Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2019 i The English Garden

Alexandra Campbell Alexandra is a novelist and journalist. Her blog, The Middlesized Garden, is all about garden spaces that are smaller than one acre. She explores the daffodils at Mere House on page 44. Annaïck Guitteny Annaïck travels all over the UK and Europe, especially France, her home country, to photograph gardens and plants. She loves revealing the intricate details of flowers, such as the hepaticas she shot on page 79. Mark Diacono Mark spends his time growing, writing and talking about food, specialising in unusual plants such as Szechuan pepper and Asian pears. He established Otter Farm and was involved with River Cottage.…

Taunton, Somerset Hestercombe Gardens showcases three centuries of wonderful garden design: the elegant Georgian landscape garden designed by Coplestone Warre Bampfylde; the Victorian Terrace and Shrubbery; and the Formal Gardens, which were designed by the Edwardian Lutyens/ Jekyll partnership. Altogether they make up 50 acres of woodland walks, temples, terraces, pergolas, lakes and cascades. Visitors can also enjoy a contemporary art gallery, a second-hand bookshop, a restored watermill and barn, and a network of family garden trails. Hestercombe Garden, Cheddon Fitzpaine, Taunton, Somerset TA2 8LG. Open for the NGS on 5 March, 10am-5pm. Light refreshments available. Adult £12.50; child: £6.25.…

In the late 16th century, John Gerard wrote that wild daffodils (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) grew almost everywhere in England. Since then they’ve become increasingly rare due to agricultural intensification. These spring flowers have been given many names across the ages and counties, for example ‘fairy bells’ in Dorset and ‘lenty cups’ in Somerset. In folklore, they are considered lucky and not to be stepped on. In giving a loved one a bunch of daffs, you are sending them good luck.…

• Photograph your garden regularly to help you evaluate and improve planting. Keep a planting plan, listing plants and their sources, and delete any plants that you remove. • Build relationships with good nurseries; they will introduce you to new plants and offer sound advice. And visit gardens for inspiration and information. • Devise a colour palette for your beds and borders that incorporates foliage, fruits and flowers. • Be bold: remove or relocate any plants that are not working in your garden. • Plant some winter sunshine by devising a year-round garden. Seek out early-flowering and scented cultivars to cheer up the winter months. • Plant masses of bulbs that will naturalise and observe the required mowing times to allow for self-seeding. Incorporate bulbs that come back year-on-year –…

• Before the arrival of the warmer weather, we add a light mulch to the flower beds and then in spring, when the soil is warming up, we dress the garden with blood, fish and bone as a soil conditioner to help improve plant growth. • Our magnolia care is quite simple. They are surface rooters, so respond very well to a good mulch of composted bark. • We don’t split the Fritillaria meleagris, instead we leave them to self-seed. However, if we are planting larger fritillaries with hollow crowns, such as Fritillaria persica or F. imperialis, we plant them on their sides. This prevents the bulbs from holding water since this can often lead to rot. • Remove daffodil heads once they start to look tatty. This lets the…

• Hostas fall prey to slugs at this time of year. We encourage wildlife in the gardens, which helps to take care of this problem, but we also use safe and effective pellets, which have iron and phosphate as active ingredients. • March is the best time to deadhead hydrangeas. We leave the heads on them over winter to protect emerging buds, but cut them back to the first buds in spring. • Prune dogwood, which grows from wherever it is cut. Beth pruned old stems to the ground; the previous year’s growth back by half; and just trimmed a few of the taller stems. This tiered pruning gives height and colour to the plant. • The definition in beds can be lost over the seasons, especially if beds are…

Beatrix Havergal did not start the first women’s gardening course. Indeed, she was born 11 years after the first female students were admitted to Kent’s Swanley Horticultural College, and just after would-be gardener Olive Harrison was refused a fairly won RHS scholarship because of her sex. Edwardian society rippled with well-heeled ‘lady gardeners’ but horticultural workers were all men. Havergal’s all-female Waterperry School of Horticulture was aimed at a new generation of women who wanted to work. Her influence remains, as ‘Waterperry Girls’ pass on her signature techniques. Born in 1901, Beatrix Havergal didn’t live up to the classic image of an Edwardian vicar’s daughter. ‘Trix’ was a tomboy, always getting into scrapes and making outrageous comments. When, in 1916, her family’s finances took a nose-dive, she was forced to…

