Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2022 i The English Garden

Bunny Guinness Bunny is an award-winning landscape and garden designer who regularly appears on Gardeners’ Question Time on BBC Radio 4. In her new column on page 15, she shares timely reminders and excellent advice. Val Bourne Hands-on gardener Val is a committed plantaholic who manages her windswept Cotswold garden organically. She is also an ambassador for the Hardy Plant Society. She visits Stockton Bury on p32. Kathy Brown Kathy is an author, garden designer and lecturer who opens her four-acre garden in north Bedfordshire (kathybrownsgarden. com) regularly and for the NGS. She shares her creative kokedama technique on page 93.…

Celestina Robertson The passionate grower, educator and author on how sustainability is the driving force that inspires her Norfolk-based cut-flower farm, Forever Green Flower Company Cut flowers should celebrate the natural world, rather than be produced to its detriment. Seasonality is key and it’s the first step to sustainability, which is the focus of my flower farm and the courses I offer. My mum grew up on the 12th floor of a tower block with no connection to nature. At school I was encouraged in an academic direction, yet I ended up running away from my history of art degree to join a group of organic growers with a local vegetable delivery box scheme. Their ethos of providing seasonal food for local people stuck with me and has been a…

Many people say yew hedges are slow, but I disagree. For impatient clients I use Instant Hedges from Elveden (elvedenhedges.com), which look as though they have been there forever and transplant like a dream. Otherwise, 60-90cm high plants are more economical and do well if they’re grown in ordinary soil, kept weed free, mulched and given drip irrigation. Water weekly when dry, in decent quantities so the roots chase the water down. With any young hedge though, don’t forget to clip the insides: remember, ‘growth follows the knife’. By clipping the insides of adjacent plants you’ll get the desired solid wall of foliage far faster. I recently coppiced my hazels and shredded them into ramial (woodchips made from branches less than 7.5cm in diameter). Higher in nutrient content than older…

VIBURNUM PLICATUM ‘ROSACE’ The perky flower buds of Viburnum plicatum f. plicatum ‘Rosace’ will open into pink snowballs in a few weeks’ time. CORNUS KOUSA ‘MISS SATOMI’ An Award of Garden Merit-winning cornus, with pink-flushed flower bracts. SYRINGA ‘MISS KIM’ This compact 1.5m tall lilac produces heavy panicles of sweetly scented, mauve-pink flowers in late spring. VIBURNUM PLICATUM ‘STERILE’ Large, apple green, spherical flower clusters turn white on this deciduous shrub. PAEONIA DELAVAYI It’s the bronze-flushed young leaves and nodding maroon flowers that really make this shrubby peony stand out. CHOISYA ‘AZTEC PEARL’ Known for its slender, finger-like leaves, compact growth and fragrant white flowers.…

CAMELLIAS Camellias thrive in the mild coastal climate here. Camellia x williamsii ‘Donation’ has similar double flowers. NARCISSUS POETICUS Fragrant pheasant s eye daffodils are perfect for naturalising in grass or woods. HYACINTHOIDES NON-SCRIPTA Quick to spread in the shade of trees, our native bluebell is an intense violet-blue. ERYTHRONIUM REVOLUTUM The mahogany fawn lily thrives and spreads in moist soil in dappled shade. FRITILLARIA MELEAGRIS The chequered flowers of snake’s head fritillary glow like Tiffany lamps in the sun. TULIPA ‘ ESTHER’ A scented, sugar-pink tulip with satin petals and green-grey foliage, late-flowering ‘Esther’ grows to 50cm tall.…

• Browse the catalogues as soon as they arrive, make your selection and place orders immediately before anything runs out. • Have a dedicated notebook to record what you buy and what you plant together. Tessa grades them with stars, and if a combination is really good she may repeat it. Pots provide an opportunity to try something new. • Store bulbs in an unheated outdoor room (preferably in the dark) in open boxes to allow moisture out and to prevent them from going mouldy until you are ready to plant them out. • Plant from November to Christmas and plant the bulbs as deep as possible, ideally 15cm or more. • Snap off seedheads once the petals have fallen. Leave border-grown tulips to die back naturally: emerging perennials will…

