Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2023 i Gardens Illustrated Magazine

The month of March is one of welcome transition, from the tired, drab winter garden garb of brown and grey to the hopeful green shoots and buds of early spring. If you are very lucky, very clever, and were very good at planning and planting last year, you may also get to enjoy explosions of colourful blooms around now. Planting designer James Hitchmough found a way to get not just a summer peak in his suburban Sheffield garden but a magical spring flush too, with a layer of bright and brilliant bulbs and self-seeders set in under his later-flowering layer (page 54). It's an achievable idea for any size of garden. In this issue, we have plenty more March plant inspiration, with a focus on Chaenomeles (page 46) and top…

DIG IN PLANTSPERSON'S FAVOURITES SPIRAEA PRUNIFOLIA ‘PLENA’ I was instantly charmed by this bridal wreath spirea, which I happened upon while searching for a tough, deciduous shrub to add some early spring interest in a mixed border. Its bare branches carry a profusion of pure-white, double blossom. Like other early blooming spiraeas, it will benefit from being pruned after flowering. Cut the flowered shoots back to new strong growth below, while also removing some of the oldest canes, along with weak, spindly shoots at the base. Blooming a few weeks later, Exochorda x macrantha ‘Niagara’ makes an enchanting alternative. Height and spread 1.5m x 1.5m. Origin China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan. Conditions Any fertile, well-drained soil; full sun or part shade. Hardiness RHS H6, USDA 5a-8b†. Season of interest Flowers from…

Prune out winter interest Focus on plants grown for winter stem interest or large summer foliage to ensure you get the best display this year. Pleach limes, coppice willow, Catalpa and Paulownia, and hard prune Cotinus, winter-stem Cornus and Rubus. Order and plant summer-flowering bulbs Get your orders in for dahlias, gladioli and lilies. If weather is still too cold to plant out, store somewhere cool and dry or pot up and grow on somewhere sheltered before planting. Build growing structures It's easier to construct supports for growing fruit and vegetables now rather than later. Use hazel rods or beanpoles to make obelisks, tunnels and frames and cover with protective netting, and weave birch branches into domes. Plant in the green Gently lift, divide and replant large clumps of winter…

Top purple crocuses 1 Crocus concinnus A variable species with pale-lilac flowers and dark-purple feathering on the outer segments. Discovered in 2000 in the Antalya province of Turkey, it grows well in the garden or in pots. 2 Crocus tommasinianus ‘Yalta’ Jānis selected this hybrid from seedlings of C. tommasinianus seeds collected from Nikitsky Botanical Garden in Yalta, Crimea. He gave corms to Dutch nurseryman Jan Pennings to grow on and the cultivar is now widely available. 3 Crocus nivalis ‘Tricolor’ This easy-to-grow and widely available form, with deep-purple petals and a fried-egg centre, originates from the Peloponnese Mountains of southern Greece. 4 Crocus corsicus The long, light-violet petals of this scented bloom have dark-purple stripes. Some stock was prone to infection but now virus-free plants are available from Jim…

Charlbury Obelisk Plant Support Set, £180, Garden Trading, 01993 845559, gardentrading.co.uk Fleur de Lys Obelisk, rust, £39.99, RHS Plants, 01344 578822, rhsplants.co.uk Woodland Obelisk, £39.99, Waitrose Garden, 01344 578800, waitrosegarden.com Obelisk (small), £545, Arthur Jack, 01905 778351, arthurjack.co.uk Sweet Pea Obelisk with Bird Bowl, £64.99, Crocus, 01344 578000, crocus.co.uk Rustic Willow Garden Obelisks, set of 2, £36.99, Selections, 01258 837970, selections.com Salisbury Obelisk, £109.95, Sarah Raven, 0345 092 0283, sarahraven.com Harrod Steel Round Obelisk, £255, Harrod Horticultural, 0333 4001500, harrodhorticultural.com Cotswold Obelisks, From £445, Muntons Traditional Plant Supports, 01285 706511, muntons.net Discover a wider range of obelisks by scanning this QR code with your phone camera, or visit gardensillustrated.com/obelisks…

Claire Harrup Claire has illustrated Benjamin Popes year of columns, page 30. “It's been a pleasure illustrating Benjamin's words, recording the passing seasons and all the variety a garden can bring.” Tom Attwood Tom visits an extraordinary suburban garden on the outskirts of Lancaster, page 36. “The strength of design and abundant planting is an education.” Annie Gatti Annie considers James Hitchmoughs spring garden, page 54. “James's spring planting is such an inspiration to experiment with clump-forming plants and self-seeders.” CONTRIBUTING EDITORS James Basson James lives in the South of France where he runs Scape Design, a practice 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…

Be sure to check opening times. Some garden visits may need to be pre-booked. March is the month when we start to hope the worst of winter is past. But while most of us still dread a late cold spell and sharp frosts, Trebah Garden, the 26-acre gem of a garden, just south of Falmouth, is already erupting with glorious spring colour. Nestled in a Cornish ravine, with winding paths and a gentle stream flowing downhill, through a series of pools that end at a secluded beach on the Helford River, Trebah features a rich collection of rare and exotic plants flourishing in the sheltered microclimate. There is truly something to see at every turn: champion trees, beautiful vistas and a magnificent, colourful display of magnolias, camellias and 100-year-old rhododendrons.…

