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THE

english

GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

For everyone who loves beautiful gardens

www.theenglishgarden.co.uk

SPECIAL ISSUE

Dream Gardens

The essential elements of an English garden

Create your own perfect space

DESIGNER SECRETS Top gardeners reveal their go-to sources Bring in the New Year O

The best cherries for BLOSSOM

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JO BUTCHER’s embroidery

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Must-have plants for BORDERS

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BEATRIX POTTER’s garden

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CONTRIBUTORS

Vanessa Berridge Vanessa was launch editor of The English Garden. She now writes about heritage and gardening and has a new book out on Kiftsgate Court Gardens this spring.

She visits Eastleach House on page 52.

Jenny Dalton Freelance journalist Jenny writes regularly about design for the Financial Times’ How To Spend It magazine.

Gardens are a growing passion. She reveals garden designers’ secret sources and suppliers on page 63.

Welcome T

his issue we’re ignoring any grim weather February throws at us and, instead, dreaming of beautiful gardens. Each of us has a ‘dream garden’ in our head; that perfect plot we’d create if the boring constraints of reality were lifted. In my dream garden, long-held aspirations to have my own mulberry would come true, there’d be room for a cut-flower patch and a pretty potager – its beds adorned with perfect rows of slug-free lettuces and peas that haven’t been pigeon-pecked.

At the risk of provoking green-eyed envy, the gardens in this issue are so gorgeous that they must be the culmination of their owners’ dreams (although most gardeners are too modest, and gardens too transient, for any of them to make that claim). Sit back and admire gardens such as Eastleach House in the Cotswolds and Clinton Lodge in East Sussex, each the stunning result of many years of labour and love. The wonderful contemporary design at Blue Doors in the South Downs, the ambitious rose garden at Wynyard Hall in County Durham and boldly planted Tyger Barn in Norfolk are the realisation of more recent dreams, but are no less inspirational.

Enjoy the issue and all its inspiration – there is plenty to fuel your dreams, whether they’re based in reality or otherwise.

IMAGES CHRISTOPHER DRAKE; NEIL HEPWORTH; MARTIN POPE

CLARE FOGGETT, EDITOR

Helen Yemm Writer and author Helen is a passionate hands-on gardener, best known for fielding readers’ questions on the Telegraph’s ‘Thorny Problems’ page. She admires the garden at Blue Doors on page 20.

ON THE COVER Glorious, abundant roses in the earlymorning sun at Wynyard Hall in County Durham – the dream garden of Sir John Hall. Photo

by Clive Nichols.

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February 2019

CONTENTS 20

Gardens 20 Blue Doors Landscape is everything at this Sussex garden, where the designers have incorporated its wrap-around views.

28 Wynyard Hall Long-held dreams of a magniďŹ cent rose garden have come true for Sir John Hall at his County Durham garden.

36 Clinton Lodge At Lady Collum’s beautiful and harmonious garden in East Sussex, the philosophy is one of peace.

44 Tyger Barn Designer Julianne Fernandez has channelled the ancient Greek spirit of a country idyll into her Norfolk garden.

52 Eastleach House A rill, topiary and tunnels draw the eye, colour wheels dazzle, and statuary plays with perspective at this Cotswold garden of delights.

6 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

Design 63 Design Secrets Top designers open up their address books to reveal their sources of inspiration… from favourite stockists of plants and accessories to beautiful places to explore.

72 Dream Gardens A dream garden can take on many forms and attributes. Here, garden designers offer their thoughts on what is a very individual proposition.

95 Craftspeople Embroidery artist Jo Butcher combines traditional stitches with a contemporary eye to create pictures of wildflower meadows and cottage gardens.

103 Writers’ Gardens At Beatrix Potter’s much-loved home, Hill Top, in the Lake District, she created a cottage garden that featured in her exquisite children’s books.

Plants

36 9

81 Top 10 Plants A dreamy English country garden can be yours if you plant these wonderfully romantic, classic plants.

87 Cherry trees Their clouds of blossom are often scattered by the first gust of wind, but ornamental cherries’ leaves, fruit and winter bark give them year-round appeal.

