G RDEN THE
AUGUST 2021
english
For everyone who loves beautiful gardens
www.theenglishgarden.co.uk
Relaxed style at Mulberry House
Light the way
How to enjoy your garden after dark
Gorgeous
GARDENS Plan your summer visits with our guide
August inspiration
The best BELLFLOWERS to grow Visit a British FLOWER FARM TROY SCOTT SMITH on watering Creative ways with FOLIAGE
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GREENHOUSES AND CONSERVATORIES
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More than just a greenhouse
CONTRIBUTORS
David Hurrion
David grew up gardening and has been growing plants for more than 50 years. An RHS Plant Committee member and show judge, David also gardens in Dorset. He visits Mulberry House on page 58.
Sian Williams
Sian has written and styled for interiors and garden magazines for more than 22 years. Her passion for nature and gardens stems from her rural upbringing in Powys. She explores the OldLands estate on p109.
Welcome T
his issue marks a milestone for me, because it’s the first we’ve completed since I moved into a new house. I had completely forgotten just how exciting it is when you take on a new garden, and my mind has been a blur of ideas these past few weeks: things I’d like to do and plants I’d like to grow. If anything, there are way too many ideas and there definitely needs to be a period of living with the garden as it is, mostly so I can calm down and refine all those swirling thoughts. It’s made me even more grateful for being able to work on this magazine, which has kept the ‘garden’ section of my brain so well stocked with inspiration and motivation over the years – I hope we continue to do the same for you. Meanwhile, we’re heading into the height of summer and garden-visiting season, and while I think my circuits might blow a fuse if I attempt to cram any more ideas into my overexcited mind, some of the gardens in our feature on page 99 are very tempting. We’ve gathered together some of our favourite destinations where you can combine your passion for visiting a beautiful garden with the extra treat of delicious food. I can’t think of a more perfect day out or short break than that. CLARE FOGGETT, EDITOR
YHPARGOTOHP YBRAD TNERB ;HTROWPEH LIEN EGAMI
Brent Darby
Brent is a lifestyle and interiors photographer who was born and raised in New Zealand. He has always had a love of the outdoors and his work regularly features in magazines. See his photos of OldLands on page 109.
ON THE COVER A sheltered and secluded seating area in the creative garden at Mulberry House in the Wye Valley. Photographed by Sarah Cuttle. The-English-Garden-Magazine
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AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 5
CONTENTS August 2021
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Gardens
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20 Portmore House Summer comes quickly and all at once with dazzling results at this Scottish Borders garden, but year-round interest results from thoughtful planning. 30 The Garden House When the Fortescues named their Devonshire home in the 1940s, they knew they could create a garden to earn the name, and their idyllic vision is now shaped by head gardener Nick Haworth. 39 Gasper Cottage Bella Hoare has turned her artist’s eye to her immersive Wiltshire garden, where movement and exceptional colour combinations are order of the day. 48 Alderwood House Helen Pink and Bonnie Lamont have skilfully layered colour and form over the visible bones of the 14 acres of formal garden and grounds in Kent. 58 Mulberry House With its firm structure and confident planting, the garden at Mulberry House is wonderfully at home in its Wye Valley setting, despite its relative youth. 99 Gardens & Food We recommend some of the most beautiful gardens to visit this summer, with on-site cafés and restaurants. 109 Old-Lands This centuries-old estate in Monmouthshire is being brought into the 21st century through natural restoration.
Design
67 Outdoor lighting Expert advice on how to illuminate your garden and its features, helping you make the most of your outdoor space when night falls.
Plants
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75 Top 10 Plants At the colourful Yeo Valley Organic Garden in Somerset, Sarah Mead chooses plants that do their bit for nature. 81 Plant Focus Louise Curley explores all the diverse forms the bellflower genus, Campanula, has to offer, with the help of Jeremy Palmer at Burton Agnes Hall. 89 Garden Classics Hailing from the Americas, cheery sunflowers are now a food industry staple as well as a garden standard. 91 Foliage at Borde Hill Max Crisfield delves into the lush green foliage that now fills Borde Hill’s transformed Round Dell, thanks to an inspired redesign by Sophie Walker.
It is amazing to be able to learn and receive feedback directly from the experts. - Julia
91 IKSNIWZAJ ANNAID ;KCOTSRETTUHS ;NOTLOB KRAM ;MOOLB DRAHCIR ;SLOHCIN EVILC ;XOC YAR SEGAMI
117 Flower Farms Meet ten talented growers of British cut flowers who are part of Flowers from the Farm, ahead of the network’s Big Weekend on 13-15 August.
Regulars
9 This Month Our regular guide to people, gardens, events, news and tasks. 17 Shopping Kit to help you grow crops for delicious Asian-inspired meals, plus a selection of fun outdoor treats for kids. 123 The Reviewer This month’s literary digest, plus a chat with Sally Morgan, author of The Healthy Vegetable Garden. 130 To Conclude Non Morris recommends a trip to Sissinghurst’s reimagined, Greekinspired Delos – in lieu of a holiday abroad.
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AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 7
People to Meet AUGUST
Introducing the gardeners and public figures we most admire in British horticulture
Alasdair Mitchell
RECOMMENDED
Alasdair’s favourite gardens
A commercial diver turned plant pot entrepreneur, Alasdair has just won an RHS award for his pots made from recycled ocean plastic
YESOH EVETS ;KCOTSRETTUHS ;KU.OC.KCINOTOF SEGAMI SEYAJ EBEOHP WEIVRETNI
I have worked as a commercial diver for 13 years. My job shows me incredible things, but it has also exposed the amount of plastic waste in our oceans. One million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute. I’ve spent years confronting the evidence of this first-hand. Last year I was asked to join the salvage operation of a ship that had hit a reef in the Outer Hebrides. Three months earlier, a whale had washed up on a nearby beach with 100kg of plastic in its belly. Meanwhile, this ship was carrying 1,937 tons of shredded plastic, and it had spilled out into the surrounding environment. My grandparents are from this area and it is the most beautiful place in the world. That was the catalyst for Ocean Plastic Pots. I began to research plastic recycling and brought back bags of plastic from the operation to practise moulding. I’d been growing seedlings on the windowsill with my children, and it struck me as a shame that pots made from terracotta and plastic are so difficult to recycle. It took me three months to create the first plant pot using a handpowered machine, but once I had the knowledge, I took the moulds to a manufacturer.
Kew Gardens
London I’ve always been a fan of Kew, particularly the tropical glasshouse. The heat and smell that hits you on entering is amazing, and the sheer variety of plants provides a feast for the senses. Tel: 020 8332 5655; kew.org
Pollok House
We sell 13cm pots in mint green, dark green and blue, with matching saucers. The colours are due to the rope and net they are made from. They are designed to last, but can be put in the recycling bin, and it was incredible to win the first RHS Sustainable Garden Product of the Year Award at Virtual Chelsea. The highlight of this business has been meeting amazing people along the way. One of our suppliers, Sam Wright at Seedsology, is an inspiration. She turned
three acres of land on her Lincolnshire farm into a wild meadow to help barn owls. You can buy a packet of her non-GM, bee-friendly seeds for your Ocean Plastic Pot. We need to change the way we view plastic. We treat a non-disposable material as if it is the opposite. These pots are a visual reminder to do simple things: remember your Bag for Life when you head to the shops; take your reusable coffee cup to the café. Little things make a difference. oceanplasticpots.com
Glasgow The Walled Garden at Pollok House is vast and packed with fruit trees, vegetables and greenhouses. It’s a great place for children. We love to go as a family for sheltered and scenic picnics. Tel: 0141 6166410;
AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 9
Out & About AUGUST
Unmissable events, news and the very best gardens to visit this month
Plant Hunters Weekend 28-30 August, Kent
The creation of modern-day plant hunter Tom Hart Dyke, the World Garden at Lullingstone Castle contains rare and important plants from around the globe. Throughout this special weekend, the garden will also offer a unique glimpse into the past to celebrate some of Britain’s most intrepid plant hunters. Visitors will experience an authentic plant hunter’s expedition camp, featuring plant presses, porters, canvas tents and a roaring fire. Adults £10; Children under 16 go free. For more information, visit lullingstonecastle.co.uk
Eythrope Walled Garden Tour
Nevill Holt Opera Summer Festival
Dates in August, Leicestershire Nevill Holt Opera will build an outdoor stage and socially distanced seating for its annual opera festival this summer, set in landscaped gardens that boast a collection of sculptures and spectacular valley views. Visitors may book tickets to Verdi’s La traviata, directed by Jamie Manton and brought to life by the Manchester Camerata orchestra, or to Mozart’s Don Giovanni, directed by Finnegan Downie Dear and performed by the Shadwell:Ensemble. Tickets start at £35 with free tickets for under 18s. Visit nevillholtopera.co.uk
10 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
NGS Garden Yewbarrow House
1 Aug & 5 Sept, Cumbria ‘More Cornwall than Cumbria’ according to Country Life, this colourful four-acre garden is filled with exotic and rare plants, and has dramatic views over Morecambe Bay. Outstanding features include an orangery, the Japanese garden with its infinity pool, the Italian terraces and the kitchen garden. Adults £5; children free. Yewbarrow House, Hampsfell Road, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria LA11 6BE.
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Every Wednesday until 13 October, Buckinghamshire Discover the four-acre walled garden, orchard and glasshouses at Eythrope, the private Rothschild garden near Waddesdon Manor. The garden produces vegetables, fruit, herbs and cut flowers on an impressive scale. Visits are by guided tour only, lasting approximately 90 minutes, and include a light meal in the Manor Restaurant at Waddesdon. Tickets: £50; adults only. To book, visit waddesdon.org.uk
Things to Do AUGUST
Keep up to date in the garden with our monthly guide to key gardening tasks from Troy Scott Smith, head gardener at Iford Manor
Mindful WATERING Changes in our climate, in particular the increasing summer drought, mean our gardens are becoming essential refuges for plants and animals, and the way in
12 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
which we garden can have a dramatic effect on this rich biodiversity. The most valuable of natural resources is water, and understanding the needs of plants will help
reduce water loss from them and from the soil. There is a wealth of plants that are able to put up with dry conditions, continuing to do their thing when others
have long since withered and died. We are fortunate that the plant palette at Iford is mainly from those areas of the world with a Mediterranean climate, meaning that most of our plants are adapted to coping with drought. Yet watering is still crucial, particularly for the establishment of new plants. Sprinklers can lose up to 80% of their water to the atmosphere or by evaporation on the ground before passing on any benefit to the plants. So to check the application rates, use rain gauges positioned nearby when watering. Try to water plants either early or late in the day to retain moisture in the soil and create a ‘reservoir’ or depression in the ground around the plant, to prevent the water from running away. It isn’t enough just to make the soil damp – it has to be thoroughly wetted for the water to travel down to the roots – and only the root zone needs to be wetted. As a general guide, 24 litres per square metre every seven to ten days will be sufficient to maintain plant growth. It is better to give plants a good soaking than to water little and often. To help reduce the need for irrigation use a good thick mulch such as gravel, compost or bark to limit evaporation from the soil. Iford Manor, Iford, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire BA15 2BA. Tel: 01225 863146; ifordmanor. co.uk. Follow Troy on Instagram: @troyscottsmith1
August checklist Mow meadows, clip yew, and choose late-summer perennials Don’t forget
Keep on deadheading
container plants so displays of flowers keep coming. Harvest sweetcorn and other summer crops such as tomatoes as they ripen. Take cuttings of tender perennials such as salvias to increase stocks. It’s never too early to get hold of bulb catalogues to order the varieties you want for autumn planting.
Extend summer’s colour with late-flowering perennials
Mow meadow areas
SLOHCIN EVILC ;KCOTSRETTUHS ;CIBAM TREBOR/EKARD ELORAC/PAG ;REDNELLAC NULA SEGAMI
Without a doubt the late-season floral stars are the asters, and the brightest star in the firmament is Aster x frikartii ‘Mönch’ with its large, lavenderblue flowers that continue for months. Another plant I would not be without is Anemone x hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’, its silky white petals surrounding golden stamens. I like it for threading through planting schemes without looking like you are trying too hard. Equally hard to resist are the sedums, or hylotelephium. On the Great Terrace at Iford I grow ‘Purple Emperor’; from fleshy purple leaves and stems emerge wide, flat heads made up of myriad tiny flowers that persist until felled in spring.
Give yews their annual prune
Harold Peto used various evergreens to form the living architecture of the garden, including box, phillyrea and yew. Their weighty stillness provides the anchor point for more ephemeral garden elements. We cut the box and phillyrea twice a year, typically in June and September, but with yew we cut only once, right now in August. Any earlier then August and re-growth will occur, any later than October and the newly exposed tips will be prone to frost damage. A newly clipped hedge will inject a solidity and calmness to the scene – a sense of order in the otherwise lush late summer planting.
I leave Iford’s larger area of meadows for the farmer to manage, but it is down to us to cut the meadow in the orchard. A dry spell in August is the ideal time, but the right time for you is always when the last flower you want has set seed. Once cut, we turn the hay for a few days for it to dry. This lets insects go back down into the turf and allows seed to be shed. Afterwards we use a harrow to open up bare patches of soil so seeds can sow themselves and repopulate the meadow.
AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 13
Art for everyday
0344 980 8185 www.susiewatsondesigns.co.uk
SHOPPING
1
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Eastern Eats A selection of the best indoor
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and outdoor kit for delicious, Asian-inspired crops and meals 1. Original veggie bed, from £124.99. Tel: 0844 7364208; suttons.co.uk 2. Large mesh grow tunnel, from £24.99. Tel: 0345 5191599; christowhome.co.uk 3. Bamboo wok spatula, £5.50. asliceofgreen.co.uk 4. Sentei garden scissors, £29. Tel: 01747 445059; niwaki.com 5. Nippon blue serving bowl – wave, £16. Tel: 0800 5877645; amara.com 6. Red pak choi F1 seeds, £1.65. Tel: 01376 570000; kingsseeds.com 7. Nihon X50 Santoku knife, £26. Tel: 0330 1001010; procook.co.uk 8. Traditional wooden trug, from £29.99. Tel: 0114 233 8262; burgonandball.com 9. Nabe cast iron pot, from £42.80. Tel: 020 8089 9950; royaldesign.co.uk 10. Asian Green by Ching-He Huang, £18.60. uk.bookshop.org
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SHOPPING
1 2
3
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Play Child’s Let little ones make the most of
the great outdoors this summer, with special treats just for them
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1. Play house tent, £135. Tel: 0114 3217000; bobbyrabbit.co.uk 2. Solvej baby & toddler swing,
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£145.95. Tel: 01395 741674; whizzkids-toys.co.uk 3. Flower press kit, £19.50. Tel: 01694 751733; thedenkitco.com 4. Lift and Look: Flowers and Plants by Tracy Cottingham, £7.43. uk.bookshop. org 5. Burgon and Ball National Trust children’s bucket, £12. Tel: 0300 1232025; shop.nationaltrust. org.uk 6. TP hideaway wooden playhouse, £189.99. tptoys.com 7. Kent & Stowe kids hand fork, £5.99. Tel: 0131 5616 406; dobbies.com 8. Original den kit, £40. Tel: 01694 751733; thedenkitco.com 9. Kids wheelbarrow, £29.99. Tel: 0131 5616 406; dobbies.com 10. Nature Trail magnifying glass, £2.95. Tel: 020 8746 2473; rexlondon.com
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The Fast SHOW
At Portmore House in the Scottish Borders, summer comes quickly and all at once. While a dazzlingly colourful high-season spectacular is guaranteed, year-round interest results from thoughtful planning WORDS AGNES STEVENSON PHOTOGRAPHS RAY COX
This image Colourful
planting is offset by pleasing topiary balls. Opposite A double herbaceous border leads to a range of glasshouses built in 1898 by Mackenzie & Moncur.
AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 21
Above A perfectly symmetrical layout of garden rooms and borders leads through the garden to the glasshouse range. Right Spires of bright lupin ‘Masterpiece’ tone with the cerise flowers of Papaver somniferum ‘Lauren’s Grape’.
S
ummers in the Scottish Borders can be short. Frosts that persist until the end of May can return again in September, leaving only a small window for plants to flourish. Yet the long hours of daylight more than compensate for the low temperatures, encouraging fast and furious growth that can create an often dazzling display of colour. That’s precisely what happens at Portmore House, a handsome red sandstone mansion that sits four miles north of Peebles. Built in 1850, Portmore is positioned at the head of a small valley surrounded by mature trees that protect it from the winds that scour the hills of Upper Tweeddale. There has been a garden here since 1808, begun by landowner Colin Mackenzie long before he had thoughts of building a house. Today the Victorian gardens that once surrounded the house have disappeared, but in their place is an elegant pool, an intricate knot garden and a dramatic water garden that has been created by diverting one of the streams that comes tumbling down from the nearby hillside. But the heart of the garden lies within what was once the original kitchen garden where vegetables
22 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
The water garden, lushly planted with hostas, Asiatic primulas and irises, was created by diverting a stream.
AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 23
were raised to provide food for the house and estate. Vegetables are still grown here in a productive potager but this space is now part of a dazzling one-and-a-half acre formal garden of clipped hedges and crisp allées that in summer froth with lush foliage and vivid colour. The centrepiece is a double herbaceous border that stretches from the entrance gate to a sparkling range of glasshouses that was constructed in 1898 by the renowned Edinburgh firm of Mackenzie & Moncur and has been fully restored. A carefully choreographed display of regal and scented pelargoniums welcomes visitors to the central range, while the glasshouses that spread out on either side are filled with ripening grapes, espaliered cherries and standard fuchsias that head gardener Ken Kennedy has grown from cuttings. And tucked away at the back is a grotto, now restored to its former Victorian glory, with a trickling fountain and ferns growing in between the rocks. When David and Chrissie Reid bought Portmore in 1979, their first priority was the house. This had lain empty for many years and by the time they arrived to rescue it there was a tree growing through the central tower and the timbers were riddled with dry rot. Putting all this right took time and it wasn’t until 1987 that Chrissie was able to turn her attentions to the garden. This was overgrown with willow herb and brambles and the glasshouses were so close to collapse that demolition seemed to be the only option. Luckily, investigation revealed that, despite their dilapidated appearance, the timbers were still strong and so restoration got underway. Working out what to do with the rest of the space took time however, and Chrissie took the decision to lay the south-facing gentle slope down to grass while she thought how best to proceed. It was this considered approach that resulted in the classical grid of hedges that exists today, a layout that provides year-round structure and interest. Portmore is 900ft above sea level and the temperature here is frequently five degrees colder than in Edinburgh, which lies 20 miles to the north, so the planting list has been refined over the years to exclude anything unreliable. What remains is a palette of hardy favourites, mostly in shades of pink, blue and purple, that provide a profusion of harmonious colour throughout the three-month stretch from June to August when Portmore is open to the visiting public. It includes Geranium psilostemon, Echinops ritro ‘Veitch’s Blue’, lupin varieties ‘Masterpiece’ and ‘Thundercloud’ and Phlox paniculata ‘Blue Paradise’, which is grown not just for its colour but also for its beautiful scent. Dahlias are another important ingredient, adding height and rich, saturated colour that lasts well into autumn, and favourite varieties planted here include 24 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
Above A calm green allée is a counterpoint to the floriferous borders elsewhere in the garden. Right Thistly flowers of Eryngium alpinum are adored by bees. Below One arm of the glasshouse range is filled with regal pelargoniums and fuchsias, including standards propagated by Ken.
‘Karma Choc’ and Above Border plants Salvia verticillata ‘Purple Flame’. This far include ‘Purple Rain’ and north these exuberant delavayi Mexican natives would Thalictrum ‘Hewitt’s Double’ backed have little chance of by a clipped yew hedge. Left Rosa ‘Wild Edric’ surviving the winter under swags of clematis, outdoors so, to keep with obelisks rising from the show going from a sea of geraniums. year to year, the tubers are lifted after the first frosts and, using an air gun, every scrap of soil is removed. Once clean, they are covered with compost and placed in pots that spend the winter in Portmore’s old apple store before being moved into the glasshouses in early spring. They are only watered when the first shoots start to appear. Planting out begins in early June but some pots remain under glass and are dropped into the borders to fill gaps that appear as the season progresses. From tiny 20cm Viola ‘Belmont Blue’ to Thalictrum ‘Elin’, which can reach 3m in height, the borders fill out quickly and spectacularly in early summer, smothering the framework of hedges and straight lines with a profusion of flowers and foliage. AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 25
‘There is no start or finish to the creation of a garden, it’s a process, an emotive one.’
www.jamesonstamp.co.uk
Lou – 07767888431 | Jez – 07798562884 | gardens@jamesonstamp.co.uk
Setting THE TONE
Perennials and shrubs that tie in with Portmore’s pink and purple colour scheme
PHLOX ‘BLUE PARADISE’
Upright stems bear clusters of scented mauve flowers, perfect for sun or light shade.
ROSA ‘WILD EDRIC’ Sumptuous clove-scented flowers in a rich shade of carmine pink are produced on this rose from June.
LILIUM ‘BLACK MAMBA’
Dark crimson-black flowers contrast with orange anthers on this Asiatic lily variety.
GERANIUM PSILOSTEMON
Let this vibrant magenta geranium carpet the ground with its lax, scrambling habit.
ASTRANTIA MAJOR ‘SHAGGY’
Green-tipped bracts surround the white inner flowers of this lovely cultivar.
SANGUISORBA OBTUSA
Fluffy pink summer flowers arch elegantly from a mound of feathery pinnate leaves.
Above Next to the house Each ‘room’ of the a knot garden has an garden has its own armillary sphere at its theme and in one of any box plants them, Rosa ‘Wild Edric’ centre; with blight resistance are being propagated. flourishes beneath Clematis viticella ‘Madame Julia Correvon’ and ‘Polish Spirit’, which clamber along heavy swags. The secret behind the exuberant growth of these and of everything that thrives at Portmore lies in the soil. Not only has this been constantly cultivated for more than 200 years, but it is also treated to frequent and heavy applications of spent mushroom compost. “We even use it around the rhododendrons and azaleas with no ill-effect, probably because the soil here is so acidic,” Ken Kennedy explains. The mulch is then kept in place by the low hedges that line the garden’s borders. Originally the hedges were grown from box, but the arrival of box blight meant that a more robust alternative had to be found and so many of them are now formed from sarcococca instead. “We do have some areas of blight-resistant box, however, and we now propagate new hedges from these, but the sarcococca has worked very well for us,” says Ken. To keep the garden looking its best all year round, the hedges, topiary balls and clipped hollies are trimmed three times a year, while recently Chrissie has been experimenting by using colour on the wooden obelisks and pergolas that add height to the borders. Even the fruit cages, which were made by a AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 27
local blacksmith, have been painted and the Chinese red of their pagoda-style tops now stands out in bright contrast to the garden’s high walls. Papaver somniferum ‘Lauren’s Grape’, introduced many years ago from a packet of seed, reappears every year, its carmine flowers welcomed wherever they appear, but in some places the colour has been dialled back and impact is achieved by mass planting of Alchemilla mollis. It is a simple but highly effective way of interspersing the bright shades of the herbaceous borders with areas of quieter colour. Green is also used to great effect in the formal knot garden next to the house and in the area around the pool, where classical statues of Flora stand amid grass that in summer is allowed to remain unmown, to the benefit of wildflowers and the insects that feed upon them. It may seem relaxed, but like everything else at Portmore the effect is achieved only through careful planning and close attention to detail. Maintaining the garden here to its exceptional standard requires the work of three full-time gardeners and a groundsman, but additional help comes two days a week from current WRAG (Work and Retrain as a Gardener) student Anna Pospelova. Anna is the 11th student from the scheme, run by the Women’s Farm and Garden Association, to have learnt her trade at Portmore. “I worked in the oil and gas industry before switching to horticulture,” she explains. “I was offshore for much of the time and 28 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
Top Decorative bay pyramids and orange marigolds enhance Portmore’s well-tended vegetable garden. Above The fruit cages lining the walls were made by a local blacksmith.
on the ship I didn’t even have a window, so I really craved the chance to work outdoors. Portmore is so beautiful that working here is good for the soul.” Chrissie is a strong supporter of the scheme: “We have seen so many of the students go on to develop careers in horticulture, it really is wonderful.” ■ Portmore House, Eddleston, Peebles EH45 8QU. Opens by appointment, from 1 June to 31 August, and on Wednesday afternoons from 1 July until 31 August for Scotland’s Gardens Scheme. Tel: 07825 294388; portmoregardens.co.uk
PROMOTION
ONE OF A KIND An artisanal Italian wood-fired oven, custom-built by Orchard Ovens to seamlessly fit your garden and its style, will enhance your outdoor cooking and entertaining all year round
L
ittle beats the flavour of wood-fired cooking, from a classic pizza ready in moments to a succulent joint allowed to slowly roast until it’s tender and delicious, a loaf of bread, or even steaks, fish and kebabs mouth-wateringly griddled on a Tuscan Grill inside. Woodfired ovens are so versatile they will quickly become the heart of your garden, enjoyed all year round. As a centrepiece for outdoor entertaining, they’ll transform the way you use your garden. Whether you’re simply taking time to relax, socialising with friends or making memories with your family, delicious food will always be on hand. Based in Lancashire, Orchard Ovens supplies Valoriani artisan-built wood-fired ovens from Italy. General manager David Millett was an Orchard Ovens customer before he joined the company, so when he sings these ovens’ praises, it’s from first-hand experience. “I’ve used mine for Italian-inspired porchetta, garlic and rosemary roast potatoes, and I’ve even cooked Christmas dinner in it,” he says. “Our motto is ‘from our family to yours’.
Clockwise from top left A brick dome
is one of Orchard Ovens’ most popular options – they can be made to any size; a discreet design set into a stone wall; a rendered oven, with a base designed for storage; ovens can be built with a roof.
We all have wood-fired ovens in our gardens, and our families have all grown up and been entertained around them.” So that your oven is exactly right for your space, Orchard Ovens offers a custom installation service. Customers can create bespoke ovens that seamlessly fit in with their gardens and transform their outdoor entertaining. These custombuilt ovens can be created in multiple styles. “Once you’ve chosen the basic outline, we’ll develop the design until it is exactly what you had in mind for your
space,” explains David. Choose between an oven within a traditional brick dome or one that’s rendered smooth. They can come with a roof, be built discreetly so just the oven door is visible in a fascia wall, or they can form the centrepiece of a fully equipped outdoor kitchen. Every single aspect can be customised, from the style of the chimney to the worksurfaces around it and the design of the base. In fact, the possibilities for your bespoke oven are as limitless as the food you’ll cook in it. Orchard Ovens, tel: 01772 250000; orchardovens.co.uk AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 29
elfulfillin PROPHECY When the Fortescues named their Devonshire home The Garden House in the 1940s, they knew they could create a garden to earn the name, and their idyllic vision of formal and naturalistic planting is now being shaped by head gardener Nick Haworth WORDS EMMA INGLIS PHOTOGRAPHS MARK BOLTON
As the garden slopes away from the house, hedges carve it into wide swathes of lawn and colourful planting.
AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 31
T
ucked down a lane in deepest Devon, between Dartmoor and the River Tamar, is what one expert described as “possibly the most breathtaking garden in the country”. An idyllic mix of naturalistic planting and more formal areas, The Garden House is home to more than 6,000 plant varieties from around the world, many of them brought back from far-flung places by the passionate gardeners who have left their individual marks on the garden like fingerprints in time. The Garden House was the creation of Lionel and Katherine Fortescue, who moved into a former Georgian vicarage in Buckland Monachorum in the 1940s. Soon after moving in, Lionel gave the building its present name at his wife’s suggestion. He later said: “Naming it The Garden House seemed premature before the ten-acre garden was planted, but my wife was right, for The Garden House earned its name.” Lionel, a former master at Eton, and Katherine spent some 40 years developing the grounds around the ruins of a 16th-century rectory, with the help of a succession of head gardeners. After their deaths in the 1980s, the house and garden were bequeathed to the Fortescue Garden Trust, a registered charity that the couple established in 1961. The current head gardener is Nick Haworth, who has been responsible for the garden since 2013. A Fine Art graduate who undertook his horticultural training with the National Trust, his career has taken him to some of Britain’s most famous historic gardens, including Killerton, Saltram, Kew and Greenway. At The Garden House, Nick had big shoes to fill. In 1978, Fortescue had selected Keith Wiley to be his successor. Wiley greatly expanded the garden, drawing inspiration from a series of natural landscapes – from the flower-filled meadows of South Africa to the rocky mountainsides of Crete – pioneering an informal, naturalistic style of planting that made the place famous. Next came Matt Bishop, who established one of the most diverse collections of named and naturalised snowdrops in the UK. Nick cares for and respects the legacies of his predecessors while ensuring that The Garden House remains a crucible of new ideas and new plants. “A garden should be in a constant state of revolution,” he insists, “never staying the same.” To that end, he propagates from Top Delicate scented the exceptional plant of Actaea simplex collection, tracks down wands ‘Black Negligee’. new plants that will Middle Rudbeckia prosper, and plants laciniata ‘Herbstsonne’. Bottom A picturesque endlessly, to achieve barn was once maximum flower power thatched the kitchen of the and larger drifts and original building on the denser groundcover site of Buckland Abbey. 32 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
throughout the year. He likens it to “painting an impressionist landscape with plants”. There are several different areas of the garden, each with their own style. Demanding the visitor’s attention on the west side of the house is the summer garden planted in the New Perennial style, epitomised by swathes of grasses and drifts of colourful perennials. Cascades of burnt orange heleniums, fluffy pink Sanguisorba obtusa, and arresting spikes of Eryngium x zabelii ‘Big Blue’, give clouds of colour to feathery sweeps of grasses such as molinia, miscanthus and Chionochloa rubra. From here, a meandering path leads towards the cottage garden where a mixture of native wildflowers, including campion, leucanthemum and thalictrum, combine with traditional cottage garden plants like geraniums, sidalcea and verbena, to create a tapestry of summer hues. Underlining all this colour are the sensual contours of the land, the
Above Bold perennials, including Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Taurus’, throng around the atmospheric remains of the original rectory.
sightlines leading the eye strategically out towards Buckland church and the hills beyond it. The naturalistic planting continues into the quarry garden where ferns and grasses, including hakonechloa and stipa, provide soft texture and act as a lovely contrast to the crimson blaze of Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Golden Arrow’. Alongside, drifts of Phlox subulata and Geranium sanguineum tumble over rocks to reach a small stream below. Further into the garden, a multi-stemmed group of coppery-pink Betula ermanii ‘Grayswood Hill’ cast patterns of light and shade as the sun shines through their branches, spotlighting low-growing underplanting like a moving kaleidoscope. “This is one of my favourite parts of the garden,” reveals Nick, who enjoys the challenges of woodland understorey planting. He has found good companions to the birch to be purple mitsuba (Cryptotaenia japonica var. atropurpurea), Carex AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 33
Practically PERFECT
A vast array of choice perennials and shrubs makes The Garden House a must for plant lovers
DAHLIA ‘SUNNY BOY’
Keep deadheading to ensure this soft orange ball dahlia produces a continuous supply of its large blooms.
THALICTRUM DELAVAYI
Airy sprays of lilac flowers hover 1.2m above a border. Grow it in moist, humusrich soil and full sun or light shade.
DAHLIA COCCINEA VAR. PALMERI
This vivid dahlia grows to 1.8m tall, held above a froth of finely divided foliage.
DAHLIA ‘BISHOP OF LLANDAFF’
GERANIUM ‘ROZANNE’
SEDUM ‘RED CAULI’
The stalwart dahlia variety for scarlet flowers that contrast with purple foliage.
Let this hardy geranium’s lax stems scramble among border plants to fill gaps with its violet-blue flowers.
EUCRYPHIA ‘NYMANSAY’
RUDBECKIA ‘GOLDSTURM’
ANEMONE ‘PAMINA’
A lovely evergreen tree or large shrub that bears white fragrant flowers in August amid superbly glossy foliage. 34 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
Never failing to provide a hit of intense sunshine yellow in a border, this is ideal for creating contrast with other colours.
Purple-flushed fleshy leaves are topped by heads of intense crimson flowers, that are much loved by butterflies.
This Japanese anemone bears deep pink semi-double flowers throughout July and August that are held on 75cm tall stems.
There are so many delightful aspects to The Garden House: the Magic Circle created from unwanted granite gateposts (not the prehistoric monument one first supposes); an acer glade with hints of the fiery autumn display yet to come; a wildflower meadow; a row of majestic lime trees, planted by Reverend Amos Crymes in the 17th century; a two-acre arboretum surrounding a wildlife pond edged in kingcups, rushes and flag irises; Keith Wiley’s architectural Ovals, with its walled beds and swooping geometry; and the Tennis Court Lawn, in summer ablaze with stately ligularias, campanulas, irises, hostas and some strikingly structural euphorbias. The visitor may arrive unexpectedly in any one of them. But it is the Walled Garden, planted by Lionel Fortescue in the 1940s, that remains the heartbeat of the site. Not only is this part of the garden home ‘Ice Dance’, Deinanthe bifida x caerulea and Actaea Top left Ancient-looking to a 52m long double herbaceous border packed to standing stones are bursting with all sorts of lovelies – dahlias, phlox, simplex ‘Black Negligee’. actually old granite Elsewhere in the garden, one of Nick’s favourite hebes, heleniums, canna, persicaria, hydrangeas and gateposts, but create plants, a superb Hydrangea paniculata, blooms potentillas – and more formal lawns and hedges, a magical atmosphere but it is also home to romantic ruins that include an like an enormous piece of avant-garde artwork: its nonetheless. Top right Hydrangea enchanting stone tower. massive panicles of starry flowers in a lovely shade paniculata is covered The impression at The Garden House is one of of rose-tinged white put on a spectacular show with blush-white blooms effortless abundance, each colour-themed ‘room’ across its expansive framework of branches. at the back of a border. “This is a hydrangea that can’t be pruned incorrectly Above Exuberant dahlias, crammed with growth and gorgeousness. Everything cannas and grasses. appears natural and easy, but the reality is that because it flowers on new wood,” explains Nick. this spectacular summer display is achieved only Does he have any other favourites? “I will always through disciplined and ruthless editing. “Most of have room for another geranium, thalictrum or our projects are driven by overcrowding,” reveals persicaria,” he confesses. AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 35
Nick, who is never afraid to rip out plants if they’ve become ugly or thuggish. “Over time plants pack up and need replacing, hedges fail to prosper, and shrubberies need thinning out. We recently removed a lot of old and scruffy rhododendrons and replanted them with herbaceous schemes.” It takes a firm hand to keep the garden looking this good – and a lot of maintenance. A volunteer army help with weeding – “bittercress is always lurking” notes Nick – mulching, mowing, planting and pruning. By August, the garden is particularly thrilling, with colour in abundance, depth of shade, bloom in profusion and butterflies everywhere. Surely Lionel Fortescue must be smiling, up in heaven? “I think he’d be pleased that we still try to source better cultivars and new introductions,” says Nick. “And he’d appreciate that we train two horticultural students each year. He might not like our use of wildflowers or the fact that we now have more meadow as opposed to grazed land. And I’m not sure how he’d feel about our tolerance for wilder weedier areas on the edges of the garden for wildlife. But, yes, overall I’d hope he’d be smiling!” ■ The Garden House, Buckland Monachorum, Yelverton, Devon PL20 7LQ. Usually opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10.30am to 5pm, and on bank holiday Mondays, but check the website for updates. Tel: 01822 854769; thegardenhouse.org.uk 36 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
Above Sweeps of golden grasses are the stars of the New Perennial-style summer garden. Right Ligularia przewalskii ‘The Rocket’. Below Tangerinecoloured heleniums bring strong colour from mid-July onwards.
