Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2019 i Gardens Illustrated Magazine

At the heart of gardening sustainably is forward thinking; one foot in the garden and the other in next week, next month, ten years ahead. Buying less but better, recycling what we once considered to be single-use, plastic plant pots, planting thoughtfully and using horticulture rather than chemicals to keep soil in good health. In this issue of Gardens Illustrated , garden designer Marian Boswall also considers the importance of thoughtful, functional design in a gentle approach to gardening, where pathways take the most obvious route and well-chosen materials, which will eventually meld back into the land, are beautifully crafted. For foragers a hedgerow is a feast of good eating and treats for the larder. On page 44 Alys Fowler recommends the best woody shrubs to choose for an edible…

CAMELLIA SASANQUA ‘CRIMSON KING’ An early flowering species of camellia that always brings me a tremendous amount of joy. Flowering well before the thrust of camellia blooms appear, its single, crimson-red flowers have a simplicity that also lends itself to many different planting styles and schemes. It’s a large shrub that benefits from a sheltered position, and if your garden is in an exposed and colder climate, try growing this plant in a container, but if you do make sure that it doesn’t dry out during the summer for a strong flowering performance. AGM*. Height 2.5-4m. Origin Garden origin (species from Japan). Conditions Moisture-retentive, acidic, fertile and free-draining soil; partial shade. Hardiness RHS H4, USDA 8a-9b† . Season of interest Autumn and winter. PANICUM VIRGATUM ‘KUPFERHIRSE’ Perhaps not the first…

Earliest gardening memory As a child, getting dragged along to garden centres every weekend by my mum and hating it. Now I love it. Who has inspired your career? It would be my mum. After I got my HNC she was the one who persuaded me to apply for a job at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. I started as a botanical horticulturist and went on to become keeper of the Palm House. Favourite garden The last place that really blew me away was Gardens by the Bay in Singapore. Amazing conservatories, landscaping and planting taking horticulture to a new level. While I was there I saw gardeners abseiling down the side of green walls and volunteers using tweezers to pick over the beds. Most valuable training I did a…

Charlie Ryrie Charlie creates three Christmas projects, page 62. “Handmade decorations are joyfully personal, and it’s particularly satisfying to create them using only garden materials, snips and twine.” Marian Boswall Marian rounds off her design ideas series by looking at gardens that endure, page 82. “My last piece in this mini series looks at how we can make gardens that stand the test of time.” Agata Wierzbicka Agata illustrates our monthly houseplant feature, page 106. “I’m always amazed at how a much-loved houseplant can start to feel like a good friend – bringing a lot of joy for a little bit of care.”…

In this month of parties and overindulgence, there’s nothing quite like burning off those extra calories in a beautiful landscape. Even better if it is also home to the world’s most comprehensive collection of conifers. Bedgebury National Pinetum and Forest, has more than 12,000 specimens planted over 300 acres, and also offers cycle tracks, plenty of walking routes and running trails. With good disabled access, a playground and café, it’s a great day out for the family, and a fabulous place to get some ideas and inspiration for growing conifers. Bedgebury Road, Goudhurst, Kent TN17 2SJ. Tel 01580 879820, forestryengland.uk/ bedgebury Around 30 miles south of Paris, the 16th-century Château de Courances has stunning parkland and gardens that epitomise the French gardening tradition. The formal gardens feature 17 ornamental ponds…

What Edible trees and shrubs suitable for hedgerows. A mixed deciduous informal hedge that can be foraged for its edible offerings. This sort of hedging has many uses, it benefits wildlife year-round, offering nectar, pollen, fruit, shelter and nest habitats. It can be used to create a shelter belt to minimise wind or screen out unsightly views and lastly, but by no means not least, it offers seasonal foraging. Origins Most of the plants shown are native to Europe, many to the UK. Season Spring flowers, autumn harvesting and colour. Size From small shrubs that measure less than a metre to trees of more than 10m. Conditions Suitable for a wide range of conditions and soils. Hardiness All are fully hardy, with a hardiness rating of RHS H6-H7, and and…

