Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2021 i The English Garden

Andrew Duff An internationally recognised garden designer, Andrew has lectured in Russia, Chile, Argentina, South Korea and Japan and is vice chairman of the Society of Garden Designers. He visits Denmans on page 40. Jo and Rob Whitworth Jo and Rob have been photographing gardens for 25 years. They’ve just moved to Cornwall and love exploring the gardens in their new area. Their photos of Hatch House are on page 48. Vanessa Berridge Vanessa was launch editor of The English Garden (see p97). She writes about heritage and gardening, and her latest book, a history of Borde Hill Garden in Sussex, will be published by Merrell in April 2022.…

Anglesey Abbey Cambridgeshire This garden is a wonderful place to visit through all four seasons. There’s a winter garden with a huge collection of snowdrops to lift the spirits over winter, while in autumn they put on a spectacular dahlia show. Tel: 01223 810080; nationaltrust.org.uk Prospect Cottage Kent I admire the garden at Derek Jarman’s cottage in Dungeness. The gravelly, windswept site presents so many challenges for growing, but Jarman created a lovely and inspirational garden in this stark landscape.…

1 It’s important with succulents that their growing medium is really well drained, so adding grit to your compost is vital. Marc and Daniel mix grit to soil in a 40:60 ratio. They use granite grit (and sell their own mix online), which also provides nutrients, but you could also use perlite. 2 Put terracotta ‘crocks’ over the container’s drainage hole to prevent soil loss when watering and stop soil clogging the hole and hindering drainage. Add the mixture of soil and grit into the container, being careful not to displace the crocks placed over the drainage hole. 3 Firm the soil down lightly. Marc and Daniel recommend creating a mound to aid surface drainage and add height to the display. The soil will quickly settle and it’s important to…

Little Luxuries Stylish stocking fillers and special treats that are functional and beautiful – but won’t break the bank Gifts for All Mid-range Christmas gift ideas to help you find that special something for loved ones Special Treats A luxury, statement piece makes the perfect gift for someone special to treasure forever…

Surely the sign of a great garden is one that performs at any time of the year? Denmans ticks this box and many others. There are not many gardens that you can honestly say look incredible in any weather, but I remember, some 20 years ago, sitting under a huge, wide-branched magnolia in such a downpour that there was no time to seek cover. It was at that moment that I understood what a great garden was. If it could look this good in the pouring rain, then imagine it in full sun. The magic of this four-acre space lies in its subdivision. Most country gardens make the most of a distant view or borrow from the surrounding landscape, but Denmans cleverly wraps in on itself to create internal vistas…

Mark and Jackie’s favourite part of the winter garden is the Winter Stem Border. “These borders are especially beautiful when the coral red stems of Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’ and brilliant orange Salix alba var. vitellina ‘Britzensis’ catch the light of the winter sun, and it almost looks as if the borders have caught fire,” says Mark. Having visited the arboretum at the Harold Hillier Gardens and looked at their different dogwoods, the Porters chose their colours carefully to create dramatic drifts of colour. These include bright red Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’, purple-black C. alba ‘Kesselringii’, and golden-green Cornus sericea ‘Flaviramea’. Then there is Salix alba var. vitellina ‘Britzensis’, the coral bark willow, and purple Salix daphnoides. The couple started by digging the borders over, and enriching the soil with compost.…

With Christmas on the horizon and shorter days to come, this is the moment to think about plants that do well indoors. Winter blooms make attractive seasonal displays, fragrance goes a long way to lift the spirits on dull days, and sharp-tasting salads are an excellent foil for earthier winter vegetables. Few know this better than Sarah Raven, who has been selecting and selling choice cut flowers and vegetables for 30 years. Here she suggests winter favourites for festive displays, simple arrangements or enlivening meals. Sarah Raven’s Garden and Cookery School, Perch Hill Farm, Willingford Lane, Brightling, Robertsbridge, East Sussex TN32 5HP. Tel: 0345 092 0283; sarahraven.com 1 Helleborus x ballardiae ‘Maestro’ “This hellebore flowers from November to March and has handsome, slate-coloured foliage. With its stems seared to…

