Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2020 i The English Garden

Sarah Coles Sarah lectures widely and has written books, including›Life, the Universe and Gardening and›Chalk and Limestone Gardening.›She admires the chalk garden at Ordnance House on page 48. Annie Green-Armytage An award-winning garden photographer and writer, published in books and magazines worldwide, Annie has captured the garden at Warborough House in Norfolk for our feature on page 40. Selina Lake A stylist and author whose work can be seen at Chelsea and Hampton Court, in the photoshoots she styles for magazines and clients, and in her books, such as Shed Style. Selina’s ideas for peonies are on p115.…

Wollerton Old Hall Shrewsbury, Shropshire This is a masterclass in arranging plants and is very much my style of garden. It is both plant-rich and floriferous. As a single piece of work, it’s just fantastic. Tel: 01630 685760; wollerton oldhallgarden.com Oxford Botanic Garden Oxford, Oxfordshire This garden doesn’t get much press but I believe it’s the oldest botanic garden in the country. It has fabulous experimental borders and a great range of plants. Tel: 01865 286 692; obga.ox.ac.uk…

Once you have decided the length and height for the pleached limes, a framework of posts and wires is required to stabilise the young trees until they are trained fully. The horizontal wires are usually set at 30-45cm apart. Planting is normally done in late autumn or late winter. At the same time, cut back the whip to 3 good buds making sure the top bud is above the bottom wire. During summer, train the new shoots to canes, topmost vertically and the side shoots at a 45° angle, lowering the side shoots horizontally in late autumn. To create the next tier, prune back the leader to 45cm above the bottom branches, hoping you have at least three good buds below the cut. Train as for the previous tier and…

Chelsea is the launch pad for so many of the new plants and products we use in our gardens. In the absence of a physical show this year, we present a joyful celebration of this remarkable event and its colourful history. There may not be show gardens to set the trends this year, but Chelsea’s exhibitors offer a tempting feast for anyone seeking the latest tools and accessories. Find all the products and plants that would have been on display had it gone ahead as usual. Just like the show itself, there is something for every gardening taste – whether you’re a fan of timeless, traditional gardening or innovative, modern horticulture. The RHS Chelsea Flower Show has seen the stars of designers, celebrities, fashions and sponsors rise and fall. It…

Lassco Reclaimed garden antiques and gardenalia, including fountains and statues. Tel: 01844 277188; lassco.co.uk The Fountain Company Design, installation and restoration of larger and historic water features. Tel: 01457 866088; thefountaincompany.co.uk Tills Water feature and design installations with capacity for large-scale projects. Tel: 01284 787479; waterfeaturespecialist.co.uk Haddonstone A wide range of cast-stone products varying in scale and looks. Tel: 01604 770711; haddonstone.com Redfields Traditional English leadworkers offering cisterns, fountains and timeless animalia. Tel: 02392 870000; redfields.co.uk Chilstone Fine cast-stone figures and garden ornaments such as fountains, plus a range of architectural stonework. Tel: 01892 740866; chilstone.com Stark and Greensmith Design-led, corten steel and power-coated, laser-cut aluminium panels. Tel: 01737 701088; starkandgreensmith.com Bulbeck Foundry Lead cisterns, plaques, birdbaths, and fountains with bespoke options. Tel: 01638 734153; bulbeckfoundry.co.uk Garden House Design Award-winning…

Flowering cornus need little pruning beyond the removal of lower branches as the tree matures to create a clear trunk. The shape of those that develop the tiered structure can be spoilt by pruning but the more upright, bushy types can be pruned if they’re outgrowing their space; do this in winter when the plant is dormant. They’re generally free of pests and disease and I don’t know of any enquiries from RHS members about anthracnose; it’s not a problem we’ve encountered here at Wisley. Clear weeds from under trees especially when they’re young. Mulching around the plant with compost is also beneficial. Feed with a general-purpose fertiliser in February if your soil is poor – otherwise, it isn’t really necessary. If you have heavy, poorly-drained clay soil it might…

