Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2017 i Gardens Illustrated Magazine

Spring is the season of new beginnings: fresh growth, gently unfurling leaves and the swelling of flower buds engender feelings of optimism about the gardening year ahead. The sunny yellow of daffodils is the perfect herald of spring and the historic narcissus orchard at Felley Priory in Nottinghamshire is truly exceptional. Head gardener Lindsey Ellis continues the garden’s development by ensuring she chooses daffodils that lend themselves to naturalising and shares her favourites on page 38. This issue sees the start of our latest pots of style series. Written and styled by Thomas Unterdorfer, head gardener at Rockcliffe, a private garden in the Cotswolds, the five-part series (which will continue in the May, July, September and November issues), provides a step-by-step guide to creating beautifully planted containers. Tracking down easy,…

Say the name ‘Great Dixter’, and for most people what first springs to mind is the ornamental garden, with its bold, even shocking combinations of colour and texture and its exuberant planting. The Lloyd family – Nathaniel, Daisy and their six children – created the vegetable patch, along with the rest of the garden, when they arrived here at the start of the 20th century, and home-grown produce formed an important part of their diet, as Daisy Lloyd’s notebooks and recipes clearly show. Christopher, their youngest son, was to take over the house and garden and put both firmly on the map. In his later years, finding himself without a cook for the first time, he taught himself to cook and took great pleasure in producing delicious things made from…

1 Blechnum chilense Hearty evergreen fern with an upright habit. Spreads by underground rhizomes and, in rich and moist but well-drained soil, will form mighty clumps. 1.2m. AGM*. RHS H4, USDA 7b-11† . 2 Dryopteris filix-mas ‘Crispa Cristata’ Excellent plant that prefers a moist and lightly shaded site, but will tolerate full sun provided it has plenty of water. 1m. AGM. RHS H7, USDA 3a-9b. 3 Athyrium ‘Ghost’ Natural hybrid with strikingly pale fronds flushed pale pink down the midribs. Grows best in a rich soil with plenty of humus or leaf mould, and will adapt well to life in a large pot. 75cm. AGM. RHS H5, USDA 4a-9b. 4 Asplenium scolopendrium (Crispum Group) This hart’s tongue fern is a particularly attractive form that keeps its lush appearance through winter.…

1 Scandi cool You have to hand it to those Swedes – their buildings can be pretty impressive. This is a case in point: half timber building, half greenhouse, the idea is to be as sustainable as possible, with large beds nourished by recycled waste. And it comes with amazing views over Lake Vättern. 2 Start small An excellent solution for the smaller garden: this potting shed from Gabriel Ash combines a tool shed with a tiny lean-to greenhouse. You may not manage to grow everything your heart ever desired, but at least you can make a start without surrendering valuable storage space. 3 In your dreams This is everybody’s vision of a dreamy glasshouse: more than enough space for everything and a rather wonderful surrounding garden. Designed, constructed and…

A well-researched, lively and often amusing survey of the different roles the carnation has played across many cultures.Reviewer John Hoyland is a writer and plantsman. CARNATION by Twigs Way Reaktion Books, £16 ISBN 978-1780236346 Once a plant popular with both paupers and princes, the carnation is usually only seen today in cellophane-wrapped bouquets on petrol-station forecourts. Twigs Way’s book looks at the cultural, social and horticultural importance of these plants and reminds us how beautiful they, and other members of the genus, are. Dianthus includes carnations, sweet williams and pinks, although the distinction between them is sometimes muddied. Way describes the symbolism of pinks (the word is derived not from the colour of the flower but from the pinking on the edges of the petals) in early Christian painting as…

THOMAS UNTERDORFER Thomas is head gardener at Rockcliffe, Gloucestershire. Having trained in Vienna and at Kew, he has worked in many private gardens. On page 46 he begins a new series on container planting (and you can see some of his handiwork on page 81). “I love combining plants in containers to create schemes that fit their individual characters and enhance the space they are in.” MODESTE HERWIG Modeste is a garden designer and photographer who started taking pictures at the age of 15. She worked in her father’s garden for eight years, and has produced 40 books and countless articles on gardening. She turns her lens on Raoul Hagenbeek’s garden on page 52. “Raoul and I have similar taste. I love his use of robust materials and strong lines…

TOUR LEADERS Tania Compton’s garden design career began at The English Gardening School. She is a trustee of the Garden Museum and a writer. Her latest book is The Private Gardens of England. Dr Sophie Piebenga trained as a gardener at the National Trust and Kew. She then followed an interest in the conservation of historic landscapes and gardens, which included studying for a doctorate. The southern English county of Wiltshire contains many World Heritage Sites including Stonehenge, Avebury and Salisbury Cathedral. Almost half the county is designated as an area of outstanding natural beauty, so it is not surprising to find a collection of outstanding gardens. Our trip includes visits to The Courts, a country garden of perfect harmony with lots of late-summer interest. There’s also the iconic Italianate…