Regulars

IMAGES MARIANNE MAJERUS; MIMI CONNOLLY; SHUTTERSTOCK; GAP/JOE WAINWRIGHT/HOWARD RICE

9 This Month Our guide to gardens to visit, places to go, things to do and nature to note.

17 Shopping Valentine’s-inspired garden gifts for loved ones and the best accessories for stylish spring seed sowing.

107 The Reviewer February’s literary digest, plus an interview with Catherine Horwood about her new book, Rose.

87 17 81

114 Last Word Katherine Swift ponders the discoveries that led to modern varieties of sweet peas – stalwarts of the cottage garden.

Offers 35 Subscribe & Save Subscribe to The English Garden and save money.

71 Home Insurance Specialist insurance quotes for readers of The English Garden.

80 Sarah Raven Offer Save 20% when you spend over £30 on bulbs in the green.

FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 7

FEBRUARY

Gardens to Visit Seek inspiration for your own garden by visiting one of Britain’s best

NGS GARDEN

Lacock Abbey Gardens Wiltshire

Budding ROMANCE We round up five of the country’s most romantic gardens, perfect for a stroll with a loved one, and truly beautiful at any time of year Stourhead

Nymans

Iford Manor Gardens

This rambling 18th-century garden in Wiltshire (above) was described as ‘a living work of art’ when it opened. The focus is on water: a sinuous lake surrounded by trees and classical buildings. Tel: 01747 841152; nationaltrust.org.uk

Created by Ludwig Messel in the 19th-century, this Sussex garden is set around a romantic stone house and ruins. Its 13 acres feature sculpture, topiary and exotic plant varieties. Tel: 01444 405250; nationaltrust.org.uk

These Italianate gardens (below left), designed by Harold Peto in the 18th century, sit in the idyllic Frome Valley in Bath. Steps twist around statues, columns and urns on a terraced hillside with splendid views. Tel: 01225 863146; ifordmanor.co.uk

Lacock Abbey Gardens include an informal woodland garden that is carpeted with snowdrops and aconites in February.

It’s filled with a collection of mature native and exotic trees, and the tranquil Bide Brook runs through it. In the walled garden, known as The Botanic Garden, there are greenhouses filled with vines and colourful displays of flowers for year-round interest. And from spring until autumn, the mixed borders here are a true delight. The Abbey itself is a mixture of architectural styles, built on the foundations of a former nunnery.

Open for the NGS on 23 February, 10.30am to 5.30pm. Lacock Abbey Gardens, High Street, Lacock, Chippenham, Wiltshire SN15 2LG. Refreshments available.

Adult £6; Child £3.

WORDS PHOEBE JAYES IMAGES ANNA STOWE; IFORD MANOR

Crook Hall Each of the 15 gardens at Crook Hall in Durham has its own style. Duck into the walled garden to see blowsy roses, enjoy sculpture in the Shakespeare garden and visit the silver and white garden, which honours a 25th wedding anniversary. Tel: 0191 3848028; crookhallgardens.co.uk

Bowood House Designed by ‘Capability’ Brown in the 1760s, these Wiltshire pleasure grounds include a terrace with trickling fountains, a Doric temple, woodland gardens and views over the mile-long lake with a magnificent cascade.

Tel: 01249 812102; bowood.org

FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 9

FEBRUARY

Places to Go Unmissable flower shows, plant fairs, courses and exhibitions to attend this month

Early COLOUR Daws Hall Snowdrop Celebration 10 February and 17 February, Suffolk Celebrate the first signs of spring by wrapping up and taking a walk through a sea of pretty snowdrops, primroses, aconites and other early bulbs at Daws Hall. This gorgeous Nature Reserve in Suffolk’s Stour Valley also features the stunning eight-acre Sanctuary Gardens, which are home to some 20 species of wildfowl, including the common eider and the endangered red-breasted goose, as well as a large collection of unusual ornamental trees and shrubs. Adult £6; child £3.

Tel: 01787 269766; dawshallnature.co.uk

Strange BEAUTY Kew’s Orchids Festival: Columbia 9 February-10 March, London Kew’s Orchids Festival this year draws inspiration from Columbia, home to more orchid species than anywhere else in the world. Colombia is also famed for its wildlife diversity, so the central display will feature a toucan in flight, a hanging sloth and swimming turtle, all made of orchids, bromeliads and other tropical plants. The festival takes place across the Princess of Wales Conservatory, with music, street food and an exciting programme of events included. Access with standard entry ticket. Tel: 020 8332 5655; kew.org

LOOKING AHEAD: Snowdrop FEVER 26 January, London The annual snowdrop sale at Myddelton House Gardens offers a chance to buy rare bulbs from specialist nurseries.

