Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2020 i Gardens Illustrated Magazine

In this, the first Gardens Illustrated issue of a new decade, we bring you the definitive list of must-grow plants. Selected by notable head gardeners, it includes annuals, perennials, trees, shrubs, bulbs and some edibles. Debs Goodenough is head gardener to HRH The Prince of Wales at Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, the Prince’s private garden and family home of 40 years. The planting at Highgrove reflects a forward-thinking gardener with a sense of history, closely aligned with organic principles. Martin Ogle is the head gardener at Lowther Castle in Cumbria, Dan Pearson’s recent project, with a planting plan drawn from Dan’s personal experience, including the plants he tended as a student at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh to Ninfa in Italy and Hokkaido in Japan. Michelle Cain is the eighth head…

Debs Goodenough (DG) Highgrove Gardens, Gloucestershire The Kew-trained Canadian has been head gardener at Highgrove for 11 years, working for HRH The Prince of Wales to create his vibrant organic gardens. Eric Rodriguez (ER) The High Line, New York Eric is director of horticulture at the High Line in New York where he has supported ecological horticulture for the past three years. Martin Ogle (MO) Lowther Castle, Cumbria Martin has led the restoration project at Lowther Castle through the many stages of its development working closely with designer Dan Pearson. Michelle Cain (MC) Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Kent The former music promoter trained at Capel Manor and earlier this year became head gardener at the famous gardens of Sissinghurst Castle. Tom Coward (TC) Gravetye Manor, Sussex For the past nine years,…

What A genus of 20, mostly hardy, evergreen or deciduous species in the buttercup family. A group of closely related species has given rise to today’s vast array of hybrids, but it is now clear that even relatively unrelated species may hybridise with each other. Origins Europe, especially the Balkans, with outliers in China and along the Turkey-Syria border. Two species are native to the UK. Season Winter and spring. Size 20-40cm. Those with woody stems may reach 1m. Conditions Requirements vary. Many appreciate retentive soil in at least some shade, but will take full sun if the soil does not dry out. Others need sun and good drainage. Hardiness Many are fully hardy, with a hardiness rating of RHS H7, and suitable for gardens in USDA zones 4a-8b. *Holds…

For Marcus Chilton-Jones, curator of RHS Garden Bridgewater in Greater Manchester, 2020 will be a momentous year. All going well, the garden where he heads a team of 24 full-time gardeners, two apprentices and scores of volunteers will open its doors to the public in July. It was in 2017 that the RHS got full planning permission to transform the 154-acre grounds of Worsley New Hall, demolished in the 1940s, and Marcus embarked on the urgent task of assessing the neglected plants, removing invasive species and clearing the site. WHAT ARE YOU CREATING A GARDEN FOR IF IT’S NOT FOR PEOPLE? THE WHOLE POINT IS TO MAKE PEOPLE FEEL HAPPY, TO FEEL INSPIRED When we meet in December, the ‘messy’ stage of the landscaping and construction, which has involved rebuilding…

APRIL 4-5 April Great Dixter Spring Plant Fair, UK Seasonal plants and expert talks. 11am-4pm. Admission with garden entry, £11. Great Dixter, Northiam, Rye, East Sussex TN31 6PH. Tel 01797 254048, greatdixter.co.uk 4-5 April Cornwall Garden Society Spring Flower Show, UK Plant fair. 10am-5pm. From £9. Royal Cornwall Showground, Wadebridge, Cornwall PL27 7JE. Tel 07530 920585, cornwallgardensociety.org.uk 7-8 April RHS Spring Launch and Orchid Show, UK Orchids and early flowering plants. 10am-5pm. From £5. RHS Horticultural Halls, Elverton Street, London SW1P 2PB. Tel 0844 338 7501, rhs.org.uk 17-19 April RHS Cardiff Flower Show, UK Seasonal ideas and floral displays. 10am-5pm. £12.25. Bute Park, Cardiff Castle, Cardiff, CF10 1BJ. Tel 0844 338 7501, rhs.org.uk. 23-26 April Harrogate Spring Flower Show, UK Celebrating spring gardens. 9.30am-5.30pm. From £17.50. Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate,…