GAZE BURVILL www.gazeburvill.com
Now is a wonderful time to visit Fullers Mill, with its wonderful collection of woodland and Mediterranean plants in full bloom. The garden sits on the banks of the River Lark and Culford Stream with its own millpond and is often described as a beautiful and tranquil oasis. There is a cafe, gift shop and plant nursery to enjoy. Pre-booking is currently required.
West Stow IP28 6HD | fullersmill.org.uk | 01284 334 396 © Clive Nichols
Art In Motion
Bella Hoare has turned her artist’s eye to her immersive garden at Gasper Cottage in Wiltshire, creating a living, breathing canvas where movement and exceptional colour combinations are order of the day WORDS VIVIENNE HAMBLY PHOTOGRAPHS HEATHER EDWARDS
Beyond swathes of achillea and salvia (and her husband’s miniature train track), Bella Hoare’s garden takes in a view of the Stourhead estate. AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 39
B
y midsummer, Bella Hoare’s perennial planting at Gasper Cottage in Wiltshire is in full swing. Lilac Verbena bonariensis drips dew at dawn, Echinops ritro ‘Veitch’s Blue’ transfixes with the intensity of its steely hue and spiky form, and Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Firedance’ offers carmine batons to those who will look. This is a garden for colour. Bella is a partner at C. Hoare & Co, the private, family-owned bank, and she is a descendant of Henry Hoare, who built up nearby Stourhead, the erstwhile family seat now owned by the National Trust. At home, however, she is painter and gardener foremost, and these twinned occupations feed into one another. She paints in oils mainly – colourful, semi-abstracted forms that are taken from life drawing classes. In her gardening, views of the Stourhead estate combine with a mixture of pragmatism, wit and a persuasion towards Oudolf-style planting. Both her painting and gardening are experimental, and layers of texture and structure culminate in distinctive forms. “I love putting colours together. The right pink with the right yellow will look fabulous. The wrong pink with the wrong yellow… well, one of them will have to be ripped up,” she maintains. “Sometimes you can’t tell how a planting combination will look until it grows. Occasionally you think, ‘I know that’s beautiful and it’s just grown but I’m going to have to dig it up because I can’t stand it.’” Gasper Cottage sits on the part of the estate that remained in the family when Stourhead was given to the National Trust in 1946. Stourhead’s Palladian architecture and treasures amassed since the 1700s are a world away from this thatched country home that Bella refurbished during a posting in Moscow 21 years ago. Although the property had been lived in, little had been done to it for 50 years, and it needed complete renovation. Bella communicated with her project manager by fax. “I haven’t gone very far,” she notes. “I was brought up just down the road at Gasper Mill and we’ve been here for generations.” From the cottage there is a view of a rounded hill covered in trees, which can also be seen from Stourhead, 180º in the opposite direction and 1.5 miles away. “I am incredibly fond of Stourhead and I go there regularly, but I can live here and kind of ignore that there are 200,000 visitors just over there. I can look onto a lovely estate without it being my problem,” she adds. When Bella, her first husband and son moved into Gasper Cottage in 2000, all she wanted was to have a low-maintenance garden in which her child could play. There were a few bits of bed here and there “pressed against the outside perimeter of the garden”, but very little else in the 1.5 acre plot. “I didn’t know about gardening and I wasn’t at all interested in gardening,” she recalls.
40 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
The greenhouse is set into soft swathes of grasses and perennials that include achillea, pennisetum, persicaria and Verbena bonariensis. AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 41
In time she discovered dahlias, and their bright colours and varied forms provided an entry point to the pastime she now enjoys so much. “I got more and more into things and learnt by visiting and reading a lot,” says Bella, who tends to do most of her reading in winter when the garden is quiet. There was also assistance from her mother and sister-in-law and, later, her friend Sacha Langton-Gilks. Bella had already “started moving things around”, but Sacha helped her work out a more interesting design for the garden, increasing the planting close to the house where it could be better enjoyed. The garden has broad views of wooded hills and pastures across the Wiltshire border to Dorset and Somerset. Structure and a sense of moving from space to space was required, but a garden of rooms, as at Hidcote, was ruled out because of the outlook. Instead, Bella and Sacha planted yew hedges to interrupt the expanse and break the easterly winds. Sissinghurst provided the motivation for the orchard, where dog roses grow among the apple trees and
Clockwise from top left
The Georgian extension and smart lawn; Bella Hoare; Echinops ritro ‘Veitch’s Blue’; the gate and trees were made at Jack’s Bush Forge (jacksbushforge.co.uk). Opposite top In the Secret Garden, Stachys byzantina, a young Acer rubrum ‘Columnare’ and persicaria and knautia. Opposite bottom
Perennials in the Oudolfery include Achillea ‘Lilac Beauty’, Veronicastrum ‘Album’ and Persicaria ‘Firedance’.
paths are mown through the grass. “And who isn’t inspired by Great Dixter, frankly,” Bella remarks of the garden renowned for its inventive planting. Stourhead notwithstanding, this secluded patch, not far from Bruton, is becoming well-known for its distinctive gardens so there has been plenty of local inspiration. Although Bella isn’t mad about Piet Oudolf’s design at nearby Hauser & Wirth – “For me the block planting is very unsubtle. Am I allowed to criticise the gods of gardening? It seems awful!” – it is his use of matrix planting, of layering for texture and seasonality, that is key at Gasper Cottage. In fact, Bella has what she calls the Oudolfery. It began with an O-gauge garden steam train belonging to her second husband, Johnnie Gallop – but it needed a track. “There was a bit down at the bottom of the garden that I thought we could use for it, but the problem was I would be able to see it. Then I thought, ‘Ah! I have a plan. I shall hide it.’” And so was born the Oudolfery, where expansive planting would cover the quite large area AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 43
Above A textured mass of Echinacea ‘White Swan’, Cosmos ‘Purity’ Verbena bonariensis, perovskia and grasses. Right The orchard takes its cue from Sissinghurst and Bella has plans for the meadow here. Below Dainty Clematis ‘Queen Mother’ grows in the more traditional beds closer to the house.
with relative ease. There are larger perennials and grasses here, including New Perennial classics like Sesleria autumnalis, Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’, Stipa gigantea and Veronicastrum virginicum ‘Album’. Stipa tenuissima was trialled, but struggled with wet winters: S. elegantissima settled in better. Yet Bella admits she seldom follows anyone’s guidance exactly. Although this patch is technically a field, there are plenty of fruit-bearing shrubs here, too – not least elders, quinces and roses for hips. “To the ignorant eye it’s all completely natural, but we know how much work goes into something that’s ‘natural’.” The arrangement has been so successful that the railway received an additional loop during the lockdowns of 2020. Closer to the house the planting is more intensive. Outside Bella’s studio is a space known as the Secret Garden. It has a round, brick-edged pond and the beds are planted in a more traditional herbaceous style, but colour remains critical: there are purples, pinks and silvers here. Kew-trained gardener Jack Clutterbuck is working on succession planting in this patch, helping Bella elevate the existing beds of dahlias and salvias, which are dug up and overwintered in a former privy. “The salvias give a pop of colour late in the season without compromising the early part of the year when I have
44 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
Perennial BEAUTY
Colourful blooms that add highlights to the textured planting at Gasper Cottage
PERSICARIA ‘FIREDANCE’ lots of other things in there,” Bella explains. Being at home more over the past year has inevitably inspired new projects. Bella awoke one morning and realised that for a person to fully participate in the garden, as opposed to viewing it as one might a picture, a lawn needed to be pulled up and replanted with paths. “I incorporated many more paths into the structure. It is a classic garden, but I put in some Verbena bonariensis, which has now self-sown along the paths – you have to push past it. In the early morning you get soaked, but it’s drier later in the day,” she observes. More recently a second patch of lawn has been lifted, significantly reducing the task of mowing it, which has fallen to local contractor Gary Hunt over the past 21 years. In the Sissinghurst-inspired orchard, there are plans to develop a larger, better natural pond, the original having been constructed “without engaging our brains”. The intention is to expand the range of habitat with varying water depths and better shrubs and marginal planting. “Visually, it will be more in proportion with the size of the orchard, particularly in winter when the grass is cut short and it looks as if it has landed from space,” Bella elaborates. A meadow here is also on the cards, but instead of removing topsoil to diminish soil quality and reduce grass competition, Bella has characteristically made her own plan: “We’re trying to find plants that are ‘good doers’, like miscanthus and molinia, which can be planted straight into the grass. I won’t know for a few years if they are winning the battle.” A square pergola was also replaced with a larger, rectangular form. This is planted with Rosa Above The former privy is now used to house overwintering dahlias. Nepeta brims from pots lined in front of the door next to bushy rosemary.
Clump-forming perennial with carmine-coloured batons produced until early autumn.
ASTER X FRIKARTII ‘MÖNCH’ Stalwart of the late-summer and autumn garden. This perennial grows to 90cm tall.
SALVIA ‘MAINACHT’ ECHINACEA PURPUREA Similar to S. ‘Caradonna’ with reliable, indigo-coloured flowers in midsummer. Grow it in sun or dappled shade.
Popular in New Perennial planting schemes and beloved by pollinators.
VERBENA BONARIENSIS
KNAUTIA MACEDONIACA
Tall, branched stems offer flowers until autumn. Needs shelter and sun.
Crimson flowers appear from July to September on this pollinator-friendly perennial. AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 45
banksiae ‘Lutea’ and R. banksiae alba, Vitis coignetiae and annual climbers like the cup and saucer vine, Cobaea scandens. Through it runs the colour that Bella so enjoys. “I love putting colours together. I’ve got some irises that are a deep bishop’s purple with an orange throat, and across them is a smattering of mauve that is just the colour of the Hesperis matronalis. The combination is lovely. I’ve now planted an area that is orange and purple – the orange makes the purple look more purple and the purple makes the orange look more orange.” It is an idea that would appeal as much to Gertrude Jekyll as to colour theorist Josef Albers. ■ Above Dreamy Achillea
‘Lilac Beauty’ with Aster x frikartii ‘Mönch’. Top right The orchard pond is to be improved with marginal planting. Above right Near the house, a hot bed with Helenium ‘Moerheim Beauty’ and Dahlia ‘Bishop of Llandaff’.
Gasper Cottage, Gasper Street, Gasper Stourton, Warminster, Wiltshire BA12 6PY. Opens for the NGS on 15 August, 11am to 5pm, and to groups of up to 20 by arrangement from June to September. Visit ngs.org.uk or email bella.hoare@icloud.com 46 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
Garden PHILOSOPHY
Bella’s sound advice on the combination of planning and acceptance that is key to success Write down what you’ve planted because you won’t remember! Right from the start I kept a notebook of what I was planting and where. Now it’s invaluable – not least for teaching me humility. I’ve got a list of all the plants that have died, all the plans that have failed, and all the things I’ve failed to do. The list of things I’ve planted that have died is enormous. It’s very good for your sense of control to remember that you’re not always in control. Think about the structure of the garden from the start. I didn’t for ages and now I’m always thinking
I need more structure. I’ve wasted 20 years of good growing – if you plant shrubs and trees they will grow faster than you think. Gardening is an art form. Nearly all art forms in my opinion are a balance of chaos and control. You plan and plan and try to control everything. Then you have happy accidents when nature does what nature does. You have to enjoy it. If you seek to control everything, you’ll be miserable. Equally, if you don’t have a plan you’ll have chaos. Gardening is the balancing act between seeking control and accepting chaos.
Practical Instant Hedge™ Good luck at Hampton Court to Tracy Foster for Message in a Bottle Garden and Amelia Bouquet’s The Communication Garden
Practical Instant Hedge™ is pre-grown in 1m troughs at our nursery in Buckinghamshire, which means it is easy to handle and it can be planted all year round without “transplant” shock. This quality, mature hedging provides screening, privacy, security and shelter from pollutants and noise.
It is available in evergreen and deciduous, so plenty of options for all gardens. Call our Horticultural team for a quote on 01753 652022 or explore our website www.pracbrown.co.uk/instant-hedges-trees/the-english-garden/
Swan Road Iver Bucks SL0 9LA hedge@pracbrown.co.uk
BuildingOn
THE PAST
At Alderwood in Kent, interior designer Helen Pink and garden designer Bonnie Lamont have skilfully layered colour and form over the visible bones of the 14 acres of formal garden and grounds that once formed part of the Redleaf estate WORDS ANNETTE WARREN PHOTOGRAPHS CLIVE NICHOLS
This image Geranium
‘Rozanne’, Salvia patens, Diascia ‘Ruby Field’ and Penstemon ‘Andenken an Friedrich Hahn’ tone with the red brick walls. Opposite White blooms of Hydrangea ‘Annabelle’.
AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 49
A
If the previous occupants were to visit the gardens s an interior designer, Helen Pink today, they would surely be pleased to see that the is adept at helping clients choose schemes to complement their lifestyle. bones of their designs still exist. The outline of the glasshouses in the walled garden are still visible But when Helen and husband Jon and although the estate was broken up in the 20th moved to Alderwood House near century, parts of the original gardens laid out Penshurst in Kent in 2014, she sought landscape inspiration and advice from award-winning garden by Wells remain intact – including the pond and rockery. “We have cleared some of the trees and designer Bonnie Lamont. “Bonnie and I met when weeds around the lake and have planted a number of we were both expecting our youngest children in cornus, which will provide a red-coloured contrast 2007. She had already helped me with some design ideas for my previous garden and I instantly felt that to the water and greenery,” Helen explains. “The south-facing rockery has been extensively replanted she understood my vision,” Helen recalls. with plants that don’t require much water, but we When Helen and Jon arrived at the house it was literally a building site, having been rebuilt in 2011 still have work to do.” The sloping drive sweeps down past the handsome but left unfinished. Although the basic layout of the garden was there, the ground was full of rubble neo-classical house and two ancient blue cedar trees. “We have since discovered that these trees were and building waste. “We could see the potential of already 15ft tall in the mid-1800s!” Helen exclaims. the grounds, which resembled parkland, but sadly Since they grow on acidic soil, rhododendrons nothing was left growing in the walled gardens or and camellias also thrive here, and some of them immediately around the house,” says Helen. Alderwood’s 14 acres of restored formal gardens, probably date from a similar period. On entering the walled garden, you are greeted woodland and walled garden originally formed part of the Redleaf estate, owned in the early 1800s by a glorious bank of wildflower meadow. “Bonnie felt that the poor soil in this area of the garden by William Wells, a former trustee of the National would lend itself to Gallery. Redleaf’s extensive wildflowers,” Helen recalls. gardens were the subject The wildflower mixture of a feature in 1839 by J C from John Chambers Loudon in his publication, Wildflowers was chosen The Gardener’s Magazine, to suit the soil type and the first periodical devoted includes Ammi majus to horticulture. (Queen Anne’s Lace), The Redleaf estate Coreopsis tinctoria later fell into the hands (dyer’s tickseed) and of F. C. Hills, founder of blue cornflowers. “The West Ham football club tapestry-like meadow and early president of is a real focal point the London Vegetarian when viewed from the Society. Hills was entertaining terrace above. responsible for the The flowers have seeded impressive two-acre walled and germinated in the vegetable garden and three years since it was steam-heated glasshouses sown,” she says. where he pioneered the The herbaceous borders growing of exotic fruits, within the walled garden assisted by a team of have been planted to gardeners. Visitors to the complement the warm garden are believed to red tones of the Victorian have included Mahatma brickwork. Jewel-like Gandhi, fellow board splashes of colour spill member of the London over gravel paths, with Vegetarian Society and a repeating patterns of friend of Hills, with whom opulent ruby Penstemon he shared a love of football Above A charming posy ‘Sour Grapes’ and wineand vegetarianism. “We of garden flowers: red P. ‘Andenken an Friedrich Hahn’ can’t prove it, but we would like to Gaillardia ‘Burgundy’; think that Gandhi visited regularly Verbena bonariensis and along with deep purple Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’, which is to see the glasshouses,” says Helen curry plant Helichrysum angustifolium. threaded through the borders. A with a smile.
“We can’t prove it, but we would like to think that Gandhi visited to see the glasshouses”
50 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
The wildflower meadow mix features Ammi majus and Coreopsis tinctoria, creating a textured tapestry as you enter the walled garden. AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 51
Chusan palm Trachycarpus fortunei towers above a colourful mix of Penstemon ‘Sour Grapes’, Diascia barbarae ‘Apricot Queen’, Verbena rigida and Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’.
52 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
pleasing balance of silvery Atriplex halimus and lavender lightens the planting, which is daubed with the orange sorbet splodges of Diascia barberae ‘Apricot Queen’. Bonnie’s planting scheme extends from mid-June through to autumn, with later flowering mauve Monarda ‘Scorpion’, luscious chocolatey-red Dahlia ‘Arabian Night’ and pink D. ‘Gerrie Hoek’ as well as fiery Helenium ‘Moerheim Beauty’. “The walled garden is very sheltered and gets plenty of sun. On warm days you can often feel the heat radiating from the walls and, because of this, we have been able to plant a wide variety of fruit trees here, including apricots, nectarines and peaches as well as the usual apples and every type of berry,” Helen reports. At the top end of the walled garden and set within its own brick walls is the immaculate formal kitchen garden. Here, an ancient gnarled olive tree takes centre stage, surrounded by lavender borders and carpets of thyme with splashes of bright
Top The kitchen garden’s gnarled old olive tree is surrounded by lavender, marigolds and runner bean arches. Above Fuchsia ‘Thalia’ and pelargoniums. Right Petunias spill from a stone container, with Cosmos ‘Cupcakes’ and Eryngium pandanifolium in the border behind. AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 53
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Flower POWER
Meadow classics and border delights add charming form and colour at Alderwood
CENTAUREA CYANUS
Annual cornflowers are a classic meadow component or can be sown in a border.
