Innholdsfortegnelse for Special 2021 i Gardens Illustrated Magazine

Our gardens are now in full swing. We will have forgotten the loss of an early seedling to a late frost or the demise of a French bean to a hungry slug. There’s more than enough to hold our attention, and perhaps even to take time to sit and reflect on the generosity of nature. When this generosity is equalled in a gardener, we’re on our way to achieving something great. In this issue we highlight just some of the plants and gardens nurtured so thoughtfully by passionate gardeners and plantspeople. Our kitchen-garden columnist Aaron Bertelsen takes a moment to note other vegetable plots that offer him food for thought – and perhaps a generously offered handful of fresh produce too. We also admire the dedication and expertise Jim Marshall…

TOUR HOST Sarah Wain Sarah, along with her husband Jim Buckland, is the inspirational force behind the restoration of the Kitchen Garden at West Dean, Sussex, where they perfected the growing of both fruit and vegetable crops. With the call to grow your own becoming ever louder, our tour offers help, inspiration and expertise on how to grow the finest kitchen garden produce throughout the year. We visit a contrasting selection of the very best examples of kitchen gardens in the South West: we are taken from the plot to the plate at both The Pig at Combe and at Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s organic smallholding at River Cottage; at South Wood Farm we see Arne Maynard’s design for a productive potager and we glimpse true estate gardening at Edmondsham House, while…

Family fun Brush up on your tree knowledge and have some fun with a new family game. Based on the Happy Families card game we probably all remember from childhood, Tree Families is an entertaining way to recognise trees by collecting cards with the tree, flower, fruit and leaf to create a tree family. With text written by Tony Kirkham, head of the arboretum at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and detailed illustrations from Ryuto Miyake, Tree Families is not just a fun game but a great way to learn about the natural world. Priced £12.99 from laurenceking.com Soil searching The Land Gardeners, aka Bridget Elworthy and Henrietta Courtauld (below), are passionate about soil, and approach their mission to improve the health of the nation’s soil, and by extension its…

The best thing you can do in your garden is make your own compost First plant love My first plant love was Araucaria araucana. When I was 19, I was exploring Bodnant Gardens with friends when we came across one of these trees. One friend told me of her passion for collecting cones from conifers, and that she hadn’t got one from the monkey puzzle because they break down still attached to the tree. It then became my mission to collect an intact cone for her, and because of that I fell in love with this tree myself. Who has inspired your career the most? And why? Natalie Chivers and Rosie Kressman, who both work at Treborth Botanic Garden in Bangor, had a huge influence on the start of my…

1 Tulbaghia ‘Hazel’ An unusually coloured Tulbaghia hybrid. In common with other species in this genus the flowers are edible, and in this case they are also strongly scented. 40cm. RHS H3† . 2 Consolida regalis ‘Blue Cloud’ A far cry from the usual columnar delphiniums, this forking larkspur produces a bushy plant with clouds of delicate, blue flowers. Easy to grow from seed. 60cm. RHS H3-H4. 3 Cryptotaenia japonica f. atropurpurea This delicious, desirable, purple Japanese parsley is good raw in salads and the bronze leaves and red stems make a handsome foil to other plants. 1m. RHS H4. 4 Orlaya grandiflora Its clusters of white flowers above ferny foliage look like lace-cap hydrangeas. Kim loves to fling seeds of this hardy annual around the border to see where…

Trends, f lowers and colours may divide our tastes in the gardening community but very few plants have the universal admiration and enduring popularity of the much-loved clematis. The plants have such wide-ranging appeal, originating from a broad and diverse group of nearly 300 species. The genus Clematis has been planted and cultivated in English gardens since the 16th century and belongs to the Ranunculaceae or the buttercup family, alongside border stalwarts such as delphiniums, anemones and thalictrums. Every family has its divas and if we put the large-f lowered – and, dare I say, temperamental – attention-seekers to one side for a moment, I would like to explore the easier-to-grow, generously f lowering and endlessly rewarding herbaceous group. Lacking tendrils to cling as they climb, these clematis need support,…