The concrete path leading up to Sandhill Farm, Andy McIndoe’s home in a wooded part of Hampshire, has to double as a hard standing for deliveries of plants. Dozens of potted lavenders are ranked there, the day I visit. “These are for a garden I’m planting but they’re not good enough,” explains Andy, pointing out a few that are a little bit splayed, and then adds firmly. “They’re going back.” Practical horticulture, for which Andy was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal by the RHS in 2017, has dominated Andy’s professional life since leaving university but it’s also the mainstay of the home life he shares with his wife Ros, also a trained horticulturist, at this two-acre, plant-rich garden. “Someone asked me the other day what are your other interests, and…

Senior kitchen gardener Ollie Hutson is the driving force behind the food-focused philosophy of The Pig Hotel Group. Describing its hotels as restaurants with rooms, the chain promises seasonal, British-grown produce sourced as locally as possible – ingredients come from within a 25-mile radius of each hotel, if not from its own garden. The Pig doesn’t claim to be self-sufficient, but tries to ensure that every plate is touched by the garden in some way. At the start of the season, Ollie gets together with the head gardeners of each property to discuss cultivars they’ve grown or would like to grow. Each crop is put in to three categories: more, less or not at all. Ollie is an advocate of growing different or unusual cultivars to monopolise on flavour, his…

The full conference programme takes place 27-30 March, with talks from international speakers on the Saturday and Sunday. Additional activities, open to conference delegates only (at extra cost), include: • Friday: a tour of influential gardens in Melbourne’s suburbs, along with the opportunity to visit the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show and view the 25th anniversary celebratory show gardens. • Saturday evening: join a picnic on the lawn in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, including a tour of the new Fern Gully meditation spaces, guided by designer Andrew Laidlaw. • Following the conference there is a programme of workshops led by Australian and international speakers on a range of horticultural and landscape topics, such as planting design and water management.…

WILD ABOUT WEEDS by Jack Wallington Laurence King Publishing, £19.99 ISBN 978-1786275301 Jack Wallington wants us all to embrace weeds. They’re easy, wildlife-friendly and they fit with the modern enthusiasm for ecological planting. But what is a weed? The word, he suggests, is ‘merely a broad and negative term associated with any plant that pops up where we weren’t expecting it’ and divides weeds into the ‘good, the bad and the unappreciated.’ His lively text urges us to be more imaginative in our gardens, even to plant daisies in hanging baskets. Reviewed by Ambra Edwards in the November 2019 issue. VEG IN ONE BED by Huw Richards DK, £14.99 ISBN 978-0241376522 For beginner growers, knowing where to start can be daunting. Huw Richards knows his onions and provides a fool-proof…

James Basson James lives in the South of France where he runs Scape Design with his wife Helen, specialising in low-maintenance and dry gardens. He is a fervent advocate for creating sustainable landscapes. The winner of four Chelsea Gold medals, he was awarded Best in Show in 2017. Fergus Garrett Fergus was appointed head gardener at Great Dixter by Christopher Lloyd in 1993. He is passionate about passing on his knowledge through student programmes at Dixter and worldwide lectures. He was awarded an RHS Associate of Honour in 2008 and an RHS Victoria Medal of Honour in 2019. Anna Pavord Anna’s books include her bestseller The Tulip and most recently Landskipping. For 30 years she was The Independent’s gardening correspondent. In 2000 the RHS awarded her the Veitch Memorial Medal.…

1 Gardening for Wildlife Get a head start on your New Year resolution to increase your garden knowledge by signing up for this new online course from Learning with Experts in partnership with the RHS. Led by Andy McIndoe, the four-lecture Gardening for Wildlife course shows how to make your garden attractive to wildlife, with ideas on plants to suit your garden. learningwithexperts.com 2 Winter Sculpture Exhibition Don’t miss RHS Rosemoor’s annual sculpture exhibition. This year the exhibition will see a host of new artists and includes a specially commissioned piece by Stan Jankowski. 14 November – 31 January 2020, 10am-5pm. Normal garden admission. RHS Garden Rosemoor, Great Torrington, Devon EX38 8PH. Tel 01805 624067, rhs.org.uk/rosemoor 3 Chelsea Physic Garden’s Annual Christmas Fair Kick off the festive period with a…

