Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2020 i The English Garden

Cinead McTernan Cinead is a garden writer, author and television horticultural researcher. Her third book, Grow Your Own Botanicals, was released last year. She admires the autumnal garden at High Beeches on page 40. Daniel Pembrey Daniel is a novelist and features writer with a first class degree in history and architectural history from Edinburgh University. On page 81, he escapes into the magical world of treehouses. Gillian Barlow Gillian attended London’s Slade School of Art before pursuing her love of botanical painting, for which she has won the RHS Veitch Memorial Medal. Her illustrations feature on page 101. gillianbarlow.com…

Colesbourne Gardens Gloucestershire I admire the understated majesty of this Cotswold gem. It has 11 Champion Trees, one of the world’s great snowdrop collections and summons such joy in winter. Tel: 01242 870567; colesbourne gardens.org.uk Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Scotland This botanic garden has an extraordinary collection of plants and a beautiful palm house. The on-site herbarium is easy to access and contains many wonderful specimens, including writing by Darwin. Tel: 0131 248 2909; rbge.org.uk…

• Lift parsnips as required. Their roots taste sweeter after the first frosts, and they can be left in the ground until needed. • Prune roses by at least one third of their height to protect them from wind damage. • Lift dahlia tubers, begonias and gladiolus corms to store indoors over the winter months. • If the ground isn’t waterlogged, this is a good month to plant fruit trees and bushes. • Raise pots off the ground with bricks or pot feet to aid drainage in wetter weather. • Plant out winter bedding plants such as pansies and violas, heathers and cyclamen to inject colour into the garden over the coming season, and wallflowers and sweet williams for next spring.…

As the leaves begin to turn from shades of summer green into an eye-catching palette of orange, red and yellow at High Beeches, the sense of anticipation builds. The fiery autumnal display at this 27-acre woodland garden in West Sussex is a much-anticipated seasonal highlight. The spectacle is all the more special because many of the varieties here were introduced by those intrepid plant hunters who travelled the globe in the 18th and 19th centuries in search of new specimens. During this period, Europe’s largest group of nurseries, owned by the Veitch family, were responsible for collecting huge numbers of exotic plants and trees. Based in London and Exeter, they employed over 20 plant hunters, which allowed them to dominate the botanical exploration of the British Empire for decades. One…

Almost overnight nature changes and the familiar red and gold tones of turning leaves once again fill our gardens. Let the magic of the season inspire you to create heart-warming displays and cosy moments for outdoor living and plan ahead with bulb planting. It’s not yet freezing, but there is a definite chill in the air that makes us want to retreat to a snug rustic space, a candlelit shed or a sun lounger cosied up with blankets and cushions. Fully embrace this new season by styling your garden to let you enjoy the magic of the month. Seasonal MOMENTS Now is the time to choose plants with fabulous autumn colour to add to your garden. Look up inspiring shrubs and trees you spot on walks and rambles to see…

Alnwick Garden Treehouse, Northumberland A 6,000ft2 complex of buildings that includes a restaurant and is linked by suspended walkways. alnwickgarden.com Chartwell, Kent A two-storey treehouse reinstated by Highlife Treehouses at Churchill’s former home, now a National Trust property. nationaltrust.org.uk/ chartwell Easton Lodge, Essex This treehouse was originally created for the Countess of Warwick in 1902, and restored in 2017 by Highlife Treehouses. eastonlodge.co.uk Pitchford Hall, Shropshire Half-timbered and believed be the oldest extant treehouse in the world, this wonder dates back to pre-1700. pitchfordestate.com RHS Wisley, Surrey See the treehouse from the Duchess of Cambridge’s Back to Nature Garden. rhs.org. uk/gardens/wisley…

Cotinus need well-drained soil but it doesn’t need to be rich. In fact, they often put on a better flowering display if the soil isn’t too high in nutrients, which encourages leafy growth over flowers. They thrive in sun or dappled shade, but those cultivars with colourful leaves tend to produce the most vibrant colour when they’re grown in full sun. For the best display of flowers, only prune if it’s necessary, giving shrubs a light trim in spring. If it’s the foliage you enjoy the most, cotinus can be cut back hard in spring, which encourages the plant to produce strong new shoots with larger leaves than normal. After coppicing plants in this way, work a little general granular fertiliser into the soil around their roots, to sustain the…

When did the suburban garden begin to emerge in earnest? What was the thinking behind it? The mid-19th century period saw the first major wave of suburban gardens with the expansion of the towns. They were associated with the ideal of the rus in urbe, country come to town, part of a wider social concern about the ills of the urban populations, most particularly overcrowding and smog, which gardens and public parks were meant to resolve. Public parks addressed the working class ills; gardens were aimed at the middle classes. Suburban gardens paved the way for gardening to emerge as the hobby we know today. How did this come about? Prior to the suburban garden, rural populations had their cottage gardens, which mixed productivity and pigs with pansies and periwinkles.…