Free entry. Tel: 03000 030610; visitleevalley.org.uk

Rode Hall Snowdrop Walk 2 February-3 March, Cheshire Follow a carpet of white (right) formed by 70 varieties of snowdrop on a lakeside path,

down to the Colonel’s Walk where the rarest varieties cluster. £5 adult; Tel: 01270 873237; rodehall.co.uk

Snowdrop Tea 2 February-3 March, Gloucestershire Colesbourne Park’s snowdrop collection is open to visitors every weekend in February, with tea and cake available.

Adult £8. Tel: 01242 870567; colesbournegardens.org.uk

10 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

Snowdrop Lecture 5 February, West Midlands Alan Street’s ‘Snowdrops at Avon Bulbs’ explains the work that goes into growing Avon’s rare snowdrops and precedes a visit to John Massey’s lovely canalside garden. Tickets £22.50. Tel: 01384 401996; ashwoodnurseries.com

Hever Snowdrop Walk From 9 February, Kent Walk a magical trail of around

70,000 snowdrops at Hever Castle. The mix includes singles and doubles, plus unusual varieties such as the giant ‘Colossus’. Tel: 01732 865224; hevercastle.co.uk

WORDS PHOEBE JAYES IMAGES UK CITY IMAGES; KEW

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FEBRUARY

Things to Do Keep up to date in the garden with our monthly guide to key gardening tasks

Checklist O Use a hoe to work

organic fertiliser into the surface of your border soil for a gradual release of nutrients in spring.

O Order compost,

pots and seed trays so you’re ready for the busy season ahead.

O Prune late-flowering

shrubs such as hardy fuchsias and Buddleja davidii between now and March. Cut them right down, almost to the ground, feed with organic fertiliser and mulch around the base of the shrub.

GET A head start

O Deadhead winter

If sown now and protected from cold, peas, broad beans, spinach, cabbage and some salad crops will give you an early taste of spring

pansies and violas for continued flowering throughout spring.

O If you didn’t plant lily

make drills for sowing. Water and then sow hardy vegetable seeds, such as peas, broad beans and summer cabbage, as thinly as possible, replace the soil and put the cloche back to cover them. When the

12 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

seedlings are large enough to handle, thin out to the spacing specified on the seed packet.

In a greenhouse, sowings made now can be planted out in a month or so when conditions are warmer. Try sowing peas and hardy salads into lengths of plastic guttering. Make drainage holes in the bottom of the guttering and fill with compost. Sow the seeds into the compost and give them a good water.

When they’re ready to be transplanted, simply slide the seedlings into a shallow trench in the soil outside and cover with a cloche to protect them until spring has truly sprung.

bulbs in autumn, pot them up now to plant out later in spring. Lilies need to be planted quite deeply, so use large pots. Keep in a cool greenhouse or coldframe.

IMAGES GAP PHOTOS; SHUTTERSTOCK

Vegetable seeds should not be sown outdoors too early; sowing directly into the soil at this time of year is a sure-fire path to disappointment. When the temperatures are low, the seed won’t germinate and will just go to waste. It’s far better to wait until there are signs of life, such as weed seeds germinating, to know that your sowings will thrive.

However, if you’re impatient to get started, you can get a head start by warming up the soil with clear plastic sheets or cloches, ready for sowing in a few weeks’ time. After three to four weeks, rake the soil to a fine tilth and use a cane to

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FEBRUARY

Nature to Note Your monthly guide to encouraging and caring for garden wildlife

The Bees’ KNEES Provide nectar to feed helpful bumblebees Appearance: There are 25 different species of bumblebee in the UK. They are fatter and furrier than honeybees; most have black and yellow stripes, though some have orange or red and black stripes. They can be seen from spring until late autumn, with some emerging as early as February.

Habitat: Bumblebees need a rich supply of flowers from spring until late summer. Some species nest underground in compost heaps and abandoned rodent holes, while others do so in thick grass or higher up in bird boxes.