Is the smartly striped, immaculate bowling green lawn a thing of the past? Certainly with the drive to make our gardens and gardening more sustainable, more of us are questioning the eco-credentials of a perfect lawn. But equally, many feel there’s still a time and a place for a carpeting expanse of soft green. The best approach is probably one of compromise: a smart lawn where required as part of the garden’s design and rougher grass in informal areas where it’s better suited. One belief that unites many garden designers, however – especially in the city – is that in the tiniest of gardens a lawn the size of a postage stamp can be a mistake, particularly for owners pressed for time. “Lawns are high maintenance since they require weekly…

When Caerhays’ renowned collection of magnolias begins to bloom, you know that spring has arrived in Cornwall. A froth of pale pink rises above the castle and tumbles over its battlements. This glorious sight is the massed flowers of ‘Caerhays Belle’, a Champion Tree bred in 1951 by Caerhays’ then head gardener, Charles Michael. It’s one of many remarkable magnolias on the estate, the planting of which began at the turn of the 19th century. Now Caerhays is run by the Williams family and the estate cares for a National Collection of magnolias. Anyone planning to add one of these trees to their own garden cannot do better than to come here in spring to see which one will best suit their requirements. Bursting with colour from the first days…

As spring comes round the corner and the growing season gathers pace, greenhouses come into their own. In a greenhouse, seeds can be sown and potted on early in the year, a supply of winter salad leaves can be maintained beyond autumn, and a host of warm-climate plants can be nurtured in special collections. If, until now, your greenhouse has mainly been used for growing in the conventional way, consider expanding its remit and trying something a little bit different in it this year. GROW A RAINBOW OF TOMATOES Although many tomato varieties will grow well outdoors, nurturing them in a greenhouse delivers much stronger results. Consummate vegetable gardener Lucy Hutchings of She Grows Veg started growing tomatoes in a greenhouse two years ago and hasn’t looked back. “As soon…

Succession planting, where only small quantities of seeds are sown and then planted out at a time is the Holy Grail of vegetable gardening. It requires attentiveness but means a steady supply of vegetables through the season, as opposed to a glut that can leave you feeling overwhelmed. Succession planting also makes best use of the garden, ensuring there are no empty patches between plantings. All seed has a sowing window of a few months. Take advantage of this by sowing little and often during this window. For faster crops, such as lettuces, sow new seed when a batch of seedlings is planted out. For slower crops, sow new seed roughly every two to three weeks. This helps reduce gluts and extends the season of plants that eventually tire, like…

Following the success of her guide to London’s floral hotspots (A London Floral, illustrated by Clover Robin), Natasha Goodfellow knew which area of the country she would turn her discerning attention to next: the Cotswolds. “It’s a beautiful area and a fabulous place to visit, with so many good gardens to see,” she says. There are several reasons why this area has so many renowned gardens, Natasha explains, not least of which is its varied geography. “From the water meadows along the Thames through Cricklade and Lechlade, the land rises up to the Cotswold Edge in the north and west where there are high points with superb views. And then there’s the area’s geology – the creamy, honey-coloured oolitic limestone. Many of the area’s houses are built from this stone,…

“On many a suburban street on the gloomiest spring day your view will be softened by a haze of blossom” Cherry blossom never fails to tug at our heartstrings. We are moved by the fragile mosaic of fallen petals on the grass and exhilarated by the sight of pale blooms against a brilliant blue sky. For a few weeks in April, the looming invitations to watch ‘England vs. Denmark’ at a nearby pub are masked by the blooming of a pair of cherry trees, one pink and one white. Turn onto many a suburban street on the gloomiest spring day and your view will be softened by a haze of blossom as far as the eye can see. In Japan, viewing the cherry blossom – hanami – has developed into…