AMMI MAJUS
Clouds of airy white flowers appear on an annual that’s equally good in a meadow or border as it is cut for a vase.
COREOPSIS TINCTORIA
With its varying red splodges, this sunny meadow or border annual is a real eye-catcher.
CHRYSANTHEMUM SEGETUM
Dainty golden corn marigolds are another valuable addition to an annual meadow mix.
orange pot marigolds, Calendula officinalis. A greenhouse and fruit cage remind you that this is a productive kitchen garden and as well as a recently planted collection of apple trees, raised beds are crammed with edibles. “Our vegetable expert Nicki keeps us in produce for most of the year and we use the greenhouse to propagate. We have an endless supply of kale, cavalo nero, sprouts, parsnips, leeks and carrots throughout the winter and, of course, abundant salad greens during the summer months,” says Helen. For larger garden projects, Nicki is assisted by Sebastion, who works tirelessly in the other areas of the garden. The garden suffers few pests. “We keep the use of chemicals to a minimum and actively encourage ladybirds to eat the whitefly among the cabbages. We seem to have a perpetual rabbit problem – luckily the secure walled garden keeps them out and elsewhere we have tried to plant things they don’t Below A living gazebo
has been created from trained Sorbus aria; Achillea ‘Apple Blossom’, and Echinacea ‘Magnus’ feature in the border.
“We have a perpetual rabbit problem – luckily the secure walled garden keeps them out”
COSMOS ‘CUPCAKES’
Unusual fused petals give this cosmos its saucer-like shape. Sow its seed in mid-spring.
ROMNEYA COULTERI
The shrubby tree poppy has grey-green leaves and papery flowers from midsummer. AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 55
eat, such as peonies, lavender and foxgloves.” Water conservation is important here too. “We decided early on to install a giant rainwater harvesting tank – it’s so big it had to be craned into the garden,” Helen remarks. To one side of the walled garden, steps lead to a raised terrace with gravel paths and a table, positioned beneath a rose-draped pergola. “We specifically wanted a large entertaining area for guests and family, with room for a long table and an outdoor kitchen,” says Helen. Beyond the terrace, neat box hedging overlooks the contrasting natural feel of the wildflower meadow and living gazebo of trained Sorbus aria (common whitebeam). A steep slope beside the house was terraced to create a sunken garden with pond and water feature. Here, Bonnie’s planting scheme, chosen to complement the golden stonework of the house, includes perennials in yellows, creams, greens and blues. “This was one of the first areas we tackled. It frames the back of the house and has an almost Italian feel,” notes Helen. “Because it faces southwest, it has become one of our favourite places to sit in the evening to view the spectacular sunsets.” ■ Above Neatly clipped box surrounds the walled garden terrace planting, some of which fills a Turkish copper pot. Right The long dining table in the garden’s large entertaining area.
Alderwood House, Penshurst Road, Penshurst, Kent TN11 8HY. Usually opens for the National Garden Scheme. See ngs.org.uk for details. 56 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
Practical ADVICE
Summer gardening tips from Alderwood House If you have a wildflower meadow, it will need to be cut down from mid-summer onwards. If you want a certain type of flower to selfseed, wait until their seeds have ripened before cutting back. When starting a new border, don’t skimp on soil preparation. Dig in plenty of organic matter,
which will help with water retention and soil aeration. With flexible climbers and rambling roses, you can bend and tie in the stems to make a living, flowering structure of your own design. Bending the stems towards the horizontal will help to encourage flowering.
SECRETS OF SUCCESS
With its firm structure and confident planting, the garden at Mulberry House is wonderfully at home in its Wye Valley setting, despite its relative youth
S
WORDS DAVID HURRION PHOTOGRAPHS SARAH CUTTLE
ome of the best gardens are those that appear to sit comfortably in their surroundings without dominating them, seeming as if they have always been there. And where the scale and proportion of the planting also looks effortless and natural, then it can be considered a true success – although that may take years to achieve. But at Mulberry House, success has come already. Its owners, Tina and Adrian Barber, arrived in 2006 with a van full of plants and the vision to create a tranquil haven at the heart of a village close to a bend in the River Wye in South Herefordshire. Their previous garden had taken nine years to develop and they left it with a certain amount of sadness, but the thought of creating a new garden from scratch was a challenge that excited them both. “I’m sure that gardening has been passed down to me through the family genes,” says Tina with a smile. “My maternal grandfather grew roses commercially for cutting, but he died before I was born. It can’t be a coincidence that I’ve worked as a freelance florist and am a passionate gardener! “Taking on a new garden was so exciting, and I wanted to plant a mulberry tree to mark the day we moved in so we could name the property Mulberry House. After all, the sooner I got it in, the quicker it would establish to create a link with the surrounding village. The Prunus ‘Shirotae’ went in that day too,” she adds, “as I wanted the spreading canopy to break up the line of the house when viewed from the end of the garden. It now provides welcome shade 58 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
Two neat rows of box balls lead the way to a charming seating area in the shade of a Prunus ‘Shirotae’, with white borders on either side.
in the heat of summer and reminds me of lying under a cherry tree full of blossom when I was a child. For me, it’s so important that the garden means something and evokes such memories.” There were some useful plants that Tina and Adrian inherited from the previous owners, most notably a mature beech hedge that runs the full length of the plot and forms a perfect boundary with the neighbouring garden. They also retained a copper beech, as well as an Acer negundo, ‘Spartan’ apple tree, wisteria and Irish yew. The copper beech and yew have since been pruned to accentuate their multi-branched, bushy appearance. “We then added other bones to give the garden year-round structure,” Tina explains. “As well as adding more hedges, we’ve trained cones of yew, and ‘pencil’ box topiary, which I’ve propagated from five originals that we brought with us. They add height in the borders, as well as drawing the eye around and through the garden. It’s all about creating a sense of theatre. And there’s also a snaking, undulating hedge of Portuguese laurel that screens and divides different sections to tempt you to explore.” With such a firm foundation in place, the garden has been further garnished with a selection of trees that add interest through the seasons, including Magnolia x soulangeana, Amelanchier x grandiflora ‘Ballerina’, Prunus serrula, and Cercis siliquastrum, together with various forms of ornamental malus. But Tina’s creativity really comes into its own with the herbaceous plantings that she Above Tina and Adrian Barber have shaped the garden over 15 years. Right Sweeping borders of perennials are given heft by a backbone of trees and shrubs. Below from left Dahlia ‘American Dawn’ with ‘Chat Noir’; a sinuous hedge of Portuguese laurel, Prunus lusitanica.
60 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
choreographs through the seasons, from spring to autumn. They reach a peak during the leafy excesses of summer, when her artistic eye is evident at every turn, particularly in the way ornamental grasses are used to both soften and draw attention to their border companions. These grasses don’t dominate, however: they are used with restraint to provide a visual coherence, without tipping the planting scheme into a ‘prairie’ pastiche. For these are sumptuous borders, at their fullest in summer. Around the sunny lawn close to the house, tall, elegant stems of Verbena bonariensis, Rudbeckia laciniata, lythrum, eupatorium AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 61
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In the dappled shade of a pergola and trees, ie oes predominate to lift the shadows
and phlox are interspersed with roses to create spatial division while still allowing views through to other areas. Meanwhile, in the dappled shade of a pergola and trees, white flowers predominate to lift the shadows and give a sense of natural tranquillity. Here, flat-topped umbellifers and the wand-like flower stalks of actaea blend with the grasses to create a loose, meadowland effect. In summer, white cosmos, nicotiana and acidanthera are added to the sunnier edges of this area to further lighten the mood. This cool, airy planting makes it the perfect shady retreat. “My gardening heroes are Gertrude Jekyll, Vita Sackville-West and Christopher Lloyd, all of whom have inspired me with their consummate use of colour,” Tina reflects. “But in terms of overall garden style, my main influence has been Rosemary Verey. I was privileged enough to meet her on a visit to Barnsley House back in the 1990s. The potager was ahead of its time back then and I adored her relaxed planting style within the formal layout – it’s something I’ve always been keen to emulate.” Tina’s own artistry in the layout of the garden is much in evidence. Paths and steps take the visitor on an enchanting journey along the full length of this long, tapering plot. And its position, set high on a bank running alongside a lane, make it a journey that’s full of surprises. “When we first came to look at the house, 15 years ago, I fell in love with the rural landscape and historic buildings that could be seen from the garden,” Tina recalls. “It took me back to being a young child when I loved climbing the greengage tree in my grandmother’s garden and could see out to the fields where my grandfather’s roses used to grow. It made me well aware that we could ‘borrow’ views of the surroundings at different stages along the length of the garden.” The couple have cleverly maximised this potential by creating plenty of seating areas from which those views can be enjoyed. Not only does the garden seem much wider than it actually is, but the changes in levels, structure and layout give it enormous character and charm. The views out and Top Sleeper-edged steps through the garden lead the way to another are framed with plants restful seating area below an apple tree. that make it appear Left A rusted metal to blend in with its sculpture was a garden surroundings, rather centre find many years ago than dominate them. and is now a focal point. AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 63
“Our garden gives me Above Cobaea scandens scrambles along a rustic a lot of pride because above an urn of I know that between us arch, Salvia ‘Black and Bloom’. we have created every Top right The sword-like leaves and scented part of it,” Adrian flowers of acidanthera. enthuses. “Its growing Above right Pink maturity gives us a real Japanese anemones sense of satisfaction, with persicaria. knowing that it has taken years to develop.” In the eyes of so many who visit Mulberry House, this seemingly effortless garden would be their idea of success, but it is Tina who has the last word: “Unlike a piece of finished art that you hang on a wall, a garden is an ever-evolving canvas and I’m brimming with ideas for new planting combinations and other ideas to try. Luckily I’ve inherited my grandfather’s love of gardening and that will always keep me and the garden growing.” ■ Mulberry House, Knapp Close, Goodrich, Rosson-Wye, Herefordshire HR9 6JW. This year the garden opens for the National Garden Scheme by appointment only. Please email tinaabarber@ hotmail.co.uk or see ngs.org.uk. You can also follow the garden on Instagram: @gloriousgardening 64 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
Border PATROL
Tina Barber shares her advice on keeping soil in good condition and staying on top of weeds Tina puts much of the garden’s success down to keeping the soil in good condition: “The house here was built in the 1980s on former grazing land, so we were lucky enough to inherit the most wonderfully fertile, free-draining soil. But I want to keep it that way, so every year we mulch with a mixture of compost and wellrotted manure to help hold onto nutrients and moisture.” This yearly mulching routine means they rarely suffer too much with annual weeds. By late April, the borders are filling out with luscious foliage that blocks out
the light at the surface and further discourages weeds. “In late spring I also delight in looking at what new foliage or flower has emerged from the day before,” Tina adds. “At the same time, I keep an eagle eye out for weed seedlings that might have popped up after heavy rain the night before or any deep-rooted, perennial weeds emerging.” “This ritual is done every day, first thing in the morning as I stroll round with my cup of tea. I use the empty cup for the weeds! But once May passes, there is no longer a need for such vigilance.”
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Let There Be Light
LIGHTING
Arabella St. John Parker shares expert advice on how to illuminate your garden and its features, helping you make the most of your outdoor space when night falls
GNITHGIL NELLUC NHOJ EGAMI
Hampton Exterior Floodlights from John Cullen Lighting enhance this formal water feature’s elegant design.
T
he past 18 months or so have reminded us just how vital it is to have access to outside space where we can live, eat and relax – not just during the day, but also once the sun has set. It comes as no surprise, then, to learn that more and more of us are seeking help with designing and installing garden lighting, so we can maximise the use of our outdoor spaces. AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 67
LIGHTING
RETSOOW NEVETS/NGISED THGILNOOM ;ARHAB TIJNAS ;)NOTTAP ADNAMA :NGISED( MOOLB DRAHCIR/PAG SEGAMI
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE? Knowing how you want to use your garden after daylight hours is the easy part. The trickier but essential questions are: what is your budget? What size is your garden? Which features do you want to highlight? And what effect do you want to achieve – smart and formal, perhaps, boho party, or the flexibility to go either way? “Think about navigational and safety lighting as well as decorative effects – for a small garden, it might be a case of focusing on one particular feature,” says David Haslehurst, of Moonlight Design. “Your budget is the most important factor, however, and if you have a small one, keep things simple. Get a qualified electrician to install an outside socket and you can plug in party lights for use all year round without breaking the bank.” You should also think about how the garden will look from inside the house. Without lights, the space becomes a black void looming on the other side of the window – and if you have large, glazed doors on the ground floor in particular, that void can make your interior space feel somewhat smaller, slightly cold and rather intimidating. How much nicer to look through the glass and instead of seeing your face reflected back at you, enjoy an extension of your interior, one that looks welcoming and interesting. “Our eyes are always drawn to the brightest point in any scene so, for an effective night-time version of your day garden, create a vista or a path of lights that leads you through the space,” says lighting designer Sanjit Bahra, of Design Plus Light. “Lighting just one feature would be a mistake – seen from the house, it would look like a ghost floating in the distance.” What about the front of the house? Do you want to illuminate the building or highlight an interesting feature in some way, or would you prefer to keep things low-key by focusing on paths and the front door? “You don’t want any single aspect to look lit up like a Christmas tree,” insists garden designer Matthew Wilson (matthewwilsongardens.com), who works with Moonlight Design to illuminate many of his designs. “A good lighting scheme not only makes it much easier Top Try setting tiny to use the garden in the lights into paving. evenings, it also extends Middle The Flaxman our seasonal interest in the bulkhead light from Soho Lighting outdoor space throughout The Company. the winter when we’re less Bottom Here, Sanjit inclined to be spending Bahra picks out tree time outside.” trunks using uplighters.
TIMELY INSTALLATION Because most garden lighting needs to be connected to the mains, laying electrical cables and putting in transformers is both unavoidable and disruptive, particularly if your garden has a lot of hard landscaping. “Plan the cable layout to cover as much of the garden as possible to allow for retrofitting if the choice of lights is yet to be finalised, and position the transformers so they are hidden but accessible,” advises Sanjit Bahra. Brief your electrician fully before he starts on site, and aim to do the work in late autumn or winter, when your garden is more or less dormant – or before hard materials are laid. “Choose spike fittings with extra-long cables so you can reposition them as planting changes,” suggests Sally Storey of John Cullen Lighting, “and allow for two or three different control circuits, one for the front door and key features at the back – a water feature, for instance – and another for trees.”
Top left This scheme
by Moonlight Design for a Matthew Wilsondesigned garden uses Hunza pole spots to illuminate topiary for a warm welcome. Top right By lighting each individual step, Sanjit Bahra draws the eye through this garden. Above right Festoon lights add fun to a pergola; these are from Garden Trading. Above left Bolia’s Donut lights are portable and rechargeable; in a garden try stringing several from a tree.
CHOOSING LIGHTS Border lighting that provides a wide but soft beam of light through frosted glass (try Hunza’s PURE LED Retro border light) is a stylish way to illuminate paths and walls. At the front of the house you could extend that effect and create a more expansive welcome by using miniature spike floodlights to highlight a specimen tree, for example, or a series of sculptural shrubs or large pots with a wash of soft white light. For an entrance with no path, a pair of wall lights with long-lasting, low-energy filament LED bulbs fixed on either side of the front door is a smart solution (take a look at The Soho Lighting Company’s nautical-inspired IP66-rated wall lights). “Don’t use security floodlights as mood- or spotlights,” warns Sally Storey. “They’re too strong and will simply make the whole space disappear. Instead, create a warm welcome by focusing on points of interest and leave the rest in darkness.” AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 69
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Catalogue available, get in touch if you would like to be sent one. • Sculptures shipped worldwide directly from my UK studio. • www.hamishmackie.com hamish@hamishmackie.com + 44 (0) 7971 028 098 70 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
LIGHTING
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As at the front of the house, in the main garden, identify the key areas and features that you want to see and intend to use after dark. “A sociable outdoor space should look and feel enticing, with a couple of different lighting arrangements that act as focal points to draw your guests in,” says James DowsingReynolds of lighting designer Dowsing & Reynolds. For a low-key ambience, use uplighters to reveal a feature wall in the dining area and to showcase the structure of a pergola or loggia, or to draw the eye up the form of tall planting that surrounds a seating area. “I’m a big fan of festoon lighting and like to use ones with vintage bulb shapes and LED filaments to add a layer of fun to the pergola or a tree nearby,” adds Sanjit Bahra. For a third layer of whimsy, as well as practicality, use portable battery or solar-powered lights such as the In Vitro Unplugged or Last Order glass lamps from Flos. Uplighters are also a great way to reveal textured surfaces from below – ribbed pots, or the peeling bark of an acer, for instance – while halogen, LED or fibre optic lights can give water features a night-time character that is impossible during the day. Avoid underwater spotlights, though, since they will simply highlight the murky bottom of the pond. A single downlighter or a number of battery- or solar-powered pendant lights (try the Donut light by Bolia) will look fabulous arranged in the branches
of a tree. “Don’t try this for every tree or shrub in the garden, though – less is always more,” warns Sanjit Bahra. “When you switch on the lights, your reaction should be ‘aaah’ not ‘eeuch’.” There is a vast array of low-voltage spike lights to choose from to light planting in beds or distinctive features such as sculpture or colonnades of pots. Or try step lights that can be set into a mounting canister within the structure of the steps.
Top Discreet lights set into gravel reveal the forms of these pleached trees after dark. Above right David Harber’s Dark Planet, davidharber.co.uk Above left In a Stephen Woodhams-designed garden, lighting picks out statement pots.
AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 71
LIGHTING
Good Resources
Bolia
Sells the rechargeable outdoor ‘Donut’ lamp designed by Michael H. Nielsen, which provides 16 hours of light when fully charged. bolia.com
Design Plus Light
Sanjit Bahra’s lighting design agency creates elegant lighting schemes for interior and exterior projects. Tel: 0208 762 9585; designpluslight.co.uk
Dowsing & Reynolds
A range of functional and quirky outdoor lights to add character to garden lighting schemes. Tel: 0113 819 9985; dowsingandreynolds.com
Flos
Contemporary outdoor lighting including recessed lamps for setting into flooring, spotlights, wall lights, and bollards. flos.com
Garden Trading
“Unless it’s a hotel or public space, you don’t need to illuminate every single step,” Sanjit Bahra points out, “and it’s also worthwhile bearing in mind that LEDs can often be incredibly bright – just one watt will be sufficient for your needs, and bulbs that have a 2,700 to 3,000 kelvin colour temperature will provide a warm to crisp white hue. Also, lights that come with some sort of a half-glove shield or cowl will help to direct the light across the step and keep any unnecessary light pollution to a minimum.”
72 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
John Cullen Lighting
This London-based studio offers a lighting design service, and a large choice of sleek and elegant outdoor lighting fittings. Tel: 020 7371 9000; johncullenlighting.com
Moonlight Design
Offers a one-stop solution, from lighting design to installation, to enhance gardens with a bespoke lighting scheme. Tel: 020 8925 8639; theartoflight.co
A Place in the Garden
Outdoor lighting products in various shapes, sizes and colours, all made with powder-coated marine-grade stainless steel and toughened glass for extra durability. Tel: 01403 864866; aplaceinthegarden.co.uk
The Soho Lighting Company
Hand-crafted solid brass outdoor lighting in several finishes, perfect for preparing the garden for summer evenings. Tel: 020 8106 1221; soholighting.com
NEKCOTS ALOCIN/PAG ;RETSOOW NEVETS/NGISED THGILNOOM SEGAMI
Top Another scheme by Moonlight Design with Matthew Wilson uses Hunza adjustable spikes to light beech cubes from below. Above Avoid underwater spots and light a pond’s fountain instead for a more decorative effect.
SAFETY AND GOOD PRACTICE The effect of lighting pollution on others, as well as the environment, is an important concern, whether you have neighbours or live in a more isolated spot. Under Britain’s statutory nuisance laws, councils must look into complaints about artificial light that unreasonably and substantially interferes with the use or enjoyment of a home or other premises, or which injures health or is likely to do so. A lighting specialist can help you create a suitable scheme that is also compliant with electrical and building regulations. Find someone local to you by visiting bali.org.uk or sgd.org.uk. You should also ensure that any mains-connected schemes are installed and approved by an electrician who is a member of NICEIC, ECA, NAPIT or ELECSA. ■
Affordable wall and post lights, as well as strings of festoon lights ideal for creating a celebratory atmosphere. Tel: 01993 845559; gardentrading.co.uk
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‘Form in Nature’ – Sculpture Exhibition Daily to 30 September
See the Garden transformed into a stunning outdoor gallery with over 80 abstract and figurative sculptures. Kindly sponsored by 1st Central Insurance.
Music & Movie Nights 20 & 21 August, 6-10pm
Two summer evenings of live music and movie magic under the stars, with Rocketman on 20th and The Greatest Showman on 21st August.
Haw Gin 2018 by Charlotte Howarth
Cedar Seed by Tom Sargeant
Specialist Autumn Plant Fair 12 September, 10am-3pm The Plant Fairs Roadshow nurseries return with a wide range of locally grown, garden-worthy and unusual plants to inspire keen gardeners.
Slate Sundial by Martin Cook
See website for booking details
Tea for Two by Harry Brockway
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Exhibiting sculpture by over 20 of the UK’s top sculptors at Sculpture by the Lakes this summer, a beautiful oasis for art lovers and gardeners alike nestled in 26 acres of Dorset’s glorious countryside. Gallery by the Lakes is the largest gallery space in Dorset and will be exhibiting sculpture and paintings by international artists. www.sculpturebythelakes.co.uk gallery@sculpturebythelakes.co.uk 74 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
Sculpture by the Lakes, Dorset DT2 8QU
T
Nature First
TOP 10 PLANTS
At the colourful Yeo Valley Organic Garden in Somerset, Sarah Mead always makes wildlife a priority, using plants that look good and do their bit for nature
he six-acre organic ornamental garden that surrounds the farmhouse at Yeo Valley Organic farm in Blagdon, Somerset, has been created by Sarah Mead over the past 25 years. Sarah’s love of colour is evident throughout this dazzling space, but her dedication to putting nature first makes this property a useful example of how to garden for wildlife without sacrificing
good design and planting arrangements. Sarah has collaborated with designer Tom Massey on a show garden inspired by her own for this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show, running from 21-26 September. Here she picks her favourite wildlife-friendly plants. Yeo Valley Organic Garden, Holt Farm, Bath Road, Blagdon, Somerset BS40 7SQ. Tel: 01761 462798; yeovalley.co.uk
KCOTSRETTUHS EGAMI YLBMAH ENNEIVIV SDROW
1 Phacelia tanacetifolia
“This is a magical plant for bees and brings longlasting colour and texture to our borders and meadow areas,” explains Sarah. It is a popular hardy cover crop in vegetable gardens, providing a green manure when it’s cut down prior to setting seed. It’s also popular with butterflies and hoverflies. Sow until September.
AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 75
TOP 10 PLANTS
2 Bupleurum fruticosum
3 Butomus umbellatus
This evergreen shrub can reach up 2m in height and bears clusters of yellow-green flowers that look good in floral arrangements. Also known as shrubby hare’s ear, it attracts useful hoverflies to the garden. Adult flies are pollinators, while their larvae are voracious consumers of aphids. B. griffithii ‘Decor’ is an excellent variety.
These rhizomatous plants make a fine addition to a garden pond, planted in full sun on the margins. Also known as flowering rush, its flowers are borne on sturdy, upright stems reaching about 1.2m. “Not only do its roots help secure the banks, its delicate pink flowers attract dragonflies and damselflies,” notes Sarah.
4 Dipsacus fullonum
5 Pileostegia viburnoides
“Teasels are known for attracting the colourful goldfinch, but all finches love to feed on their abundant seedheads,” explains Sarah. In summer the plant’s upright forms and flowers, crammed with tiny lilac blooms, are a good counterpoint to softer planting, but it is in winter that their structural seedheads prove their merit. 76 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
This climber goes by the common name of climbing hydrangea and its off-white flowers attract a wide range of insects. “It is a brilliant plant for covering walls and fences, clothing itself in beautiful clusters of white flowers that bring insects of all kinds to the garden, including moths and bees,” says Sarah.
KCOTSRETTUHS ;NOTSMRIF AIROTCIV/SNOISIV /YELKCUB NAHTANOJ/SDRAWDE REHTAEH/PAG SEGAMI
6 Calendula officinalis
Marigolds have long earned their place in the edible garden. “They repel whitefly, which can devastate tomato crops, and they also attract beneficial insects including ladybirds, which in turn will feast on aphids,” Sarah points out. For subtler shades, consider planting ‘Sunset Buff’ and ‘Snow Princess’.
AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 77
TOP 10 PLANTS
7 Wisteria sinensis
8 Malus transitoria
This relatively compact deciduous tree offers interest in both spring and autumn, making it a good-value garden plant. Also known as the cut-leaf crab apple, it is a favourite of the honey bee. “Its delicate spring flowers bring honey bees from miles around and its fruits provide food for birds and other garden wildlife,” says Sarah.
9 Urtica dioica
10 Verbena bonariensis
“I recommend everyone finds room for nettles in their garden, no matter how small the space. They attract butterflies including red admiral, small tortoiseshell, painted lady and comma, whose caterpillars feast on the leaves. Cut them often to encourage new growth and add the waste to your compost heap,” Sarah advises. 78 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
“My selection of plants for wildlife simply wouldn’t be complete without this. It freely self-seeds, flowers from early summer well into the late autumn and provides long-lasting food for bees of all kinds. Other species of verbena are available, but I would recommend this one over all the rest,” Sarah affirms.
KCOTSRETTUHS ;YELKCUB NAHTANOJ/PAG ;SLOHCIN EVILC SEGAMI
“This is one of the best plants you can grow for bees of all kinds,” says Sarah. It is valuable for flowering fairly early in the year. With twining stems that will soon scale a pergola, Wisteria sinensis is a particularly floriferous species to grow in this country. Keep it watered in later summer so its foliage remains lush.
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PLANT FOCUS Beautiful Campanula glomerata var. acaulis, has upturned flowers in deep purple; it’s perfect for a sunny spot.
Ring the Changes
Louise Curley explores all the diverse forms the bellflower genus, Campanula, has to offer, with the help of Jeremy Palmer at Burton Agnes Hall
PHOTOGRAPHS RICHARD BLOOM AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 81
PLANT FOCUS These charming plants are native to temperate areas of the northern hemisphere where they grow in a range of habitats from woodland glades and meadows to rocky alpine locations. Most are hardy perennials, and in the UK we have several that can be found growing as wildflowers: these include the harebell, Campanula rotundifolia, which grows on mountain tops and coastal cliffs where it flowers from late spring through to early autumn; the clustered bellflower, C. glomerata, which likes chalky meadows; the nettle-leaved bellflower, C. trachelium, which grows on heavy soils; and the broadleaved bellflower, C. latifolia, which thrives in damp woodland. In the garden, dwarf campanulas, with their low-growing mounds of foliage studded with a profusion of blooms, are suited to rock gardens, raised beds and troughs. The more vigorous ones can also be used to edge borders, where their foliage softens edges and smothers weeds. The taller campanulas, with their stately flower spires, can be used to add height and structure to borders; these, in particular the biennial C. medium, which is also known as Canterbury bells, can also be picked and used as cut flowers.
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ampanulas, more commonly known as bellflowers, conjure up images of exuberant cottage garden borders, but they are actually a much more diverse group of plants, ranging from tall perennials to tiny, jewel-like alpines. While most prefer full sun, there are varieties that will cope with some shade, lightening up a spot under a tree. The flowers can be bell- or star-shaped, some upturned and others hanging downwards. Generally they’re single and these types are attractive to bees and other pollinators, but there are also cultivars that have frilly double blooms. Colours range from sparkling white and pretty pastel pinks to varying shades of blue and purple. 82 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
Above Campanula collina has compact growth, making it ideal for rock gardens or troughs, where it won’t take over.
Campanula Collection A range of campanulas can be seen at Burton Agnes Hall in East Yorkshire, home to the CunliffeLister family for over 400 years. The campanula collection in the Elizabethan walled garden was started in 1990 by the Right Honourable Dame Susan Cunliffe-Lister, who has now handed over the reins to her son Simon and daughter-in-law Olivia. “It was an interest spurred on by her family’s Scottish roots and her love of the harebell, known in Scotland as the Scottish bluebell,” explains head gardener Jeremy Palmer. “We have harebells growing out of the top of walls around the gardens and you’ll also see them as a wildflower on the coast here. But in the gardens we have a dedicated spot for both the border and alpine-type campanulas. “Campanulas have a preference for good drainage so these plants are suited to the very free-draining limestone soil we have here; we’re also a very dry part of the country, which doesn’t seem to
Above left One of
the most beautiful wildflowers, the harebell, Campanula rotundifolia. Above right Campanula rotundifolia ‘White Gem’. Below right Dwarf Campanula arvatica reaches just 15cm. Below left Use C. latifolia ‘Alba’ like a foxglove, to lighten shady spots.
AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 83
Philadelphus ‘Fragrant Falls’
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PLANT FOCUS
be a problem for them,” Jeremy notes. “Some dwarf campanulas like raised beds and plenty of sun, but others prefer a cooler root run, so to cater for both we’ve used reclaimed bricks to create planting pockets suited to the different species. The taller types are planted en masse in borders around the edge of the garden, creating an abundance of purples, lilacs and white in midsummer.”
Dwarf campanulas While many alpines flower in spring, dwarf campanulas bloom in summer so they’re good for extending the season of interest in rock gardens. Jeremy recommends C. carpatica which has small, cup-shaped, mauve flowers and is easy to look after. “There’s a good range of cultivars as well, such as ‘Samantha’, which is long-flowering with open, lavender-coloured petals.” C. arvatica and C. collina are both good choices for troughs because they’re compact and won’t crowd out dainty alpines. If you’d like to add some height in among alpine hummocks, C. barbata produces 20cm flower spires. Some low-growing campanulas such as C. poscharskyana and C. portenschlagiana have
Top left The large,
dusky pink flowers of C. takesimana ‘Elizabeth’. Top right Campanula persicifolia ‘Gawen’ bears slender stems of flowers, 75cm tall. Above right The open blooms of dwarf C. carpatica ‘Samantha’. Above left Campanula barbata reaches 20cm.
a reputation for being vigorous and swamping other plants. This habit can be exploited in tricky spots where they make good weed-suppressing groundcover, and their ability to thrive in places like the cracks and crevices of walls and paths can help to give a garden a timeless, lived-in quality.
Border campanulas “One of my favourites for a border are the C. punctata types that have long, hanging bell flowers, which are quite often spotted on the inside,” says Jeremy. “The hybrid ‘Sarastro’ is a really nice one. It has C. punctata and C. trachelium parentage, forms clumps of foliage and has huge, deep purple, pendent flowers. Because it’s sterile it has a long flowering period and won’t self-seed everywhere. But if I had to pick one campanula it would be C. takesimana ‘Elizabeth’. It’s a cultivar of the Korean bellflower and can be grown at the front of a border or in a AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 85
PLANT FOCUS Left C. lactiflora ‘Avalanche’, a whiteflowered version of the milky bellflower. Right ‘Prichard’s Variety’ is one of Jeremy’s recommended C. lactiflora cultivars.
Suppliers
Farmyard Nurseries Tel: 01559 363389; farmyardnurseries. co.uk Edrom Nurseries Tel: 01890 771386; edrom-nurseries.co.uk Chiltern Seeds Tel: 01491 824675; chilternseeds.co.uk Beth Chatto Tel: 01206 822007; bethchatto.co.uk GROWING ADVICE
Beautiful bells
Tips from Burton Agnes Hall’s head gardener Jeremy Palmer on caring for campanulas Because we grow lots of different campanulas they generally don’t come true from seed, but we still collect the seeds and sow them because you can get some interesting and unusual variations. Every couple of years lift and divide mature plants in spring to invigorate them. I cut the border types back hard in late summer and when they start to reshoot in autumn I’ll take softwood cuttings of the fresh growth. After the first flush of flowers, cut the stems back to just above the ground to encourage another display.
86 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
Taller campanulas will need staking, since their flower spires can easily be damaged by wind and heavy rain. Most campanulas need neutral to alkaline soil to grow well. If you have heavy soil, dig in plenty of grit to help improve the drainage. Slugs and snails can be a problem, so protect young plants using your preferred method of control. The fungal disease rust can also affect border campanulas. If you spot the orange pustules on the undersides of the leaves, cut the plant back to the ground and mulch with compost.
rockery. It has large, pink-purple bells and it’s happy growing in part-shade, which makes it a good choice for planting under deciduous trees.” The milky bellflower, C. lactiflora, bears clusters of flowers on top of tall stems and will tolerate some shade. Jeremy recommends the pale lavender cultivar ‘Prichard’s Variety’ and ‘Loddon Anna’ with blush-pink blooms, both of which attract bees and butterflies. The peach-leaved campanula, C. persicifolia, has purple-blue flowers; there’s also a white variety, and the cultivar ‘Chettle Charm’ has exquisite, white, upturned flowers with lilac-tinged petals on stems about 75cm tall. It makes a pretty cut flower, but it can be susceptible to rust. For the front to middle of a border, the pale grey, drooping bells of C. ‘Burghaltii’ is a good choice, and for a shady spot the statuesque stems of C. latifolia can be used like foxgloves to add vertical accents – ‘Brantwood’, with its lavender-blue blooms, is a particularly good selection. For something more unusual, Jeremy recommends growing the biennial C. pyramidalis, a favourite of Victorian gardeners. The flower stems can reach 2m, making it perfect for the back of a border or as a statuesque container plant. “I grow some in pots and bring them into the hall when they’re just about to flower,” says Jeremy. ■ Burton Agnes Hall, Burton Agnes, Driffield, East Yorkshire YO25 4NB. Tel: 01262 490324; burtonagnes.com
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AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 87
Keukenhof Gardens
Floriade, Keukenhof & Amsterdam Awaken your senses in the Netherlands as you explore historic cities and discover spectacular flower shows, including the once-a-decade extravaganza, Floriade.
Day 1. London & Amersfoort Meet at London St Pancras and take the Eurostar to Amsterdam, continuing to the attractive canal city of Amersfoort. Day 2. Amsterdam Take the train to vibrant Amsterdam, a city of iconic, criss-crossing canals. Enjoy a guided tour, seeing Dam Square, the bustling main shopping street, and the unique floating Flower market. The afternoon is free to explore; perhaps take a canal cruise or visit the poignant Anne Frank House. Day 3. Keukenhof Gardens Transfer to Keukenhof for a visit to the world-famous Keukenhof Gardens, the world’s largest permanent flower garden. Known as the ‘Garden of Europe’, admire the incredible explosion of colour here, the result of around seven million tulip bulbs planted each year.
“Excellent”
Day 4. Floriade 2022 Enjoy a holiday highlight in Almere, the host of Floriade 2022. A unique six-month event that takes place every ten years, this international garden festival celebrates the best of all things green, this year following the theme ‘Growing Green Cities’. Stroll amongst innovative exhibitions from over 30 different countries, admiring a breathtaking array of rare plants, flowers, and trees, as well as exciting street food stalls, street performers and interesting talks. Return to the hotel in time for a final dinner. Day 5. Amersfoort & London Take the train to Amsterdam, where you join the Eurostar service back to London St Pancras.