Many gardeners think skimmia are acid-loving plants that need acidic soil or ericaceous compost, but this isn’t the case. The miserable yellowing foliage many skimmia suffer from isn’t the chlorosis that affects ericaceous plants in alkaline soil; it usually happens because they’ve been planted in full sun, or poor, dry soil. To keep leaves green and skimmias in good condition, plant in light shade and soil that’s rich in organic matter so it’s less likely to dry out. ‘Kew Green’ can cope in a sunny spot, but almost all the others prefer to be in the shade. In containers, multipurpose compost mixed with John Innes No 3 for its nutrient-holding loam will suit skimmias well. Water well while new plants are establishing in borders, but once they’re settled, skimmias are…

Indian Botanical Art by Martyn Rix Kew Publishing, £25 The Indian subcontinent has produced a diversity of botanical art over the centuries, and here, Martyn Rix, botanist, collector and horticulturist, traces its absorbing history over 400 years. Gardening came to the fore under the Mughals, beginning with Babur in the 16th century. Emperor Jahangir frequently commissioned botanical art in the 17th century, while representations of flowers appear in the stonework of the Taj Mahal, built between 1631 and 1648. At the same time, depictions of Mexican plants, including zinnias and marigolds, were beginning to appear, reflecting the new Portuguese trade. The Dutch, too, were present, but it wasn’t until the 18th and 19th centuries, under the influence of the Dutch East India Company, that a certain style emerged. Collectors sought…

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 413700sales@bluebellnursery.com | www.bluebellnursery.comAnnwell Lane, Smisby, Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire LE65 2TA BRED BY PETER MOORE Sarcococca hookeriana Winter Gem ‘Pmoore03’ During the winter this amazing new glossy evergreen is smothered by highly fragrant honey-scented white flowers; each emerging from deep red buds. These are followed by glossy black spherical fruits. Perfect for borders and containers, or as a low fragrant hedge, it will grow in…

Really, this issue should come with a complimentary bottle of champagne because there’s so much to celebrate. To start with, this is our Christmas issue, with festive gifts, ideas for home-made wreaths and wintry gardens full of magical seasonal sparkle, like Malverleys in Hampshire and John Brookes’ former home, Denmans. On top of that, it’s also time to reveal the winners of our Nation’s Favourite Gardens competition, which you can find from page 65. We received thousands of votes and would like to thank everyone who took the time to vote for their favourite National Garden Scheme garden. The competition was stiff, so hearty congratulations to our seven winning gardens and their owners. All are beautiful and well worth arranging a trip to see. In addition, this issue is The…

• Get ready for colder weather: insulate outdoor taps to protect them from frost damage and check that greenhouse heaters are working properly. • Christmas is the cut-off point for pruning acers, birches and vines. Prune any later and the cuts may bleed because their sap is rising, so complete the process now. • Once leaves have fallen from deciduous shrubs such as cornus, forsythia, philadelphus, buddleia and currants, take hardwood cuttings. Insert 15-30cm cuttings of pencil-thick stems into a sand-lined trench. • As long as the ground isn’t frozen, winter is a good time to plant, so consider adding something for winter scent, such as chimonanthus, sarcococca or winter honeysuckle. • Treat yourself to a festive poinsettia, but place it somewhere free from cold draughts, while keeping it away…

Life is full of contrasts: that is one of the things that makes it exciting. You can’t really appreciate the ups without the downs, the sweet without the sour, the bread without the butter or the rock without the roll. It’s the same in gardens: we all know and understand the appeal of an overflowing summer border – buzzing bees, seductively draped flowers, warm lawns underfoot and an abundance of greens ranging from emerald to pea. However, if every day was a summer day then we would soon tire of all this abundance and would be less able to fully appreciate the glory. To do that we have to have days of contrast: the days of summer rain and, of course, the whole long winter. John Steinbeck (he of The…

CHAENOMELES JAPONICA This early spring flowering shrub often produces precocious blooms, especially when winter is warmer than usual. MAHONIA X MEDIA A striking winter garden addition, with bold spiny leaves and, later, spires of sweetly scented yellow flowers. PITTOSPORUM ‘TOM THUMB’ Distinctive deep purple-black shiny leaves look superb caught by frost. BRACHYGLOTTIS DUNEDIN GROUP This New Zealand shrub is a tough customer, with silver-green foliage. SALVIA ROSMARINUS Now a salvia (previously Rosmarinus officinalis), rosemary can produce its delicate mauve flowers in mild winters. BUPLEURUM FRUTICOSUM Let the seedheads linger on this shrubby plant with glossy dark green leaves and zingy lime-yellow summer flowers. ABELIA X GRANDIFLORA A semi-evergreen shrub that keeps its leaves in mild winters, abelia bears…