The RHS has won first prize in the new Europe’s Heritage of Gardens and Gardening in the award for its five gardens. The award is one of two new categories in the European Garden Awards for 2019/2020. The other new category, Best Development of a Historic Park or Garden, was won by a Normandy cliff-top garden Les Jardins d’ Étretat, which is renowned for its blend of land art and outdoor sculptures and was the inspiration for several of Claude Monet’s paintings. Chatsworth in Derbyshire came second for the planting along its Trout Stream, designed by Dan Pearson, and the renovation of its rock garden. wp.eghn.org/en/european-garden-award 1 VINYL REVIVAL Work has started on the construction of a series of roof terraces designed by landscape designer Nick Atherton for a housing…

THE GARDENER’S BOTANICAL by Dr Ross Bayton Octopus, £30 ISBN 978-1784726201 This comprehensive guide to plant binomals is perfect for both gardeners and botanists, with more than 5,000 plant names and 350 botanical illustrations. 101 RARE PLANTS OF WALES by Lauren Marrinan and Tim Rich Graffeg, £14.99 ISBN 978-1913134037 A celebration of the rich and varied flora of Wales, accompanied by detailed photography, in-depth descriptions and important conservation information. BEE HOTEL by Melanie von Orlow Haynes, £10.99 ISBN 978-1785216589 This easy-to-follow, DIY guide is packed with a range of bee accommodation designs, from stop-over hostel to luxury hotel. Your garden will be buzzing in no time. THE WILDLIFE POND BOOK by Jules Howard Bloomsbury Wildlife, £16.99 ISBN 978-1472958327 Britain has lost more than a million ponds over the past 100…

Patrick Morgan Patrick illustrates our houseplant column, page 114. “Immersing yourself in nature and drawing flowers and plants helps us to reconnect with reality. Embrace it.” Graham Rice Graham chooses the best species hellebores, page 54. “The wild species are the plants from which today’s colourful hellebores are derived. But they’re worth growing in their own right.” Debs Goodenough Highgrove’s head gardener reveals some favourites as part of our 100 must-grow plants, page 31. “There are many favourites and this is a small sampling of HRH’s signature plants at Highgrove.”…

If I had to pick a favourite plant then it would be trees as I feel they are the pinnacle of evolution Earliest gardening memory My grandad owned an orchid nursery and my dad was a gardener. I can remember wandering through acres of warm, humid greenhouses full of beautiful orchids and hiding away in corners of gardens so as not to have to push lawn mowers. First plant love If I had to pick one then it would be trees as I feel they are the pinnacle of evolution but I genuinely love all plant life. I admire the way in which plants improve their surrounding environment rather than destroy it. Who has influenced your horticultural career I’m grateful to anyone who has taken the time to share their…

There was little garden to speak of when Shirley Shadford moved to Clover Cottage in Cambridgeshire, but she knew instantly what she wanted to do. Seventeen years and plenty of hard work later, and her vibrant cottage garden is a tumbling, fragrant riot of colour each summer, full of roses and clematis, and bursting with borders of lupins, poppies and delphiniums. Yet this is a garden of more than one season. Blessed with well-drained soil and a south-facing aspect, Shirley designed her planting to create striking displays throughout the year, and a major highlight is the start of the year with early flowering bulbs and perennials. The winding path that leads to the front door spills over with masses of snowdrops, punctuated with the nodding heads of hellebores. Beds are…

While honey has always been seen as the prize from keeping bees, the wax is just as important. It is the building block of any honeycomb, made from the waxy scales at the base of bees’ abdomens. In a hive, some worker bees produce the wax, while others mould and chew it into shape, and every honey-filled cell in a frame is covered with a wax cap. Beekeepers have to remove this wax covering before extracting the honey, after which you are left with a rather sticky frame that is still waxy. This goes back into the hive where the bees eat all honey remnants, leaving the frame clean but layered in wax. You then remove the frame again, and steam off and sieve the wax, which quickly solidifies into…

