Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2019 i Woman's Weekly Living Series

Exbury’s 100th anniversary Exbury, the world-famous woodland garden in Hampshire, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Founder Lionel de Rothschild was a keen collector and successful hybridiser of many different rhododendrons and azaleas, and of course his legacy can be enjoyed today. Exbury’s team, along with experts from Surrey’s Millais Nurseries, are in the process of conserving some of the rarer hybrids in its collection, and together are showing new and heritage rhododendron varieties at RHS Chelsea this May. The collaboration forms part of a year-long programme of events at Exbury, among them a ‘stream of bulbs’ that will weave around rare trees, and a new Centenary Garden, which has been planted to reach its peak in late summer. Visitors can enjoy grand views of the gardens from the…

Looking across the bare vegetable plot over the winter months, it’s hard to imagine that this space will be transformed from a sea of brown with glimpses of green into a lush expanse of textured green with hints of brown. This transformation spurs my enthusiasm during the short glum winter days and I long for what spring has to offer; opportunity and abundance. One luxury to be preparing for, where taste cannot be surpassed, are ripe red strawberries. Ground level The strawberry plant is a low-growing self-fertile herbaceous perennial that propagates itself from short horizontal stems called runners. They are relatively easy to grow, provided good preparation is done beforehand, and the fruits are harvested from early to mid-summer dependant on variety. Get growing Strawberries can be started off from…

Jobs for June ✿ Stake perennials to help support soft new growth, which could quickly collapse after wind. ✿ Trim faded leaves of spring bulbs when they start to die down naturally, usually six weeks after flowering. Dig up and dry off overcrowded ‘blind’ clumps, keep cool and replant in autumn. ✿ Feed lawns using a high nitrogen summer feed to green up the grass. Treat problem lawns with a combined lawn feed and weed/moss killer. ✿ Continue to plant up pots and hanging baskets and buy dahlias and cannas for filling gaps in borders in late summer. ✿ Deadhead rose heads once a week with a short stem to just above a leaf joint or emerging sideshoot. ✿ White froth, known as cuckoo spit, is a sign of the…

Beth Chatto was a truly inspirational gardener A garden inspired by Beth Chatto’s Gravel Garden will be created at RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival this July. The horticulturalist and writer, who died last year, is to be named Horticultural Hero 2019 by the Royal Horticultural Society. Beth’s famous drought-tolerant garden started life as a car park and was transformed, working on the principle that garden plants grow best when placed in conditions closest to their natural habitats. Key to her philosophy was ‘right plant, right place,’ and this helped gardeners to succeed in their plant choices by noting the prevailing conditions. Beth’s gardening team will be creating the show display which visitors can see from 2-7 July; for details visit rhs.org.uk. ✿ The Beth Chatto Gardens and nursery are…

1 Prized Periwinkle Trailing Vinca minor ‘Illumination’ is a vigorous and weed-suppressing, groundcover plant that’s useful for preventing soil erosion on sloping ground. Gold-splashed, evergreen foliage and cobalt-blue flowers from April through to September make it a great choice for pots and hanging baskets. The bright-gold leaves that are edged with a border of green will put a shady zone in the spotlight. 2 Poor man’s box  Lonicera nitida ‘Baggesen’s Gold’ will add a glow of sunshine to a border. Unlike its perfumed, climbing cousins, this plant makes a bushy, evergreen shrub around 1m tall. As it tolerates regular pruning, it makes a great hedge and can be grown in pots on the patio. In bright sun, the dainty, box-like leaves fade to almost blond, while in shade they deepen…

✿ Grow in neutral, well-drained soil that is thoroughly dug and enriched with liberal doses of well-rotted manure or compost. ✿ Choose a site that benefits from a few hours of sun a day. ✿ Avoid positions where rose roots will be in competition with roots of trees or large shrubs. The exception is ramblers, which flourish close to trees. ✿ Growing roses in light, sandy soil is very challenging, so opt for some of the many less vigorous varieties that will thrive in a good-sized container, with regular feeding and watering. ✿ Plant in a hole deep enough so that the point on the stem where the first branches sprout is a finger’s depth beneath the soil. ✿ If planting in groups of three of the same variety, space…