What you can do: Eight species are on the conservation priority list. Bees play a key role in producing the food we eat, so plant nectar-rich plants to feed them. Crocuses and primroses are lovely bee-friendly plants for February. To find out more, go to bumblebeeconservation.org

Lesser celandine The delicate lesser celandine, Ranunculus ficaria subsp. verna, flowers in early spring. Its leaves are rich in vitamin C and were traditionally used to fight scurvy, while its roots were used to combat haemorrhoids and varicose veins. In the language of flowers, celandine represents ‘joy to come’.

William Wordsworth loved these cheerful flowers, hailing them as: “Bright as the sun himself.”

14 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

Care for wildlife this FEBRUARY Put up nest boxes; create a plant-rich, wildlife-friendly hedge; build a pond to attract frogs; and feed visiting hedgehogs O Put up nest boxes ready for birds in the

O Leave out fresh water, sultanas,

spring nesting season. Locate the boxes two to four metres up a tree or wall, and clear the area in front of them to create a direct flight path for birds. Place them facing north-east to avoid direct sunlight and harsh winds.

O Plant a wildlife hedge to help all manner of creatures, while shielding your garden from the wind.

Incorporate different varieties, such as hawthorn, blackthorn, field maple and viburnum, so that there’s always something beautiful in flower or fruit.

O Late winter is a good time to build a pond for aquatic wildlife, because it will establish more quickly. Frogs are now more common in garden ponds than they are in the countryside.

Weetabix or meat-based cat food for hedgehogs. Alternatively, specialist food for hedgehogs is now available.

WORDS PHOEBE JAYES IMAGES SHUTTERSTOCK

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SHOPPING

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Seeds of Success 4

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Spring is on its way, so get sowing now with these elegant planting accessories 1. Antiqued garden line, £19.95. Tel: 0345 6052505; worm.co.uk 2. Tenby thermometer, £26.

Tel: 01993 845559; gardentrading.co.uk 3. Scroll-weave cloche with copper belt, £34.99.

Tel: 01344 578833; rhsplants.co.uk 4. Suttons heritage seed tin & contents, £12.99. Tel: 0844 3262200; suttons.co.uk 5. Set of six greenhouse tags with chalk, £10. Tel: 01993 845559; gardentrading.co.uk 6. Yew pot tamper, £10.

Tel: 01963 363809; netherwalloptrading.uk 7. Green Fingers mug, £11. Tel: 01778 560256; sophieallport.com 8. Seedlings tray, £12. Tel: 01993 845559; gardentrading.co.uk 9. Seedling watering can, £9.99. Tel: 0333 2405933; dobies.co.uk 10. Galvanised soil sieve, £13.99. Tel: 01344 578811; waitrosegarden.com

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FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 17

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From the Heart 4

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Choose the perfect gardenthemed Valentine’s Day gift for the loved one in your life

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1. Royal Craft steel love seat, £87.99. Tel: 0800 1690423; wayfair.co.uk 2. Suffolk fedora with guinea feather wrap, £95. Tel: 01284 598005; hicksandbrown.com 3. Heart bird feeder, £7.

Tel: 03332 401228; sophieconran.com 4. Heartshaped trowel, £40.50. Tel: 020 8940 5230; petershamnurseries.com 5. Olive wood chopping board, £18. Tel: 01738 860066; inchyrahome.co.uk 6. Two seat rope swing, from £279.07. Tel: 01297 443084; sittingspiritually.co.uk 7. Heart doormat,

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from £10. Tel: 01993 845559; gardentrading.co.uk 8. French garden table, £380. Tel: 020 8940 5230; petershamnurseries.com 9. Multi heart cashmere pullover, £325. Tel: 01401 20040; eric-bompard. com 10. Europa Leisure Romantic Twist statue,

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18 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

20 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

BLUE DOORS

Wide borders filled with repeat planting sweep towards the shed, huddled against the old flint walls.