I’m sure I’m not the only one impatient for spring to arrive, those feelings exacerbated by a burst of lovely sunny weather as we finished working on this issue. I really must resist getting carried away – it’s most likely a ‘fool’s spring’, but I can definitely see the difference it’s made to the plants outside. This year, in a new garden, spring’s subtle daily advances seem all the more exciting because of the surprises the garden is throwing up, including lots of bulbs I didn’t know were there, perhaps encouraged to push upwards thanks to my efforts at clearing brambles and thickets of white snowberry – a shrub I’d frankly be quite happy to never see again. One particularly welcome discovery is some sizeable clumps of cyclamen: my order…

The Nuttery, Sissinghurst Castle Garden Kent We made a trip to Sissinghurst one May. On walking into the Nuttery, I saw hazel trees casting dappled light over the ferns unfurling beneath them. It took my breath away. Tel: 01580 710700; nationaltrust.org.uk The Walled Garden, Holkham Hall Norfolk This six-acre walled garden with a vineyard, cutting garden and herbaceous borders is currently being restored. It’s fascinating to see it being brought back to life and I love the architectural Victorian glasshouses. Tel: 01328 713111; holkham.co.uk…

‘DOUBLE SHIRLEY’ These gorgeous, semi-double flowers have loose, ivory petals that are flushed with lilac and pink at the edges. ‘MARIETTE’ A lily-flowered tulip with rose-pink, satin, slightly reflexed petals that contrast with the flower’s white base. ‘MOUNT TACOMA’ An old variety with pink and green buds that open to reveal long-lasting, creamy white, ruffled blooms. ‘BLUE DIAMOND’ The name is somewhat misleading, since these large double flowers are more purple than blue, with a silvery lustre. ‘WHITE TRIUMPHATOR’ Pristine white, goblet-shaped blooms with long, elegant petals that arch outwards gracefully. Long, strong stems. ‘FLY AWAY’ This variety has the pointed silhouette of a lily-flowered tulip, with bold red, fragranced petals edged in gold. ‘SLAWA’ Deep maroon petals are trimmed with a soft apricot that fades to silvery white on…

• The no-dig method is used to maintain the flower borders here. The less the soil is turned, the fewer weeds you will get. • To support our plants in spring, we use metal supports that have been made by Raymond in his forge. Climbers such as sweet peas and clematis are trained up hazel supports harvested from the garden in winter. • We never water the garden, no matter how dry it gets. Only container plants are watered. • The majority of plants are hardy, so we avoid the huge task of lifting and protecting plants in winter. Any tender plants are planted at the foot of our south-facing kitchen garden wall, to protect them from the ravages of winter.…

This lovely erythronium produces wiry stems of pink flowers over mottled leaves. In order to thrive it needs humus-rich soil that won’t dry out in summer, and it should be positioned in light shade – either beneath trees or at the fringes of shrubs and hedges that lose their leaves in winter. If you’re not growing E. revolutum in woodland, the plants should be given a thick mulch of leafmould every year. It can be a slow plant to establish, as was initially experienced at Wemyss. The best way to encourage it to spread over a wide area is by seed. Charlotte explains: “I collect the seed and scatter handfuls of it everywhere in autumn. It can be very difficult to move by division because its roots run incredibly deep…

Greencombe Gardens near Porlock in Somerset celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2021. The house was built in 1934, although it is not certain whether it was occupied until it was purchased in 1946 by Horace Stroud, a successful businessman from nearby Minehead. Stroud had long dreamed of having a garden and began by creating the layout, terracing and much of the stonework that form the structure of the garden today. Named after the streamless combe above it, Greencombe blends unobtrusively into the surrounding woodland of oak, holly and chestnut that descends the hillsides of Exmoor National Park. The garden overlooks the blue-grey waters of Porlock Bay in the Bristol Channel, across which you can see the mountains of Wales. Joan Loraine took over Greencombe in September 1966 and found there…

