Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2024 i The English Garden

Summer’s weather feels like a lottery these days: will we have a repeat of 2022 with those scorching temperatures and months without a drop of rain, or will this summer be like last year’s – a dull, grey washout? We should probably issue an advance apology to all readers, for our features inside this issue exploring ways to add cooling water to gardens or to create areas of blissful shade will probably guarantee a total absence of sun and warm temperatures – I’m very sorry! Mind you, my plants were certainly a lot happier during last summer’s milder temperatures and rain than they were when they were clinging to life as the mercury soared in 2022. Perhaps we will have the summer of gardeners’ dreams: pleasant sunshine – not too…

Dr Chris Thorogood The deputy director and head of science at Oxford Botanic Garden on his journey deep into the rainforest to propagate Rafflesia I’ve always been fascinated by plants. I have a scientific mind and want to understand how things work. When I was little, I’d grow plants on my bedroom windowsill and crammed in as many Venus fly traps, squirting cucumbers and other oddities as I could. My job has many aspects. I carry out research with mathematicians, physicians and chemists, all seeking to understand more about plants. Working as a botanist is an international role and I travel a lot: last week I was up a mountain in Sicily as part of a field guide project. I also look after the plants here at Oxford Botanic Garden.…

Some gardens are designed and created all-of-a-piece. Others evolve, slowly, shaped as much by the passage of time and the vagaries of chance as by invention. Both approaches can result in dynamic, arresting gardens. But, to my eye at least, gardens that have taken time to find their feet, that have grown into themselves through numerous iterations and re-imaginings, share a certain ‘character’. Like an oak-aged wine or cask-matured malt, they have depth, they have roots, they have memories. The garden at Old Erringham Cottage certainly fits this bill, having been lovingly nurtured by Fiona and Martin Phillips through four decades of hands-on garden-making. The cottage – parts of which date back to Tudor times – and its wraparound one-and-a-third-acre garden hunker down on a steeply sloping chalk escarpment in…

The Isle of Purbeck is a beautiful peninsula on the Dorset coast shaped by Poole Harbour to the north and the English Channel to the east and south. Nearly 30 years ago when designers Jonathan Ford and Karen Welman were looking for somewhere to take time out from a hectic life in London, building their business and raising four children, Purbeck seemed the perfect place. “We already knew the area because my sister taught in Wareham, and I windsurfed at Studland Bay,” explains Jonathan. Its rich mosaic of historical sites, including prehistoric field systems and the exploded remains of Corfe Castle, are mixed into a complex geology of chalk cliffs and acid heaths that supports a wealth of flora including many orchid species. Sprinkle in a helping of pretty towns…

RHS horticultural advisor Jenny Bowden has been surveying gardeners from the National Trust, the RHS and the Crown Estate Paving Commission to find plants that handle extremes of both wet and drought. “I focused on sustainable planting, so I asked people who only water to keep plants alive in summer. And I asked for the ‘canary plants’ – those that tell you if there really is a problem with drying out. These plants may not always look as good as they would in optimum conditions, and not everything will work for everyone all the time everywhere,” she notes. Here she picks ten herbaceous plants from the list that scored highly for withstanding both excessively wet and drought conditions. For the full list visit rhs.org.uk/plants/for-places/wet-dry-soils 1 Ceratostigma plumbaginoides With its rusty…

ROSES Asthall Manor, the impossibly romantic Grade II listed Cotswold property that was formerly home to the Mitford sisters, is adorned with over 150 different varieties of rose. Asthall’s owner, Rosie Pearson, had longed for a ‘house cloaked in roses’ and called upon garden designers Isabel and Julian Bannerman to ‘work their magic’ on the forlorn house and gardens she purchased in 1997. Soon there was an array of roses, each one meticulously pruned, tied-in and trained by then head gardener Mark Edwards, using an innovative Asthall method. Conventional straight lines did not suit the informality of the garden, but bending the stems into elaborate sculptural shapes triggered profuse summer blooms and a winter tracery of decorative scrolled stems. Twenty-five years on and Asthall Manor remains romantically swaddled in roses.…