Uncommon GROUND Landscape is everything at Blue Doors in Sussex, where designers Acres Wild have worked with the wrap-around views to create a garden that enhances rather than obscures its incredible structure WORDS HELEN YEMM PHOTOGRAPHS MARIANNE MAJERUS

WAS WARNED IT MIGHT NOT BE EASY TO FIND. Blue Doors, the only house within its BN postcode, is not visible from the road despite sitting in relatively open countryside. I was told, too, not to miss a trio of wheelie bins that would indicate the entrance to a track, almost half a mile long, that would lead me to it. Having seen these glorious pictures, however, I knew that I would be rewarded at the end of my journey with a visit to a most spectacular and atmospheric garden – and I was right.

A country bolthole for a couple of London professionals, the house was originally a pair of estate cottages built from local flint with redbrick embellishments in 1840, and converted to a single dwelling in 1970. In 2012, newly in the hands of its present owners, Sarah and David Surtees, it was cleverly amended and extended to form a beautifully appointed house, its original

I

22 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

Above Sensitive planting of Stipa gigantea, Sesleria autumnalis and Geranium ‘Brookside’ is softly beautiful without detracting from the view.

period looks substantially enhanced but now with a thoroughly contemporary interior full of light and space. The new entrance to the house faces roughly east and, as you approach, the house seems to be tucked neatly into a fold in a gently upward sloping hillside, hard against the boundary wall of, but out of sight of, Arundel Castle. Thanks to its enviably elevated position, there are distant and spectacular views outwards in all directions from the house, interrupted only by a small group of trees (most of them part of the property) that serve to mask the property’s presence. Beyond the garden’s boundaries, as far as the eye can see, is a quintessentially ‘English’ arable landscape, crisscrossed by hedges and dotted with mature trees, dramatic when their canopies ‘float’ above low-lying morning mist. Also visible are occasional clustered houses, no fewer than five churches, another castle and, surprisingly, a distant railway.

Above A colourful hedge

effect is created by using thrusting Salvia x sylvestris ‘Mainacht’ and tall Campanula lactiflora.

Below Cubes of box are a stylish finishing touch on the square of lawn, surrounded by white centranthus and roses.

The landscape, is dotted with mature trees, dramatic when their canopies ‘float’ above low-lying morning mist Sometime after its first 1970s reincarnation as a single house, a young John Brookes had a hand in creating a terrace and a garden around the three ‘open’ sides of it. The enclosing low flint wall on the north-easterly side of the property remains a major feature. On taking up the baton in 2012, Sarah (a writer who has studied interior design) and David decided, once the renovations were complete, that they should ask professional garden designers to create a garden that would do justice to the exceptional site, while building on what had survived of John Brookes’ strong hard landscaping.

They gave Debbie Roberts and Ian Smith of Acres Wild an uncompromising remit. Because of their lifestyle, this was not the place to make a blowsy cottage garden that had to be maintained by burdensome and time-consuming weekend blitzes.

The new owners, furthermore, knew their own style: they would be most comfortable surrounded by a certain formality, softened by planting that would be relatively easy to maintain but would hold its shape for a long season. In honour of the house’s name, the origins of which are obscure (and it doesn’t, incidentally, have blue doors), they decided that blue should dominate a limited colour palette for the summer planting, with grasses and evergreens for autumn and winter structure. Acres FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 23

Dawn sunlight illuminates the carefully thought out colour palette of salvia, roses, catmint, campanulas and Euphorbia x martini.

24 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

Above A kinetic

sycamore sculpture

by David Watkinson adds movement.

Left Leucanthemum vulgare creates a sense of cultivated wildness.

Below Next to the house, a stone path is fringed

by Alchemilla mollis.

Wild came up trumps: Sarah and David adore the garden that emerged after weeks of planning and upheaval, and it has matured into precisely what they had in mind. The garden is not large, covering, in all, somewhere in the region of an acre, but it all fits together harmoniously, connected by meticulous, strong hard landscaping.

The main entrance from a gravelled forecourt is via a simple metal gate.

The combination of brick steps, grass and paved paths that lead to the front door, convey a disciplined, almost urban smartness. Straight lines and sharp edges come into their own, with neat, clipped rectangles of box and matching lines of lavender, all softened to a degree by froths of white valerian here, by ruffs of alchemilla there, and with roses and white hydrangeas in abundance. The overall impression is surprisingly and refreshingly modern for a rural ‘cottage’. Tucked away to one side of the timber garage at the entrance is an equally neat, tiny vegetable garden sporting an intriguing wavy oak bench, the work of Tom Nicholson Smith. The timber raised beds are used principally as a nursery and for growing flowers.