TOWERING SUCCESS A four-storey hotel on the site of an historic inn in central Japan has been renovated by Tokyo-based Sou Fujimoto Architects. The interior of the inn, in central Maebashi, was dismantled to create a large, plant-filled atrium. An open passageway, lined with potted shrubs and trees, leads to the Green Tower, a grass-covered extension at the back of the hotel, where a zig-zag external brick staircase provides access to a series of cabins, one of which contains a sauna. Guest rooms inside this hill-shaped annexe have balconies cut into the slope, creating a sense of being surrounded by greenery. sou-fujimoto.net…

MAGIC NUMBER Steel Composter System, three-bin system, £1,195, Muntons, 01285 706511, muntons.net EASY TURNING Compost Tumbler and Cart, 55L, £199.99, Suttons, 0844 736 4208, suttons.co.uk EXTRA LARGE Thermo Wood Composter, 600L, £149.99, Original Organics, 01462 429777, originalorganics.co.uk STYLISH DESIGN Beehive Composter, 328L, £144.95, Harrod Horticultural, 0333 400 6400, harrodhorticultural.com COMPACT UNIT Urbalive Worm Composter, 20L, stone, £129.95 (unit only), Wiggly Wigglers, wigglywigglers.co.uk OLD SCHOOL Rowlinson Budget Composter, 439L, £59.99, Marshalls Garden, 01480 774555, marshallsgarden.com SPACE SAVER Eco Master Composter, 300L, black, £49.99, Primrose, 0118 903 5210, primrose.co.uk SUNKEN WORM FARM In-Garden Compost System, two-bin system, £179, Subpod, subpod.co.uk HOT COMPOSTING Hotbin mini, 100L, £165, Hotbin, 0808 168 8499, hotbincomposting.com…

THE GREEN INDOORS by Maddie Bailey and Alice Bailey, Hardie Grant Books, £16.99, ISBN 978-1784883959 Make your living space work with your plants, encouraging healthy growth. Includes plant profiles and chapters on the different indoor climate conditions. HORTUS CONCLUSUS by Chris van Uffelen, Braun, £29.95, ISBN 978-3037682692 A glossy look at some beautiful private gardens– from a garden of only 20 square metres to one of over 2,000 square metres– to inspire your own design ideas. THE GARDEN APOTHECARY by Christine Iverson, Summersdale, £14.99, ISBN 978-1787839793 Learn about the art of the apothecarist, and how safely to identify edible plants and make the most of the treasures you can find in your garden. FUNGI: A SPECIES GUIDE by Peter Roberts and Shelley Evans, Ivy Press, £12.99, ISBN 978-0711258457 A comprehensive…

Of the four main Balearic islands, Menorca is often labelled ‘the quiet one’. But after almost 30 years of UNESCO World Heritage status, July’s planned opening of Hauser & Wirth Menorca – an ambitious new arts centre with landscaping by Piet Oudolf – the island’s distinctive character is being thrust into the limelight. Exploring Many of the perfect beaches around Menorca were, until fairly recently, only accessible to those who were prepared to swim part of the way, or abseil down a cliff. More recently, a hitherto overgrown network of 800-year-old bridle paths, the Camí de Cavalls, was cleared and signposted, offering the best way to see the island in close-up whether by foot, horse or bicycle. Find information on every leg of the 185km route at camidecavalls.com. Menorca is…

Jodie Jones Jodie interviews photographer Howard Sooley, page 64. “Howard’s work has been on my bookshelf and in my Instagram feed for years, so to meet the man behind the camera was a pleasure.” Tom Brown Tom chooses the best plants from the non-climbing, herbaceous clematis, page 66. “Herbaceous clematis are such an easy and rewarding group of plants to grow, revel and indulge in.” Tim Richardson Tim reflects on the rise of community gardening, page 78. “I was amazed at all the different cultural, artistic and political activities it encompasses – it’s not just about growing veg in old tyres.”…