Southern Thailand has landscapes of paradisiacal beauty. Towering iconic limestone stacks and small islands scattered like rough emeralds cast into the Andamen Sea. The sheer abundance, variety and scale of the vegetation is breathtaking. There are about 2,250 tree species here, one of the richest tree floras in the world, containing 75 per cent of all native trees found in Thailand. The southern peninsula includes the transition zone between the Indo-Burma and Sundaland floristic regions, two of the six most diverse and threatened biodiversity hotspots in the world. Inspiration for the trip Koh Yao Noi, an island in Thailand’s World Heritage-listed Phang Nga Bay and famous for its extensive mangrove forests, was one of the areas affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster of December 2004. The damage included the…

Gondwanaland, the ancient supercontinent that included present-day South America, Africa, Arabia, Madagascar, India, Australia and Antarctica, has been reimagined at Marks Hall as an otherworldly landscape of soaring eucalyptus trees, great clumps of pampas grass and the largest plantation of Wollemi pines in Europe. The Wollemi is one of the world’s oldest and rarest plants. Just 100 mature trees are thought to exist in the wild, and this ‘living fossil’ was only rediscovered in 1994, growing in a hidden valley in Australia. Commercial propagation has since helped to fund the preservation of the wild community, and Ian plans to increase his existing plantation from 80 to 200 trees within the next five years, when the final tranche of Forestry Commission pine trees are felled. Meanwhile, the eucalyptus grove Ian helped…

• Ashridge Nurseries Grove Cross Barn, Castle Cary, Somerset BA7 7NJ. Tel 01963 359444, ashridgetrees.co.uk Mail order company with a wide selection of hedging and excellent planting advice. • Ashwood Nurseries Ashwood Lower Lane, Kingswinford, West Midlands DY6 0AE. Tel 01384 401996, ashwoodnurseries.com • Barcham Trees Eye Hill Drove, Ely, Cambridgeshire CB7 5XF. Tel 01353 720950, barcham.co.uk • Buckingham Nurseries and Garden Centre Twingewick Road, Buckingham, MK18 4AE. Tel 01280 815491, hedging.co.uk • Burncoose Nurseries Gwennap, Redruth, Cornwall TR16 6BJ. Tel 01209 860316, burncoose.co.uk • Hedges Direct Tel 01257 494009, hedgesdirect.co.uk Mail order hedging specialist. • Chew Valley Trees Winford Road, Chew Magna, Bristol BS40 8HJ. Tel 01275 333752, chewvalleytrees.co.uk • Majestic Trees Chequers Meadow, Chequers Hill, Flamstead, nr St Albans, Hertfordshire AL3 8ET. Tel 01582 843881, majestictrees.co.uk • Peter…

BIRD’S NEST WREATH Materials and tools Snips; natural twine; 8 plain or coloured willow rods 1.2-1.5m long, freshly picked from hedgerow or garden, or soaked in water for 24 hours to make them pliable; 3-5 larch (Larix decidua) stems at least 60cm, with cones; 3-5 alder (Alnus glutinosa) stems at least 60cm, with cones and catkins; length of old man’s beard (Clematis vitalba); 5 x 30-50cm pieces of curly willow (Salix x sepulcralis ‘Erythroflexuosa’) or yellow dogwood (Cornus sericea ‘Flaviramea’); ribbon or braid to finish. To make A willow hoop forms the base of this wreath. The willow must be pliable so use freshly cut stems or soak dry willow in water for a day to soften it. If the willow is too dry, it will snap when you try…

GLASS ACT Canopy Closed Garden, £65, LSA, 01932 789721, lsa-international.com BOXING CLEVER Glass Cube Terrarium, £24.50, The Den & Now, 01244 911890, thedenandnow.co.uk ELEGANT LINES Open Bottle Terrarium, large, £47.95, Graham & Green, 01225 418200, grahamandgreen.co.uk ROUND WORLD Glass Globe Terrarium with cork base, £25, Forest, 020 8691 5888, forest.london ON THE WALL Pori Hanging Planter, large, £99.95, Nkuku, 0333 240 0155, nkuku.com SOLID BASE Eden Mini Terrarium with Moulded Concrete Base, €71, Nude, eu.nudeglass.com TRADITIONAL STYLE Terrarium with Brass Base Tray, low (front), £37.99, Crocus, 01344 578111, crocus.co.uk EGG SHAPE Jurassic Lab Ficus Terrarium Large, £65 (planted), Green Factory, 0116 269 1083, conranshop.co.uk CITY SLEEK Copper Gem Terrarium, £44.95, The Urban Botanist, 0800 783 3375, theurbanbotanist.co.uk…