Mowing As temperatures rise and grass starts growing strongly again, it’s time to begin mowing the lawn regularly. Keep the mower blades high at first, lowering them gradually as spring progresses. Keeping the grass at 30-40mm high is a good length for it to stay smart, while retaining enough leaf for it to continue growing healthily and be better able to resist periods of drought. To boost the lawn’s appeal to insects, leave some of it unmown from late spring and let the grass and any resident flowers grow. Decorative effects can be achieved by allowing areas to develop into ‘mini-meadows’ this way. For lawn areas you want to keep short, expect to mow once a week when the grass is growing strongly. Use a mulching mower, or a mower…

Frost is the magnolia’s main enemy, spoiling the show by burning the buds and flowers with sad brown patches, but magnolias can otherwise be relied upon to usher in each spring with a joyous display of flowers when most else is drab and grey. Plant in a sunny position and protect from cold winds. “They will not fare well in a windy or exposed position,” says Jaimie. Magnolias like moist well-drained soil and generally do not like alkaline ground, preferring loamy neutral to acid soils. “Add well-rotted manure, compost or a small amount of fertiliser or fish, blood and bone to the soil at planting time,” Jaimie advises. Rabbits will ring bark newly planted magnolias. “At Caerhays we surround new magnolias with chicken wire two feet from the plant, to…

Alitex Aluminium-framed greenhouses in a range of styles. Tel: 01730 826900; alitex.co.uk The Cosy Shed Company Luxury garden sheds that can also double as growing spaces. Tel: 01623 861364; thecosyshedco.co.uk Cultivar Accoya-framed greenhouses. Tel: 01978 810718; cultivargreenhouses.co.uk Dovetail Greenhouses Robust greenhouses with lean-to options. Tel: 0121 6731508; dovetailgreenhouses.co.uk Gabriel Ash Classic wooden greenhouses with an RHS licence. Tel: 01242 662926; gabrielash.com The Greenhouse People Purveyors of a wide range of greenhouse brands and styles. Tel: 01782 385400; greenhousepeople.co.uk Green Retreats Luxury garden rooms with a contemporary feel. Tel: 01296 325777; greenretreats.co.uk Griffin Glasshouses Greenhouses in modern and Victorian styles. Tel: 01962 772512; griffinglasshouses.com Haddonstone Elegant cast stone garden buildings for an established look. Tel: 01604 770711; haddonstone.com Hartley Botanic Supplier of aluminium-frame greenhouses established in 1938. Tel: 01457 819155; hartley-botanic.co.uk…

April is a key month for early foraging in the woods and hedgerows surrounding Thyme. Hawthorn, blackthorn and dandelions are in bloom, providing vital nectar for emerging insects. But the hero at this time is arguably wild garlic, which occurs in damp, wooded areas. It is noticeable for its elliptical leaves, white star-like flowers and powerful garlicky fragrance, and it will quickly colonise a woodland floor. During the hungry gap of early spring in the kitchen garden, chefs at Thyme gather wild garlic to turn into a range of dishes, including pesto and flavoured butter.…

The Kingham Plough Even though Covid meant we were eating in the car park in the rain (although under cover and with heaters), this was still a memorable meal. Rooms are available from £110 per night. thekinghamplough.co.uk Wild Herb at the Field Kitchen, Glove Factory Studios, Holt A lovely, relaxed place with delicious food. Do the short walk from Great Chalfield Manor to The Courts Garden, or vice versa, and this is en route. glovefactorystudios.com The Potting Shed Pub, Crudwell A local pub with great food and a lively atmosphere near the beautiful gardens at Rodmarton Manor. thepottingshedpub.com Broughton Grange A warm welcome and a great ploughman’s, eaten on the tea lawn overlooking Fatty’s Paddock. Go on a sunny day and it feels like the quintessential English summer experience. broughtongrange.com…

