Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2023 i Gardens Illustrated Magazine

Smaller gardens have to work hard. They must provide so much, from spaces to grow plants to places to sit and eat, as well as somewhere to store all the tools and paraphernalia we gardeners accumulate, and, if we are lucky, areas to relax, to cook, and for the kids to play. These days we might even want to wedge in a home office or gym down the end, which muscles in even more on our outdoor real estate. As well as this, because we look out on that postage-stamp-sized space the whole time, we want it to look good, all year round. It’s a tall order, and a perennial conundrum, but something we are here to help you resolve with our Small Garden issue, full of inspiration for how…

On James Wong’s website he describes himself as a professional plant geek, broadcaster and bestselling author. The unbuttoned ‘plant geek’ label is typical of James’s desire to communicate with as many people as possible, to open eyes to the importance of plants and the wonder of gardening. “Botanist most accurately describes what I am,” he explains, “but the trouble is, most people don’t know what botanists are. Ethnobotany, which is half anthropology and half botany, is what I understand best. There are lots of botanists who have never planted a seed, they just know what it looks under a microscope, but an ethnobotanist has to understand how to use plants, where they come from, how they can be grown and harvested. You also need to be able to go to…

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Belinda Cooper Belinda visits the new garden of Dutch designer Jelle Grintjes, page 30. “So much to learn from Jelle. I was inspired by his knowledge and passion for plants and how he thinks about design.” Matteo Carassale Matteo photographs an English-style garden in Milan, page 74. “Nothing’s more beautiful than discovering new corners of your city. Terraced houses, lush gardens, so unusual.” Nick Bailey Nick recommends the best aeoniums, page 42. “Grown for their dramatic rosettes of succulent foliage, aeoniums make a striking addition to summer plantings and winter windowsills.” 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…

DIG IN PLANTSPERSON’S FAVOURITES BUPLEURUM FRUTICOSUM Impervious to drought and scorching temperatures, this stalwart, Mediterranean shrub makes a first-rate choice for well-drained soil, where it will form a large, evergreen dome adorned with a mass of chartreuse umbels in late summer. A light prune in early spring keeps it compact, but it also responds well to a hard prune if it has become rangy or was damaged by cold weather. Propagate by seed or semi-ripe cuttings taken in midsummer. We also grow B. falcatum, a short-lived perennial, which is allowed to self-seed in our Gravel Garden. Height and spread 1.5-2m × 1.5-2.5m. Origin Mediterranean region. Conditions Well-drained soil; full sun. Drought tolerant. Hardiness RHS H4†. Season of interest Flowers: July – September; foliage year round. PONTEDERIA CORDATA A handsome plant…

• Aeoniums are generally easy plants to care for, provided you pot them in a welldrained soil and allow them to dry out between waterings. • Aeoniums are winter-growing plants that are triggered into growth once the winter solstice has passed, and become all but dormant during summer. During hot periods, their rosettes close up to help conserve water. In winter in the UK, they will need frost-free protection (ideally in a greenhouse) with good air circulation, but in summer they are happiest outside. • For best results, grow in a terracotta pot in a free-draining, 50/50 mix of horticultural grit and general peat-free compost. This is best replaced via repotting every two to three years. Don’t be tempted to coat the top of the compost in gravel, as this…

What makes a plant drought tolerant? Drought-tolerant plants often hail from Mediterranean climate zones around the world – around the Mediterranean sea, the western cape of South Africa, coastal California, central Chile and southern and southwestern Australia. They have evolved to thrive in habitats that have a very long, extremely hot and dry season – as much as six months with no rain – and poor soil. Leaves may be small or thin, grey or glaucous, hairy, succulent or fleshy. Many have very deep or wide root systems that seek out water, or underground storage organs (bulbs). Drought-tolerant plants are often low growing and form mounds – less likely to be dried by wind on a hot day. In their native habitats, they may go dormant or lose their leaves…

COMMON OR GARDEN by Ken Thompson Profile Books, £14.99 ISBN 978-1800811447 This illustrated, spotter’s guide to Britain’s 50 most successful wild plants explores both their cultural and horticultural significance. Reviewer Max Crisfield is a professional gardener, writer and teacher. In his latest book, Common or Garden, author, journalist and plant scientist Dr Ken Thompson eschews the rare and the rarefied in favour of the everyday, seeking out a definitive roster of the most successfully adapted and widespread of Britain’s wild plants. The result is a comprehensive, authoritative, and often surprisingly witty compendium. In the early chapters Thompson sets out his stall, asserting why rarity is often overvalued and why ‘commonness (unlike rarity) really is a rare and rather exceptional quality.’ He then zones in on each of his 50 selections,…