GROW YOUR OWN After months of preparation, the summer harvest kicks in at Tresillian in July. Courgettes and beans that started fruiting in June are in full swing, as are salad leaves, chard and herbs such as dill, chives, chervil and parsley. Ears of sweetcorn are appearing and pumpkins are swelling and taking on some colour. “Reaping the rewards of your labour is so lovely,” reflects Duana Pearson, head gardener of the walled garden on this Cornish estate. “The beginning of this year was tricky because it was so wet, but you pull through the gap in May and when you finally start to harvest it’s such a relief. At first it’s just a couple of things to pick, and then all of a sudden it’s overwhelming, and you think,…

'I must say it has been rather amazing here this week… the house seems full of young people in very high spirits, laughing a great deal at their own jokes… and lying about in the garden which is simply a dithering blaze of flowers, butterflies and apples.’ Vanessa Bell’s 1936 description of summer in the garden at Charleston Farmhouse sets a delectable standard for any contemporary gardener charged with caring for this much-loved and inspirational haven for so many members of the Bloomsbury set from the First World War to the 1960’s. Today the spring garden at Charleston is fresh with tulips, Gladiolus communis subsp. byzantinus and cloud-pruned box soon followed by dancing stems of larkspur and foxglove against old brick walls looped with pale salmon roses. “Then suddenly, the…

John Glover John has been a photographer and gardener for over 40 years. A personal passion for wildlife-friendly gardens is often his motivation for choosing gardens to capture, such as Old Erringham on p39. Andrew Duff Garden designer Andrew’s work is often described as naturalistic, creating conversations between house and garden and the landscape beyond. He describes how to integrate water into your garden on p83. Sarah Cuttle Garden photographer Sarah travels around the country looking for small but perfectly formed gardens to photograph, although Pheasant Barn – on page 59 – is on her doorstep, overlooking Oare Marshes in Kent.…

SHOPPING…

The sign for Saddington Lodge Farm is similar to that of many large livestock and arable establishments common to this area of South Leicestershire. The first clue that magic lies within is a long pale drive winding through immaculately mown grassland. There’s a picturesque lily pond on the left, complete with ducks, a tiny island and a crooked wooden bridge creating a rustic silhouette against a backdrop of mature trees. Ahead, the mellow red brick farmhouse sinks into a fold of gentle landscape characterised by low-lying vales and undulating fields. The farmyard, with its barns and utilitarian outbuildings, appears regular enough, but crossing a stone terrace at the back of the house reveals a showstopping view. Sloping striped lawns with curved borders wrap around a dramatic focal point: a glassily…

PLANT FOCUS Heard of the expression ‘You can’t please all of the people all of the time’? When it comes to plants, Sarah Hyde suspects that alstroemeria might just manage it. One of the third generation of the family running H. W. Hyde and Sons, a plant nursery established by her grandfather in 1926, Sarah has been growing alstroemeria for years and can’t recommend them highly enough. “They are a brilliant summer plant. They flower pretty much all the time and can continue for several years,” Sarah enthuses. She says it is impossible to choose a favourite. “They are all beautiful. The range is so wide that there is an alstroemeria to please everyone.” Originating from mountainous regions in Brazil, Chile and Peru, which explains why they are also known…

SHADE It’s often the case that shade only comes to mind when you need it, by which point there probably isn’t much to be done about it. On the plus side, this is precisely the moment when it will be apparent exactly what kind of shade you need, and where and when you need it – all of which are key considerations when you factor it into your garden. Whether it’s a spot where you like to read a book or do morning yoga, a terrace that accommodates long lunches, or a more permanent structure with garden views in which to sit and relax, each and every location and activity requires its own shade at specific times of day. The quickest way to introduce shade is with an accessory of…

Many years ago, I made several working visits to a wonderful garden on the Greek island of Spetses. Part of my remit was to train the on-site gardeners, Nicos and Costas. Conscious of the owner’s expenditure on my flight and lodgings I was always impatient to get on with the day. When the sun shone, which of course was most days, the pair would admonish me, insisting that I should spend more time “just looking”. Now the days are longer and warmer, I pass on this advice to you. Enjoy your outdoor space and pay it attention. The trouble is, if we spend time looking at our outdoor spaces, we tend to find fault therein. That is fine. Make notes for hands-on work in the future. We all make mistakes…