Charlotte Harris and Hugo Bugg Landscape designers Leaving aside bold systemic change, it is the turbo-charging of responses to climate change on a personal level that is at the heart of trends ahead. For example, the rejection of unsustainable food practices, such as plastic packaging or air freighting, is giving new impetus to the already strong trend of viewing food as connection to growing. The difference is that it’s becoming more diverse and ethno-botanically layered, more open to alternative approaches such as forest gardening for shadier spaces – approaches we are exploring at the Weston Kitchen Garden at RHS Garden Bridgewater. London will feel like Barcelona by 2050 and Madrid like Marrakech – changes that will happen in our lifetimes. Clients, both public and private, understand the requirement for resilience,…

Pothos pushing under net curtains; red pelargoniums blazing from behind a misted window; palm fronds tapping against glass – I love spotting houseplants. Hairdressers’ windows are a good place to find them. Perhaps it’s the warm fug fostered by hair dryers, but plants seem to thrive in salons. My own hairdresser has just one plant, but it’s a beauty – an asparagus fern that trails from the top of a cupboard near an east-facing window. Despite their fern-like, frothy foliage, asparagus ferns are not bona fide ferns: they are part of the genus Asparagus and cousin of the much-prized vegetable (A. officinalis). If you struggle to grow true ferns, try these. They are invaluable if you find yourself unable to meet the care requirements of, say, a maidenhair fern, whose…

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.…

The Julian Alps in northwest Slovenia, near the borders of Italy and Austria, are at the southeastern end of the great alpine chain that stretches across Europe. The area is easily reached from the hip and relaxed capital Ljubljana, a city I remember for the countrywoman I met in the main square selling branches of foraged greenery and intriguing posies of alpine flowers, one of which travelled with us back into the mountains, a glimpse of botanical treasures hopefully to come. Forest wilderness is never far away in this small, mountainous country. Head north to Triglav National Park to explore a diverse range of habitats. The jagged limestone peaks form a pristine backdrop (Triglav the highest at 2,864m). The surrounding river valleys, wetlands and plentiful alpine meadows are a heady…

Outdoor lighting is an obvious way to extend the time you can spend in your garden. Get a qualified electrician to run armoured cables into position before the hard landscaping elements are finished. Uplighters can emphasise the sculptural outline of specimen trees, as with the amelanchiers in this garden. Take a little time to adjust the angle of each beam for maximum impact. Fully submersible light fittings allow you to enjoy the sight as well as the sound of a water feature after dark and can cast magical reflections. Some lights become a sculptural feature in their own right. Carla and Will have a disc light on the back wall that looks like a minimalist ornament by day, but at night throws dramatic starburst rays across the brickwork. Statement lights,…

Things you’ll need To create eight wraps, up to 40x40cm, you’ll need approximately 1m of 100 per cent cotton fabric, cut into squares with pinking shears so it doesn’t fray. The fabric must be flat, so if you are reusing material you must iron it first to get rid of wrinkles or the wax risks pooling and cracking. You will also need baking parchment, 120g solid beeswax, 40g pine-resin powder (optional but desirable), one tablespoon jojoba oil (optional but desirable), a 2.5cm-width paintbrush, a metal container to fit into a saucepan, and an oven heated to 100ºC. Step One Lay a single square of fabric flat on a piece of baking parchment. Mix the wax with pine-resin powder and jojoba oil (if you are using them) in a small metal…

FLOWERS OF THE FIELD: A SECRET HISTORY OF MEADOW, MOOR AND WOOD by Steve Nicholls A heady mix of art, science and lavish illustration makes this engaging, detailed study of Britain’s best-loved wildflowers a real gem. Reviewer Hannah Gardner is a horticulturist and garden writer. Steve Nicholls meticulously explores the plant science, ecology and rich social and cultural history of our wonderful wildflowers with a lightness of touch. The post-war farming revolution of the 20th century has undoubtedly hastened the rapid decline of our diverse countryside. Insect life has suffered too, but the tone of this book is celebratory rather than woeful. Nicholls skilfully explores close botanical detail within the broad brush strokes of historical context. From this wide-ranging book I have learned that open grasslands probably existed alongside the…