Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2017 i Gardens Illustrated Magazine

We are never more aware of time than when we’re outside. Whether it’s using well-made tools that last a lifetime, preserving summer berries to eat as jam, handing down knowledge or working with the seasons, what happened last week, last month or last year is the best pointer of what is to come. In this issue, we take a fresh look England’s most iconic flowers and visit three gardens that are firmly rooted in their histories. Delphiniums were the private passion of Edward Steichen, 1930s photographer with the publisher Condé Nast. In 1936 the Museum of Modern Art, New York staged an exhibition of his work breeding these incredible flowers, that recognised the creative process involved. On page 54 John Hoyland looks at the plant societies and amateur enthusiasts that…

In brief What A genus of about 300 species of perennial, annual and biennial plants with hundreds more cultivars and hybrids. Most of those featured here are descended from the perennial species Delphinium elatum. Origin Throughout the northern hemisphere, mainly in China. Season Flowering in June and July with occasional re-flowering later in the year. Size From 30cm to 2m tall. Conditions Delphiniums enjoy a sunny, open situation, in well-drained soil that has been prepared by adding well-rotted compost. In hot weather they will need regular watering. Established plants benefit from an annual top-dressing of a general fertiliser, and mulching helps to reduce water loss. In 1936 the Museum of Modern Art in New York staged one of its more improbable exhibitions: a display of delphiniums. The plants had been…

• Chelsea Flower Show gold medalists Hugo Bugg and Charlotte Harris, who recently collaborated on the design of the new 445-acre Royal Botanic Garden in Jordan, have merged landscape design practices to form the Harris Bugg Studio, which is based in London and Exeter. harrisbugg.com • The Roof Gardens’ Gardening Club is hosting a panel discussion on the role of women in the world of gardening. 16 July, 9am-12pm, £15 (£10 for Gardening Club members). The Roof Gardens, 99 Kensington High Street, London W8 5SA. ticketweb.co.uk • Garden designer Adam Frost has launched a Garden School, held at his developing garden near Stamford in Lincolnshire. Learn how to create a kitchen garden that’s both productive and beautifully designed (25-26 July), or how to turn garden design into a career with…

THE SALAD GARDEN  by Joy Larkcom Frances Lincoln, £16.99 ISBN 978-0711238701 Inspiration on how to grow fresh, seasonal and flavoursome garden produce in a productive and beautiful way. Reviewer Jennifer Pryke is head vegetable gardener at Le Manoir. The iconic first edition of The Salad Garden was published in 1984. Now in her eighties, Joy Larkcom, has extensively revised the book to include updated methods of growing. These range from raising ‘baby leaves’ and ‘micro-greens’ to exciting new cultivars to try at home. Whatever space you have, from a large vegetable garden or allotment, to a window box, there will be a cultivar you will want to grow, nurture and add to your favourite salad. The concept of a salad garden is covered here in a wider sense; not only…

1. DAISY ROOTS Healthy, hardy perennials and grasses, home-grown in Hertfordshire.Visit the nursery Fridays and Saturdays from March-October or shop mail order online from your armchair. Garden consultancy and design service. daisyroots.com | 07958 563355 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. KEN MUIR We at Ken Muir pride ourselves on providing the highest quality fruit trees, soft fruits, canes and vines. One of our key aims is to share our knowledge in this area and help everybody to feel comfortable growing their own fruit. kenmuir.co.uk | 01255 830181 4. TWELVE NUNNS Buy our Harvington Hellebores® as plug plants…

URSULA CHOLMELEY Ursula has spent 17 years restoring and replanting the 12-acre Easton Walled Gardens, a lost 400-year-old, garden in Lincolnshire. Biodiversity and good horticulture are at the heart of her gardens’ success. On page 68 she selects some of her favourite sweet peas. “We grow so many sweet peas, this article gave me an opportunity to get up very close to some of our favourites.” TAMSIN WESTHORPE Tamsin has been a gardener since the age of 16. She writes and lectures about horticulture, as well as looking after her family’s four-acre Herefordshire garden, Stockton Bury. On page 78 she captures some of the romance of Coughton Court’s historic gardens. “It was a privilege to spend time with Christina Williams and to learn about the history of the garden, and…

