Woman's Weekly Living Series May 2022

HISTORIC HOUSES GARDEN OF THE YEAR For the first time ever, a Scottish garden is the outright public winner of the Historic Houses Garden of the Year award. The transformation of Gordon Castle Walled Garden in Morayshire, began just seven years ago from a bare patch of land. Now, this eight-acre hidden gem, designed by Arne Maynard, is one of the biggest working kitchen gardens in Britain, producing veggies for the café, fruit for cider, gin and jams, and flowers for the castle as well as for essential oils used in cosmetics. Owners Angus and Zara Gordon Lennox said, ‘We hope visitors will be encouraged to come and visit the garden, to discover this beautiful area of Moray and Speyside and, inspired by what they find, leave with a smile…

ROSA ‘BRING ME SUNSHINE’ A fragrant English shrub rose with large rosette flowers that unfurl in sunset shades of rich orange and yellow, and age to a soft apricot. H1.2m x S1.1m. Bare-root rose, £25; potted, £33.50, davidaustinroses.co.uk ALLIUM ‘LAVENDER BUBBLES’ A late-flowering variety (July-August) with a neat habit and abundant, dark purple flower heads up to 9cm across. Frost-hardy. H35cm. Potted 9cm plant, £14.49, thompson-morgan.com COSMOS BIPINNATUS ‘APRICOTTA’ A delicious combination of apricot, peach and raspberry-pink tones all in one flower. Long stems make this a good choice for the cutting garden. H1m. Seed, £2.85, chilternseeds.co.uk CALIBRACHOA CABARET ‘GOOD NIGHT KISS’ An exciting new trailing variety with trumpet-shaped, dark purple flowers with maroon and gold centres; June to October. H25cm. Five jumbo plug plants, £12.99, thompson-morgan.com…

‘Our garden is full of nature’s gifts’ Gardening can seem a rather serious business, but even a brief stroll in Earl and Susan’s garden shows that fun and flowers make good bedfellows. ‘One of the nicest visitors’ comments was made by a young father with his daughters, when he remarked that a bed of tulips, primulas and wallflowers was like a big smile,’ recalls Susan. There is much in this heartwarming city garden to raise a smile, from the small, playful sculptures and unexpected objects secreted in even less likely spots, to magnificent and intriguingly bohemian follies that overlook lawns, borders and pond alike. ‘Lacking a grand estate to play with, we express grandiose ideas on a small scale,’ says Susan. Chim-chimeny ‘When we added land, we needed a focal…

GARDENERS Susan Bennett and Earl Hyde. LOCATION North London. LANDSCAPED The original tiny 9m-long garden was full of rubble and London Clay, but was later enlarged with the purchase of several adjacent strips of land, creating an area roughly equal to three tennis courts. Gradually, the garden has been subdivided into linked ‘rooms’, each featuring unique architectural features built by Earl. SPECIAL FEATURES A miniature Baroque-style temple, an oriental-style garden, a yellow mirrored wall outside the studio, a wildlife pool, containers, sculptures and salvaged items, all linked via winding lawns, gravel paths, beds and borders. ASPECT North-west. SOIL TYPE London Clay. PROBLEMS The third and final adjacent tract of land was bought in 1995, a tarmac playground that was found to conceal industrial waste. ‘Nothing would survive in the ground,…

Pausing at Bottisham Lock on the River Cam in late spring, an unexpected vista shines out from the dull, damp Fenland landscape. A small field is filled with a rainbow of 100,000 hyacinths, their scent almost discernible on a westerly wind. This vision is the work of Alan Shipp, a retired farmer who holds the world’s largest collection of rare hyacinths, having amassed 260 different varieties since 1993. ‘I had this small farm that wasn’t large enough to be commercially viable, and by chance I stumbled upon hyacinths,’ he explains. According to Greek legend, the name of this gorgeous flower immortalises Hyacinthus, a youth that Apollo accidentally killed while practising discus-throwing and, where his blood fell, these beautiful flowers sprung up. Hence even today, the flower is associated with remembrance,…

In late spring 2022, there is a Hyacinth Plant Trial of some 36 different varieties in the new trials field at RHS Wisley Garden, Surrey. The varieties that perform most reliably will be awarded an Award of Garden Merit (AGM). These newcomers will be added to a list of hyacinth royalty that have already received an AGM in previous plant trials. They include: Hyacinthus orientalis ‘Pink Pearl’ is one of the most widely available hyacinths. Hyacinthus orientalis ‘Delft Blue’, introduced in 1944, is ideal for forcing over the winter. Hyacinthus orientalis ‘White Pearl’ has densely packed flowers on sturdy stems. Hyacinthus orientalis ‘Paul Hermann’ bears stunning lilac-pink flowers. Hyacinthus orientalis ‘Ostara’ sports violet-blue flowers with paler edges. Hyacinthus orientalis ‘City of Haarlem’ bears spikes of primrose-yellow flowers.…