Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2021 i The English Garden

Ambra Edwards Ambra’s latest book, The Plant Hunter’s Atlas, tells the enthralling stories of plants and the people who found them, so she was thrilled to visit the plant-hunter’s paradise of Abbotsbury on p40. Annette Warren Annette is a garden writer and blogger at gardenvisitoruk.com. She also works as an assistant and stylist with garden photographer Clive Nichols. She explores a garden in Wantage on p20. Melissa Mabbitt Melissa is a gardening writer and co-author of RHS How to Grow Plants From Seeds. She trained at Bodnant Garden in North Wales and also works as a hands-on horticulturist.› She visits the garden at Willowhill on page 56.…

The Garden House Devon This gorgeous garden, takes its inspiration from nature and I was lucky enough to time my visit during golden hour. I love that its different areas reveal a surprise at every turn. Tel: 01822 854769; thegardenhouse.org.uk Beth Chatto Gardens Essex Another wonderful garden that’s highly personalised. It’s clear how much love this amazing plantswoman poured into the space, while the varied topography ensures there is something for everyone to take home. Tel: 01206 822007; bethchatto.co.uk…

Plant spring-flowering bulbs Be prepared for when your bulbs arrive. In the first instance, try to avoid impulse buys! Too many times I have bought like a child in a sweet shop and more often than not regretted it, with the unplanted bulbs rotting away in their bags. Before the bulbs arrive, you need to have some idea of where you are intending to plant them – and when. If you need to store them temporarily, they can be kept in a dry, frost- and mouse-free shed. Take the time to sort through them, labelling as you go for future ease. Spring-flowering bulbs should be planted in autumn, and tulips in November. Daffodils form roots earlier than most so should be potted along with anemones no later than early September.…

If plants could read the textbooks, then Abbotsbury would not – could not – exist. This fabulous subtropical garden, brimming with plants that experts tell us cannot possibly grow outdoors in dank, sunless England, is improbably sited in a wooded dell less than a mile inland from the wild, stony sweep of Chesil Beach on Dorset’s splendid Jurassic Coast. A belt of holm oaks encircling the garden acts as a giant blanket, according to garden curator Steve Griffith, helping to reduce radiation frost: while it is never especially hot, winter temperatures rarely fall below -3ºC. Then the steep chalk escarpment behind the gardens creates a rain-shadow, providing useful extra hours of sunshine, while the early-morning sea mists drifting in from Lyme Bay are sufficient to persuade the many rare camellias,…

Delos, the new garden at Sissinghurst in Kent, was inspired by a visit Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson made to the Greek island in 1935. The couple sought to emulate the mood of the island in a patch of their garden with mixed results. This summer, the National Trust, with designer Dan Pearson and lead gardener Saffron Prentis, opened the restored garden in which landscaping, current design practices and clever planting better achieve the original ambition. Saffron selected stone, experimented with growing media and sourced plants and seed from the UK and Greece. Here she chooses ten favourite plants from the garden. Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Biddenden Road, Cranbrook, Kent TN17 2AB. Tel: 01580 710701; nationaltrust.org.uk 1 Orlaya grandiflora Also known as white lace flower, this lovely garden plant is…

Perennial rudbeckias are best planted in spring rather than autumn, so they can establish when the ground is moist but warming up, rather than sitting in cold wet soil during winter. As their new growth appears in spring, use your preferred method of slug and snail control to prevent the new shoots being demolished by molluscs – they find the young foliage of rudbeckias pretty irresistible. Because they’re used to growing on windswept prairies, rudbeckias don’t usually need staking and can cope well in exposed sites. Generally, they all prefer a spot in full sun and enjoy fertile soil, so incorporate well-rotted manure or compost before planting if soil needs a boost. Subsequent feeding shouldn’t be needed if the soil is in good health. Divide larger clumps of perennial rudbeckia…

Thank you to everyone who took the time to nominate their favourite gardens that open for the National Garden Scheme, for our ‘The Nation’s Favourite Garden’ competition, which we run in association with the Scheme, and sponsors Sisley Garden Tours and Agriframes. We now have a fantastic shortlist of gorgeous gardens that you can vote on to determine the winners – find all 28 of them from page 75. If there’s one opening near you, there might still be time to squeeze in a visit to help raise money for the nursing and health charities that are supported by the National Garden Scheme. Meanwhile, we’re celebrating all that late summer and early autumn have to offer: cheerful rudbeckias and some absolutely beautiful gardens, including subtropical Abbotsbury, the kitchen garden at…