A spacious, airy and sunny paved terrace (with a gas-powered fire pit) sits directly adjacent to the kitchen and creates a glorious vantage point to

The garden is not large, but it all fits together harmoniously, connected by meticulous, strong hard landscaping the south-west side of the house, where you suddenly become aware of the handsome symmetry of the house’s two-cottage origins and of the former entrance through a gate in the estate boundary wall a few yards away. A skilful choice of plants for the sloping area between the terrace and the low yew-hedged boundary beyond consists of mostly evergreen plants chosen for prolific summer flowering or winter structure – groups of cistus, rosemary and perovskia knit together, as well as substantial plantings of lofty Veronicastrum virginicum ‘Album’, Stipa gigantea and repeatflowering roses. Tucked to one side, in the lee of the tall flint hillside wall, itself clad in Rosa ‘Madame Alfred Carrière’, euphorbias and swathes of stout hellebores (Helleborus argutifolius and H. foetidus) provide constant greenery.

FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 25

The garden’s most wonderful surprise, however, is to be found on the north-easterly side of the house, an area that is bounded on two sides by flint walls.

Where the two walls meet in the highest corner of the garden, a pretty shed, from the aptly named Posh Shed Company, nestles among dumplings of clipped box. “Perhaps it would be a good place to put a summerhouse in the future,” muses Sarah.

Dropping away from this point, an expanse of sloping lawn is dominated by a massive border that curves its way across and down the length of the garden. It is planted with great interwoven ribbons and repeated clouds of single species, many of them blue-flowered – tall nepetas, geraniums, campanulas, euphorbias, roses, salvias – dotted 26 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

Top An ocean of white

foxgloves, Centranthus ruber ‘Albus’, lavender and nepeta complement the misty landscape.

Above Nepeta racemosa ‘Walker’s Low’ edges the steps along with crisp white ‘Iceberg’ roses.

about here and there with random-looking foxgloves and airy clumps of translucent, wafting grasses.

The border is home, too, to a kinetic sycamore seed sculpture by David Watkinson.

By contrast, across the garden in front of the low boundary wall is a cleanly defined lightly curving swathe of unmown grass, littered with blue camassias in spring and later strewn with daisies and other wild flowers. This grassy addition to the boundary, together with the great curving flower border, accentuate the isolated drama of a Norway maple surrounded by immaculately mown grass.

Suspended from the tree is an enticing wooden swing, the perfect spot from which to savour the sensations of the summer dawn.

Acres Wild have managed to pull off something spectacularly clever here. To see the abundance of the garden at its best, you must look back up towards the house from its lowest point. From here, the sheer density of colour and texture takes your breath away. Suddenly this lovely house looks generously, gloriously, swamped in a deep, undulating ocean of softly coloured flowers.

Making the most of the stunning site and its views, on the other hand, is a classic case of less is more. The designers have shunned the obvious, deliberately neither clothing nor obscuring the boundary flint wall, limiting the planting in front of it to a scattering of wild flowers and lofty eyecatching grasses. By not using the landscape as a backdrop, they have allowed it to flood into the garden, at the same time allowing the mesmerised viewer to feel transported out into it. ■

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A League OF ITS OWN Long-held dreams of former football club owner, Sir John Hall, have come true following the transformation of the walled garden at Wynyard Hall in County Durham into a magnificent rose garden WORDS JACKY HOBBS PHOTOGRAPHS CLIVE NICHOLS

28 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

W Y N YA R D HALL

In the ‘Stepped Plats’, red rose ‘L.D. Braithwaite’ and apricot ‘Lady of Shalott’ set the colour themes in their raised beds.

FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 29

Above Tall cedarwood pillars evoke the feeling of a Greek or Roman cloister garden in the upper section, which is dominated by pink and purple planting.

T

HE ONCE ABANDONED, WALLED GARDEN

at Wynyard Hall in County Durham is now a vivid masterpiece, painted with profuse swathes of perfumed roses. This joyous garden overflows with roses of every hue, deftly partnered with a precise palette of complementary perennials.