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01904 730102 • www.raildiscoveries.com Please note that Keukenhof Gardens are open only in the spring to ensure the best possible displays. Our June and September departures will run a 4-day itinerary, please call or visit our website for full details. Protected by ABTOT. Dates and prices are subject to availability. Prices shown are per person, based on 2 people sharing. Prices may change prior to and after publication. Calls will be recorded.
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GARDEN CLASSICS
Head Turners
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Hailing from the Americas, cheery sunflowers are now a food industry staple as well as a garden standard
MOOLB DRAHCIR/YELKCUB NAHTANOJ/PAG ;SLOHCIN EVILC SEGAMI YLBMAH ENNEIVIV SDROW
he sunflower family, Helianthus, may inspire a love or loathe reaction in gardeners, but it can always be relied upon to bring bold cheer in late summer and autumn. Breeding programmes have brought us varieties in a range of colours, from deep chocolate to the palest lemon yellow. Some are multi-stemmed and perfect for vase arrangements, while others reach heights of 3m or more, towering over neighbouring garden plants. Early records in the RBG Kew herbarium point to the origins of a plant that is now both a widely grown ornamental product and an important food crop. Kew holds a specimen of Helianthus annuus that was collected by Ferdinand Lindheimer in 1894 in Texas. Another garden classic, gaura, takes its name from Lindheimer: Oenothera lindheimeri. Both blooms are found across the southern and western regions of North America, which is the area from which almost all Helianthus species originate. Archaeological dating points to the common sunflower, H. annuus, being domesticated in Mexico as early as 2600BC. It was grown as far south as El Salvador and is likely to have been cultivated by the Aztecs. Sunflowers are heliotropic, meaning they tilt during the day to face the sun, which explains their links to ancient solar religions. ‘Dä nukhä’, the word for sunflower in the indigenous Mexican language of Otomi, translates as ‘big flower that looks at the sun god’. It’s believed that for religious reasons the plant
HOW TO GROW
Sunflowers need sun to thrive and fare best in rich, well-drained soil. For an early start in spring, sow annuals under cover and plant out once frosts have passed. Tall annuals may need staking, while perennials can benefit from a late May Chelsea chop.
may have been suppressed by the Spanish when they arrived in the 16th century, bringing Catholicism with them. This suppression didn’t, however, stop them from introducing it to Europe in 1568, leading to sunflower oil production across Europe. Other species, some annual and others perennial, were introduced in later centuries. Over time Helianthus has diverged, with some species bred for crop production and others developed for the ornamental market. Many hybrids stem from the annual Helianthus annuus, but good perennials include H. giganteus, willow-leaved H. salicifolius and popular ‘Lemon Queen’. ■
Helianthus: More to choose from than sunshine yellow
H. ‘Lemon Queen’
A popular perennial sunflower for the back of a border, reaching 2m.
H. annuus ‘ProCut Plum’
An annual sunflower in pretty shades of buff and burgundy.
H. annuus ‘Earthwalker’
Multiheaded flowers in flame colours, perfect for hot borders.
H. giganteus ‘Sheila’s Sunshine’
A clump-forming hardy perennial with pastel flowers.
AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 89
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FOLIAGE AT BORDE HILL
The huge, upstretched leaves of Gunnera manicata are echoed by those of slightly smaller Darmera peltata beneath.
Green Credentials
Max Crisfield delves into the lush green foliage that now fills Borde Hill’s transformed Round Dell, thanks to an inspired redesign by Sophie Walker PHOTOGRAPHS DIANNA JAZWINSKI AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 91
FOLIAGE AT BORDE HILL
Above Trachycarpus
fortunei remained from the original garden, now underplanted with the contrasting dark foliage of Ligularia dentata. Above right The angular, tapering path ends at a water feature. Far right Delicate leaves of Aralia cachemirica.
I
n July 2018, as part of the garden’s 125th anniversary celebrations, Borde Hill in West Sussex officially unveiled an exciting new development – a complete transformation of the Round Dell, a former quarry that was once used to excavate stone to build the walls around the Elizabethan manor house. The task was undertaken by young, awardwinning garden designer Sophie Walker and conceived as a response to the garden’s rich horticultural history. Like many similar country estates here on the Sussex High Weald, Borde Hill Garden was born out of a late Victorian zeal for collecting plants from the furthest outposts of the British Empire. Colonel Stephenson Robert Clarke – a keen naturalist and collector – purchased the 200-acre estate in 1893 and set about commissioning professional plant hunters, like Ernest ‘Chinese’
92 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
Wilson, George Forrest and Frank Kingdon-Ward, to find and send back new plant species from the Himalayas, China, the Americas and beyond. So began a process by which Borde Hill estate grew into an unrivalled repository of rare and remarkable trees and shrubs. Four generations on and this reputation hasn’t dimmed: today, Borde Hill’s collection (listed by Kew Gardens as being of National Importance) has one of the greatest concentrations of Champion Trees and shrubs in any private UK garden. Borde Hill’s chairman, Jim Gardiner (director of horticulture for the RHS and a former curator of RHS Garden Wisley) had seen Sophie Walker’s medal-winning show garden at the 2013 Hampton Court Flower Show. ‘A Valley Garden’ was a striking conceptual design in which a concrete-edged rill cut sharply through layered foliage planting to a black, mirrored pool. He wondered if it might be possible
to replicate this design, or something similar, for the Round Dell at Borde Hill. For Sophie, this was an interesting challenge: to create a space that would resonate for 21st-century visitors, while referencing the legacy of those early plant pioneers. Sophie and the team at Borde Hill have met this challenge head on. A narrow, concrete-edged path – modern, almost brutalist in conception – pierces the entrance to the dell like an arrow let loose from a bow. Where the path recedes to a sharp vanishing point, a pool is fed from above by a stainless-steel chute perched atop a concrete plinth. Surrounding this on all sides is lush, verdant, dramatic planting. So far, so contemporary. But for all its cool linearity – “what I find really interesting,” says Sophie, “is that the only thing nature can’t do is a straight line” – the fullness of her design is sensuous and tactile and has a firm handle on the historical
context of its surroundings. This is reflected most emphatically in the planting itself, which draws not only on the garden’s history, but also on the work of modern-day plant hunters like Sue and Bleddyn Wynn-Jones of Crûg Farm Plants, from whom Sophie sourced many of her more esoteric choices. Before work could begin in earnest, the original pond had to be infilled, drainage improved, and much of the existing subtropical planting – which had become quite dense and overgrown – removed, leaving only the truly mature specimens: the lofty bananas (Musa basjoo), the towering trachycarpus and the taxodiums. These provided an impressive backdrop for the new planting scheme. When it came to plant selection, Sophie knew exactly what she wanted, and exactly what she wanted to leave out. Foliage, rather than flower, was her mantra. “I believe that the subtle can be more AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 93
94 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
FOLIAGE AT BORDE HILL
Top from left Rodgersia pinnata ‘Crûg Cardinal’ with Fatsia polycarpa; a gold-flushed hosta; Fatsia polycarpa ‘Green Fingers’. Above from left The huge leaves of Tetrapanax papyrifer ‘Rex’ make a statement; in contrast, filigree fronds of Dryopteris affinis ‘Polydactyla Dadds’.
beautiful than the overt. Green is a remarkable colour: it is restful, luminous and extraordinary – you simply can’t replicate the green that chlorophyll produces in nature.” Sophie believes that a garden created predominantly with layers of green foliage can be very animated. “It’s almost humanistic,” she insists. “The shapes the leaves make, like hands and limbs, the sounds they create in the canopy.” The ambition with this kind of planting is to knit everything together from the ground upwards, starting with a groundcover that smothers the bare soil. Here, this means shade-loving ferns such as Dryopteris affinis ‘Polydactyla Dadds’ and Matteuccia struthiopteris; broad-leaved Ligularia dentata and L. japonica ‘Rising Sun’; the Mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum; and the ligularia-esque Farfugium japonicum from the mountains of southern Japan. Together with hostas, euphorbias
and angelicas, planted to fill space while the new selections bulk up, they form a dense understorey. Then there’s the mid-layer. By making a matrix of contrasting habits and hues, textures and shapes, it is possible to create the illusion of depth. Key plants here, many of them Crûg Farm selections, do just that. Darmera peltata (umbrella plant), a rhizomatous perennial with large glossy round leaves. Herbaceous Aralia apioides, with small, doubly pinnate leaves carried above striking glossy black stems. Rodgersia pinnata ‘Crûg Cardinal’, with its plume-like pink panicles and deep-bronze foliage. Fatsia polycarpa, a relatively new introduction and a great alternative to the ubiquitous F. japonica, and Woodwardia unigemmata, a hardier selection of the Himalayan jewelled chain fern, also make a strong impression, the former for its large, lobed, palmate leaves, the latter for its huge arching fronds. Finally, the canopy layer. For drama, you need to think big: big foliage, big leaves, big impact (this same adage is equally applicable in a small domestic garden). Here the whole scheme is anchored by some botanical heavyweights. The imperious architecture of Tetrapanax papyrifer ‘Rex’ and Trachycarpus fortunei. The primordial tree fern, Dicksonia antarctica. The beautiful, multi-fingered scheffleras, here represented by the relatively hardy S. delavayi, S. rhododendrifolia and the giant S. macrophylla. Head gardener Andy Stevens also has great hopes (literally) for a coppiced Magnolia macrophylla, the AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 95
FOLIAGE AT BORDE HILL
‘bigleaf magnolia’, rare even in its native South Carolina: “Early days yet but there should be some impressive foliage – watch this space!” he enthuses. To achieve this subtropical look here in the UK, it is essential to choose plants not only for their exotic appearance but also for their hardiness and adaptability to the local conditions. This site has a tendency to hold frost in winter and consequently, some more tender choices (the scheffleras, neolitsea and aralias) have struggled and need winter protection. Andy uses fleece for the scheffleras and straw or pots for the bananas. This has prompted the team to focus on planting suited to the Dell’s distinct microclimate. “The area needed two different types of planting,” Andy explains, “plants for the main foliage area, which is sheltered and well protected on three sides, and then the south-facing entrance, which is hot and dry in summer.” It was difficult to come up with dramatic foliage for the latter, he admits, “because these conditions suit smallerleaved plants best. So, we had to experiment: we tried various larger foliage selections – Eriobotrya japonica (the large-leaved Japanese loquat), Broussonetia papyrifera (the east Asian paper mulberry), melianthus – and interplanted these with euphorbias and the hardy bromeliads, fascicularia and puya. And fingers crossed, so far so good.” 96 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
What Sophie, Andy and the team have created here is a space that plays with contradictory ideas and concepts, about past and present, authenticity and artifice. At the same time, they have made a Top left Not all the plants magical ‘garden-within-a-garden’ – an immersive are rare or unusual: green Eden that provokes in visitors an intuitive here, a green hosta is a perfect foil to a tree fern, desire to explore and discover, just as the plant pioneers who helped shape Borde Hill once did Dicksonia antarctica. Top right Gorgeous over a century ago. “The Round Dell is a sunken, Magnolia macrophylla. excavated realm that you enter,” explains Sophie. Above right Schefflera “The Secret Garden was my favourite book as a delavayi is one of child, and I love that idea of journey and discovery.” the hardiest of these handsome plants. And she’s right: this is a garden that slowly Above left Bupleurum reveals itself the deeper you delve, a garden to be fruticosum in flower. ‘experienced’ in the truest sense of the word rather than simply admired from the sidelines. ■ Borde Hill Garden, Borde Hill Lane, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 1XP. Tel: 01444 450326; bordehill.co.uk; sophiewalkerstudio.com
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GARDENS & FOOD
Make a Meal of It
There are so many beautiful gardens to visit this summer, and many of them have their own on-site cafés and restaurants – often serving home-grown produce. Here we recommend some of the best ones to visit around the UK
T T E GGOF E R A L C S D R O W
Stunning garden views from the dining room of Gravetye Manor’s Michelinstarred restaurant. AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 99
GARDENS & FOOD
Above Late-summer
borders set the tone for dining at Gravetye Manor in West Sussex, where a kitchen garden supplies the restaurant with fresh produce.
A
nyone who has ever grown their own food will confirm that garden-grown produce, harvested one minute and eaten the next, is incomparable to anything from a shop. Restaurant owners have seen the value in growing their own produce, and there’s a proliferation of restaurants with gardens. Food and garden writer Mark Diacono agrees this is the case: “When it’s done well, it’s brilliant – genuinely part of the experience of being there, even if it’s really simple and small,” he says, adding, “you don’t have to be Le Manoir.” Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Raymond Blanc’s two Michelin-starred restaurant in Oxfordshire, is known for its incredible kitchen gardens and was in the vanguard of growing its own produce on a grand scale. “There’s been quite a shift: There are places like Le Manoir that grow so much but now there are also lots of others who just want to make sure they’ve got flavours you can’t buy,” Mark explains.
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Even if a garden doesn’t grow the produce you’re eating, food tastes better for being enjoyed in lovely surroundings. Plenty of renowned gardens also have highly regarded restaurants, an added lure for hungry visitors. So, if you’re planning a summer of garden visits and the idea of combining that with meals in beautiful settings appeals, here’s a tour of our favourite destinations for flowers and food.
London & the South East
Many gardeners in London are familiar with Richmond’s Petersham Nurseries, where a shopping trip is rewarded not only with an array of gorgeous plants and accessories but the added delight of a meal in the renowned café. Australian chef Skye Gyngell put the restaurant on the map by creating dishes inspired by what she saw growing at the nursery; since 2014 head chef Damian Clisby has been at the helm and fresh ingredients and flowers from the nursery continue to inspire food such
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as summery Portland crab salad with pea shoots, radishes and nasturtium (petershamnurseries.com). Closer to the city centre, the café at the Garden Museum in Lambeth has long drawn praise, even more so since the museum’s renovation. Now visitors can enjoy tea and cake, or lunch by day, and dinner in the evening, while admiring the courtyard garden designed by Dan Pearson through breezy floor-toceiling windows (gardenmuseum.org.uk). Gravetye Manor in West Sussex is known to keen gardeners as the former home of William Robinson, the Victorian exponent of a more relaxed style of gardening. It’s now a plush hotel and those dining at the hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurant can enjoy not only the grounds, but also ingredients fresh from the kitchen garden, where varieties grown are selected by the chefs for flavour (gravetyemanor.co.uk). Also in West Sussex at Haywards Heath is Borde Hill Garden (see our feature on page 91), a plantlover’s paradise known for its heritage collections
Top left Afternoon tea
at Petersham Nurseries, in genteel Richmond. Above right The Sun House at Heckfield Place, Hampshire. Above left The Garden Museum’s café in South London looks onto a garden by Dan Pearson.
of trees discovered by the Victorian plant hunters, spring displays and rose garden and herbaceous borders in summer. Jeremy’s Restaurant is set within the grounds, serving seasonal menus (bordehill. co.uk; jeremysrestaurant.co.uk). Not too far away in Horsham is Leonardslee, a woodland garden planted in the early 1800s and now being restored by the Streeter Family. It reopened in 2019, and visitors can call into Michelinstarred Interlude at Leonardslee, where head chef Jean Delport takes diners on a journey through the garden with dishes in the Estate Experience tasting menu featuring ingredients foraged from the grounds: fiddlehead ferns, nuts and sloes, water mint and sea buckthorn (restaurant-interlude.co.uk). In Hampshire, luxury hotel Heckfield Place is set in beautiful countryside between Basingstoke and Wokingham. Its magnificent grounds include walled gardens restored over five years and now filled with fragrant lavender and roses. Inside, you’ll find the AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 101
GARDENS & FOOD
Sun House, a glasshouse that serves tea and homemade cakes and is used for private parties. In the hotel itself, Skye Gyngell’s menus make the most of seasonal products sourced from Fern Verrow Farm in the Marle restaurant (heckfieldplace.com). In Oxfordshire, shoppers at the Burford Garden Company have long been tempted by its beautifully curated range of plants and gardenware, but there’s also the award-winning Burford Café to enjoy, which uses local, seasonal ingredients in its breakfasts, lunches and afternoon teas (burford.co.uk). And, of course, just outside Oxford and needing little introduction is Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, where head gardener Anne-Marie Owen has been growing fruit and vegetables for Raymond Blanc’s two Michelin-starred restaurant for over 30 years Above left Relaxed, outdoor shopping (belmond.com). Expect garden vegetables at their and dining at Burford finest, before and after they’ve been harvested. Garden Company,
The Cotswolds & the South West
Each of The Pig’s restaurants with rooms across the South West celebrates kitchen gardening. Every one, whether it’s the Pig on the Beach in Swanage, Dorset, or the Pig at Combe in Devon, boasts a superb productive garden that supplies its chefs with rich pickings. As Mark Diacono says of The Pig at Combe: “There’s care, but nobody’s over fussing. It’s just really well done and the garden is great: neat but not too neat, the varieties are brilliant and they grow a lot of unusual stuff.” (thepighotel.com). 102 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
Gloucestershire.
Top right Michelin-
quality vegetables growing at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons. Above Kitchen gardening is treated as an art form at The Pig on the Beach in Dorset.
Also in Devon, Heron Farm is a vineyard, kitchen and shop near Honiton, with a garden designed by James Alexander-Sinclair. The garden provides vegetables for the kitchen, plus unusual ingredients such as persimmons, Japanese plums and Szechuan peppercorns. Stock up on wine, cider and Heron Farm gin after you’ve eaten (heron-farm.co.uk). In Wiltshire, near Tisbury, you’ll find Pythouse Kitchen Garden, where guests can eat on a terrace overlooking beds of flowers, fruit and vegetables. You can pick your own flowers to take home after you’ve eaten from a menu that’s currently showcasing summer ingredients such as heirloom tomatoes, gooseberries, fennel and chard (pythousekitchengarden.co.uk).
