Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2024 i The English Garden

Somehow another Chelsea Flower Show is nearly upon us, so we’ve devoted a special feature in this issue to the gardens you can see at this year’s show. I love the exciting build-up to Chelsea and its razzle-dazzle, and I almost always find inspiration in the ways designers combine plants so beautifully in their show gardens. Just getting those gardens built in the small timeframe available is impressive and should be applauded, but, for me, a show garden will never compare to the inspiration a real-life garden offers. Not only do you get to glean ideas from a real garden’s planting and design, they’re also inspiring in terms of the effort that’s gone into them: usually many years of hard work and diligent gardening, paired with the sort of levels…

Miria Harris The landscape designer on the structure and meaning behind her Chelsea debut garden, a space that supports the survivors of stroke My earliest memories are of hiding in the greenhouse as a kid. I’d sit amid the greenery and smell the tomatoes and cucumbers to cheer myself up when I was grumpy. It was a terrible spot for hide and seek, though, because everyone knew where I was going to be! I started my career as an art curator with a focus on public art, and I often facilitated conversations between artists and landscape designers that I wished I could play a more active role in. So I did a garden design course and then went on to spend over four years working in the studio of Jinny…

Plantswoman and textile artist Jane-Ann Walton has gardened at Old Hall Farmhouse in the village of Swanton Novers, Norfolk, for the past quarter of a century, but she has been enthralled by plants and the outdoors since childhood. Homeschooled for much of what she describes as “a solitary time”, Jane-Ann recalls how she would help the gardeners and enjoy lessons with her governess outdoors. “I’ve always loved mixing compost and potting up plants. My first plants were succulents and cacti – it was difficult to kill them off, so those early successes boosted my enthusiasm!” she notes. Her ten-acre garden sweeps around the property, which is believed to have once been a medieval moated manor house. The garden then rolls down towards the plant-filled walled garden that Jane-Ann has created.…

At first glance, the splendid garden at Daglingworth House in Gloucestershire appears classically English. After all, there are many characteristic elements: fine parkland trees, including a red oak and a copper beech; a walled garden with a rose pergola; a croquet lawn; herbaceous borders; and formality merging into woodland. But walk around and you soon realise that since they moved here in 1994, Etta and David Howard have created something superbly quirky. You are greeted by successive surprises: as you round one corner, an artfully placed mirror gives the impression you are bumping into someone else. Stroll into the Walled Garden through the Burma Gate (panelled with six wooden carvings bought in Myanmar) and you plunge into a dark leafy grove from which you are drawn out into the open…

TOP 10 PLANTS Used as an eye-catching centrepiece, a subtle link between two shades in a herbaceous border or a critical element in a cut-flower arrangement, acid-green plants are invaluable. Claire Greenslade, head gardener at Hestercombe Gardens in Somerset, reveals some of her favourites, from half-hardy annuals to hardy perennials, and a couple of climbers, too. Many of these thrive in the 50-acre grounds at Hestercombe, which, recently restored, include a Georgian landscape garden, Victorian shrubbery and the Gertrude Jekyll and Edwin Lutyens-designed formal garden. Also look out for the Grade I listed orangery and ornate flower beds. Hestercombe Gardens, Cheddon Fitzpaine, Taunton, Somerset TA2 8LG. Tel: 01823 413923; hestercombe.com 1 Bupleurum rotundifolium ‘Garibaldi’ “This is a great cut flower to add a pop of colour to a display: it’s the…

When it comes to propagating hydrangeas, one person knows more about the subject than most, and that’s Maurice Foster. Holder of a Victoria Medal of Honour, member of the RHS Woody Plant Committee and trustee of the Tree Register, he first worked with hydrangeas in 1964, when he took a holiday job with Michael Hawarth-Booth, the nurseryman responsible for popularising them as a garden shrub rather than a pot plant. “I worked for him for the summer and left with a whole bunch of cuttings,” Maurice reflects. The experience sparked a lifelong passion for the genus and there are few hydrangea species that Maurice hasn’t seen in the wild – or tried to propagate at his own garden and nursery, White House Farm Garden and Arboretum, just outside Tonbridge in…