Claudia West (USA) Originally from Germany, Claudia now lives in the USA and is a passionate about US native plants. She is a lively and vital voice in ecological planting design, harnessing biodiverse plant systems to create resilient, emotionally resonant landscapes that are functional, beautiful and diverse. Ulf Nordfjell (Sweden) An award-winning contemporary landscape architect and biologist, who works with city development in various climate zones and private gardens in Sweden and southern France. Ross Palmer (New Zealand) A native New Zealander, formerly based in Phuket and now working internationally, whose designs are exciting, unpredictable, eclectic and use a pared-down plant range. Midori Shintani (Japan) Head gardener at Hokkaido’s huge Tokachi Millennium Forest, where she worked with Dan Pearson. Her passion for the forest is deeply rooted in Japanese animistic…

1. QUERCUS GARDEN PLANTS A Scottish nursery and gardens, situated 260m above sea level. Old favourites and unusual plants, propagated and grown to be hardy for Scottish growing conditions. Informative website and good advice. quercusgardenplants.co.uk | 01968 660708 2. MEADOWGATE NURSERY A family run, independent Nursery, specialising in Ornamental Grasses. Over ten years experience in growing a diverse range of grasses. We offer tailored advice on the use and care of the grasses we sell. meadowgatenursery.co.uk | 07736 523262 3. WYKEHAM MATURE PLANTS Specialist grower of large trees, specimen shrubs and instant hedging for immediate impact. Specialist in screening for privacy and security. Yorkshire grown – hardiness guaranteed! Advisory services and delivery available. wykehammatureplants.co.uk | 01723 862406 4. DAISY CLOUGH NURSERIES Daisy Clough Nurseries specialises in a huge variety of perennials and grasses…

1 DYFFRYN GARDENS Winter in the garden is when the bones are laid bare. Structure is the real star at this time of year – the ornate stone work of the Pompeian garden, the architectural majesty of fine trees. Or warm up among the orchids and cacti in the tropical glasshouse before continuing your winter adventure. Vale of Glamorgan CF5 6SU | 029 20 59 3328 | dyffryn@nationaltrust.org.uk 2 HEVER CASTLE & GARDENS Walk off the Christmas pudding in the gardens, where the warm bark of the redwood trees glows against the winter sky. Towards the castle the yew topiary stands majestically and the Winter Garden displays attractive colours and structures. For the more energetic take a bracing walk around the lake. Nr. Edenbridge, Kent TN8 7NG |…

1 . ANGLESEY ABBEY Enjoy Anglesey Abbey’s new 1960s Christmas event, Tinsel & Tweed, for a magical day out. While you are there, why not take a walk in the renowned Winter Garden, best known for its striking silver birches. This event is included in admission costs, but pre-booking is essential either online or via our box office: 0344 249 1895. nationaltrust.org.uk/AngleseyAbbey01223 810080 2 . ROSSLYN CHAPEL One of Scotland’s most remarkable buildings, Rosslyn Chapel was founded in 1446. The beauty of its setting and its ornate medieval stonework have inspired, attracted and intrigued visitors for generations. Come and see for yourself – open all year. Unique, exclusive gifts in our website shop including our gift experience pack. rosslynchapel.com | 0131 440 2159 3 . RHS GARDEN ROSEMOOR See the trees,…

U mbrella plants or S chefflera are a group of epiphytic, hemiepiphytic or terrestrial trees or shrubs found in the family Araliaceae, which is comprised of around 300 accepted species. They can be found in Central and Southern America, parts of Asia and Australia in tropical forests at mid to high elevations. What draws houseplant enthusiasts to Schefflera are their palmate compound leaves that come in an array of beautiful shapes and sizes depending on the species, resembling the fingers and palm of a hand with a number of leaflets attached together at the centre. There are two species of Schefflera suited to growing indoors. Both originate from lower down in the canopy of rainforests and prefer indirect, bright light. They are also adapted to the drier environments and don’t…