speed Press, £16.95 ISBN 978-16077479322 A book full of inspiring designs and techniques to help you create an outdoor space that looks fabulous without…

Still, we thought, how much harm can a small burrowing animal do? In the beginning my feelings towards gophers were innocently benign. It was an instinct that was reinforced by the neighbour who offered to have ours poisoned while her own were being done. That her garden was three parts concrete, and that men in space suits appeared regularly to spray the concrete with chemicals unknown, had not left me sympathetic to her gardening style, and I politely declined (one should always err towards politeness with neighbours, and I am holding back here on the slim risk that she might come across this in the dentist’s waiting room), saying that we had a dog and I couldn’t put her in the way of accidental poisoning, which was true, though only…

Earliest gardening memory My Nan getting me to look up plants in a little Collins plant-identifying book; the first plant was speedwell. First plant love Growing vegetables as a 14-year-old on work experience. It opened my eyes to the origins of food and made me actually enjoy vegetables. Impressive effect for a 14-year-old boy. Who are your horticultural heroes? Having worked on private estates my whole career I am eternally grateful to, and have been inspired by, my employers. We’re all lucky they are able to invest in a garden, not for profit, but for passion and turn their passions into reality – and their commitment to horticulture is commendable. Also, Geoff Hamilton and Alan Titchmarsh. It may not be trendy to mention them, but they inspired a nation to…

“I love the idea of being able to express yourself as a woman through your writing and your garden” Academics can be stuffy and abstruse. Not so Twigs Way. The historian, author, lecturer and researcher approaches garden history with a sense of fun that almost belies her learning. But don’t be fooled: she knows her subject inside out. A penchant for the human angle has steered Twigs towards the social and cultural aspects of gardens. Virgins, Weeders and Queens, one of her first books, is a history of women in the garden. It brims with personal stories, anecdotes and detail. So does A Nation of Gardeners, a lively account of how the British developed their passion for gardening. Twigs is a prolific and engaging writer. She deftly moves from broad…

• A five-day course on The Art of Naturalistic Planting takes place at Cambo Garden, Fife, from 29 August to 2 September, 10am-4pm. Tutors include Cambo head gardener Elliott Forsyth and Noël Kingsbury. £750. Tel 01333 450054, camboestate.com • Learn how to use dahlias creatively at Great Dixter and Perch Hill, East Sussex, on 23 September, with guided tours of both gardens and dinner at Perch Hill. £125. sarahraven.com • The 17th Art in the Garden sculpture exhibition at Sir Harold Hillier Gardens in Hampshire features more than 100 pieces by 47 artists, including the balancing stone, Revealed In Time, by Adrian Gray. Until 16 October. 3.hants.gov.uk/hilliergardens.co.uk • Discover more about the rock gardens made by James Pulham and Co in a talk at Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire, by Claude Hitching…

1 COTSWOLD WILDLIFE PARK & GARDENS Take a walk on the wild side – stroll peacefully around the park in September and October and enjoy the gardens at their late summer peak, with tropical planting, cascading planters and beautiful borders. The stunning gardens and themed borders make a beautiful backdrop to the animals. With over 260 different animal species in over 120 acres of mature parkland, there’s plenty of space to relax and get closer to wildlife. RHS Partner Garden in 2016. Address Burford, Oxfordshire OX18 4JP Tel 01993 823006 Web cotswoldwildlifepark.co.uk 2 WATERPERRY GARDENS The magnificent herbaceous border at Waterperry Gardens bursts with late summer colour with the flowering of its Michaelmas daisies. Head to one of the specialist weekends on 17-18 and 24-25 September for expert advice and…