HELIANTHUS ‘MAGIC ROUNDABOUT’ Sunny shades with a dark centre on a lovely bicolour sunflower that grows to 1.8m. ZINNIA ELEGANS ‘PURPLE PRINCE’ Huge, magenta flowerheads are loved by pollinators and look superb in arrangements. TAGETES ‘JOLLY JESTER’ The spreading mounds of this strikingly striped French marigold add instant impact. RUDBECKIA HIRTA Available in a range of vibrant colours, black-eyed Susan prefers full sun and well-drained soil. ALCEA ROSEA ‘ HALO BLUSH’ Grow this 2m tall hollyhock at the back of the border for a cottage-garden look. CLEOME SPINOSA ‘CHERRY QUEEN’ Deliciously scented and delicately architectural. Pinch out the tips for bigger flowers.…

‘ROSEWARNE’ Although evergreen agapanthus tend to be less hardy, this cultivar is one of the hardiest, with gorgeous striped flowers. ‘SILVER LINING’ A deciduous variety that reaches about 65cm tall, producing white flowers with a faint stripe of mauve from midsummer. ‘BLUE HEAVEN’ This impressive evergreen variety flowers from June right through until September, reaching 90cm tall. HEADBOURNE HYBRIDS One of the best to grow, this vigorous strain has handsome foliage and flowers that range from pale to dark blue. ‘CELEBRATION’ Pendulous baby blue flowers are borne on stout 80cm stems in July and August on deciduous plants. ‘PURPLE FOUNTAIN’ Pendent, glamorously dusky purple flowers hang from 85cm stems on this deciduous agapanthus variety. ‘ EGGESFORD SKY ’ Rounded umbels of pale flowers in soft blue are held aloft on…

Peta, Countess of Darnley, gestures to the Herefordshire countryside all around her: “There are no chimney pots.” Muddy green fields and hills, hedgerows and trees lit up with all the colours of autumn, yes, but no chimney pots. “There’s no one around, and no passing trade,” she explains, “so we have to be a destination restaurant, cooking in a way that stands out on the national stage.” And, indeed, that is what they are doing. On the Darnleys’ Netherwood Estate they have established Pensons, a restaurant that within a year of its opening in 2019 had gained a Michelin star and much critical acclaim, with restaurant reviewers and customers alike continuing to rave about the food, under the stewardship of head chef Chris Simpson. Integral to the restaurant is its…

For the first time in the show’s history, the RHS is holding the Chelsea Flower Show in September. While the cause of the postponement is unwanted, the prospect of this unusually timed show has got everyone excited – designers and visitors alike. Plants that would be out of the question in May are suddenly a possibility and different colour palettes can be explored. One thing is for sure: this Chelsea will be truly unique.…

Another garden that should have debuted at Chelsea in 2020, Tom Massey’s Yeo Valley Organic Garden hasn’t changed much from its original design. “The planting has changed though; there are ornamental grasses and late-season perennials like dahlias, aster, echinacea and rudbeckia,” he explains, “and the trees that would have been in blossom will now be in fruit.” Expect hawthorn, elder, sloes, medlars and quince in a garden that recreates Sarah Mead’s organic ethos at Yeo Valley. Structurally, the garden is straightforward, Tom explains. Inspired by the real-life garden and surrounding farmland in Somerset, it features boulders, damp and dry meadow areas, and, as a centrepiece, a steam-bent ‘egg’ by designer Tom Raffield: a place to sit and observe the wildlife, while suspended above the stream. Echoing Yeo Valley’s woodland, where…

The RHS has launched Project Giving Back, a new scheme that offers charities across the UK the chance to create a garden at Chelsea. Made possible by two RHS Life Members who have pledged to fund a collection of gardens at Chelsea in 2022, 2023 and 2024, the project has been established to give charities a chance to benefit from a platform at the world-famous flower show, which normally welcomes 168,000 visitors and reaches millions through television and media coverage. The first three show garden applications Project Giving Back will support at Chelsea in 2022 have been announced: gardens for the charities RNLI and Mind, plus a third garden inspired by the BBC’s children’s show, Blue Peter.…