Be sure to check opening times. Some garden visits may need to be pre-booked Many great gardens have inauspicious beginnings. When Beth Chatto and her fruit-farmer husband Andrew first arrived here at Elmstead Market in the early 1960s, what has become the Beth Chatto Gardens was just a piece of wasteland surrounded by Andrew’s apple orchards. A similar story lies behind the enchanting York Gate Garden a few miles north of Leeds. Often hailed as one of the finest small gardens in the country, it was acquired by amateur gardeners Frederick and Sybil Spencer in 1951. At the time, it was nothing but a house surrounded by farmland, but with remarkable skill, Frederick and Sybil (and later their son Robin, who was responsible for much of the garden’s design) used…

PEOPLE GARDENING TALENT Gardens, and gardeners, take time to mature, find their own unique qualities and reach their potential Earliest gardening memory Finding my mum’s long-lost wedding ring in the vegetable patch. She had lost it several years before I was born, but when my siblings and I were very small and were sent out to dig up some summer potatoes, a distinct ‘tink’ sound was heard as the fork plunged into the soil. The lost ring was retrieved and we all had buttery new potatoes to celebrate. How did you get into horticulture? I was lucky enough to fall into horticulture by accident. I was working shifts at a local coffee shop and was offered some work by a regular who was a jobbing gardener. It quickly became clear…

• Plant small. Large container-grown plants will be more vulnerable to heat and drought. • Plant in spring so that plants can establish and get their roots down before winter. • Saturate plants before planting, and water in well. Then water them infrequently but heavily throughout their first growing season. Don’t water little and often, which encourages shallow rooting. • Mulch. Chipped bark or mushroom compost is ideal (or gravel if you’re not planning on disturbing the planting). • Don’t feed the plants. Feeding Mediterranean plants makes them lush, floppy and needing more moisture. • Cut back plants hard in early spring so that they do not ‘overgrow’ in the UK climate, and at least once more if necessary to prevent them flopping and to keep them floriferous. Do not…

KEY ELEMENTS What Front and back gardens of a small terraced house. Where Milan, Italy. Size Rear garden 9m × 6m; front garden 4m × 6m. Soils Slightly heavy agricultural soil with a pH between 6 and 6.5; amended with minerals and mycorrhizae. Aspect Rear garden southeast-facing; front garden northwest-facing. Special features Lush, naturalistic planting and a Corten-steel feature door. Designed by Roberto Benatti (giardinibenatti.it). Imagine a contemporary garden located in the centre of Milan, and you would most likely picture something formal and clipped. Surprisingly, Milanese garden designer Roberto Benatti, who cites the English father of the naturalistic, wild garden, William Robinson, as the “light on his gardening journey”, created quite the opposite for his clients who wanted their tiny, city garden to be transformed into a tranquil oasis.…

The Hepworth Wakefield Garden, West Yorkshire The striking modernist gallery building is matched by a stand-out small garden. Designed by Tom Stuart-Smith and curated by cultural gardener Katy Merrington, the space is open to all. Planting gives colour from April to November, starting with tulips and narcissi, through to taller perennials, such as Echinacea pallida and tawny Stipa calamagrostis. Sculptures enhance the plants’ own sculptural qualities. Open 365 days a year, 24 hours. Gallery Walk, Wakefield, West Yorkshire WR1 5AW. Tel 01924 247360, hepworthwakefield.org Horniman Museum & Gardens, London The Horniman Museum in south London and its extensive gardens are concerned with natural history and human culture. There’s been a fresh approach since head gardener Errol Reuben Fernandes took over, and newer areas such as the Grasslands Garden, which celebrates…

LED BY THE NOSE: A GARDEN OF SMELLS by Jenny Joseph Souvenir Press, £9.99 ISBN 978-1800818125 Reissued memoir that is shaped by the scents over the course of a year in the Cotswold garden of the late poet. THE ALLOTMENT by David Crouch and Colin Ward Little Toller Books, £16 ISBN 978-1915068231 New edition of this classic study that includes oral recordings of plotholders and descriptions of regional variations in these sanctuaries. With an introduction by writer Olivia Laing. IN THE HERBARIUM by Maura C Flannery Yale University Press, £25 ISBN 978-0300247916 Fascinating insight into how herbaria (collections of preserved plant specimens) help to illuminate the past and future of plant science. COMPACT TREES & SHRUBS by Duncan Coombs The Crowood Press, £30 ISBN 978-0719842191 Highlights a range of small…