The tiny Acer palmatum ‘Osakazuki’ I planted in the garden last autumn has yet to reach much more than five foot, so it is not a patch on the magnificent acers you’ll find in the collections of woody plants at High Beeches or East Bergholt, just two of the superb autumn gardens featured in this issue. Yet despite my acer’s diminutive size, its feathery leaves are now the colour of amber, glowing in the still-warm sun and drawing all the attention. As autumn progresses, deciduous trees like acers really come into their own, their colourful display of falling leaves a last hurrah before winter. That so many trees have such wonderful colour at this time of year is just one of the many reasons we should plant them. As High…

MISCANTHUS ‘MALEPARTUS’ This cultivar grows to 1.8m tall and has rich red flowers that fade to silver for winter. ILEX AQUIFOLIUM ‘J.C. VAN TOL’ Spine-free leaves on this self-fertile holly, with a good crop of red berries guaranteed. DISANTHUS CERCIDIFOLIUS A medium shrub with heart-shaped leaves that turn red, burgundy and purple. HYDRANGEA ‘ PREZIOSA’ Deep pink flowerheads turn burgundy in autumn, before the purple-tinged leaves fall. CYCLAMEN HEDERIFOLIUM These dainty, pale magenta flowers above marbled leaves are a sure sign of autumn. SORBUS SARGENTIANA Feathery foliage develops tangerine and coral hues alongside its vivid berries.…

HYLOTELEPHIUM ‘MATRONA’ This sedum cultivar produces deep pink flowers above its purple-tinged, fleshy leaves. ASTER PEDUNCULARIS Native to the Himalayas, this aster bears masses of blue-mauve daisies in autumn. SALVIA ‘WILD WATERMELON’ Vivid cerise flowers grace this shrubby, evergreen salvia from July onwards. PENNISETUM ‘HAMELN’ A clump-forming grass with soft autumn flowers, needing a sunny, well-drained spot. VIBURNUM OPULUS A superb shrub for autumn when it bears bunches of bright red berries; its spring flowers are beautiful too. HIBISCUS SYRIACUS ‘DIANA’ Flowering until the first frosts, this deciduous shrub is an RHS Award of Garden Merit winner.…

GOOD SOURCES Cotswold Natural Stone Offering rockery stone, chippings and aggregates, stone walling and paving. Tel: 01993 867392; cotswoldnaturalstone.co.uk Artorius Faber Family-owned surfaces company specialising in British stone, for interiors and exteriors. Tel: 01935 847333; artoriusfaber.com Lapicida Tile and stone specialist, offering unique finishes with particular skill in pool surrounds and home spas. lapicida.com Stonell Stone for interiors and exteriors including pool surrounds and terraces. Tel: 01372 860860; stonell.com BLURRED VISION Soften the look of paved terraces (left) with beds of planting that spills onto paving slabs, as in this garden by designer Mike Harvey. Gaura and nepeta would both work well. The hewn slabs and their laying pattern match the rusticity of the house. Tel: 07801 827171; mikeharveygardens.com SHADES OF GREY We associate limestone with a creamy hue but…

Summer’s bright blooms are receding and now autumn foliage is taking centre stage. This is the time to think creatively about form, texture and hue: what may be unprepossessing or simply pleasing for most of the year can suddenly become a striking highlight. Lachlan Rae trained with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and is now senior gardener at Gresgarth Hall, the private home of designer Arabella Lennox-Boyd. The 12-acre garden includes a collection of distinctive trees large and small, some of which were grown from seed collected in Japan. Here Lachlan suggests his ten favourite trees and shrubs for distinctive autumn colour. Gresgarth Hall, Caton, Lancaster LA2 9NB. Opens 8 November, 11am to 3pm, £10.50. Tel: 01524 771838; arabellalennoxboyd.com 1 Ostrya carpinifolia Arguably less interesting than other options in…

For an English gardener 20 years ago the most notable members of the Plantaginaceae family were two weeds of lawns and paving cracks, the plantains: Plantago major with its broad ribbed leaves and spear-like flowers and Plantago lanceolata with its narrower leaves and ‘rat’s tail’ flower spikes. How things change in the world of botany. Picture the classification of flowering plants as a tree with groups of related species forming each twig and plant families a group of branches. Large sections of that tree have been lopped off and grafted on elsewhere. This has been necessary in the light of evidence from DNA analysis to keep the model accurate and closely related plant taxa grouped together. Many traditional border plants such as penstemons, antirrhinums and foxgloves, which botanically minded gardeners…

Arthur Cole The former head gardener of the famous snowdrop garden at Colesbourne discusses his expanded role at The Newt in Somerset I’ve always been passionate about curing plant blindness, and my role at The Newt is to bring people and plants together. The way to do that is by appealing to individual interests and outlining the importance of horticulture in our everyday lives. I learnt this at Colesbourne initially – you can capture a visitor’s imagination by educating them about, say, the wider uses of a snowdrop, such as its use in cancer medications. At Colesbourne I was able to specialise in a singular genus. I dedicated four years to becoming a galanthophile, which was great fun. I suggest a trip to Colesbourne for any budding enthusiasts, and I…