Bristol has an enviable foodie reputation, and at
The Ethicurean, near Wrington, you can explore
NEKCOTS ALOCIN/PAG ;YNAPMOC NEDRAG DROFRUB ;MAHTSAE EKAJ ;NOTGNINNEP NIAI SEGAMI
the productive walled garden before sitting down to dine. Tables for The Ethicurean Lunch are regularly fully booked, with menus offering squash and rosehips, hedgerow berries and candied beetroot (theethicurean.com). At The Newt in Somerset, garden visitors can look over the Parabola garden from the Garden Café and enjoy a seasonal feast of garden-grown produce and local Somerset ingredients on a vegetable-led menu (thenewtinsomerset.com). Barnsley House in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, is a must for those keen to see the Rosemary Vereydesigned grounds. It is now a luxury hotel, so once you’ve admired the potager in the garden, enjoy a meal in The Potager restaurant, which serves fresh produce from the kitchen garden (barnsleyhouse. com). At Thyme in Southrop, Bunny Guinness has designed the kitchen gardens and chef Charlie Hibbert combines his love of growing and cooking in dishes like chard, bean and lemon soup, and burrata with courgette and fennel (thyme.co.uk).
East Anglia
Holkham Hall is a must-visit in north Norfolk,
and its 18th-century walled gardens are currently being rejuvenated, so they can supply produce for the estate’s The Victoria Inn, the perfect place to book if you want to stay (holkham.co.uk). Eat
Above With its large walled garden in which vegetables are grown for the restaurant, The Ethicurean in Somerset is widely acclaimed.
among the flowers at Back to the Garden, just inland from Blakeney (back-to-the-garden.co.uk), and try the Garden Kitchen Café at Hoveton Hall. After exploring the walled garden and Spider Garden, enjoy a menu of local ingredients and vegetables grown on site (hovetonhallestate.co.uk). In Suffolk, Snape Maltings is always worth a visit for gardeners, with its shops selling homewares and garden accessories, as well as perennials, shrubs and outdoor furniture. Regular farmers’ markets and the on-site Food Hall will keep cooks in good supply (snapemaltings.co.uk). The gardens at Wyken Hall are glorious, with old-fashioned roses, herb and knot gardens, wildflower meadows and an orchard and kitchen garden that supply its restaurant, The Leaping Hare (wykenvineyards.co.uk).
The Midlands & Wales
Keen gardeners will know peony and iris specialist Claire Austin and her hardy plant nursery, but may not know that Claire and her husband Ric also run The Sarn in Newtown, Powys. After a delicious pub lunch here, you can treat yourself to a few pots of Claire’s expertly grown plants (thesarn.co.uk). Nearby in Shropshire, Goldstone Hall Hotel is surrounded by gorgeous gardens filled with roses, plus a large kitchen garden that supplies the restaurant (goldstonehallhotel.co.uk), while on the Worcestershire-Herefordshire border, near Tenbury Wells, there’s more fine food to be had at AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 103
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GARDENS & FOOD
restaurant with rooms, Pensons, on the Netherwood Estate. Pensons’ kitchen garden supplies chefs with vegetables, fruit, herbs and honey, while the estate provides cold-pressed rapeseed oil and foraged food such as elderflowers and nettles (pensons.co.uk). In Pembrokeshire, in South Wales, The Grove of Narberth has a gorgeous setting, with views of the Preseli Hills, and a highly rated restaurant. Guests can explore the walled garden full of flowers, cutting garden and vegetable gardens where produce is used by head chef Douglas Balish in The Fernery (thegrove-narberth.co.uk). In North Wales, Llandudno’s Bodysgallen Hall serves a classic menu that celebrates local food and ingredients from the estate; work up an appetite by exploring the gardens, Top The Garden Café at which feature a rare 17th-century parterre and a The Newt in Somerset. huge walled kitchen garden (bodysgallen.com). Above In North Norfolk, In Rutland, feast on Michelin-starred food at the smart Victoria Inn is Hambleton Hall, overlooking Rutland Water. The part of Holkham Hall. surrounding gardens are beautifully maintained – you could tie a visit in with nearby Barnsdale, former home of Geoff Hamilton (hambletonhall.com).
The North, Scotland & Northern Ireland Fischer’s Baslow Hall is an award-winning restaurant
and hotel in Derbyshire. The Grade II-listed manor house is surrounded by lovely gardens and grounds,
restored by owners Max and Susan Fischer. The restaurant serves modern British food, and much of the garden’s fruit, vegetables and herbs are picked each day for its chefs (fischers-baslowhall.co.uk). Diners at Pipe & Glass near Beverley in Yorkshire can wander around newly created gardens that feature almost entirely edible plants, many of which are used in the kitchens of this Michelin-starred restaurant. They’re also a lovely setting for al fresco dining (pipeandglass.co.uk). In the Tees Valley, Wynyard Hall has quickly become a go-to destination for rose lovers, thanks to AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 105
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Above left Keeper of
the Walled Garden Adam Ferguson at Hillsborough Castle. Top right An abundance of produce supplies the kitchen at Goldstone Hall, Shropshire. Above right The highbeamed dining room at Pensons on the Netherwood Estate.
have helped him with the garden’s layout, making it the only garden they collaborated on in Scotland (greywalls.co.uk). Meanwhile, in the Highlands, visit the beautiful Victorian Applecross Walled Garden in Strathcarron, where the homegrown organic produce finds its way onto the plates of the award-winning restaurant, which serves such dishes as ‘walled garden caponata’, and ‘seasonal gardener’s lunch’ (applecrossgarden.co.uk). In Northern Ireland, garden lovers have always been drawn to Hillsborough Castle, part of Historic Royal Palaces. The gardens, cared for by Adam Ferguson and his team, are breathtaking in every season, but the huge restored Walled Garden is a draw in summer, when its crops and orchard of Irish apple trees are in full swing. Hungry visitors can make a pitstop at the award-winning Hillsborough Castle Café, which uses fresh ingredients from the walled garden (hrp.org.uk/hillsborough-castle). ■ Mark Diacono’s latest book Herb: A Cook’s Companion is out now, priced £26 and published by Quadrille. Visit otterfarm.co.uk
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the huge Alistair Baldwin-designed rose garden now filling its walled garden with colour and scent. After taking it all in, enjoy afternoon tea in the library, make an occasion of it in the Wellington Restaurant, or stay overnight in the hotel (wynyardhall.co.uk). On the other side of the country in the Lake District, Askham Hall is a lovely hotel with gardens that offer views over the River Lowther (it’s a short hop to Lowther Castle, if you also want to visit the Dan Pearson-designed gardens there). The hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurant Allium is well supplied by the kitchen gardens (askhamhall.co.uk). And no gourmet trip to the Lakes would be complete without securing a booking at the astonishing L’Enclume, where two Michelin-starred chef Simon Rogan uses fresh ingredients from the restaurant’s kitchen garden (lenclume.co.uk). Up in Scotland, gardeners will enjoy a stay or a visit to Greywalls, a hotel in Gullane, East Lothian. Visit the garden and round off the day with afternoon tea or enjoy the full experience of the Chez Roux restaurant. Sir Edwin Lutyens designed the house, and it’s thought that Gertrude Jekyll may
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OLD-LANDS
At Old-Lands in Monmouthshire, a centuries-old estate is being brought into the 21st century by Sam and Clare Bosanquet through natural restoration and nurturing of the land that puts back rather than taking away WORDS SIAN WILLIAMS PHOTOGRAPHS BRENT DARBY
The old walled garden has been returned to its original purpose, producing a steady supply of edible crops. AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 109
OLD-LANDS
O
ld-Lands country estate sits on the Welsh side of the border with England in Monmouthshire, just a stone’s throw from historic Raglan Castle. Its managers, Sam and Clare Bosanquet, an ecologist and naturalist and a photographer respectively, took on the family estate in 2015 when Sam’s father decided it needed a fresh approach and new ideas. The estate has been in the Bosanquet family for some 200 years. The main house is a handsome building of red marlstone, much altered by the Victorian generation who made their money in banking. Originally built to provide for a large family and staff, change was always inevitable. Out of necessity, the frugal post-war generation separated two wings from the main house to let out, which meant the house and wider estate could be 110 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
Above A holistic, organic approach to managing the estate prevails, not least in the kitchen garden where everything is composted.
kept in good repair. But, just like their predecessors in the post-war generation, Sam and Clare have had to make some difficult decisions about how the estate should be run in the 21st century. Neither was able or willing to manage the estate as a profit-maximising enterprise. “We work in a collaborative way with many partners,” says Clare, “offering them use of the space rent-free or without a cut, in return for them providing their services to our holiday guests staying on the estate.” The operation includes holiday stays, a forest school, wild swimming, a farm shop and catering, while profits from the holiday business fund Sam and Clare’s biodiversity projects on site. “Symbiotic relationships are key to the way we work,” says Clare. The aim of all their projects is to ensure that future generations benefit from their good husbandry, just as they have benefited from the work
Left Lettuces thrive in the no-dig beds, while white-flowering borage encourages pollinators to visit the site. Above Different varieties of beetroot, gathered fresh from the garden. Right Echinacea purpurea for butterflies. Below In the protection of a polytunnel, tomatoes and cucumbers provide a succulent harvest.
AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 111
112 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
of past generations. In slowing down the way they farm, restoring and nurturing the broader estate and its inhabitants, the family is always looking for ways to enrich both land and livelihoods. The kitchen garden and farm shop
One of the most attractive and central elements at Old-Lands is the Kitchen Garden, the development of which began in 2015 with the help of previous gardener, Colum Pawson. A walled kitchen garden had been established here in the 1970s, created by Sam’s parents to keep the household self-sufficient in vegetables and fruit. Back then, bees were kept to pollinate the orchard and make honey, and there were chickens to recycle leftovers and provide eggs. The space was turned into a flower garden in the late 1980s and when Sam and Clare took over in 2015, they gradually began to return it to its original purpose.
Above Like many estates of longstanding, there is a bevy of old farm buildings that have been pressed into service.
A new gardener was brought on board to run the garden in March 2018. Penny Redman studied horticulture at Askham Bryan College in York and had worked for both the National Trust at Nunnington Hall and the Royal Horticultural Society at Wisley. Passionate about organic gardening and the plan to resurrect the old kitchen garden, she has since returned the former flower beds to full organic vegetable production, continuing to use the no-dig method that had been implemented by Colum Pawson. They find it is easier to grow an abundance of strong, healthy vegetables yearon-year this way, with less time and effort spent on weeding. Produce is grown in beds with a firmed, heavy layer of manure and compost mulch on top of the undisturbed soil below. This produces good-quality soil with healthy organisms, and very few weeds come up making it easier to keep under control. After each yield, another layer of AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 113
OLD-LANDS
the same ingredients is added and firmed down and, over time, is broken down by the now thriving earthworm population. Penny has also introduced biodynamic preparations made from plants such as yarrow, camomile and dandelion, which are added in small quantities to enrich the garden’s compost. The resulting fruit and vegetables are sold in the on-site micro farm shop for estate residents, the local community, and holidaymakers staying in the grounds. In August and September, tomatoes thrive under Penny’s care and the garden can’t help but produce a glut. This is turned into bottles of home-made passata to be enjoyed throughout winter. The shop sells bags of home-grown salad, the garden’s speciality, at the tail-end of summer and holidaymakers are also able to pick their own lettuces, herbs and edible flowers from designated areas of the garden. “We grow squashes at this time of the year, too, ‘Turk’s Turban’ being a great favourite. They are so decorative and eye-catching to look at,” says Clare. “Because we don’t use pesticides or fertilisers, and we’ve set it up to be wildlife-friendly, the garden supports the biodiversity that we strive for on the Old-Lands estate,” she continues. “Sam descends from a long line of ecologists, and naturalists, so it’s nice to be able to keep these family traits alive.” ■ Old-Lands, Dingestow Court, Dingestow, Monmouthshire NP25 4DY. Tel: 01600 740141; old-lands.co.uk 114 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
Above Apple juice, tomatoes and knobbly pumpkins are part of the bounty of fruit, vegetables and preserves drawn from the kitchen garden and sold in the small farm shop on the estate.
Favourite vegetable varieties at Old-Lands
Old-Lands gardener Penny Redman reveals her favourite tomatoes, salads and basil “I love growing tomatoes as they are so productive and varied, coming in a variety of shapes and colours. I particularly like two beef tomato types: ‘Costoluto Fiorento’, an Italian heirloom that is really flavoursome, as well as ‘Black Russian’ – a dark-coloured beef tomato, which is also very tasty.” Penny has trialled many salads, so she has her favourites. “I like the lettuce ‘Merveille de Quatre Saisons’, which really lives up to its name – ‘marvel of four seasons’. I grow it in the polytunnel in winter and outside in spring and summer,” she says. “The lovely bronze outer leaves with greener centres look good growing and taste good all year round.” Another of Penny’s favourite crops is basil – Greek as well as Italian. “This year we are also trying a British one with no name as such, just simply ‘British Basil’, which should thrive in cooler climates. So far it’s grown really well and looks just as good as it tastes,” she notes.
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A Cut Above
FLOWER FARMERS
As the Flowers from the Farm network of British cut-flower farms prepares for its annual Big Weekend, Phoebe Jayes looks at ten of its talented growers from around the UK
Emily Talling of THREE ACRE grows flowers for cutting on land at her smallholding near Newquay in Cornwall. AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 117
FLOWER FARMERS
F
Fiona Porter, Cotswold Country Flowers
Visit your local flower farm
Growers across the country will open their gates over this mid-August weekend so visitors can explore local flower farms, meet growers and learn about floristry and the cultivation of cut flowers. Various events and activities can be booked at a wide variety of venues – think talks, workshops, pick-your-owns, and lunch or tea among the flowers. To find a farm that’s opening near you, visit flowersfromthe farm.co.uk
or lovers of cut flowers across the UK, the weekend of 13-15 August is one not to be missed: mark it in the diary as The Flower Farmers’ Big Weekend 2021. This three-day open flower farm festival offers a chance for members of the public to visit and enjoy local flower farms, from modest cutting gardens and allotments to walled gardens and farmland of over 12 acres. The Flower Farmers’ Big Weekend is organised annually by Flowers from the Farm, a membership association that champions more than 1,000 artisan growers of sustainable and seasonal British cut flowers. Here are just a few of the flower farms that are part of their network. 1
Cotswold Country Flowers
Gloucestershire, England
The brainchild of Fiona Porter, who transformed her back garden into a productive cutting patch for sustainable, wildlife-friendly blooms several years ago, Cotswold Country Flowers is now an established flower farm that provides bouquets, DIY buckets of flowers and wedding and event flowers to individuals, businesses and florists. Fiona also runs floral workshops from her base near Stroud. Tel: 07967 416799; cotswold-country-flowers.co.uk
118 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
2
Cloudberry Flowers
Peebles, Scotland
Former NHS dietician Catherine Duncan transformed her one-acre sloping garden not far from the River Tweed in the town of Peebles into a flower farm six years ago and hasn’t looked back. She started selling flowers at the garden gate, but the business has since expanded to supply beautiful blooms for weddings, biodegradable real-petal confetti, bouquets and handmade gifts and cards. The mother-of-three has also recently started a YouTube channel about cut-flower gardening. cloudberryflowers.co.uk 3
Edw Valley Flowers
Builth Wells, Wales
After taking voluntary redundancy from her job at a library, Vicki Workman took on 1.25 acres of a fiveacre smallholding in the scenic Edw Valley in rural mid-Wales, on which she began a flower farm. Now she shares the shop ‘Flowers from No. 6’ in Builth Wells with fellow flower farmer Jenny Powell of Jenny Wren Flowers, from which she sells seasonal bouquets and flowers for events. Her eco-friendly flower farm is managed to encourage diverse wildlife as well as a wide range of blooms. Tel: 01982 570325; edwvalleyflowers.co.uk
Jo Thompson and Lucy Midgley, Wye Valley Flowers Catherine Duncan, Cloudberry Flowers
Vicki Workman, Edw Valley
Anaïs Carillo-Hawkins, Dulce & Flor 4
THREE ACRE
Cornwall, England
Emily Talling started growing flowers 12 years ago, but it was only when she settled at her coastal cottage just outside Newquay that she began growing for weddings in a section of the three-acre smallholding that came with it. Elsewhere on the land, Emily and her family have planted 1,000 trees to create a small woodland in collaboration with Rising Forests and the St Ives Liquor Co. Tel: 07968 831338; 3acre.co.uk 5
Michael Hardy, Ravenshill Flower Farm
Ravenshill Flower Farm
Gloucestershire, England TNEBDAORB DIVAD ;YHPARGOTOHP NOZRUC ILA ;TRAWETS YNNEJ SEGAMI
After university Michael Hardy became a gardener for a local estate, and it was here that he became passionate about cut flowers. He enjoyed this area of the work so much that he started up his own cutflower business on his family farm in the Forest of Dean. He hosts growing workshops from November to April and sells fresh flowers throughout the rest of the year, with a focus on cottage garden varieties. Tel: 07922 198708; @ravenshillflowerfarm 6
Wye Valley Flowers
Gloucestershire, England
Jo Thompson and Lucy Midgley began planting up one acre of land 800ft above sea level in 2019, ready for a March 2020 launch. Despite the unlucky timing, they organised the delivery of the 300 ready-and-waiting tulips to those in self-isolation
and “the phone hasn’t stopped since”. Now, they supply everything from jam jar posies to wedding arrangements. The lofty growing conditions mean flowers are two weeks behind the rest of the county. Tel: 07555 392173; wyevalleyflowers.com 7
Dulce & Flor
London, England
One of the winners of the 2020 Flowers from the Farm Diversity Scholarships, Anaïs Carillo-Hawkins is currently based in London, growing flowers from what she calls her ‘Car Park Garden’ as well as baking stunning cakes with floral decorations. Anaïs is in the process of securing two acres of land in the Chilterns, where she aims to start a new flower farm. Follow @dulceandflor on Instagram AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 119
FLOWER FARMERS
R E S S E M N I R OC/SPNB SEGAM I
Dan Benson, Brothers Farm Flowers 8
Brothers Farm Flowers
Dorset, England
Debbie Scott, East Lothian Flower Farm
In 2018, garden designer Dan Benson decided to return to his Dorset roots and began trialling cut flowers at Trehane Nursery, an organic four-acre blueberry farm run by his brother Josh. So began Brothers Farm Flowers, which now boasts the Flower Barn Café where visitors can enjoy coffee and a slice of cake among the flowers before attending a workshop, buying flowers or picking a punnetful of blueberries in July and August. Tel: 07930 495953; brothersfarm.co.uk 9
Yalham Hayes Flower Farm
Somerset, England
Aizel Finch is relatively new to flower farming. Born in urban Manila, it was in 2017 that she moved to her Somerset home with its three acres of land. Since then, she has retrained and immersed herself in horticulture, setting up Yalham Hayes just before the UK’s first lockdown in 2020. Aizel provides flowers for individuals, florists and special events. Tel: 07769 816629; yalhamhayes.com 10
East Lothian Flower Farm
Edinburgh, Scotland
Based in a historic walled garden just outside Haddington, this flower farm is run by Debbie 120 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
Scott, the Scottish coordinator for Flowers from the Farm. Alongside her work as a surveyor and raising her young children, Debbie provides a variety of cut flowers and arrangements for florists, private events and functions, as well as seasonal bunches for delivery in the local area. Not one to slack, she also runs workshops over the summer months. Tel: 07505 734360; eastlothianflowerfarm.com ■
Aizel Finch, Yalham Hayes Flower Farm
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The Reviewer
BOOKS
A selection of the best writing on the shelves this month Pure Style in the Garden: Creating an Outdoor Haven by Jane Cumberbatch Pimpernel, £20
As a second summer close to home seems again to be a most sensible choice, thoughts turn to ways of enjoying our gardens at their best. While garden centres and nurseries offer all the plant material we could wish for, not to mention a great range of furniture, it takes a practised eye to cut through the profusion of choice and hone in on what is beautiful and useful. Jane Cumberbatch’s South London garden is just 22m long and 11m across, but through her decades of work as a stylist and writer, combined with a love of gardening, she has figured out exactly what it is that makes a house a home, both indoors and out. Pure Style in the Garden isn’t a heavyweight gardening tome, but nor does it pretend to be. Rather, it takes the form of an evocative garden diary studded with nuggets of helpful information. There are thoughts on tulips and roses to try and how you might make a pergola for summer shade, for example. In summer there is a recipe for fig and frangipani tart and practical tips on dining outdoors – anchor a tablecloth with stones at each corner on a windy day. Jane describes her garden as a “world within a world, a place… in summer to brush against scented lavender spilling over the paths with the hum of bees all around.” And that image is something to which we can all aspire.
