Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2019 i The English Garden

Anna Omiotek-Tott London-based photographer Anna specialises in gardens, plants and florals. She loves finding amazing gardens to capture, like the one created by Rosemary Alexander on page 36. Alun Callender Alun has been fascinated by the art of photography since his late teens. Portraiture is a particular passion and he’s inspired by creative people. He photographed fabric artist Natasha Hulse, featured on page 101. Nick Mann Nick runs Habitat Aid and is a trustee of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. He has a passion for heritage fruit trees, hedges and wildflower meadows, and extols the virtues of orchards on page 83.…

Norwich, Norfolk Rare and unusual plants abound in this fabulous 32-acre garden near Happisburgh on the Norfolk coast. Traditional borders and modern landscapes include walled gardens, a rose garden, an exotic garden, topiary and box parterres, water features, a Mediterranean garden, inspirational containers and a monumental fruit cage. There’s also a cornfield and meadow gardens, vegetable and cutting gardens, parkland and a heritage orchard, all of which has been created from scratch by dedicated owners Alan Gray and Graham Robeson. East Ruston Old Vicarage, East Ruston, Norwich, Norfolk NR12 9HN. Opens for the NGS on Saturday 12 October 12pm-5.30pm. Adult: £9.50; child: £1. Visit ngs.org.uk for details.…

Borde Hill Academy of Witches and Wizards 26 October-3 November, West Sussex Follow a spooky trail with a prize at the end. Tickets: £2, plus admission. Tel: 01444 450326; bordehill.co.uk Half-term fun at Chatsworth 26 October-3 November, Derbyshire Find hidden pumpkins, try creepy crafts, and ride the Fright flight to Warlock Wood. Tickets: from £7. Tel: 01246 565300; chatsworth.org Halloween Magic at Lullingstone Castle 27 October, Kent Tom Hart Dyke leads garden tours, while kids can spot Halloween tricks by torchlight and try pumpkin carving. Tickets: £10, children free. Tel: 01322 862114; lullingstonecastle.co.uk Halloween Family Fright Nights 31 October-2 November, Dorset Face-painting and tricks and treats at Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens (right). Tickets: £19, children 5+ £16. Tel: 01305 871130; abbotsburytourism.co.uk Spooky events at Clumber Park Various dates in October, Nottinghamshire…

Start the conversation before any hard landscaping has been laid down to ensure that all services are connected to the overall design. List the practical things you need, and then decide how you want to feel in your garden: safe, enclosed, nostalgic, calm or energised? Don’t add anything unnecessary and work with what you’ve got. If your garden sits within beautiful surroundings, use native trees so that you blend in with the landscape rather than jarring against it. If you tend to fiddle with your garden, a garden designer can give you a long-term design and planting plan to work with so you’ll avoid making costly mistakes. Take a long-term view of the project so that the major plants you choose have time and space in which to develop naturally.…

When visiting Peter Clay’s garden at Brockhampton Cottage in Herefordshire, it is shamefully easy to march straight past the luxuriant flower gardening in order to admire the view. For this, plainly, is a garden that belongs to its landscape. And this is how the story begins. Peter Clay is Mr ‘Crocus’. He helped to set up the firm of that name at the turn of the millennium, and today it is a company that’s familiar to gardeners everywhere: the first-stop online finder and supplier of plants. And Crocus came about because of this garden. Peter spent long stretches of his childhood here at his grandfather’s house, his bedroom at the centre of its modest Edwardian facade looking out over the space he gardens today. When, to his surprise, he inherited…

New England varieties can simply be planted and left to their own devices. Don’t plant too intensively – they need air circulation and moisture-retentive soil to avoid mildew attacks. Mulch asters densely to prevent water loss — dehydration stresses the plants, and also encourages powdery mildew. Don’t use nitrogen-rich fertiliser when they’re young. It encourages lush, weak growth. Scatter calcified seaweed onto the soil, to encourage stout, strong plants. Avoid using fungicide, Control mildew with a garlic-based spray and seaweed-based foliar feed.…

Dahlias need water-retentive soil that drains freely, along with a sunny site that’s sheltered from strong winds. Adding plenty of organic matter to the soil over winter is beneficial. However, they don’t like being overfed, so just fork in a slow-acting fertiliser, such as bonemeal, three weeks before you plant them. Start off the tubers by potting them in good-quality compost, in March, labelling the pots to avoid confusion later. When four leaves have formed, pinch out the top to encourage a bushy plant. Plant these outside in early June, leaving 60-90cm between each plant. Stake as you plant. A tripod of three canes, topped with protectors, usually does the job. Keep an eye out for slugs. They can be a problem and they often seem to prefer darker-leaved dahlias.…