Floral abundance is interrupted only by glittering fountains, which tinkle musically. This is the longcherished rose garden Sir John Hall held in his dreams for decades, now come to wondrous fruition.

“In my youth, I lived in a mining village with long narrow gardens where families grew vegetables to supplement their meagre incomes. I developed an interest in roses that I grew in a five-metre strip my father gave me. I tried to bud and graft the rose

30 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

bushes, without success, but never lost the love of them and vowed one day to fill an entire garden with roses,” says Sir John Hall.

A visionary tour de force, property developer and legendary life-president and former chairman of Newcastle United Football Club, Sir John acquired the Wynyard Hall estate in 1987. With characteristic zeal he revitalised the property first, creating a luxury country house hotel in the former home of the Londonderry family.

It was Wynyard’s redundant walled garden that handed him a chance to fulfil his life’s ambition and create a dream rose garden. There had formerly been a rose garden on the estate, devised in the early 1900s by the pioneering Lady Theresa Londonderry.

Sir John found the old plans for her Italian rose

gardens. “They spurred me to develop my dream of the rose garden you see at Wynyard today,” he says.

Sir John and Lady Theresa not only shared the same love of roses, they both shrewdly recognised the importance of revenue creation.

Under Lady Theresa’s stewardship from 1884 to 1919, the productive walled garden, which housed Europe’s longest lean-to glasshouse, produced over four tonnes of tomatoes and 20,000 cut chrysanthemums for market. What were then significant ornamental gardens were also open to the paying public. But with the outbreak of World War II, the gardens were abandoned until Sir John’s appropriation more than 50 years later.

A Marquee Garden was created in 2014, on the former site of Lady Theresa’s rose garden, while

Top A stepped rill cascades past white rose ‘Kew Gardens’ and lemon yellow ‘Poet’s Wife’ with Stipa gigantea on the right.

Above Mark Birtle, Wynyard Hall’s head gardener, religiously deadheads the roses.

the 2.5-acre walled garden next door was to be filled with roses of every kind. “The design was developed with my daughter, Allison, who shares my love of roses, and award-winning landscape architect Alistair Baldwin, who introduced modern design and structures,” Sir John relays.

Alistair’s groundbreaking design, now managed by head gardener Mark Birtle, was realised eight months after its inception and opened to the public in August 2015. Since then it has blossomed into an uplifting celebration of roses. A fanfare of David Austin’s repeat-flowering English Roses are applauded by thousands of perennials thronged around but arranged with pinpoint precision. At its richest in early summer, it enchants from spring to autumn.

At face value, Wynyard’s rose garden is simply stunning, but it is also ingenious, comprising many layers of nuance. It is structurally engineered to soften a 6m diagonal drop from top to bottom, imperceptible and accessible changes in level ameliorating the descent. Uppermost, the Pillar Garden is an interpretation of the cloistered gardens of ancient Mediterranean civilisations. It incorporates fountain-filled rectangular pools from which dancing water flows down stair-cased rills inspired by the refreshing water features of Islamic and Persian paradise gardens. Clipped hornbeam, Carpinus betulus, delineates the space, which is perfumed by pink roses ‘Gentle Hermione’, ‘Rose de Rescht’ and ‘Scarborough Fair’. Cedarwood pillars, FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 31

Wynyard Hall’s WONDERFUL ROSES Beautiful roses delight at every turn, with sumptuous flowers and sublime fragrance

‘PORT SUNLIGHT’

‘GENEROUS GARDENER’

‘ANNE BOLEYN’

Rich apricot blooms are produced all summer long on this free-flowering English Rose with red young foliage.

Pale pink flowers with an old-fashioned fragrance of musk and myrrh are held on this climber’s graceful stems.

Rosettes of warm pink flowers with just a hint of gold at the centre are held in sprays on a low mounding shrub rose.

‘GERTRUDE JEKYLL’

‘MOLINEUX’

A classic and popular cultivar with beautifully scented bright-pink flowers on a medium-sized upright shrub.

This golden-yellow-flowered rose is a compact grower, good for small spaces and containers at around 90cm tall.

‘PRINCESS ALEXANDRA OF KENT’

‘LADY OF SHALOTT’

‘QUEEN OF SWEDEN’

‘COMTE DE CHAMBORD’

Peachy-orange flowers with a warm, spicy tea scent are held on the arching stems of this fast-growing, bushy rose.