Echinacea blooms resemble multi-hued sun hats and are produced through late summer and early autumn. It bears the common name of coneflower on account of its spiky, cone-like centre made up of tube florets. The petals, or ray florets, protrude downwards in a single layer, but modern varieties can fan out in a tutu of double petals. Thanks to the trend for perennial planting, these herbaceous perennials are now all the rage again. They originate from the dry prairies of central and eastern North America, making them tolerant of the draughty conditions that are becoming increasingly commonplace in the UK in summer and autumn. There are ten species of echinacea, the most widespread of them being Echinacea purpurea, E. angustifolia and E. pallida. Most were originally purple-petalled, but modern varieties…

In the heat of summer it may seem premature to think of planting bulbs, but it is wise to start planning ahead if you would like a good show next spring. Demand for bulbs has increased over the past 18 months, and competition among retailers for wholesale supply has been stiff. While this doesn’t mean stocks will be limited, it does indicate that popular varieties could sell out somewhat sooner than expected. Spring bulbs are wide ranging and endlessly adaptable. The smallest, most delicate and often earliest are best suited to table-top displays in fetching containers, while those that are native or inclined to naturalise will populate a meadow or large border with drops of colour as refreshing as a fruit sorbet on a hot day. To beds and borders…

Garden Design Diploma Twelve courses cover every facet of garden design. Each class can be taken individually or as a whole diploma, which is certified by the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD). RHS Level 2: Principles of Horticulture Taught by Tom Cole and Noel Kingsbury, 41 lessons prepare you for the internationally recognised qualification from the Royal Horticultural Society. Planting the Piet Oudolf Way Learn from Piet Oudolf with Dr Noel Kingsbury and explore Piet’s garden at Hummelo. Four assignments will inspire you to look at plants ‘the Oudolf way’.…

The Kew Gardener’s Guide to Growing Trees by Tony Kirkham, Frances Lincoln, £12.99 Trees have their moment in autumn, when lower, softer light catches the magnificence of their turning leaves. The average 100-year-old oak has around 100,000 leaves in its crown, and each of these will be starting to change colour around now. Autumn is also the season to plant trees so that roots have a chance to settle in before sap starts to rise in spring, and energy is directed into the leaves. If a new tree is on the agenda, this is the time to think about what to plant – and in this book, Tony Kirkham provides an excellent primer on the topic. Tony is head of Arboretum, Garden and Horticultural Services at RBG Kew, and there…

My relationship with silvery-mauve Crocus tommasinianus has, until now, been simple. I love its early spring reliability and often use it in clients’ gardens. It is cheap to buy and so uplifting planted generously in an undulating ribbon to illuminate a February border. It is also wonderfully effective planted in grass. In my own front garden I have added a semicircle of C. tommasinianus around a multi-stemmed magnolia. I love the way the crocus foliage emerges suddenly each year from the expanse of lawn, at first a silvery sweep and then, on the first really sunny day, socking it to the street with an uplifting arc of purple that literally stops passers-by in their tracks. Contrary to local myth, my semicircle was not intended to form a ‘C’ (the initial…

Arit Anderson The garden designer, writer and TV presenter discusses the garden she is creating for this year’s Chelsea Flower Show I used to work in fashion, although I dabbled in holistic healing and complementary therapy as well. It’s always been in my nature to do a variety of things because I enjoy learning continuously. I made the career change to gardening when I was 44. I needed to think about what would make me happy. I had just moved house and acquired my first garden in which I envisioned myself deadheading with a glass of wine of an evening, but the reality was very different! I would be out there at 6.30am every day. After a year I took a part-time course in garden design and qualified in 2015.…

Lift & divide PERENNIALS You’ll get another chance to make planting changes in March, but September through to early October is the ideal time to lift and divide perennials. The exception is if you garden on heavy clay soil, which is often already too cold and wet for the establishment of plants at this time of year. Cut down and remove any top growth to 5cm above the ground. I find using a fork rather than a spade is less destructive where delicate roots are concerned. Work the fork carefully all the way around the plant, loosening the soil and gently teasing its roots free. When all the roots are free, it should be possible to lift the plant from the ground. Plants that form clumps, like lupins, will come…

A government campaign urging the nation to get planting over summer was launched on World Environment Day (5 June). Backed by the RHS, the National Trust, the Woodland Trust and several other nature organisations, the initiative aims to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss by asking individuals and communities to #PlantForOurPlanet by filling a window box with pollinator-friendly flowers, planting trees in community spaces or simply letting the lawn grow. Download the toolkit at dropbox. com/t/CIkN1Kp7gS1VtSDB…