No Mow May is something of a Marmite topic for gardeners. While it’s easy for all of us to applaud local authorities leaving swathes of roadside verges and larger parks to become floriferous havens for wildlife, it’s a bit different when it comes to your own garden. For one thing, who wants a messy garden with nowhere to sit or to set up a paddling pool or croquet set? Then there’s the fact that you need to forget decades of indoctrination that ‘weeds are bad’, particularly in your lawn, when the truth is that a few flowers breaking up the expanse of an informal lawn doesn’t detract from the borders one jot. But loosening the stays of convention doesn’t mean you have to go all out – instead you can…

As is so often the case when you rediscover what you had once put aside, it took a dramatic change of routine to bring Sussex-based paper artist Dona Crisfield back to art and making, her first creative passions. Born into a creative family – her grandfather was an artist and art teacher, her father an architect and illustrator – Dona had always enjoyed working with her hands. “Papier-mâché, sewing, basket-making, crochet…” she says, rattling off crafts in which she’s dabbled over years. “It was totally natural that I’d go on to study art once I finished school.” Studying textile art at Loughborough School of Art & Design, Dona specialised in freehand machine embroidery and explored stitching with paper layers. In the days before the internet she sold her craftwork at…

Mark Bolton Mark has been a garden photographer for many years. His own garden at Bowhay House in Devon is featured in this issue on page 81 and is the subject of a book being published in August this year. Jane Moore A head gardener for more than 30 years, Jane is also a writer and author. Her passion for wildlife has informed her writing and her gardening. She shares advice on manageable wildflower lawns on page 147. Kerrie Lloyd-Dawson Plantsperson and garden writer Kerrie opens her garden in Hertfordshire for the National Garden Scheme. She loves unusual plants and writes about roscoea on page 109.…

SHOPPING Chelsea, the world’s most prestigious flower show, presents us with the perfect sartorial opportunity. From wide-brim sunhats to elegant floral dresses, as well as essentials like sun cream, portable chargers and smart footwear, this curated selection will prepare you for a superbly stylish day out. Dragonfly woven picnic blanket, £49.50. Tel: 01778 560256; sophieallport.com…

Occasionally, you come across a garden whose custodians are so attuned to its rhythms that it feels like an actual dialogue is taking place between the gardeners and the land under their stewardship. Highlands, a truly glorious eight-acre site set on the High Weald of East Sussex, is one such place. Perched on a west-facing slope and surrounded by acres of ancient woodland, wildflower meadow and heathland, its position could hardly be more idyllic. Not that the site is without its challenges. The upper terraces sit on a ridge of pure sand, while at the bottom of the slope is a seam of heavy Wealden clay. In summer the higher ground bakes. In winter, ephemeral streams appear as water flows and rises through the sandstone bedrock. Such complex hydrology might…

Often described as being at ‘the edge of the world’, East Prawle is a small coastal village in south Devon with a scattering of houses and farms, a duck pond and a village green. There is also a well-known pub, The Pigs Nose Inn, that is the heart of a thriving community. We moved into Bowhay House in the centre of the village about three years ago, from another house just down the road, and although it was slightly run-down, it had a sheltered rear garden with, joy of joys, a rickety old potting shed. And, looking closely at the rather tired borders, I could see that a selection of roses and other shrubs pointed to a former owner who had clearly once loved the garden. I have been a…

To some they look like orchids, to others they resemble iris. But whatever they remind you of, the captivating flowers of roscoea are likely to stop you in your tracks. Their exotic beauty is also likely to mislead you into thinking that they are challenging to grow and only for the seasoned expert, but they are in fact easy, reliable and excellent plants for any garden. Roscoea are members of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, and originate from meadows, slopes and woodland edges in the Himalayas and China. They were named in 1806 by botanist James Edward Smith in honour of his friend William Roscoe, a former lawyer and a vocal opponent of the slave trade, who helped found Liverpool Botanic Garden and had a particular interest in gingers. For Plant…

CONTAINERS Coralie Thomas Raised in New York, Coralie worked at Wave Hill Garden in the Bronx before joining the team at Great Dixter House & Gardens in 2016, first as a scholar and now as assistant head gardener Pelargonium ‘Frank Headley’ is one of my desert-island plants. It’s a compact zonal pelargonium with clean green-and-white variegated foliage, and it produces peach-pink flowers all summer long. It’s visited by elephant hawk moths here in summer. Origanum ‘Rosenkuppel’ is reliable, tough and develops bright pink flowers all through summer. Although it’s hardy, its aromatic foliage dies back in winter. It holds an RHS Award of Garden Merit and is a good food source for bees and butterflies. Cylindropuntia imbricata is hardy and surprisingly easy to grow. Being a cactus, it has a…