Pumpkins and squash With their varied forms – ridged, rounded, knobbly, squat or slim – and in brilliant shades of yellow, orange, white and green, squashes and pumpkins are one of the great joys of the summer and autumn harvest. At Babington House, head gardener Sophie Martin trains squash and pumpkins up an old window frame covered with jute netting for extra support. “Use them as a climbing feature and make it as pretty as you like,” she says, suggesting a sturdy tripod as another option. May is the best time to plant, so that these wonderful fruits have time to ripen fully before cooler weather sets in. Seed should ideally be sown earlier in March or April, but there is still just about time if you act now. Alternatively,…

The Kew Gardener’s Guide to Growing Vegetables by Helena Dove White Lion, £12.99 Many suppliers of vegetable seed have experienced unprecedented demand in recent weeks, as anyone who has tried to purchase seed online will be aware. There is something about a crisis that inspires a desire to be self-sufficient, if not completely then at least in terms of salad leaves and courgettes. If, once the varieties of choice have slipped through the letterbox, you are in want of some direction as to how best to grow them, this handy hardback in the Kew Gardener series is an excellent starting point. Author Helena Dove is the kitchen gardener at RBG Kew and presents here a wealth of reliable information on the topic. She begins with the gardening basics, such as…

It feels as if a lifetime has passed since I wrote this column for our last issue, perhaps because the world has changed so much in the intervening four weeks. What an adjustment we have all had to make, but one that has been a little easier if you are lucky enough to have a garden. While we humans struggle to make sense of our new circumstances, our blissfully oblivious plants continue to blossom and grow, birdsong heralds sunny spring weather, and, in the natural world, life carries on. That alone is a source of solace, but add the calming effect of gardening, the fresh air and the exercise, and it’s no wonder so many people are turning to their gardens while we await happier times. Likewise, we hope that…

Although visitors won’t be able to visit the sculpture in Asthall Manor’s gardens as usual this year, Anna’s beautifully curated exhibition is still available to view, virtually, at onformsculpture.co.uk, where she aims to have photographs and videos of all the work that would have been on display, for all the sculptors taking part. “On Form’s unique selling point is our ‘do touch’ policy,” says Anna, “and, of course, with it being a virtual exhibition that’s not going to be possible, but the website is a wonderful platform for us to show off all the beautiful work in a new and exciting way.” Anna is particularly excited by the themes that have emerged from 2020’s collection of work. The environment, endangered species and our throwaway culture have all come under the…

Picture the scene. A dreamy summer’s evening, wine flowing, live music playing in the background and a beautiful picnic to enjoy with friends. You would be forgiven for thinking this was Glyndebourne or Garsington, but no: this is Chilworth Manor, a stunning house and garden tucked into the folds of the Surrey Hills. Its terraced garden forms an amphitheatre, and it’s here that owners Graham and Mia Wrigley host their popular midsummer charity evening, ‘Picnics & Pimm’s’, an event firmly pencilled onto the summer party calendars of the Surrey cognoscenti. It was on climbing to the viewpoint at nearby Newlands Corner, 177m above sea level, that Graham and Mia found themselves seduced by the beauty of the Surrey Hills. “We had not visited the area before and were astounded by…

Timeless tradition Well-known nursery and Chelsea stalwart ALLWOODS celebrates its 110 year anniversary in 2020 and is releasing a dianthus to mark the occasion. ‘Allwoods One Ten’ is a compact variety with good, strong stems, perfect for the front of borders or containers. The firm are also introducing ‘Hollycroft Fragrance’, a pink with a strong clove scent. The variety hasn’t been seen in cultivation for many years so the team at Allwoods were thrilled when they were sent some cuttings of the much-missed variety by a customer in Northumberland and were able to reintroduce it. allwoods.net SCOTTS OF THRAPSTON are celebrating a special birthday this year, too: their centenary. The summerhouse specialists are longstanding Chelsea exhibitors, first putting on a display at the show in the 1960s. Chairman David Scott…