Apples for Blossom ‘Annie Elizabeth’ ‘Brownlee’s Russet’ ‘Keswick Codlin’ Favourite Cider Apples ‘Dabinett’ ‘Foxwhelp’ ‘Kingston Black’ Favourite Eaters ‘George Carpenter’ ‘Saint Edmund’s Pippin’ ‘William Crump’ Favourite Cookers ‘Grenadier’ ‘Howgate Wonder’ ‘Lane’s Prince Albert’…

SORBUS COMMIXTA ‘EMBLEY’ The leaves of this colourful rowan turn fiery shades of red every autumn. 6m. CERCIDIPHYLLUM ‘BOYD’S DWARF’ The air around katsura trees fills with a delicious candyfloss scent as the leaves fall in autumn. This variety has “phenomenally better” autumn colour, says Robert. 4m. CERCIS ‘FOREST PANSY’ It doesn’t take up much space but ‘Forest Pansy’ is impactful nonetheless, with its large purple leaves, turning wine-red and amber in autumn. 5m.…

The Land Gardeners Cut Flowers by Bridget Elworthy and Henrietta Courtauld Thames & Hudson, £39.95 It is difficult not to love abundant country house gardens and fulsome floral arrangements. Throw in a potting shed, cut-flower room and a dose of Constance Spry and Willow Pattern and you soon have a coffee-table centrepiece. This would be the case with the latest offering from growers Bridget Elworthy and Henrietta Courtauld, who supply floral designers Shane Connolly and Vic Brotherson. However, their interest is also intensely focused on gardening organically. What could be a light read in fact bears satisfying detail enhanced by image after beautiful image from Clive Nichols, Andrew Montgomery, Hugo Rittson-Thomas and others. The history of the gardens at Wardington Manor is outlined here, from the days when it supplied…

First fog. How you long for it, all through the parched days of summer – the cool grey dampness of it on your skin, the blurring of edges, the closing down of views. The silence. Overnight, the season has moved on a notch. Across the Church Meadow the trees are reduced to dark cut-outs, the church tower lost, vanished, in the fog. The expanse of grass between house and church is drenched white-silver with cold condensation – more than dew, not yet frost – unsullied with footprints. It’s a study in black and silver after Whistler. But against the grey stone walls of the house, yellow roses gleam in the reduced light: ‘Gloire de Dijon’, its folded petals – parchment, cream and buff – beaded with moisture, in the cooler…

Reading Nick Mann’s feature on orchards has made me long for one of my own. I’ve long harboured dreams of bountiful fruit trees laden with juicy cargo in late summer and autumn, the grass below spangled with daffodils in spring. Maybe one day, but for now I’ll have to content myself with watching the ring-necked parakeets that live in my corner of south east London flock to the apple tree in the garden next door, squawking and performing acrobatics to peck at the fruit. If I did suddenly find myself in possession of enough space, this would be the time of year to set those orchard plans in motion. Autumn marks the start of the bare-root planting season and is the time to order and plant trees of all kinds:…

Linaria vulgaris got its common name by mistake. In the 16th century, toadflax was named ‘bubonium’, since it was used to relieve the swollen lymph nodes known as ‘buboes’, caused by the bubonic plague. A spelling mistake, however, rendered it ‘bufonium’. ‘Bufo’ is Latin for toad – hence ‘toadflax’. The plant’s seeds were believed to have the ability to ward off evil. Toadflax has other names: in 1868, J. T. Burgus wrote describing it as the “butter-and-eggs of the country folk.”…

ASTER AMELLUS ‘BRILLIANT ’ The 60cm tall clumps of this bright lilac-pink Michaelmas daisy will suit a sunny spot at the front of a border. TULBAGHIA VIOLACEA Dainty flowers appear above a clump of garlic-scented leaves. Fares best in a warm area with free-draining soil. STIPA ICHU Peruvian feather grass lives up to its name with silvery panicles of flowers in summer. One for a mild, sunny, well-drained spot. SALVIA ‘ROYAL BUMBLE ’ This hard-working salvia will produce its deep red blooms from July through to October, on 50cm-tall stems. EUPATORIUM ‘PURPLE BUSH’ A good eupatorium to choose if space is tight, reaching 1.5m tall with heads of fluffy purple flowers. ASTER X FRIKARTII ‘MÖNCH…

Alnus glutinosa ‘Imperialis’ A sophisticated, slow-growing, medium-sized tree, with finely cut leaves and an elegant form. As with all exotic-looking plants, plant enough of them and they’ll seem more natural and at home. It offers little in the way of autumn colour. Taxodium distichum The American swamp cypress of the Everglades can live in water. Some forms will produce woody ‘knees’ that poke up through the ground (or water) around the base of the tree. It offers wonderful bronze-yellow tints in autumn, and in old age develops a deliciously loose, open crown. Metasequoia glyptostroboides Discovered in 1941, the dawn redwood is the Chinese equivalent of the swamp cypress, but offers more orange and pink in autumn. Even when it’s young its shaggy-barked trunk has a splendidly sinewy form.…