This garden was designed in 2009, before box blight became the problem it is today. “I wouldn’t advise any amateur to plant box, now,” says William. “In a professional context it can be worth the effort if you have the resources, because nothing compares to it, but you have to accept that it comes with a lot of maintenance. Box blight and caterpillars keep me up at night!” Cultural controls are used to keep box in good condition here. Good air flow is key. Stake other plants that start to flop onto your topiary, and lift and divide them if they begin to get crowded. Clear away debris, including fallen leaves and dead flowers. Be religious about sterilising tools. “I have two hedge cutters and use one while the other…

The appeal of hellebores for the winter garden is manifold. They’re hardy plants, mostly evergreen, fairly drought-tolerant and, just when the winter garden is at its most muted, they appear offering blooms in a wonderful array of patterns and shapes, from striped, stippled and picotee to singles and doubles in deep, solid colours. Belonging to the Ranunculaceae family, hellebores are cousins of buttercups, anemones, aquilegia and clematis. With such attractive relatives, it’s no surprise that they have become such a classic winter plant. Hellebores originate from Europe, Asia and the Balkan states. There are around 20 species, but most fall into one of two groups: the caulescent or stemmed species, with clusters of stems that grow above ground level from upright, woody shoots; and acaulescent or stemless species, which grow…

Self-taught florist Juliet Bennett brings unique panache to Christmas decorations and wreaths. With fellow florist and artist Eddie Sercombe (who used to work with Damian Hirst), Juliet designs opulent wreaths using organically grown and gathered materials from wholesale plant nursery Babylon Plants, owned by her husband Rick, in Cuxham, Oxfordshire. Rick established Babylon Plants in 1994, redeveloping four acres of derelict farmland to create an environmentally conscientious, peat-free nursery relying on green technologies and renewable energy. He supplies wildlife-friendly hardy perennials, ornamental grasses, shrubs and small trees to professional garden designers and landscapers. Juliet left London and her profession as a milliner to join Rick and in 2007 began her floristry business. “Working with couturiers, I’d create hats and fascinators for the Chelsea set, making bespoke headpieces to match outfits…

In October 1996, I started working on the March/April 1997 launch of The English Garden. Three hundred issues on, it’s a good opportunity to revisit gardens from 25 years ago and see how they have changed. Perhaps surprisingly, many are still in the same hands. Our first cover story was THE MANOR HOUSE at Heslington near York, a quintessential English garden of cherry blossom and tulips in spring, with summer borders of delphiniums, lupins and Canterbury bells. It remains the home of florist and gardener George Smith, and his partner Brian Withill. Now 87, George still gardens daily. “The trees have matured,” he tells me. “Our borders have expanded and we have extended the garden but we haven’t made all that many changes.” A rare fern survives from 25 years…

Briefly define the modern Dutch style. It is a balance between architectural elements and planting, but more inclined towards the former than things are in Britain. Crucially, these architectural elements, such as clipped foliage, have a modernist, post-Bauhaus style – not a classical style – so they always feel contemporary. Often there are surprises. It’s because we are so used to seeing gardens with a formal layout that we get caught out by, for example, clipped hedges that don’t do what we expect. What has drawn you to this style, and what do you appreciate most about it? Back in the 1990s I was primarily drawn to the use of perennials, but that was when it was all quite new and fresh. Now the clean lines and little surprises of…

Across the UK, the tired shrubberies and modest courtyards of our museums are being transformed into welcoming outdoor spaces. In Wakefield, set in a loop of the River Calder between warehouses and a six-lane carriageway, lies an acre of planting described by its cultural gardener, Katy Merrington, as “a sort of floating meadow”. The Hepworth Wakefield Garden, formerly an unloved stretch of municipal grass, was designed by Tom Stuart-Smith. “This is an exquisite, perfectly gardened treasure trove of texture and intrigue” The garden has no boundaries and is open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, delighting and mesmerising all who visit. Opened in 2019 it was a haven during lockdowns, but it is so much more than a green space with benches. Stuart-Smith’s belief is that ambitious planting…