‘Rossa di Treviso’ A red variety that can be forced or grown in the ground without protection almost all year round. Harvest baby leaves from the outside of the head or leave to plump up. ‘Brussels Witloof’ The classic variety for forcing, this chicory is tasty and fairly easy to grow. Thin plants out after sowing to encourage good root development, then lift in winter for forcing. ‘Palla Rossa’ Develops deep-red leaves in colder weather, while a thick layer of outer leaves blanches the heart. Heads are firm and uniform. Cover with a cloche for the best winter crops. ‘Pan di Zucchero’ Also known as ‘Sugarloaf’, this common Italian variety holds an RHS Award of Garden Merit. Its tightly wrapped head of leaves can be enjoyed raw in salads or…

OCA This South American replant perennial can be sown direct in May or started in pots under cover in the second half of March. Tubers are available online and multiply under the surface like potatoes for harvesting in October. They’re crunchy, and taste like lemony potato. SKIRRET This delicious, sweet, long-rooted perennial tuber was very popular in the 17th and 18th centuries. It’s lifted and some of its thin, pale roots are harvested, with the remaining roots replanted to grow the following season. Start skirret from seed, under cover in modules, in March. WELSH ONIONS Despite the name, this chive-like plant is native to and popular in China and Japan, and is one of my favourite alliums. Almost evergreen, highly productive and with a flavour a little stronger than that…

Garden line Pull the string taut then use the corner of a hoe blade to mark out straight lines for sowing with precision. Planting line, £9.99, from Burgon & Ball. Tel: 0114 2338262; burgonandball.com Stainless steel rake A rake is essential to break the soil down to a fine tilth for direct sowing. Opt for durable stainless steel, such as Pedigree’s bow rake, £31.20. Tel: 01279 401570; pedigreegarden.co.uk Push hoe Sneeboer’s hoe blades are razor sharp, which makes them ideal for slicing through weeds before they swamp your crop. Push hoe, £54.95. Tel: 0333 4001500; harrod horticultural.com…

Your book looks at select rose gardens around the country. Of those that you featured, which are your favourites to visit? Answering this is a bit like choosing a favourite child, but I do have a soft spot for Coughton Court. It’s less well-known than Sissinghurst or Mottisfont, but just as beguiling. The garden is crammed with an incredible concentration of carefully orchestrated plants, including over 200 varieties of rose. At first the effect is overwhelming, but this is exactly what designer Christina Williams intended. She did, after all, call it her Rose Labyrinth. In addition to exploring noteworthy rose gardens, you’ve also included portraits of particular rose varieties. How did you decide upon which ones to feature? I wanted to show how amazingly diverse roses are, so I chose…

• Special bulbs and bursting buds at The Beeches in Nottinghamshire • Fresh new foliage at Ripon’s Millgate House • Blossom and bulbs in the quirky gardens of The Manor House, Stevington • East Langton Grange: a country garden with a modern twist • Perfectly partnered tulips at St Timothee in Kent PLUS The top ten plants for scent in spring; vibrant euphorbias to make borders sing; and the launch of our competition to find the nation’s favourite garden to visit Don’t miss out. Buy single copies or subscribe now at theenglishgarden.co.uk 01858 438854…

After long winter weeks of bare soil and leafless trees, it’s no wonder that the sight of spring bulbs starting to flower captures gardeners’ hearts and attention. This issue’s gardens celebrate the joy of bulbs and the colour they bring at this time of year. There’s a veritable carpet of daffodils at Mere House in Kent and Doddington Hall in Lincolnshire, while at Pettifers, the renowned Oxfordshire garden of Gina Price, daffodils are joined by anemones, fritillaries and more, to create a feast for the eyes. But as tempting as it is to keep your gaze firmly at ground level this month, don’t forget to look up occasionally as well. If you have eyes only for bulbs, you might miss other treats, such as the magnificent magnolias at north Nottinghamshire’s…

• Weed, tidy and water bare soil before applying a layer of organic matter, such as well-rotted farmyard manure or garden compost. This will help to reduce water evaporation. • Support herbaceous perennials by pushing peasticks into the soil around each clump, or use canes, stakes or mesh supports. • Prune bush and shrub roses, dogwoods and autumn-fruiting raspberries if you haven’t already. • Now is your last chance to plant bareroot trees, while leaves are yet to form. • Plant summer-flowering bulbs such as gladiolus (below) and dahlias in March and April in well-drained, sunny garden spots. Planting in succession means they will flower over a longer period.…