ASTER ‘LITTLE CARLOW’ A bushy Aster cordifolium hybrid that bears masses of small, daisy-like, violet-blue flowers from September. HELIANTHUS ‘CARINE’ This lofty perennial stands 1.7m high, bearing small, lemon-yellow flowers on dark stems from August to October. ASTER ‘RALPH PICTON’ Raised by Paul Picton and named for his son, this New York aster bears pink double blooms from September. ANEMONE HUPEHENSIS VAR. JAPONICA ‘PAMINA’ A 75cm tall Japanese anemone with double pink flowers from September. ASTER ‘HELEN PICTON’ Masses of rich-purple flowers from September onwards on this mildew-resistant Michaelmas daisy. ASTER NOVI-BELGII ‘BONINGALE WHITE’ Well-formed, pure-white flowers from mid-September on this New York aster. RUDBECKIA ‘HENRY EILERS’ This tall perennial bears eye-catching…

Gardeners alone probably won’t manage to plant the 1.5 billion trees the Committee on Climate Change have suggested the UK needs to offset carbon emissions to zero by 2050. Still, every little helps, and it’s not just trees’ extraordinary ability to lock up carbon that makes them so beneficial. They also reduce the risk of flooding and provide habitats for wildlife, from insects to birds and mammals. The environmental benefits alone make it well worth planting a tree, and that’s before we consider how much trees enhance our gardens in their own right. Beautiful spring blossom, lush greenery in summer, autumn’s warm leaf colours, height, structure, focal points – trees are as essential a part of the garden as lawns and flower borders. They’re also in the news. At a…

“The line between ornamental trees and fruit trees is quite blurred,” says Stephanie Dunn James. “In spring, a lot of fruit trees – apples, pears, plums and cherries – will look incredible from a blossom point of view,” she explains. Alternatively, pick an ornamental tree that you can use as a fruit tree. Crab apples definitely straddle the line, with their lovely shows of spring blossom, interesting foliage colour and autumn fruit. “Crab apples are great bird feeders and they can be very decorative. It’s the same with sorbus or mountain ash – you can use the fruit on both,” Steph explains. She also recommends amelanchiers, in particular Amelanchier alnifolia, also known as saskatoon: “The dark red to black berries are like large blueberries and are high in antioxidants. They’re…

Gardening offers many benefits but manicured hands aren’t one of them. With digging, grubbing about in compost and cutting back, they can take quite a beating and often the best that can be hoped for is that one’s fingernails are mostly clean. Those sensible enough to wear gloves regularly will have a favourite pair within easy reach – or several pairs of gloves for that matter, each favoured for a special purpose. Therein lies a truth: a single, all-purpose pair is a rare thing, if it even exists. For untangling a briar grown large over summer, a leather gauntlet will protect both hands and forearms from scratches, thorns and insect stings. Bradleys is a Shropshire tannery offering a number of stylish options, as well as gauntlets with a floral-print linen…

How did this book come about? I was going to have an exhibition with Jonathan Cooper and I wanted to do something new. We had fantastic summers in 2017 and 2018 and the roses were stunning, but as I wandered around the garden, I realised I loved them as they were fading and about to drop. I thought I would make that the focus of my exhibition. The book itself grew from the success my previous book, The Apple Book. There was a proposal to reissue that, but I asked my publishers if they were interested in a book about roses instead. What are the more difficult aspects of your work? Finding the subject, which takes time. Once I’ve found it, it’s simply a question of labour. On average, each…

• Burn or bin fallen leaves from roses to stop black spot spores from overwintering. • Collect seeds by separating them from berries and storing in a cool place. You can then sow them in trays or small pots and place outside in a cold frame. • Plant herbaceous perennials while the soil is still in a good enough condition for the roots to establish. • Cut the tops of Jerusalem artichokes and asparagus down to ground level. Shred the old stems and add to the compost heap. • Take cuttings of blackcurrants, redcurrants and whitecurrants. Take pencil-thick stems and trim to just below a bud so they are 20cm long. Insert into a cuttings bed or pot of gritty, soil-based compost until spring.…

Planted in profusion, the abundant blooms of these striking beauties are truly captivating GERANIUM ‘ROZANNE’ Let this lax geranium romp around the base of shrubs and through perennials. DAHLIA MERCKII This gorgeous species dahlia has beautifully nodding flowers in palest mauve – just keep on deadheading it. ANEMONE HUPEHENSIS A tough perennial ideal for dry shade. Try deep purple-pink ‘Prinz Heinrich’. ANEMONE ‘HONORINE JOBERT’ Perfect for brightening shady spots, this pure-white cultivar is a reliable performer. DAHLIA COCCINEA Rosemary grows this soft scarlet flowered dahlia hybrid from seed bought from the Special Plants Nursery. DAHLIA ‘DAVID HOWARD’ A classic dahlia with amber flowers sitting above purple-tinged foliage and stems.…