A stately pair of ancient Cedar of Lebanon trees frames the classic honey-coloured Georgian facade of Admington Hall, near Shipston-on-Stour in Warwickshire. Overlooking an expanse of smooth lawn, the handsome house is fringed by further trees that lead the eye to a distant row of chestnuts and the wider landscape beyond. The house dates back to Jacobean times, with the original stone-mullioned 17th-century frontage having become the back of the house when the Georgian section was added. Now, a few hundred years later, the main approach is once again towards the older part of the house via a wildflower meadow. Antonia Davies and her husband Mark moved to Admington Hall in 1996. They lived with its existing garden for nearly a decade before Antonia set about making major changes. “We…

It’s 25 years since Su and Paul Vaight bought what was then a derelict barn, dating back to around 1730, surrounded by the remains of a farmyard and fields grazed by sheep. The land behind it slopes away towards Oare Creek, a traditional boatyard and the marshes beyond. The barn was falling apart, although it was still being used to shelter sheep, and it adjoined a neighbouring farmhouse that was sold separately. Su and Paul built the wall that now divides the two properties, adding climbers growing up hop poles as a nod to the traditional rural industry of the area. The Vaights named their property Pheasant Barn and had it converted by Circus Architects and Cox Restorations. In terms of the exterior, the conversion was sensitive to the building’s…

With the deluge of rain we’ve endured recently, it’s easy to understand why including water in your garden might not feel like a particularly high priority. However, introducing even the smallest amount of water really can enhance just about any garden. For ease, water can be split into two categories, the first being ‘natural’, which could include anything from a swimming pond to a container filled with native marginals. The second category is ‘formal’, which includes wide-ranging styles such as elegant rills or calm reflective pools. Before you decide which category you prefer, it’s worth exploring some examples of each. Nothing beats real life inspiration and seeing a water feature in an actual garden to give you lots of design ideas, but it is important that the garden has the…

Border plants will benefit from a spring feed of well-rotted manure, chicken pellets or a top dressing of fresh compost. Ensure potted plants remain evenly moist and feed during summer with a high potash fertiliser. Taller varieties might benefit from subtle staking with twiggy sticks. While alstroemeria are fully hardy a winter mulch will give them added protection in colder areas. ‘Deadhead’ spent flower sprays by gently pulling the entire stem away from the rhizome – no secateurs required! This will encourage the production of further flowering stems. Divide mature clumps in spring or autumn by lifting and splitting the rhizomes. Only those with an ‘eye’ will develop flowering shoots. Replant or repot as soon as possible and ensure that the roots do not dry out. Don’t be afraid to…

FEEDING All gardeners know that a plant obtains its food through its roots, which will seek out from the soil all the nutrients the plant needs to grow. And because all gardeners want their plants to grow well, the idea of feeding them with fertiliser was inevitably bound to take off. Fertilising plants is something we’ve been doing for centuries. Indeed, before Victorians like Joseph Bazalgette introduced proper sewerage systems, many market gardeners used human sewage – the euphemistically named ‘night soil’ – to feed their plants. We can be grateful that nowadays we buy our fertiliser from garden centre shelves packed with neat cardboard boxes and sterile plastic bottles and tubs, but now that so many of us are trying to be as low-input as possible in our gardens,…

CRAFTSPEOPLE “If you can do sun printing here in Lancashire, then you can do it anywhere,” quips Lisa Howard. From her studio on the slopes of the Forest of Bowland, she specialises in cyanotype, a printing form that relies on the reaction of ferric acids with sunlight to create blue-and-white prints of the plants in her local area. The results are ethereal and capture a specific moment in time with minimal intervention from the printmaker, bar the selection and arrangement of the plant material itself. While cyanotype prints and their replicas are currently in vogue, popping up in designs for tea towels and birthday cards, this photographic medium has an important place in the history of botanical illustration. Principally, it was favoured by Anna Atkins (1799-1871), who used the process…