In the walled garden at Wormsley, the Getty family estate in Buckinghamshire, head gardener Charlotte Tremlin has her hands full growing brilliant beds of flowers for cutting. These she makes available for indoor arrangements and for large events – not least the hospitality tables at cricket matches and the Garsington Opera season, both of which are held here. “All our flowers need to be versatile and have a good vase life,” she explains. “We choose plants that are pretty timeless, too.” She sows a selection of annuals and perennials directly, even though the microclimate at Wormsley is cooler than most places in the South East. If it’s too late to sow, try online seedling delivery for fast flowers this season. Wormsley, Stokenchurch, Bucks HP14 3YE. wormsley.com 1 Dahlia ‘Thomas…

Peony season is here, and never have we been happier to see their fragrant, blowsy blooms. These perennials flower for a relatively short period, from late May to June, offering their first signs of life in warm spring weather when the red leaf buds begin to poke up through the bare earth after winter dormancy. Plants go on for decades, some living to be over 100 years old, and can be passed down through generations like heirlooms. They are fairly easy to grow, although the weight of their blooms means they need support, so stake or fix in place woven or metal structures now before they develop too much foliage. Peony PICNIC Celebrated by florists and floral stylists alike, these gorgeous blooms symbolise good fortune and a happy marriage. They…

Summer vegetables need a bit of help when they are most productive. Seaweed feeds such as Seasol and Maxicrop are all-rounders. Once fruit appears, tomatoes benefit from a high-potash fertiliser such as Tomorite. You can also make a nutritious tea to feed plants made from leaves submerged in water for a few weeks, then diluted one part tea to 15 parts water. Try comfrey leaves, high in nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous, or nettles, which are nitrogen-rich and good for leafy greens.…

What brought you to write on this topic? When I had my children, I found that my garden started to run away from me. I would spend hours every few weekends trying to regain control of it, only to find myself back where I’d started just a few weeks later. I realised early on that a daily gardening maintenance plan was what I needed, but that seemed impossible to me until I committed myself to just five minutes a day. Within a few weeks the garden was back to being how I loved it, but the best thing was that I was no longer feeling guilty or annoyed about it! I was chronicling my daily five-minute exploits on Instagram and it caught on fast, which is why I wrote the…

Chris Beardshaw The award-winning garden designer, television presenter and Garden Day ambassador gives us an insight into his design process and daily life There is no standard blueprint for garden design, but I never leave a site without knowing what I want to do with it. There is always something to take from the land and the information a client shares. Once you understand the context of a space, its history and atmosphere, the design concept follows viscerally. I don’t study the work of other garden designers closely because it’s good to have a unique vision. I find inspiration in the paintings of a 20th-century artist called Robert Lenkiewicz. He captured the spirit of his subjects in a single brushstroke. I also hugely admire Thomas Mawson, an originator of the…

Preen Manor is set so high you can see the weather coming from over Wenlock Edge. The roads are steep and narrow, unsuited to large vehicles and often impassable in snow. You climb up through green parkland scattered with ancient trees, through dramatic woodland and over a plunging stream to the brim of the garden where the long, low house perches just below the crest of the ridge. The six-acre garden is high and exposed, carved out of ancient woodland on a steeply sloping site, east-facing, between 220 and 240 metres above sea level. The soil varies from sand to clay, over the underlying sandstone. Now home to James and Katy Tanner and their family, Preen was once the site of a Cluniac monastery, established here in about 1150 –…

At Warborough House the focus is on a palette of purple and white, with an emphasis on spring flowering. Bulbs include globe alliums such as ‘Purple Sensation’ (stocky, with large flowerheads) and ‘Mount Everest’ (tall and white). These have self-seeded and hybridised, adding a range of paler purple and lavender hues. Allium schubertii is lower-growing with giant starburst flowerheads of metallic pink florets. Nectaroscordum siculum, an understated member of the allium family, produces heads of pendulous bell-shaped flowers hanging from long stalks. Bearded irises include ‘Midnight Majesty’ and ‘Black Swan’, both properly dark purple irises with sumptuous velvety flowers. They contrast with the sweetly scented white cultivar of Brompton stocks (Matthiola incana ‘Alba’) used here. Abutilon vitifolium, a large, borderline-tender shrub needing full sun and a sheltered aspect, has open…