There’s a certain sense of responsibility that comes with being the third generation to take on a cherished family garden. “I am very much aware of how much the family has put into the garden, so we do tend to involve my parents in major decisions, even though they are perfectly happy to let us get on with it,” says Helen Picton who, with her husband Ross Barbour, has taken over The Picton Garden from her parents, Paul and Meriel. Theirs has been a gentle transition, with more early-season planting creeping into the woodland area, and inspirational new introductions to extended borders. “My father is pleased to see the garden taking on a new life,” Helen explains. “He sees it as evolving – you must keep changing a garden, otherwise…

Gertrude Jekyll wrote in Colour Schemes for the Flower Garden: “To plant and maintain a flower border with a good scheme for colour, is by no means the easy thing that is commonly supposed.” The many gardeners who find themselves struggling to achieve a picture-perfect garden can take heart from these words. But like her American counterpart, the designer Beatrix Farrand, Jekyll had mastered the art of ‘painting’ good garden pictures. The exciting results produced by these two women stemmed from sound principles that uncertain gardeners can put successfully into practice today. The link between the legendary Gertrude Jekyll and her American counterpart Beatrix Farrand, is one of the great stories of the special horticultural relationship between the UK and the USA. Both women shared similar backgrounds, coming from financially…

Dahlias are the ultimate cut-and-come-again flower. They often begin to perform in early July and they’ll carry on until winter beckons. They’ve been bred from high-altitude, single-flowered native species from Mexico and Central America and because they originate from so close to the equator, dahlias prefer shorter days. As the nights get longer and cooler, that’s when they really get into their stride. This means they are invaluable from late-summer onwards: no other plant flowers for so long at this time of the year. Like many tropical plants, dahlias are also very colourful and this is their finest asset. There are sultry blacks that add an ornate touch to all those yellow daisies, and there are vivid reds and strong purples that glow in the jewel-box light of autumn. There…

I fell in love with orchards in the summer of 2001. We’d just bought a house in Somerset that came with a small, broken-down cider orchard. It was sadly neglected: the trees were unpruned and stood at drunken angles, or they had succumbed completely to lie flat out, used by the sheep as back scratchers in the June heat. Many had given up the ghost long ago; some staggered on like old men weighed down by their improbably enormous burdens of mistletoe. Neglected it was, but it was not silent. Our old orchard was full of flying, creeping, buzzing, knocking, noisy animals. Lying in the grass, I couldn’t believe the life I saw and heard around me. It turns out that orchards are absolutely brilliant for wildlife. Pollinators, particularly bees,…

MALUS ‘ADIRONDACK’ Crimson buds open to pink blossom, then plentiful coral-coloured crabs. May be sold as ‘Admiration’. 7m. MALUS ‘AROS’ “This relatively new variety has a columnar, upright habit,” says Steph, “making it ideal for smaller gardens. Dark spring flowers are followed by autumn fruit and colourful leaves.” 4m. MALUS ‘RED SENTINEL’ “Very small and upright with lots of white flowers in spring and then red fruits that last well into the winter,” says Steph, “which is a key thing for a crab apple.” 5m.…

For Natasha Hulse, indoors was never very distinct from outdoors. Growing up with an artistic streak on the edge of the New Forest, she was given free rein to paint onto clothes, walls, and anything with a surface. The pattern of a leaf foraged on a morning stroll could be transferred onto the back of a chair that very same day. By the time Natasha was 17, one wall of her bedroom was adorned with the curling, apple-laden branches of a jewellery tree. Elsewhere in the room was a metal chair welded into the shape of leaves, its soft seat covered in daisies. Natasha reupholstered the chair in this floral pattern after welding its frame. “I’ve definitely been working on a large scale from a young age,” she acknowledges. “My…

ROUSHAM HOUSE & GARDEN Rousham represents the first phase of English landscape design, and remains almost as William Kent left it, one of the few gardens of this date to have escaped alteration. Many features which delighted 18th century visitors to Rousham are still in situ, such as the ponds and cascades in Venus’s Vale, the Cold Bath and seven-arched Praeneste, Townsend’s Building, the Temple of the Mill, and, on the skyline, a sham ruin known as the ‘Eyecatcher’. OPEN: Daily from 10am, last admission 4.30pm. No children under 15 and no dogs. Entry fee £8 per person. Tel: 01869 347110 www.rousham.orgRousham, Bicester, Oxfordshire OX25 4QU BEDGEBURY NATIONAL PINETUM AND FOREST Be inspired by one of the world’s finest conifer collections at Bedgebury Pinetum. Explore 350 acres of rolling Wealden…