Crocosmia ‘Hellfire’ The renowned (and very good) Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ used to be my default red crocosmia for the garden, however, it has now been usurped by the brilliant ‘Hellfire’. The flowers of ‘Hellfire’ are a dusky, deep red and larger than those of ‘Lucifer’, which look orange in comparison. The blooms are held on dark stems and seem to peer out from above the masses of vivid-green, sword-shaped leaves. Plant in good, moist soil at the front of the border as the foliage provides good contrast against lower-growing plants and remains clean until autumn. Divide the corms every four years to maintain vigour. AGM*. Height 1.2m. Origin Garden origin. Conditions Moist open garden soil; sun to part-shade. Hardiness RHS H5, USDA 5a-10b. Season Summer. Consolida regalis…

One of the reasons some Mediterranean recipes fail to impress when transplanted to English kitchens is that they rely on extraordinarily fresh ingredients that are packed with intense, sun-ripened flavour. It is this combination of herbs grown in hot sun and just-picked vegetables that will make the first three of the dishes below really shine. Happily, now is the time when your own garden should be overflowing with vegetables of all kinds at their peak, and you may marvel at the speed and ease with which you bring a sumptuous dish to the table. One accompaniment all summer kitchens need (to be eaten with grilled fish or raw vegetables) is aioli (garlic mayonnaise). To make this, take two cloves of garlic crushed to a paste with some sea salt, and…

Poolside cool This pot sits by the swimming pool where it has to look good from the first warm days in May right up to September. The planting also has to work at night, when the lights and candles are lit and the pool garden is elevated to a theatre-like set. I have chosen plants that will provide interest for the whole season, but also make sure the ensemble changes through the season and ends up in an exuberance of lush foliage and flowers. How to achieve the look Colours and shapes I’ve kept the plant selection cool, but you could easily use blue-flowering plumbago and pink-and-purple cosmos. Pelargonium tomentosum is one of my favourites for its scent and leaves and we also train it as an espalier at the…

“The RHS position was a leap into the unknown, but it was an opportunity I couldn’t refuse at an exciting time for the Society” Tim Upson’s interview for a doctoral place at Reading University did not get off to a good start. He had been working on the remote island of St Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, then accessible only by sea, and his boat arrived on Ascension Island too late to catch an RAF flight back to England. “I had no choice but to wait until I could get on another plane. There were faxes flying around trying to work out when I could get back and it started to look like I would miss the chance altogether. In the end, I drove straight from the RAF air…

1 Understated Beautifully laid stone, hedges so sharp you could cut yourself, freshly ironed turf, comfy loungers and perfect little pinpoints of light. This is a snappy city garden with perfect lines and it will come as no surprise to the cognoscenti that it was designed by the very clever Luciano Giubbilei. 2 Warm glow This is what we in the trade call an underglow – or if we don’t then we jolly well should do. Warm lights attached to the underside of a cantilevered bench send out just enough light to stop anybody tripping but not enough to smother the flicker of the flames. 3 Light your way This is great – a zig zag of light flittering across cobbled path. Not just to light your way home after…

LIVING WITH PLANTS: A GUIDE TO INDOOR GARDENING  by Sophie Lee Hardie Grant Books, £15 ISBN 978-1784880965 Simple but innovative ways to make your home gorgeously green using house plants. THE LITTLE BOOK OF CACTI AND OTHER SUCCULENTS  by Emma Sibley Quadrille Publishing, £8.99 ISBN 978-1849499149 More plants for the home, this time in the form of those most resilient to the neglect of even the laid-back of gardeners. VEGETABLE GROWING: A MONEY-SAVING GUIDE  by Jonathan Stevens Michael O’Mara Books, £8.99 ISBN 978-1782437635 A practical guide to frugal allotmenteering, including tips for making free alternatives to common gardening tools. ORCHIDS  by Henrik Aerenlund Pedersen and Bo Mossberg William Collins, £30 ISBN 978-0008210694 A richly illustrated look at Europe’s wild orchids – many of which are just as fascinating as their…