Tom Massey is an award-winning designer known for his clever combinations of hard and soft landscaping. Sarah Mead is the creator of an extensive organic garden on the Yeo Valley family farm. Joining them is plantsperson, writer and lecturer, Marina Christopher. A beautiful patchwork of colour and texture, Yeo Valley Organic Garden is one of the UK’s largest organic ornamental gardens certified by the Soil Association. It has been created by Sarah Mead over the past 30 years and occupies six and a half acres around the family home on the Yeo Valley Organic farm. It is also the inspiration behind Yeo Valley Organic’s show garden at this year’s much-anticipated RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Designed by award-winning garden designer Tom Massey in collaboration with Sarah Mead, the garden will offer…

The genus Dianthus belongs to the family Caryophyllaceae, which comprises 80 genera and 3,000 species. Dianthus caryophyllus, the original carnation, is endemic to southern Europe and was introduced into England about the time of the Norman Conquest. Engelmann and Allwoods soon started growing perpetual flowering carnations and bred new cultivars. By the 1930s they had become the dominant glasshouse carnation The group of Dianthus known as perpetual flowering carnations are a result of crosses between D. caryophyllus and D. chinensis and originated in France at the turn of the 19th century. They have a branching habit and produce a flower at the end of each branch and, as their name suggests, bloom throughout the year. In the early 20th century carnation production was centred in the USA, and one of…

1 Rhodanthemum catananche ‘Tizi-n-Test’ A mound-forming perennial, also sold as Catananche caerulea ‘Tizi-n-Test’, that has cornflower-like flowers and papery seedheads. Hardy to -12°C, it needs sun and free drainage. 15cm. USDA 7a-10b† . 2 Thymbra capitata A shrubby thyme that is tolerant of maritime exposure and is an excellent source of food for bees. Hardy to between -10°C and -12°C, it needs full sun and very good drainage. 40cm. USDA 6a-9b. 3 Euphorbia rigida Bright, acidic-yellow flowers in early spring and evergreen silver foliage. It has allelopathic properties that suppress weed germination. Hardy to -15°C, requires sun and free drainage. 40-50cm. AGM*. RHS H6, USDA 7a-10b. 4 Melica ciliata A short-lived, adaptable grass, happy to gently seed in sun or light shade. Hardy to -15°C. 60-80cm. RHS H6. 5 Achillea…

What Herbaceous clematis, including non-twining, climbing species and hybrids bred from species such as C. integrifolia, C. x diversifolia, C. viticella, C. heracleifolia, C. recta and C. viorna. Sometimes known as solitary or entire-leaved clematis. Origins Originating from Europe and Asia. Season Long-lived plants with an extensive flowering period from midsummer to early autumn. Size From 60cm-2.5m in height with a 50cm-1m spread, depending on the species. Conditions Tolerant of most fertile garden soils that do not become waterlogged or dry out. Best grown in full sun or light shade with a cool root run. Will grow on a range of pH, but particularly suited to neutral or alkaline soils. Pruning group three (remove previous year’s growth to a pair of strong buds). Hardiness Hardy throughout all of UK and…

TOM STUART-SMITH: DRAWN FROM THE LAND by Tim Richardson Thames & Hudson, £50 ISBN 978-0500022313 A collaborative and conversational retrospective of the work – and inner workings – of one of the UK’s most influential and imaginative designers. Reviewer Tania Compton is a garden designer and writer. The triangulation between place, people and ideas that Tom Stuart-Smith aims for in his gardens has been gloriously echoed in Tim Richardson’s book Tom Stuart-Smith: Drawn From the Land. This book and the gardens it describes are grand and opulent but fundamentally tender and thoughtful. The essays by both author and subject that punctuate the descriptions of the gardens are dense and illuminating, giving you not just a bird’s-eye view of the places but the thought processes and philosophy that underpin Stuart-Smith’s life…

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.…

I am an observer of things,” says Howard Sooley. “Someone gave me a rather hopeless little Instamatic camera when I was a kid and I fell in love with taking pictures. It’s a genius thing – to share with other people what it is that you see.” Genius is a word that Howard uses a lot, speaking softly but fluently about the things that matter to him, including photography and film, but also punk music, the Alpine Garden Society and the many quietly exceptional people who have crossed his path and shaped his career. Growing up in a mining community in Doncaster was genius, he says, because there was an amazing sense of community, although unlike the majority of his classmates he had no desire to become a coal miner…