Merton House is only a bicycle ride away from the centre of Cambridge, but its setting in Grantchester, over the River Cam, across the Backs and beyond the Grantchester Meadows, brings a feeling of rural seclusion to the five-acre property. The home of Jo and Francis Burkitt, Merton House came into the Burkitt family in 1928, when Francis’s grandfather, Miles, an archaeologist, moved from Cambridge to Grantchester with his wife, Peggy. Miles and Peggy were gardeners, explains Jo, describing the formal garden they laid out around the house at the time. Before the Burkitts, the Grade II listed property, which dates to the 18th century but has Victorian additions, had once belonged to biologist William Bateson, who, with glasshouses filled with sweet peas that he crossed and crossed so as…

SET THE SCENE Much of the success of a water feature depends on its surrounds. Here (left) a circular bronze feature is the carefully considered focal point for a formal herb garden. With its catch pool it consumes a fair amount space, but with appropriate use of materials it blends with the garden rather than dominating it. LESS MAY BE BEST Twin fountains (top left) in the simplest of lawn settings catch the eye. For larger projects, garden designers will be able to hire specialist contractors to advise on both engineering and aesthetics as well as to maintain the feature after installation. This design is by Angela Collins. Tel: 07876 592440; angelacollins.co.uk CLASSIC TASTE Original stone pieces are often found in specialist reclamation yards but if you have an exact…

Cornus, usually known as dogwood, is a diverse group of plants. There are the fiery-stemmed shrubs such as Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’ lighting up winter gardens, low-growing species like C. canadensis hugging the ground at 10cm tall, and Cornus mas, the Cornelian cherry, a shrubby tree with masses of sulphur yellow flowers in early spring. But it’s the flowering dogwoods that are the showstoppers of the genus, putting on a dazzling show that leads the garden into summer. “Flowering dogwoods for the most part are not in the least bit demanding and fill a difficult gap between spring-flowering bulbs going over and the roses and summer perennials taking off,” explains Guy Barter, chief horticulturalist at the RHS. “It’s one of the reasons why we planted a collection of them here at…

Busy people will find peonies to be their dream plant. They’re easy to grow and once planted require almost no attention. They will live for more years than most people are likely to inhabit their houses, and when you move, they can come too. They’re extremely beautiful when in flower – even the foliage is handsome. A sunny spot is best for peonies and almost any soil that isn’t waterlogged. Richer soils are better than poor soils that do not retain water, however. Bare-root plants, which is how most intersectional peonies are sold, need to be placed in the ground with the red eyes (leaf buds) no more than 5cm below the soil surface. As cut flowers peonies are better than roses, lasting far longer in water – but their…

Colours and the myriad ways they can be brilliantly combined is what absorbs artist Jane Hickman the most. She follows a painting technique known as batik, which she uses to depict rich and vibrant natural patterns on prints, scarves, interior fabrics and even greetings cards. Her designs share the same fragmented, opalescent quality as stained glass windows. Batik is an ancient method that originated on the Indonesian island of Java about 2,000 years ago. Jane was introduced to the process by one of her tutors on a Further Education art course and found herself returning to it a few years later. The technique involves creating a design on fabric, usually cotton or silk, using dyes and wax. First, a piece of fabric is stretched out across a screen and then…

Angels come in many guises. Mick was crop-headed, craggy-faced, and arrived towing a rusty tanker behind his out-sized tractor. The problem with over-mature gardens is not simply that trees and shrubs need drastic pruning, nor that hedges need cutting back or even completely replacing, but that major pieces of infrastructure may need renewing too. Which is where Mick and his ‘gully sucker’ came in. Recently the pump had to be replaced in the canal – a 2,000-gallon, stone-lined formal pond, originally constructed in 1997. No problem there. But in doing that, the outlet hose broke under a metre and a half of water. And that meant draining the entire canal in order to mend the hose. “Above and below the water, dragonflies live out their complicated lives” The canal and…