• If you have a garden pond, adding piles of dead branches around the edge of its banks will enrich the habitat for amphibians such as frogs, while marginal plants will provide cover for breeding sites so they can lay their spawn. Floating aquatic plants should cover about 70% of the pond’s surface. • If space is limited, you can create a makeshift pond for aquatic wildlife using an old washing-up bowl, a large plastic pot or a stone trough. Make sure that wildlife can get in and out by providing rocks or logs for access. • Leave out bundles of small twigs and dried moss for birds to use when they are building their nests – place them around the garden or on bird feeding stations. • Gather lawn…

UNLIKE MANY ELIZABETHAN GARDENS that were swept away in favour of the naturalistic landscape parks of the 18th century, the grounds of Doddington Hall, west of Lincoln, have changed remarkably little since they were laid out around 1600. Mellow brick walls contemporary with the house divide its seven acres into an orderly patchwork, that remains much as it was depicted in a print by Johannes Kip in 1707. Although the interior of the house was remodelled in 1760, the exterior was left intact. Nowadays the clipped box and neat lawns that frame the house give way to a bosky Wild Garden that is lit up by a glorious succession of naturalised bulbs across many months of the year. In March and April, a sea of subtle yellow daffodils washes over…

It was memories of relaxed days and warm evenings spent eating on the terrace during family holidays in the Mediterranean that inspired Rupert and Dionne Slade as they considered what to do with their outside space. James Scott (above) and Alex Haerle of The Garden Company were duly briefed and, using pale stone, a superbly appointed pergola that shades a large dining table, and a gnarled old olive tree, that’s just what they delivered – albeit in suburban Pinner. They’ve taken influences from across the globe along the way: stone from Ireland and China, tree ferns from Australia, and stepping stones through planting reminiscent of Japanese woodland with its acers and bamboos. This is a garden that marries many different elements, and all in a typical, square, back-garden plot measuring…

Having gone from strength to strength over the past 52 years, John Massey’s Ashwood Nurseries in the West Midlands has bucked the national trend. Alongside his private garden, which opens for local charities throughout the year, John has created a nursery packed with specialities including hardy cyclamen, hydrangeas, conifers and snowdrops, as well as raising a world-famous Ashwood strain of hybrid hellebores. He is a plantsman to his core. Ashwood have exhibited at Chelsea four times since 2000 and have collected a Gold Medal on every occasion. But it was when they successfully put on a display of sublime hepaticas in 2016 that they picked up the prestigious Diamond Jubilee Award. Hepaticas, small woodlanders closely related to wood anemones, are John’s private passion – and it’s an obsession that began…

Simplicity itself: hardy annuals Hardy. A word that conjures up resilience and reliability, but also lets you know that what you’re about to grow will be straightforward and simple. Hardy annuals can be sown outside directly into the soil from around March onwards, depending on the weather. The soil just needs to be warm enough for the seed to germinate and a good indicator of this is the appearance of weed seedlings in your beds and borders: ‘if it’s time to weed, it’s time to seed’, the saying wisely goes. A little preparation is required to increase the chances of success. The soil should be friable, not a solid compacted lump, although it needn’t be too rich – high nutrient levels can cause hardy annuals to grow leaves at the…

Dry stone walling is a technique that uses stones to create structures without mortar to hold them together. By placing the stones like a 3-D jigsaw, it’s possible to create immensely strong compositions. The technique grew out of necessity and practicality – it was most common where there were large quantities of stone above ground and where hedges weren’t an option because the climate, elevation, strong winds and thin soils meant plants struggled. This is why it’s so often seen in upland areas, such as the Yorkshire Dales, the Lake District and the Pennines, where it is used to enclose agricultural land and has become an iconic part of the landscape. In Britain the history of dry stone building stretches back at least 3,500 years to the prehistoric settlement of…