1 LOIRE VALLEY GARDENS EUROPEAN GARDEN Possibly the best known potager in the world, Villandry is a stunning start of your tour of the beautiful and inspiring Loire Valley gardens: Experience the Loire Valley through its gardens, food and wine, staying within a private estate surrounded by a thoughtfully designed garden in the heart of the valley of the French Kings. Address Moulin de Maulne, 37330 Lublé, Loire valley, France Tel +33 (0)615503690 Web moulindemaulne.com 2 WATERPERRY GARDENS The herbaceous border is in full colour with delphiniums, heleniums and the first asters beginning to bloom. Waterperry’s outdoor theatre plays host to the Gilbert & Sullivan Festival Opera Tour from 7-9 July and the acclaimed ‘Old Herbaceous’ theatre production on 15 July. A place to explore, relax and shop in beautiful…

1. Bespoke Plant Supports Ltd Exclusive 5% discount code: GARDEN. Handmade plant supports sold direct to the public. 6mm mild steel supports from £1.50. Various sizes of curved supports and plant loop stakes. bespokeplantsupports.co.uk | 511 Durham Road NE9 5EY 2. Belightful Design Do you like butterflies? Make the most of your garden or patio with this award-winning Belightful Butterfly Oasis, designed for feeding butterflies. Butterfly food is included in the package. belightfuldesign.com | +358 44 2401 353 3. Architectural Heritage Inspired by period design, Architectural Heritage proudly presents its 2017 garden catalogue. Featuring a classic collection of planters, seating, sundials and fountains. architectural-heritage.co.uk | 01386 584414 4. Red Lilly Create garden illumination with our collection of outdoor LED garlands. The Solar ‘365’ panel operates even in dull light so you can easily…

What did you do before you became a gardener? I was a freelance wallpainting restorer/conservator for 14 years. While it was enjoyable work, it was by necessity nomadic, and retraining as a gardener allowed me to literally put down roots. It is a very grounding profession, and heightens one’s awareness of nature and the changing seasons. Horticultural heroes One of my garden heroes is Noel Kingsbury, whom I admire for his innovative research into herbaceous perennials, and particularly plant combinations and their habitats. Most valuable training I was lucky to benefit from time at Highgrove, where best practice, sustainability and organic principles are followed. Favourite planting style My favourite planting style is that of the New Perennial movement, coupled with one that sits well within its space and the landscape…

ARCHITECTURE A different view Perched high on the Surrey hills near Winterfold, this permanent piece of sculptural architecture – called Perspectives – from London-based design studio Giles Miller is possibly the most perfect place to escape the stresses of modern life. The pavilion’s overlapping cedar shingles, which are attached to a curving iron frame, are etched with lines of poetry, and messages of love and memory from local residents and other contributors to the project by Surrey Hills Arts and the Mittal Foundation. gilesmiller.com NEW GARDEN Fifth paradise The RHS has been granted planning permission in principle for its fifth garden, RHS Garden Bridgewater, at Worsley New Hall in Salford, Greater Manchester. A master plan for the 154-acre garden has been drawn up by landscape architect Tom Stuart-Smith, which will…

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Pruning gave the satisfactory feeling of having done something worthwhile, whereas weeding was like playing a penny whistle in a hurricane The joy of being back in my own garden is overwhelming at times. Which is not convenient when there is no time to be overwhelmed. Everything needs to be overhauled on some level. Nothing has been fed, mulched or given manure for three years and weeding has been haphazard, infrequent and ineffective. Some of the paths have been so disrupted by weeds that they will have to be laid again. All the borders will have to be dug out as though it were a new garden. It will take, at a guess, a year to get through them. The only job that I kept on top of to any…