Planting annuals among perennials and shrubs will add colour and prolongs the flowering season. It lets you experiment creatively with different planting combinations each year and, with careful planning, you can add extra colour from May through to late autumn. Early-flowering annuals such as poppies and calendula work well with biennials like foxgloves and honesty. When these are over, I pull out the annuals and replace with more tender plants like Salvia ‘Amistad’, nicotiana and cosmos. Larkspur is a beautiful annual, but has only a very short flowering season of two weeks. I like to repeat plants to create a pattern in the border. Meadow style plants such as Ammi majus work well for texture; if you just plant flowers in clumps, the garden can appear to be very static.…

Originating in South Africa, agapanthus are a joy to grow, offering deep green, strap-like leaves, eye-catching flowers in many shades of blue, and compelling seedheads once flowering has finished. They make grown-up container plants, ideal for flanking an entrance, but are also glorious planted en masse in garden beds or along a boundary wall. There are both deciduous and evergreen varieties, with deciduous types originating in high-lying grasslands that are frosty but dry in winter. Evergreen varieties are more tender, and occur naturally in coastal and subtropical regions. In this country, make sure deciduous varieties grow in moist but well-drained soil. “I’ve found agapanthus don’t need to be restricted in pots for success,” says Michael, who grows them both in containers and in the ground. “They may take time to…

When you work hard and time is short, how do you find time to garden? This is the perennial question faced by busy working people, and it’s why serious gardening is often seen as the preserve of the retired. But Sally Lorimore and Eric Wright, owners of Willowhill Garden near Dundee, have noticed that, since lockdown, younger people – those in their thirties – have been visiting their garden and looking for tips on how to reach that sweet spot: balancing a busy life with a beautiful garden. “They may not have much experience but they are willing to have a go and need advice,” notes Sally – and she can empathise. In 2000, she and Eric moved to Fife to take on busy jobs as scientists in biomedical research.…

If ever a show garden at Chelsea was going to elicit wanderlust, it would be the one designed by Jonathan Snow for travel company Trailfinders. Jonathan’s previous gardens at the show, in 2018 and 2019, evoked the landscapes of South Africa and Chile respectively. This year the designer turns his gaze to Nepal and the singular landscapes of this mountainous country. The Himalayas, to which Nepal is a gateway, have long inspired plant-hunter explorers. Yet while we associate the Himalayas with lofty peaks and an alpine biome, the foothills are temperate, and it is from here, at altitudes of 2,000-4,000m above sea level, that Jonathan has drawn inspiration. Despite going on two plant-finding missions for this show garden, the region still fascinates Jonathan. “I still get a buzz from finding…

Irrepressibly bright and ebulliently cheerful, rudbeckias are the plant equivalent of sunshine bursting through the clouds. If your garden needs a lift in late summer, they are a safe bet. Yes, most are yellow, so whether they’re right for you will depend on your colour scheme, but what they lack in colour variety, they make up for in versatility – a clump of rudbeckia will look at home in a cottage garden, a mixed or herbaceous border, or a prairie-style planting scheme, with grasses and bold perennials. Their native habitats in the USA include prairies and grassland, so they’re ideally suited to this. It was when they were introduced into cultivation in Europe that botanist Carolus Linnaeus gave them their Latin name. He chose to honour his mentor, fellow Uppsala…

Garden design Do you want to design your own garden or is garden design a potential profession? Either way, there’s a course to suit The English Gardening School’s Distance Learning Garden Design course covers everything from surveying to drawing a layout plan, hard landscaping and planting. You can study at your own pace over a period of one to three years, so it’s ideal if you need to combine studying with working. If not, the Essential Garden Design Diploma is an intensive course that’s studied over three months. englishgardeningschool.co.uk The Garden Design School provides vocational training in garden design at the University of Bristol Botanic Garden, led by tutor Robin Templar Williams. The School’s Diploma provides a first-class qualification within one academic year. Sign up for a free taster day…

You worked closely with Beth on the Reservoir Garden. How has it developed in the years since? When I arrived, it was a low-maintenance garden of mainly shrubs and a few trees, but it was difficult to get the perennials going because the clay used for it was wet and sticky in winter and like concrete in summer. I said to Beth that if we were going to tackle it, we needed to do it properly – take everything out and start again. And that’s what we did. We kept a few plants to give it maturity, but we had to break up the pan of clay, which involved adding a lot of organic matter, especially spent mushroom compost. It’s a work in progress. With a few very hot, dry…