CHIPPENHAM PARK Ely, Cambridgeshire CB7 5PT Tel: 01638 721416 | www.chippenhamparkgardens.co.uk With a breath-taking display of snowdrops and aconites in February followed by a succession of hellebores, scillas, cyclamen, crocus, deliciously scented daphnes and viburnums and a crescendo of daffodils and other narcissi, the gardens are at their very best in early Spring. OPEN: Tearooms and Gardens open 9 February-31 March and 15-19 April, 10am-4pm. Buses by appointment. FORDE ABBEY HOUSE AND GARDENS Chard, Somerset TA20 4LU Tel: 01460 221290 | www.fordeabbey.co.uk The Kennard family welcomes you to their unique 850-year-old house and 30 acres of award-winning gardens, with topiary-lined avenues, England’s tallest powered fountain, walled kitchen garden and renowned Mortlake tapestries. Visit the gift shop, plant nursery and enjoy lunch or homemade cakes in our vaulted tea rooms. Seasonal…

Poetry Appreciation 2 March, Birmingham A two-day course on American poets celebrates Birmingham Botanical Gardens’ planned replanting of North American herbaceous plants. Ticket £30. Tel: 0121 4505093; birmingham botanicalgardens.org.uk Birdwatching for Beginners 7 March-30 May, Devon If you’re a complete beginner who would love to learn more about birds, take part in this ten-session RSPB course led by volunteer Chris Lee at Darts Farm. Tickets from £68. Tel: 01392 833311; www.rspb.org.uk Living Medicine 10 March-10 Nov, London Expect talks, tastings and health assessments at this five-day course on practical natural remedies. Tickets £459. Tel: 020 7352 5646; chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk Discover Bonsai 22 March, Surrey Join this workshop at RHS Wisley to learn how these miniature trees are cultivated, and style your own tree. Tickets from £62. Tel: 020 3176 5830; rhs.org.uk…

‘BLACK TULIP’ The deepest-pink-flowered magnolia you can buy, with large, goblet-shaped blooms. Reaches 6m when mature. ‘FORREST’S PINK’ A cultivar of M. denudata raised at Caerhays, it’s thought to originate from seed collected by George Forrest. ‘SPECTRUM’ Rich-red flowers opening from elegantly curved buds, and an upright habit distinguish this 4-5m tall tree. ‘ELIZABETH’ Unusual among magnolias for its greenish-yellow flowers, its blooms are quickly followed by bronze new leaves. ‘STAR WARS’ Another impressive variety from New Zealand, this one has enormous flowers on a manageably sized 4m tall tree. M. SPRENGERI This species hails from China and has given rise to other garden-worthy cultivars such as darker pink ‘Diva’. ‘FELIX JURY’ This cultivar’s flowers open like waterlilies from furry buds. It will reach 4m tall and was bred in…

• In grass, use bulbs that flower and complete their growing cycle early in the year such as silvery purple Crocus tommasinianus, snowdrops, winter aconites, Eranthis hyemalis, starry blue Chionodoxa luciliae and small, species daffodils such as Narcissus lobularis, the lent lily. • When planting, scatter bulbs to achieve a natural distribution and plant at three times the depth of the bulb. With very small bulbs, lift an area of turf with a sharp spade, plant the bulbs into the bare soil and then roll the turf back down to cover them. • Do not mow until bulbs have died down and their leaves have yellowed and died. For daffodils, this might be as late as July but this allows the bulb to build up enough energy to be able…

ANEMONE PAVONINA Occurring naturally in the Mediterranean, this anemone species was given to Beth Chatto by her friend Cedric Morris. Although it forms tubers, it is often available as seed, offering colours on the pink-red spectrum. LEUCOJUM ‘GRAVETYE GIANT’ These dainty white flowers resemble snowdrops in looks and growth habit, but flower later in the year, from March to May. They are most comfortable in full sun and moist soil, where they will develop into sizeable clumps. ORNITHOGALUM NUTANS Pale-hued star-shaped flowers have given the common name of drooping star of Bethlehem to this plant. Originating in Bulgaria and south-west Turkey, these bulbs grow best in well-drained soils with full sun. BERGENIA ‘MORGENRÖTE’ Also known as ‘Morning Red’, this bergenia produces deeply coloured, cherry-pink flowers in…

• Garden design The Garden Company. Tel: 01442 832666; thegardenco.co.uk • Oak for the pergola and boardwalk Ternex. Tel: 01707 324606; ternex.co.uk • Black Basalt and Contemporary Grey paving London Stone. Tel: 01753 212950; londonstone.co.uk • Donegal walling and coping, black polished basalt water feature and stepping stones CED Stone. Tel: 01708 867237; cedstone.co.uk • Lighting Hunza, available from Light Ideas International. Tel: 01299 269950; hunzalighting.com; lightideas.co.uk • Furniture Hartman. For stockists, visit hartmanuk.com…