Narcissus ‘Bridal Crown’ Narcissus ‘Bridal Crown’ has nicely formed, creamy-white, double flowers with flecks of yellow-orange at the centre. Flowers are grouped in clusters atop strong stems and are held well above the glaucous foliage. ‘Bridal Crown’ lends itself well to indoor displays. Plant bulbs in bowls or pots and place in a cold glasshouse or frame, and bring into the warmth from late December onwards. Support is beneficial as the plants may become leggy. This species can be grown in the garden in a sheltered, south-facing position where the summer sun will bake the bulbs, although the flowers may spoil in heavy showers. AGM*. Height 30-40cm. Spread 15cm. Origin Garden origin. Conditions For pots, I use a 50:50 mix of John innes No 2 with a multi-purpose…

Both cauliflowers, with their creamy curds, and crisp Savoy cabbages, with their crinkled leaves, are undeniably beautiful. As edibles, the most common approach to cooking them (plainly boiled) is often the least rewarding. Cauliflower is delicious with a cheese sauce (see below), but it is also very good broken into florets and roasted, either tossed in a spice mix (1tsp ground coriander, ½ tsp chilli flakes, 1tsp ground turmeric and a large pinch of sea salt mixed with 75ml sunflower oil), or with 1tbsp freshly chopped rosemary, salt, pepper and 3tbsp olive oil. Either way, roast the cauliflower at 180o C/350o F/Gas 4 for 45 minutes, stirring the florets every 15 minutes. One of the simplest and most delicious ways to eat cabbage is as a hot slaw: thinly slice…

1 Narcissus ‘Fortune’ Dating from around 1917, this large daffodil has long-lasting, buttery-yellow flowers and a pale-orange trumpet. Early to mid-season. 45cm. RHS H6, USDA 3a-8b† . 2 N . ‘Kilworth’ A pre-1938 cultivar, the petals are creamy white and the cup deep orange, both yellow at the base. Mid- to late-season. 68cm. RHS H6, USDA 3a-8b. 3 N. ‘Bath’s Flame’ With a small, orange-rimmed cup and pale-yellow petals, this daffodil was bred by Rev GH Engleheart near Bath. Early to mid-season. 45cm. RHS H6, USDA 3a-8b. 4 N . ‘WP Milner’ Pre-1869. Breeder Henry Backhouse named this small cultivar, with dainty, nodding, creamy-white flowers, for his brother-in-law. Early to mid-season. 25cm. RHS H6, USDA 3a-8b. 5 N. ‘Hospodar’ Raised by JC Williams at Caerhays, Cornwall, pre-1914. Large blooms with…

Ten years ago I began work on a garden that sits at the head of a rain-drenched valley in the Lake District. Here, winters are less than forgiving and for a perennial to flourish, or at the very least survive, it needs abundant resilience. The early planting experiments I made – sometimes fruitful, sometimes not – engendered in me a deep respect for many of these tough perennials, and influenced those I grow to this day. Garden worthiness needn’t mean sacrificing any of the tempting qualities of less hardy plants or inviting a range of bland specimens into your borders. Grasses are an excellent place to start, and robust, clump-forming types (of which there are many) are indispensable. A favourite of mine is Panicum virgatum‘Warrior’ (see page 62). Slow to…

Pity the would-be customer who once asked Steven Fletcher and Kerry Robinson when their ferns were going to flower. “We don’t suffer fools gladly,” says Steven. “I have been known to take a plant back out of someone’s hands if I don’t think they’ll look after it properly. This is not just a business to us. We really are passionate about what we grow.” In the 15 years since Steven and Kerry started exhibiting they have won enough RHS Gold medals to paper half a wall in their loo – “although at first we did worry we wouldn’t be good enough,” says Steven. Their first attempt was at the 2002 London Flower Show where they won Best Exhibitor. On a show circuit where pressed jeans or brass-buttoned blazers are the…

Arbours and tunnels Using hazel, willow and birch you can create stunning structures that offer a sense of grandeur in places where a permanent building might be too much of a commitment. Their temporary status can also be seen as a great opportunity to experiment and have fun. One of the joys of creating your own structures is that they are never the same from one year to the next and can be both decorative and practical. This short arbour (1) supports climbing beans and also forms the entrance to a hedged enclosure within a kitchen garden. It can be made each year by pushing diametrically opposed pairs of birch branches into the ground. These are then arched over each other and held in place by loosely twisting the twiggy…

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1. RV ROGER LTD Traditional third generation nursery, growing a huge range of heritage roses, fruit trees and hardy nursery stock in the Vale of Pickering, North Yorkshire. Multiple RHS Gold Medal awards. Plant Centre open all year round. rvroger.co.uk  | 01751 472226 2. PADDOCK PLANTS An eclectic range of perennials, grasses, ferns and shrubs for your garden, including some more unusual varieties or plants new to the UK market. All grown peat free with no harmful chemicals. paddockplants.co.uk  | 023 8073 9912 3. DUCHY OF CORNWALL NURSERY Offering a wide selection of plants from camellias and magnolias to perennials and house plants, along with an award-winning café. Located in the beautiful Fowey Valley. duchyofcornwallnursery.co.uk  | 01208 872668 4. SPRING REACH NURSERY VISIT SURREY’S FINEST NURSERY. We have the finest-quality,…