Earliest garden memory We went to Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire a lot when I was growing up, often just to walk the dog in the amazing grounds, but also to see the stunning kitchen garden, where I possibly first got the bug. First plant love I've always loved beans. From the first broad beans of the season, to immature runner beans and the dried borlottis that see me through winter. Your first career I started out as a music technology teacher. Once I got an allotment, and spent the whole time desperate to be there, I knew I needed to change careers. Your horticultural hero Lawrence D Hills – he's the unsung hero of the organic gardening movement, and a champion of comfrey, an essential plant in my kitchen garden.…

Imagine,” says Chris Trimmer, “if everyone who visited the Mona Lisa broke a little bit of it off to take home as a souvenir.” That, apparently, is exactly what some have been doing to the Ankerwycke Yew, already some 1,700 years old when, in 1215, the Magna Carta was signed beneath its spreading branches. So for the past nine years, cuttings of this venerable yew have been growing on in the National Trust's Plant Conservation Centre at a secret location in Devon. Some have been replanted close to their parent at Runnymede. Others remain in Devon, a long-term insurance policy, should the ancient tree – the oldest known tree on National Trust land – finally succumb. “It's only Taxus baccata, so not a rare plant at all,” says Chris, “but…

#1 The full-service allotments Roots Allotments is a new allotment scheme in Bath offering fully serviced, no-dig, veg-growing spaces. Soon to be expanding into other UK cities, it's tearing up the rule book of traditional allotments Ed Morrison started growing vegetables when he lived with his grandmother in Devon during the first Covid lockdown of 2020. “It was superfulfilling,” he says, “to be in touch with nature, to be outside, to get your hands in the soil when the world was so crazy.” When he moved back to London after lockdown, this was a feeling he couldn't shake off. Meeting up with old friends, Will Gay and Christian Samuel, for a game of squash or a couple of pints, he couldn't stop talking about growing. “I've just been obsessed with it…

A YEAR FULL OF VEG: A HARVEST FOR ALL SEASONS by Sarah Raven, photographs by Jonathan Buckley Bloomsbury, £27 ISBN 978-1526639349 A comprehensive and inspiring guide to growing your own, by a writer with their hands in both the soil and the kitchen sink. Reviewer Aaron Bertelsen is a vegetable gardener and author. Sarah Raven is well known for her love of flowers, eye-popping colour combinations and an abundant cutting garden, but she is also a skilled vegetable gardener and a great cook. In this book she shares the learnings from more than 30 years of growing, as she puts it, ‘for abundance, flavour and ease’. Her approach is practical – there are pages of useful guidance on essential veggarden skills, from seed sowing to composting. Sections on pest control…

1 A Love of Flowers Discover the wonderful botanical watercolour paintings of Margaret J Betts, in this exhibition of her work at Dawyck Botanic Garden in the Scottish Borders. Until 7 May. 10am-4pm. Admission included in garden entry of £7.20. Dawyck Botanic Garden, Stobo, Peebles EH45 9JU. Tel 01721 760254, rbge.org.uk 2 Gardening in the Dolfor Hills In this online talk for the National Garden Scheme, Dr Wolfgang Schaefer will explain how he has created his beautiful garden, Cwm Weeg, at Dolfor in Powys, which features various terraces, fountains, a grotto, and stumpery. 7 March, 7-8.30pm. £10. ngs.org.uk 3 Designing for a Small Garden Join Kate Gould, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show multi Gold-medal winner, on this two-day course that will explain how to deliver maximum impact in a small…

• Chaenomeles are tough and relatively long-lived shrubs. Once established, they are drought tolerant and cold hardy, and although late frosts can singe the young foliage, this will do no lasting damage. • Choose a shrub that is growing vigorously with lots of young growth. Sulking plants can often take a long time to recover, even after they have been planted out. • Before planting, untangle the large roots and spread them out, and make sure you dig a hole large enough to easily accommodate them. Mix a good dollop of compost with the soil from the hole and back-fill carefully around the roots. It is vital that the plant is positioned in the ground at the same level it was in the pot – don't bury it too deeply.…

Tim Carter has worked in horticulture for 45 years, and when he develops a passion for a particular’ plant group, he goes all out. He has many different specialist collections at Long House Plants – the nursery and garden he has run on his wife Jeans family farm near Romford in Essex since 2006 – but at this time of year, it is the camellia collection that captures his attention. “I love everything about them and couldn't possibly pick out just one favourite,” he says. “I value them all for their versatility. The fact that there is such a wide range of colours, shapes and forms is very appealing to me.” He has also been delighted by how well they do on his Essex clay. “They thrive in this area…

DESIGNING, PLANTING AND USING A THERAPEUTIC GARDEN by Sue Jeffries The Crowood Press, £19.99 ISBN 978-0719841514 A practical guide to creating a successful therapeutic garden space, working from scratch or with an existing site. GHOSTS IN THE HEDGEROW: A HEDGEHOG WHODUNNIT by Tom Moorhouse Doubleday, £16.99 ISBN 978-0857528445 Who or what is responsible the decline of our favourite mammal? A conservation scientist examines the evidence. SOWHOW by Paul Matson and Lucy Anna Scott Pavilion Books, £12.99 ISBN 978-1911670339 No-nonsense advice on 30 easyto-grow vegetables, plus ideas for herbs, edible flowers and cultivating a cocktail garden. LANDSCAPE DESIGN IN COLOR: HISTORY, THEORY, AND PRACTICE 1750 TO TODAY by Mira Engler Taylor & Francis, £120 ISBN 978-1138343955 A study of colour and its impact on Western landscape architecture over the past three…