Emma House The curator of London’s Garden Museum discusses past and future exhibitions and examines the impact of lockdown on visitor engagement I’ve always loved objects. My favourite part of curation is installing exhibitions because this is when, after months of research, you can finally handle the things on display and see them up close. It’s a special and engaging time. I’ve been a curator for 20 years. When I joined the Garden Museum six years ago, it was undergoing an 18-month redevelopment. On top of an influx of designers, builders, technicians and subcontractors, all our collections were in storage and the place was a building site. But once the works were completed, we were left with a fascinating and truly lovely collection. The museum has really diversified in recent…

Plant as nature intended Take a close look at the positioning of plants next time you go for a walk. Try photographing your favourite planting in black and white: this will let you see its form and structure. Use gravel At Denmans, the gravel is firm underfoot with a reassuring crunch. Consolidate the soil first with a roller, roll 10mm of pea shingle into the soil and finish with a loose 10mm layer. Think twice before using a weed-suppressing membrane if you want a natural self-seeded look. A quick brush with a stiff broom every few weeks will flatten any footprints and knock away unwanted seedlings. Create curves The flowing lines of Denmans’ pathways and lawns are difficult to recreate, but take inspiration from looking at the shape of natural…

Once the shortest day has slipped by and winter becomes firmly entrenched in the garden at the Down House, hidden depths are revealed by a low sun that illuminates enclosed spaces and lays bare the bones of the garden. “There is an interplay of light and shade within different ‘rooms’ that makes the garden deeply atmospheric in winter,” say Mark and Jackie Porter, who have created this garden together over the past 20 years. Against a rising sun, pleached hornbeams glow, topiary forms are highlighted, a potager is unveiled, and a fountain sparkles as it plays above a frozen pool. “We planted it to create structure and add height to cast the long shadows that have such impact in winter,” they add. “There is an interplay of light and shade…

Thousands of you voted for your favourite gardens that open for the National Garden Scheme. Now we can reveal the winners of 2021’s Nation’s Favourite Gardens competition, supported by Agriframes and Sisley Garden Tours. There are six regional winners, one overall champion and a winning Public Garden that usually opens to the public but donates takings from a particular day (or days) to the Scheme. Turn over to discover these seven superb gardens, and learn about the gardeners who created them. St Timothee, Berkshire Overall Winner & Regional Winner: South East It’s not so long ago that the view from Sarah and Sal Pajwani’s 1930s house in Pinkneys Green took in dilapidated outbuildings and a field-like lawn dotted with clumps of 1970s-planted pampas grass. Luckily, there were also lovely mature…

With their glossy leaves and festive red berries, skimmia are made for Christmas. What’s more, these compact evergreen shrubs are a super choice for gardens where size is a consideration, and they grow well in containers for courtyard or balcony gardeners. If you yearn to gather your own greenery for Christmas decorations, but don’t have room for a holly, a couple of choice skimmias could be just the thing – and because they’re prickle free, making those decorations will be far less painful! There is just one thing to bear in mind, however. Nearly all skimmia plants are either male or female, and only female plants will bear berries. Females also need a male plant nearby in order for their flowers to be pollinated and berries to form. One of…

Unless otherwise stated, look on the gardens’ websites for opening details: The Manor House, Heslington, York Y010 5EA. Tel: 01904 412158; georgesmithflowers.com Bedfield Hall, Bedfield, Suffolk IP13 7JJ. B&B at bedfieldhall.com Eastgrove Cottage, Sankyns Green, Little Witley, Worcestershire WR6 6LQ. Carol can host small groups by arrangement. Tel: 01299 896389. East Lambrook Manor, South Petherton, Somerset TA13 5HH. Tel: 01460 240328; eastlambrook.com Wollerton Old Hall, Market Drayton, Shropshire TF9 3NA. Tel: 01630 685760; wollertonoldhallgarden.com The Mill Garden, Warwick. Warwick Tourist Information: Tel: 01926 492212; visitwarwick.co.uk Millgate House, 3 Millgate, Richmond, North Yorkshire DL10 4JN. B&B on 07799 880893; millgatehouse.com Lamorran Gardens, Upper Castle Road, St Mawes, Cornwall TR2 5BZ. Tel: 01326 270800; lamorrangardens.co.uk…