EUONYMUS ALATUS ‘COMPACTUS’ The winged spindle bears tiny orange fruits and foliage of vivid scarlet and crimson. CORNUS KOUSA ‘MISS SATOMI’ Masses of pink bracts in early summer; come autumn, the leaves turn purple and red. GINKGO BILOBA Green, fan-shaped leaves turn yellow in autumn. “Ours is a good form with a tall, spire-like habit,” says Rupert. ACER PALMATUM ‘ELEGANS’ The foliage of this compact Japanese maple turns yellow then bright orange and red. EUONYMUS MAXIMOWICZIANUS A rare spindle with crimson leaves in autumn. Its red fruits open to reveal orange seeds. HAMAMELIS X INTERMEDIA Green leaves turn orange and yellow, followed by fragrant spidery flowers in winter.…

Establishing new trees in the garden is one of the most rewarding parts of my job. The personal connection that is made with a tree you have grown and subsequently planted is a strong one. Knowing that a tree will survive long after we’ve gone is something I find really satisfying. The first thing to consider is position. Where is the best place to plant it? Next comes the process of selecting the correct tree. The choice is almost limitless, but, of course, you’ll be restricted by the limitations of the site. At High Beeches we are keen to increase the diversity of our collection and if you are planting en masse, I would certainly recommend that you introduce as much variety as possible, which is better in terms of…

On the outskirts of Haddington in East Lothian, tucked away unobtrusively behind a little-used country road, lies Amisfield Walled Garden. Its unassuming location gives nothing away, but when you walk for the first time through the gate in the wall, the scale of what lies before you is enough to make you gasp. Dating from the 18th century, this is one of the largest walled gardens in Scotland. It was built in the 1780s to impress guests of the seventh Earl of Wemyss and to provide a constant supply of fresh fruit and vegetables for his mansion, Amisfield House. The Earl’s desire to provoke envy is evidenced not only by the size of the garden, but also by the four huge corner pavilions (now sadly roofless) with their Doric colonnaded…

Inspired by her own upbringing, The Duchess of Cambridge’s Back to Nature Garden design for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2019 sought to recapture the magic we experience as children, playing in natural settings. At its heart was an eight-ton treehouse built around the trunk of an ancient oak tree, rescued by TouchWood Play, the Bristol-based playground supplier and ‘expert in all things play’. Combined with the oak were larch, stag oak and hazel (sourced from Westonbirt, The National Arboretum), along with cleverly hidden supports. It’s easy to understand the psychological benefits afforded by these playful structures. Says Joe Cooper, TouchWood’s founder: “We believe strongly in the importance of creating natural playgrounds that offer support alongside adventure. These are places in which children, parents, grandparents and other caregivers naturally want…

Some shrubs are guaranteed to repay their investment, performing year after year without disappointment, and cotinus is undoubtedly one of them. These hardy shrubs not only look good in every season, they also have a unique ability to look good in all weathers. Whether it’s sunshine filtering through their colourful foliage to illuminate it like stained glass, raindrops highlighting the hues of their fascinatingly waterproof leaves or frost riming the foliage and spent flowers, any weather condition seems to bring out the best in them. In spring, new leaves emerge, so delicate and translucent, often in pinkish shades of bronze or, in the case of the purple-leaved cultivars, vivid crimson when young. At Pashley Manor on the Sussex-Kent border, cotinus unfurl their new growth above massed ranks of tulips, forming…

Sissinghurst: The Dream Garden by Tim Richardson Frances Lincoln, £30 For all its accomplishment, there remained one aspect of Sissinghurst that was unsettled. Delos, the classical garden Harold and Vita attempted to model on the landscape of the Greek island was, in author Tim Richardson’s terms, “a disaster”. The Wealden clay, the aspect, the climate: all were unsuitable. Much of the garden was removed in 1969 and it lay, as Richardson puts it, in “suspended animation” until 2019 when it fell to designer Dan Pearson to take it on as a restoration project. With this missing piece of the puzzle now in place, a new work on this most famous of gardens seems apt. It doesn’t disappoint. The author’s flair for authoritative and compelling prose, combined with Jason Ingram’s photographer’s…

Standing in the lane that leads down to the house, my breath visible in the chilly air, there’s a haunting disconnect, a cognitive dissonance you might say, between my internal and external landscapes: a vivid memory of red poppies and midsummer heat and light in this autumnal landscape of fog and fallen leaves. It was one of many strange and wonderful things that happened in the garden during this strangest of years. Earlier this summer, workmen were converting the barn at the top of the drive into holiday cottages and dug trenches in the grass verge to lay pipes and cables. Once operations were suspended under lockdown, a scattering of scarlet poppies appeared in the abandoned soil of the verge. The seed of field poppies, Papaver rhoeas, needs disturbed soil…