Dior and Roses
by Éric Pujalet-Plaà, Brigitte Richart and Vincent Leret Rizzoli, £35
YLBMAH ENNEIVIV SDROW
While botanical prints have recently hit the fashion industry with all the force of an intense spring, botanicals have long inspired haute couture, and we owe many of the most desirable shapes to flowers. None has been more influential than Dior’s New Look of 1947, which, with its cinched bodice and flared skirt, was informed by his favourite flower, the rose. Dior and Roses is a lavishly illustrated hardback covering the designer’s childhood garden at Granville; the flower’s influence on Miss Dior, the iconic scent named for his sister Catherine; and Catherine’s Rosa x centifolia farm in Callian. Roses continue to inspire the fashion house and the book considers the work of current creative director, Maria Grazia Chiuri. As a companion, consider Catherine Dior, a biography by Justine Picardie (Faber) to be released on 2 September.
The Hedgerow Cookbook
by Caro Willson and Ginny Knox National Trust, £12.99
In spring they’re a froth of white blossom, by early summer the smallest green fruits appear and in late summer and autumn, our hedgerows are bedecked with jewels: elderberries, blackberries, crab apples, sloes, rowan berries, damsons and bullaces. That is to say nothing of the plants at their feet: dandelions, nettles, sorrel and wild garlic. Committed foragers Caro Willson and Ginny Cox grew up with ‘wild’ food and here offer a wealth of sensible but appealing ideas to try. Chapters cover flowers, hips, leaves, berries, stone fruit, fruit with pips, and nuts, so recipes range from wild plum ice cream to nettle and feta pastries. There is a harvest for the attentive forager at every stage of the year, but if your repertoire is limited to jellies and flavoured spirits – admittedly no bad thing – The Hedgerow Cookbook could prove particularly handy. AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 123
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Q&A
BOOKS
In her new book, The Healthy Vegetable Garden, expert organic farmer Sally Morgan gives practical advice on growing your own crops in the most natural, biodiverse way possible What foundations do you suggest putting in place for a vegetable patch’s long-term health?
I advise anyone with a new patch to conduct simple soil tests so you know what you’re starting with. Look for worms. If the previous owner fertilised and used pesticides, it won’t have soil life the way an organic one will. Plan what you want to do, remove debris, cover it with cardboard, then import some compost to make a quick bed. That will get the plot under control. Get a load of woodchip and mulch the paths straight away. If paths are neat, everything looks neat. I prefer a mounded bed and continually mulch in no-dig style to build up the depth of soil. Name three good hacks for growing vegetables.
What constitutes a healthy vegetable garden?
For me it’s important to start with the soil, which should have a high level of organic matter and lots of soil life – worms are a good indicator. You also need plant diversity: a vegetable garden should not just be vegetables, but a mix of annual and perennial vegetables at different life stages, with some young and some maturing. And it needs lots of flowers. My inspiration was Rosemary Verey’s potager at Barnsley House. It was alive with vegetables, insects, birds, flowers and beautiful patterns, and the soil was always covered with something. There is a lot of emphasis on no-dig – but is digging a vegetable garden really so bad? YLBMAH ENNEIVIV WEIVRETNI
Healthy soil shouldn’t be disturbed too much. The worms will break up soil and mix in organic matter and the more you turn the more you disturb fungi. I’m not a purist – I dig up parsnips and potatoes – but the whole bed is never disturbed. I try to be realistic and I do understand that for a lot of people digging is such a therapeutic experience.
I save four-litre water bottles to use as cloches in spring. Turn them upside down, cut off the bottom and remove the cap. I also love to take cuttings from side shoots of tomatoes – they root easily. It’s a good way to grow more tomato plants if you find you’re short. If you have a greenhouse they should catch up and last until November. You can turn some annuals into short-lived perennials. I let Swiss chard come back in spring and give it a Chelsea chop before it flowers – it grows for the rest of the year. In my polytunnel, I have black kale in its third season! What are the best ways to outwit slugs and snails – and does copper tape really work?
There’s no one best way. The RHS has done trials in garden environments and found that copper, bark, eggshells and grit had no effect. Ask instead why you have so many: is it a wet spring, do you have clay soil or are beds too close to compost bins? You can go out at night to trap them, but birds, frogs, and ground beetles are the best defence. Call ducks are great at getting eggs out of the sides of raised beds, and if I had a new garden, I might try nematodes. What vegetables can still be sown now?
Start preparing to plant onion and garlic sets, and sow broad beans and peas: just make sure you have the right varieties that will withstand frost. There’s still time to sow perpetual spinach and many salad crops. Fill in gaps with turnips and improve soils with a green manure such as rye mix or phacelia. ■
The Healthy Vegetable Garden by Sally Morgan Chelsea Green Publishing, £22.
AUGUST 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 125
NURSERIES FOR GORGEOUS NEW PLANTS SPRING REACH NURSERY
A plant fanatic’s paradise on the edge of the beautiful Surrey Hills, just 10 minutes from the A3/M25. Brilliant home-grown Shrubs, Climbers, Grasses, Perennials, Roses, Ferns, Trees, Hedging and Fruit, plus these Summer wonders: Achillea ‘Red Velvet’, Eryngium ‘Big Blue’, Hoheria ‘Stardust’, Salvia ‘Amethyst Lips’, Salvia ‘Reve Rouge’ and Stachys ‘Pink Cotton Candy’.
HEDGING UK
Hedging UK are specialist growers of quality hedging plants. Plants are available to purchase at wholesale prices across the UK through our mail order service. Buy direct from the grower, delivered direct to your door. Readers of The English Garden get a 5% discount (quote TEG2021).
Tel: 01483 284769 info@springreachnursery.co.uk | www.springreachnursery.co.uk Long Reach, Ockham, Surrey GU23 6PG
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ASHWOOD NURSERIES
BEETHAM NURSERIES
A plantsman’s paradise and an independent nursery situated in the West Midlands. We specialise in Hellebores, Hardy Cyclamen, Salvias, Hepaticas, Lewisias, Hydrangeas, Dwarf Conifers, Snowdrops, Primula auriculas and many more beautiful plants. Our mail order service sends plants, garden essentials and gifts to mainland UK destinations. Please visit our website for up-to-date information regarding opening times and events.
Beetham Nurseries is a family-owned, independent garden centre in south Cumbria, just 4 miles from the M6 motorway. Established in 1984, Beetham Nurseries is a Garden Centre, Growing Nursery, Food Hall, Home & Lifestyle and Gift Shops, Garden Cafe and Wood Fired Kitchen. Outside offers a large range of traditional plants as well as the rare and unusual in the Garden Centre and Growing Nursery; both of which are well known for their premium plant quality. Indoors offers a selection of houseplants, homeware, gifts, wildlife care, children’s gifts & books and antique and reclaimed furniture sourced by our team from across the country and Europe.
Tel: 01384 401996 mailorder@ashwoodnurseries.com | www.ashwoodnurseries.com Ashwood Lower Lane, Kingswinford, West Midlands DY6 0AE
Tel: 015395 63630 www.beethamnurseries.co.uk Pool Darkin Lane, Beetham, Nr Milnthorpe, Cumbria. LA7 7AP
DAISY CLOUGH NURSERIES LTD
TENDERCARE NURSERIES
Tel: 01524 793104 info@daisyclough.com | www.daisyclough.com Station Lane, Scorton, Preston, Lancs PR3 1AN
Tel: 01895 837120 sales@tendercare.co.uk | www.tendercare.co.uk. Southlands Road, Denham UB9 4HD. Next to Junction 2 on the M40.
A busy nursery in rural Lancashire, Daisy Clough specialises in a carefully selected range of over 700 perennials and grasses. Open seven days a week, the nursery also offers a good selection of shrubs, trees, container plants and fruit. Plenty of homegrown vegetable plants are available through spring and summer. A full plant list is available to view on our website. Our garden shop sells seeds, tools and essential garden sundries. We have a beautiful homeware and clothing shop, a deli and a tearoom to round off your visit. Covid restrictions apply.
Specialising in more mature and specimen plants, from acers to agapanthus, pleached trees and evergreen screens, Tendercare’s 12 acres are a joy to visit. Our popular site visit and warrantied planting services can help rejuvenate a tired garden or change the focus of the garden after building works. While our award-winning design service will create a beautiful garden for you to enjoy all year through. Book a visit with assistance from one of our horticulturists, by golf buggy, or pop into our office and we can give you a map, a route to follow, and suggestions to get you started.
GARDENS TO VISIT FOR SUMMER INSPIRATION DENMANS GARDENS
Tel: 01243 278 950 office@denmans.org | www.denmans.org Denmans Lane, Fontwell, Nr. Arundel BN18 0SU
WAKEHURST
In the heart of Sussex, lies one of the most biodiverse places on Earth, Wakehurst. With over 500 acres to explore, Kew’s wild botanic garden is a living laboratory, a site of globally significant plant science with a living collection of rare and endangered plants. Home to the UK’s largest conservation project, the Millennium Seed Bank, unearth the pioneering and experimental approach to planting along with over 500 acres of gardens and woodlands. OPEN: Daily 10am – 6pm.
w eK G B R , n e d l o H m i J © t s r u h e k a W
Created by Joyce Robinson, a brilliant pioneer in gravel gardening, and former home of influential landscape designer, John Brookes MBE, Denmans is a Grade II postwar garden renowned for its curvilinear layout and complex plantings. Enjoy colour, unusual plants, structure and fragrance in the gravel gardens, intimate Walled Garden, and Conservatory year-round. Browse Denmans-grown plants, vintage garden ornaments, house accessories and garden gadgets in the gift shop and plant centre.
Tel: 01444 894066 wakehurst@kew.org | Pre-booking essential kew.org/wakehurst Selsfield Rd, Haywards Heath RH17 6TN
FORDE ABBEY HOUSE AND GARDENS
CHELSEA PHYSIC GARDEN
Tel: 01460 221290 info@fordeabbey.co.uk | www.fordeabbey.co.uk Chard, Somerset TA20 4LU
Tel: 020 7352 5646 enquiries@chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk | www.chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk 66 Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, London SW3 4HS
LONGLEAT
WADDESDON, A ROTHSCHILD HOUSE & GARDENS
Home to the highest-powered fountain in the country, these award-winning gardens include topiary-lined vistas, colourful herbaceous borders, an arboretum, bog garden, and walled kitchen garden selling seasonal fresh produce. Straight lines give way to meandering pathways, with plenty of benches and seating to admire the views along the way. A gift shop, nursery, pottery and vaulted coffee shop make it a full day out. OPEN: Gardens open daily from 10.30am – 5pm (last admission 4pm). House open Tuesday to Friday, Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays.
In ‘Tales of the Garden’ Longleat have delved deep into their archives to find fascinating tales of times gone by that celebrate those who’ve helped shape Longleat’s grounds and gardens over the past five centuries. Nine stories have been brought to life by stunning sculptures. Join the quest to discover more about Longleat’s natural and built heritage until 12 September. OPEN: See website for details.
enquiries@longleat.co.uk www.longleat.co.uk The Estate Office, Longleat, Warminster, Wiltshire BA12 7NW
Tucked away beside the Thames, Chelsea Physic Garden is London’s oldest botanic garden and home to 4,000 different medicinal, herbal, edible and useful plants from around the world. Established in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London, the Garden is open for visitors to explore and enjoy its amazing plant collection. OPEN: Sunday to Friday. Visit our website for up-to-date opening times. Please prebook admission tickets online.
Created in the 19th century for Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild, Waddesdon’s gardens exemplify Victorian horticulture with a parterre, Rococo-style aviary and collection of statuary. The formal gardens open up to parkland with hidden glades, magnificent woodland and picturesque views. This summer, wander around the fairy-tale Frenchstyle chateau, meet a family of elephants in the pleasure grounds and soak up the scent of wildflowers and herbaceous planting. OPEN: All tickets must be prebooked, see website for details.
www.waddesdon.org.uk Near Aylesbury, Bucks HP18 0JH
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TO CONCLUDE
I
A Holiday at Home
With foreign travel still an uncertainty, Non Morris, suggests a trip to Sissinghurst, where a tumbled-stone taste of Greece can be sampled in the reimagined Delos
130 THE ENGLISH GARDEN AUGUST 2021
“
The garden is theatrical with skinny Greek columns and matching Cypress trees”
In 2018 the National Trust brought in Dan Pearson to reimagine Delos in a contemporary way. He worked with specialist French nurseryman Olivier Filippi to radically rethink and re-engineer the garden to let drought-tolerant Mediterranean species survive. Raised beds of local ragstone tilt southwards to ‘harvest the sun’, filled with a freedraining mix of 50% ragstone gravel, 25% crushed brick and 25% poor-quality topsoil. The beds are further mulched with gravel – the new terrain proving satisfyingly unappetising to local weeds. Planting was completed in spring 2020 and the magic has already begun. The Quercus coccifera is still a majestic focal point, as is a deep purple lilac tree underplanted with mauve Lunaria annua, mounds of lime green Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii and an exquisite pink-flowered rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Rosemarey’ – a covetable plant from Filippi’s French nursery. Plants self-seed and drape themselves over the stone, but it is also the sense of space around each plant that tantalises – whether it is around the tiny pools of powderblue globularias or the russet candelabras of Euphorbia rigida or the perfect open shape of finely cut Ficus afghanistanica. Except for the trees, the planting has not been watered since it went in yet it is thriving. The garden is theatrical with its grove of skinny Greek columns and matching Cypress trees but its experimental approach to planting is inspirational and likely to become increasingly relevant to us all. If your longing to get away to the Mediterranean becomes urgent, I can recommend an afternoon sitting on a sunwarmed stone amid a haze of field poppies, butterflies and bees in deepest Kent. ■ nationaltrust.org.uk; jardin-sec.com
ENRAW LEHCAR TIARTROP SNRUB AIRAM NOITARTSULLI
n April 1932, Vita Sackville-West was longing to leave her emerging garden at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent, and head to the Mediterranean. ‘You will be seeing those lavender and tawny slopes, I suppose, and all the wild spring flowers which I have never seen… How I envy you…’ she wrote to Virginia Woolf, who was spending an entire month in Greece. Vita’s dreams of Mediterranean warmth were noted in her husband Harold Nicolson’s diary: ‘we CANNOT AFFORD IT’. With limited funds, they planted the now iconic Lime Avenue in lieu of a trip to the sun and it was not until April 1935 that the pair found themselves on a yacht in the dazzling Aegean Sea. Visiting the island of Delos, they were smitten by the way dancing mats of wildflowers created gorgeous natural rock gardens from the extensive ruins. They were so smitten that they set about developing a new garden – a landscape of tumbled stone and Mediterranean plants that they named Delos. They planted a Mediterranean oak, Quercus coccifera, and created terraces and raised beds using stone from fallen buildings and antique carved pieces. But although spring in the Kentish Delos was always lovely, with sheets of scillas and narcissus, the planting adapted to its north-facing plot and heavy Wealden clay and by the early 21st century it felt more like a classic English woodland garden than a deliciously dusty taste of Greece. As we all emerge shaken and still uncertain from the Covid pandemic, the lure of a Greek island, of blue sea and an even bluer sky under which aromatic plants warmed by the sun release their spicy oils, has become even more intense. But is it ever a good idea to try to recreate the silvery magic of a holiday landscape when you return to your more northerly garden?
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