DU MAURIER WATCHES The Daphne Signature by Du Maurier Watches from British designer Ned du Maurier Browning, is a beautiful, Swiss-made timepiece, inspired by Ned’s grandmother, Daphne du Maurier. Paired here with an elegant blue strap, it is also available on gold, black, tan or pink straps. £440. Tel 01460 220720 Web dumaurierwatches.com CHASE SM4 SEAWEED PLUS FEED Chase SM4 Seaweed Plus Feed is a complete, organic plant food with calcium, iron, magnesium and trace elements, plus all the benefits of seaweed. The balanced fertiliser content, blended from entirely plant-based sources, makes this an excellent all-round plant food. Use on vegetables, flowers and lawns. Tel 01932 878570 Web organiccatalogue.com HUGE RANGE OF PLANT SUPPORTS We hope you have your Plant Supports ready, plants are emerging from the ground and before…

• Spring planting ideas from a Dutch garden • Getting the best from Primula sieboldii • Arundel Castle’s tulip extravaganza • The second in our series on designer Mary Keen’s Cotswold garden • Design inspiration for garden steps ON SALE 30 MARCH Save money when you subscribe to the digital edition – see page 36. Also in selected Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Tesco stores, as well as WHSmith, and all good magazine retailers.…

There was no quarter given for illness or weakness and no terrain too difficult to cross, and definitely no turning back You would think that being a gardener would immunise you to the sting of death. Not so because, in nearly every case, a plant is replaceable; the death no more than a spur to a better attempt. It does nothing to prepare you for the loss of the irreplaceable. By that I mean a person, and the person I am thinking of was not merely irreplaceable in my small emotional world, but in the great world of plants, where there is no one to grow into the gap he has left. Nearly half a year ago the news reached us of the death of a friend who was, in…

Earliest gardening memory Our family garden consisted mostly of lawns with a large, rather weedy border. The annual weeding of this space for a small payment was my earliest experience. First plant love Seeing the sea of Hyacinthoides non-scripta rushing down the valley at Rannerdale in the Lake District takes my breath away. I still try to see them every year. Who are your horticultural heroes? I love reading about plant hunters of the past, such as Richard Evans Schultes and Alfred Russel Wallace. The effects their discoveries in South America had on humanity can be considered profound. A worthwhile tip for every gardener Everyone tells you to take notes but that’s less than half the battle. Unless you refer to your notes and re-read them, you won’t remember much…

Ringing in spring Helleborus x sahinii ‘Winterbells’ inspired this design, based on reminders of winter and heralds of spring. It flowers for several months and performs as well in a shady border as it does in pots. It feels moody and dark, and with the winter colouring of the ivy, fits perfectly in the old cauldron. Anemones are the epitome of spring and the dainty blue form of Anemone blanda lifts the colour and texture of the scheme while keeping it deep and dusky. How to achieve the look Colours and shapes The hellebore displays a beautiful spectrum of colours in its bell-shaped flowers as well as the stems and leaves. I love the way it contrasts with the blue of the anemones. The purple stems and veined leaves also…

“Nothing bores me more than a typical herbaceous border. I love colourful tapestries of craziness” Jimi Blake doesn’t just love plants. He really loves plants. And after half an hour in his company so would anyone else. He is a colourful character with an even more colourful dress sense, and the garden he has created at Hunting Brook, near Dublin, has earned its place on the grand tour of the Irish greats, alongside Mount Usher and the National Botanic Gardens. In the lush green landscape of County Wicklow, Jimi combines tropical rarities with the best of the prairie plants in high-octane combinations that take your breath away. Creatively innovative and technically expert, he is also passionate about communicating his enthusiasm to as many people as possible. This horticultural high profile…

It is quite easy to propagate ferns from spores. Just fill a perfectly clean seed tray with normal multi-purpose seed compost and flood it with boiling water from the kettle to sterilise. Allow it to cool, then sow spores on the surface and wrap tightly in cling film. Keep out of direct sun and wait for germination. It can take as long as six months, and the tray will get all mossy during this time, but you just have to be patient. Don’t be tempted to peek or you will let bacteria in and moisture out. Other tips • Dryopteris will adapt to the dry. These are also the most sun-tolerant ferns, although they may get bleached in full sun. Plant in September when the ground is warm and damp…

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 HEVER CASTLE & GARDENS Spring is a wonderful time to view the gardens as spectacular carpets of crocus and daffodils welcome visitors. Walls are covered in camellias and tulips are in full bloom, as are the rhododendrons, azaleas and wisteria. Spring bedding includes hyacinths, wallflowers and pansies. See website for…