GROW YOUR OWN Late-spring sun shines on the Victorian walled garden at Tresillian in May, enhancing the protective microclimate that’s so valuable for growing flowers, fruit and vegetables. Wallflowers, forget-me-nots and lupins bloom in cheerful profusion. Clematis smothers arches and fragrant wisteria drips over the walls, its lilac flowers buzzing with bees: it will be a few months before it’s ready for its summer prune. Knobbly old apple cordons have almost finished flowering and their tiny green fruits are beginning to set. Currants will ripen slowly. The last frosts have passed down here in Cornwall and the growing season is well and truly underway. All of summer’s rich possibilities now lie ahead, and among these is a project to grow two threatened vegetable varieties for the Heritage Seed Library. The…

TO CONCLUDE As April turns into May, the lanes leading down to the secluded beaches are abundant with wildflowers Sometimes, even the most sensitive nature-lover needs a little help to properly grasp what is changing and growing around them. The Japanese have an ancient way of commemorating each tiny seasonal shift, dividing the calendar into 72 poetic micro-seasons and capturing the essence of each with a resonant idea: ‘Frogs start singing’ (5-9 May) or ‘Plums turn yellow’ (16-20 June). But in our busy world, although we admire the surge of energy as spring gets into its stride, how many of us allow ourselves to react fully to this powerful change? As April turns into May, the lanes leading down to the secluded beaches of Prussia Cove in Cornwall are abundant…

Can I make a plea that if you are laying gravel, you ensure perennial weeds such as brambles and bindweed are completely removed beforehand? I’ve had clients place too much faith in a permeable membrane. Residual pieces of weed have an uncanny knack of sprouting and finding a way to the light under the fabric’s edge or through a planting hole. You are denied the satisfaction of sinking a fork in to tease out the offender. The membrane serves as protector. In one case, by the time I came to the rescue there was a mat of bindweed roots lurking underneath and the whole area had to be refurbished. Badly installed landscape fabric with flaps appearing through the gravel can be both an eyesore and a trip hazard. I question…

CHELSEA PREVIEW Before one Chelsea Flower Show is over, plans are already being made for the next one, as designers submit their gardens to the Royal Horticultural Society hoping for approval, partners and sponsors are sought, and statement features and plants are commissioned and ordered. Then, before we know it, it’s upon us. The teams building show gardens are given just one month on the Royal Hospital Chelsea’s showground, when each transforms a rectangle of plain grass into showstopping creations that will be photographed and admired world-wide. Here’s our guide to the gardens at Chelsea 2024. The Octavia Hill Garden Working in partnership with Blue Diamond Garden Centres, Ann-Marie Powell honours Octavia Hill with her show garden for the National Trust. The pioneering social reformer was a passionate advocate for…

Trudie Willis had a life-long love of butterflies. Her mother collected swallowtail caterpillars from along the Norfolk Broads to sell for a penny each at Norwich Market. As a child, Trudie was enthralled by the unique features and individual character of each type of caterpillar she found, mesmerised by the endearing charm of puss moth caterpillars, and diverted by the magical sight of clouds of butterflies fluttering in and around the meadows. Her fascination with caterpillars and butterflies remained strong throughout her life and compelled her to create Priors Oak, a magnificent, ten-acre butterfly garden in Aldeburgh, Suffolk. Sadly, Trudie died earlier this year. Before she died, I was fortunate enough to spend time with her, and also her head gardener, Paul Buckle, who gardened alongside Trudie for 28 years.…

Earlier this year, the winners of the 2024 Society of Garden Designers Awards were announced. Among the varied gardens scooping one of these coveted accolades were plenty of plots that were filled with truly inspirational planting. Here we delve into the planting plans and designs of some of the winning gardens to discover the must-have plants that made these designs such deserving award winners. New beginnings at Church Barn The owners of this timbered barn had initially called in Stefano Marinaz and his team to revamp the planting beds at the front of their house. A parking area for cars was duly moved a little further away to give the entrance its own courtyard enveloped in pretty planting. But while he was embroiled in this project, Stefano also saw potential…