• Summer shade is vital in the greenhouse, as is lots and lots of ventilation. At the first sign of new flower buds, remove the shading and then replace it when the new leaves appear in late autumn and winter. Use porous clay pots as opposed to plastic, and free-draining compost with pumice stone or perlite added (Ashwood make a special hepatica mix that’s available from the nursery). • Water the plants well when they are flowering and as the new leaves appear, but reduce watering in summer and autumn when hepaticas enter a form of hibernation. Feed occasionally with organic, seaweed-based fertiliser in late winter, spring and autumn, and aim to keep the greenhouse between 0-2°C – don’t let potted hepaticas experience temperatures below -5°C. • Out in the…

Along with all the harvesting, I confess, there are usually a few jobs I really should have got round to a little earlier. If the weather is warm, the Moroccan mint will be an inch or two out of the ground and shaming me into cutting back the dry stalks of last year’s growth. If you grow only one mint, let it be Moroccan. It’s perfect for mojitos, sauce, tea and just about anything you want mint for. Start with a plant and grow in a container if you are concerned about it spreading. The Japanese wineberry canes (right) that fruited last summer need snipping close to the ground: I let them overwinter not out of laziness, but because the soft pink bristles that cover the canes catch the light…

Heated propagator A propagator such as Garland’s Fab Four fits on a windowsill and guarantees even germination with its steady temperature. £29.50. Tel: 01384 278256; garland products.com Extra fine rose Avoid a flood that washes away seeds or drowns delicate seedlings by fitting your watering can with an extra fine rose such as Haws’ 335 Rose. £3.99. Tel: 0121 4202494; haws.co.uk Vermiculite Mixed into compost to improve its drainage, or to cover seeds with a thin layer that they can easily push through, vermiculite is handy. Try Vitax, £12.15 for 10L, stockists at gardenworld.co.uk…

Natural Living Style by Selina Lake Ryland Peters & Small, £19.99 Selina Lake is a stylist and author who is well-known in the interiors world for creating settings with rustic appeal. Natural Living Style is a continuation of this theme, with a focus on natural, reclaimed and recycled materials in indoor and outdoor living spaces. While the book is strong on decorative appeal – there is plenty to wish for here – a theme that becomes clear is the connectedness of life. The individual and collective purchasing choices we make in all spheres have a net effect on garden life: seasons shift, plants and animals thrive in previously unknown quantity or become scarce, habits that may have yielded results no longer have the same effect. For those fatigued by perpetual…

SPRING REACH NURSERY Spring Reach Nursery grows a fantastic range of clematis, trees, hedging, ferns, shrubs, fruit, perennials, roses, climbers and grasses. WINTER WONDERS AVAILABLE NOW: Daphne ‘Jacqueline Postill’ Hellebores Ribes ‘Elkington White’ Skimmia ‘Kew Green’ and the new season’s roses. Tel: 01483 284769 info@springreachnursery.co.uk|www.springreachnursery.co.uk Spring Reach Nursery, Long Reach, Ockham, Surrey GU23 6PG BLUEBELL ARBORETUM & NURSERY Specialists in hardy trees, shrubs and climbers including a huge selection of unusual and rare species and varieties. Expert advice is available from our helpful staff. The nursery is surrounded by a nine-acre woodland garden (RHS Partner Garden), and visitors are welcome all year round. Informative website and reliable mail order service if you would like plants delivered. Tel: 01530 413700 sales@bluebellnursery.com | www.bluebellnursery.comAnnwell Lane, Smisby, Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire LE65…

‘Volunteer’ is a term people use nowadays to signal their broadmindedness about weeds. If, as Vita Sackville-West famously said, a weed is only a flower in the wrong place, a volunteer, I guess, is a weed in the right place. I love my ‘volunteers’: I like the haphazard, wholly unexpected effect they have. It’s as if I had said to the garden: “Go on, surprise me!” Sometimes the effect is punkish, like a surly seven-foot-tall hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium) bristling in the rose border; sometimes sweetly pretty, like the diminutive pinky-white flowers of enchanter’s nightshade (Circaea lutetiana) floating above the carpet of ivy in my formal little tea-garden; sometimes surreal, as when a tall white foxglove decided to grow at ceiling height in the top of the bathroom downpipe. Right now,…