Set the table in a palette of zingy greens with splashes of egg yolk and a dusting of pastels for a stylish Easter party. Pictured above is the Spring Chicken Medium Old Bowl (£42), Polka Dot Serving Plate (£65), Felt Decorations (£7.50 each) and Tin Egg Decorations (from £3 each), all Emma Bridgewater. Tel: 01782 407733; emmabridgewater.co.uk…

Spring is the season for magic carpets, when small and insignificant flowers emerge from the earth and knit themselves into breathtaking sheets of colour. It is always a thrilling sight to come across a woodland floor that has been transformed in this way, but it happens only where deciduous trees shed their leaves, allowing light to penetrate to the ground in winter, before gently unfurling a green canopy of foliage to keep their small companions beneath sheltered from the drying heat of the summer months. Some woodlanders are fussier than others about the specific combination of light and shade they require, but get that combination right and wonderful things can occur. And that’s what has happened in the gardens of Wemyss Castle, which sits above sea cliffs that bear signs…

• Erythroniums are not fussy about soil pH, which is fortunate since Greencombe’s is very acidic. They grow well in deep, fertile soils beneath a canopy of deciduous trees. • A good water supply is necessary during the growing season, which starts well before the foliage becomes visible above ground. The soil should be capable of retaining some moisture throughout the year, so the bulbs don’t completely dry out, but it mustn’t become waterlogged as this may cause the bulbs to rot. Good drainage is essential. • Plant bulbs in autumn, about 10-15cm deep, pointed end up. • Weeding in autumn removes more aggressive competition. • Collect erythronium seed in summer just as the capsules mature and the foliage begins to die back. Keep seeds warm and dry in small…

The joy of April lies in its flurries of blossom and the assurance that warmer months are on their way. For 33 years David Bouch has worked in gardens across the South West. Now he is head gardener at the National Trust-owned Cotehele and Antony estates, among the first in the UK to fill with shades of pink and white. “Managing two distinct gardens is exciting: from the orchards and flower gardens at Cotehele to the Repton landscape at Antony,” says Dave. Here he picks ten plants for spring blossom. Cotehele, St Dominick, Cornwall PL17 6TA. Tel: 0344 800 2070. Antony, Ferry Lane, Torpoint, Devon PL11 2QA. Tel: 01752 812191; nationaltrust.org.uk. The National Trust celebrates Blossom Watch Day on 23 April. Follow #blossomwatch 1 Chaenomeles japonica Japanese quince is…

Although it’s now famous worldwide, the art of kokedama originated in Japan. Its origins lie in bonsai, another ancient form of gardening, where, over time, very small, incredibly old trees become totally rootbound in their pots. By removing the pot, the nearai style was created, showing off roots so bound together that they held their shape even without a container. The contemporary method is to encase the plant’s roots in moss, strung together by twine. These moss ball plants became known as a kokedama: ‘koke’ meaning ‘moss’ and ‘dama’ meaning ‘ball’. This modern art form is much freer and suits modern interiors, especially where access to outdoor garden space is nonexistent. The plant choice is usually evergreen indoor houseplants. With the moss surround, the result is delightfully fresh and verdant.…

Rain clouds may scud across the sky in April, but when the sun comes out and shadows dapple the lane leading down to the kitchen garden at Thyme in Southrop, all is well. This is the month for unfolding beech leaves, bobbly oak catkins and lambs capering in green pastures. Returning chiffchaffs join wrens, robins and tits in song from blackthorn and hawthorn hedgerows covered in creamy blossom. “In creating Thyme, I wanted to tell the story of the land and the seasons in everything we do,” explains owner Caryn Hibbert, “and the kitchen garden has always been central to this.” Caryn approached designer Bunny Guinness to help lay out the gardens around the main buildings as well as the kitchen garden. At around three acres, there is enough scope…