Events and walks York Gate Garden Leeds, Sundays-Thursdays One of the UK’s best small gardens, managed by the charity Perennial. ✿ Adult £6, under-16s free. Open 12.30-4.30pm, Sunday-Thursday until 30 September; Back Church Lane, Leeds LS16 8DW. Tel 0113 267 8240; perennial.org.uk. Iris fields open Suffolk, end May-mid June The specialists open their bearded iris fields. ✿ Entry free, donations to NGS. Open daily 10am-4pm – call for confirmation as flower opening is weather-dependent; Woottens of Wenhaston, The Iris Field, Hall Road, Wenhaston IP19 9HF. Tel 01502 478 258; woottensplants.com. Festival of Gardens North Wales, 1-16 June Discover a treasure trove of wonderful gardens to visit across North Wales with a series of special events. ✿ For more details, Tel 01492 531 731; gardensnorthwales.com. Dad’s Day Barbecue Leicestershire, 16 June…

The origins of the word ‘cottage’ date back to medieval times, and such dwellings have had gardens for many centuries, but the cottage garden reached the height of its popularity in the romantic minds of the Victorians and Edwardians. Historically, they featured a combination of produce and flowers, but by the early 20th century, vegetables were disappearing from paintings and images to be replaced by flower borders, accompanied by happy children and animals, increasingly reflecting the romantic idyll of country living. Over time, the term has come to represent a garden which looks as if it has not had a great deal of planning, with a loose style of planting with traditional flowers such as foxgloves, violas, lavender, primroses, hollyhocks and roses. Cottage Garden, RHS Garden Rosemoor, Devon Sheila Dearing,…

Critics of the late 19th and early 20th-century Arts and Crafts design movement in Britain may have reviled it for its anti-industrial and traditionalist leanings, but its values of design simplicity, craftsmanship and respect for established aesthetic forms have found favour again. It’s also a philosophy that has natural appeal to many gardeners, so perhaps it’s no surprise that the movement was behind the creation of some of the country’s greatest gardens. Here are just three inspiring examples... Coleton Fishacre In spite of its wonderfully historic-sounding name, Coleton Fishacre in Devon is in fact a country retreat dating from the 1920s Jazz Age. It was the home to the D’Oyly Carte family – owners of the light opera company that specialised in presenting Gilbert and Sullivan works at the Savoy…

CITY SPACE A circular lawn is surrounded by deep foliage borders Town gardens are often long, narrow affairs that can become dull patches of grass edged in unloved borders. But, at Linnette Ralph’s North London home, she shows that even the most uninspiring plot offers scope for imaginative design. ‘Mine is divided into distinct areas – a formal flower garden near the house and a functional vegetable patch towards the back,’ she says. ‘The original garden could be seen, front to back, in the blink of an eye. By dividing it into different spaces, the view is broken up,’ she explains. ‘Now, looking out from the house, your eye is caught by the pots on the patio area. Bird feeders have been placed in the first bed, so I can…

Delphinium Impressive flower spikes arrive in mid-summer. Grow them: in full sun and sheltered from strong winds. Most need staking. Once in the ground, protect from slugs. Cut back and feed to encourage ` a second flush of flowers in late summer. Combine with: delphiniums are good at the back of borders, rising above lower-growing plants such as peonies, shasta daisies or iris. Mock orange Philadelphus are enjoyed for their clouds of early summer flowers and powerful scent. Grow them: in full sun or partial shade. They do well in any soil type. Combine with: the small- to medium-sized cultivars fit nicely into beds with perennials such penstemons. Be adventurous and use a vigorous climber, such as Viticella group clematis, to grow through a larger shrubs, achieving a blowsy country…

Women returned during the Second World War In June 1915, as the number of gardeners started to dwindle, Kew began employing trained female horticulturalists from horticultural colleges to replace the men who had left for military service. To begin with, they primarily tended the Herbaceous Grounds, Rock Gardens and Flower Gardens. The Decorative Department even attracted the nickname of ‘Coutt’s Harem’, due to being staffed almost entirely by women and supervised by Mr John Coutts. As more men left Kew to join the war effort, the women also began to work in the glasshouses. William Watson, Curator of the Gardens at Kew, wrote about the women gardeners in a letter sent to the Gardeners Chronicle , ‘...the women have come forward in surprising numbers. In these times it is not…

✿ Strawberries require fertile, well-drained soil that has had well-rotted manure incorporated. ✿ They do well in full sun but can tolerate partial shade in warmer climates. ✿ Plants will benefit from slow-release phosphates such as bone meal, and monthly seaweed feeds will increase overall plant health. ✿ Regular fortnightly feeds of high-potash fertiliser will also increase flower and fruit production  However, there is some evidence to suggest this feeding will allow plants to outgrow resources available in the soil, so that they may suffer overall as a consequence.…