Shallow, shell-pink, cup-shaped flowers open from delicate buds on this upright, bushy grower, ideal for small spaces.

A prickly-stemmed old rose, dating from 1860, with characteristic quartered flowers that release a strong fragrance.

32 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

Layer upon layer of petals form cupped flowers with a fresh tea fragrance.

representing the columns of Greek and Roman cloister gardens, are entwined with mauve rambling rose ‘Veilchenblau’ and pink climbing ‘Mortimer Sackler’. In between, the roses graduate in tone from dark to pale while their undercurrent perennials wash in colour-reverse.

Formality dissipates in The Wild Garden where Alistair has planted copses of sugar-scented Cercidiphyllum japonicum and shade-tolerant perennials such as rodgersia, astrantia and geranium, sequinned with wild species rose Rosa moyesii. A central grassy glade opens up; a breathing space before the next sensory onslaught.

The gridded ‘Stepped Plats’ regiment the lower garden and reference the traditional kitchen garden. Sixteen massive, metal-clad raised beds, 7m x 7m, are boldly filled with colour-coordinated roses and perennials, visible from every side. The White Garden, an Arts and Crafts inspired pergola

Top Pale apricot rose ‘Port Sunlight’ in the Pillar Garden, teamed with white delphiniums and Kniphofia uvaria.

Above A vibrant mix of rose ‘Gertrude Jekyll’, Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’ and Salvia ‘Amethyst’.

walkway linking a series of yew-hedged rooms, divides the upper and lower gardens and is multifunctional. “It obscures the garden’s full view and draws visitors through while simultaneously blocking any potential colour-clashes between the two halves of the garden,” explains Alistair. It also serves as a bridal walkway to the Marquee Garden, a rose-strewn guard-of-honour, courtesy of elegant white rambler ‘Adélaïde d’Orléans’ and blushing climber ‘The Generous Gardener’.

There are more than 3,000 individual roses here in total, and some 135 different cultivars, almost half of which are Sir John’s favourites: David Austin’s English Roses. But the garden showcases most rose types, including simple species, modern shrub roses, groundcovering varieties such as ‘White Flower Carpet’, climbers and ramblers. Rose expert Michael Marriott, head rosarian and rose garden designer at David Austin Roses, has ensured that every single rose cultivar selected measured up to Alistair’s exacting planting plan.

“At the outset I wasn’t particularly a rose fan, and relied on Michael to provide, accurate-to-palette, infallibly beautiful, strong-performing roses, imbued with as much perfume as possible,” admits Alistair, whose personal strength is colour. He devised the garden’s bespoke rose-colour philosophy: “An ombré wash surges across the garden, from the pale yellow of ‘The Pilgrim’ and ‘The Poet’s Wife’, through blush-pink roses such as ‘Scarborough Fair’ and ‘Queen of Sweden’, to rose, deep and dark pinks, culminating in coral. Once that was in place, I perfected a perennial planting plan to complement every single bed,” he explains. Height, FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 33

KEYS TO ROSE SUCCESS

By Mark Birtle

This contemporary masterpiece shape, flowering-length and time, Top Climber ‘The Generous Gardener’ is an intricate horticultural work as well as colour harmonies, were and rambler ‘Adélaïde of art, a beacon in modern garden crucial factors in the fastidious d’Orléans’ on pillars in design that respects the past but selection process. “The hue of the the White Garden. manages to shine a light on rose flower spikes of Salvia nemerosa Above right Yellow ‘The Poet’s Wife’ and orange gardens of the future. “It goes ‘Amethyst’ is a precise match to the ‘Lady Emma Hamilton’ way beyond my thoughts and blooms of Rosa ‘Princess Anne’, with Stachys ‘Big Ears’. expectations,” comments Sir John. while the supporting slender spires Above left Rose ‘Harlow “I am absolutely delighted with of Veronicastrum virginicum Carr’ decorates a bench. how the garden has developed ‘Lavandelturm’ carries her through and I’m sure that it will continue to create as chromatically to the next paler roses.” much enjoyment for visitors as it does for myself Linear flower shapes were key to offsetting and my daughter. It makes me feel nostalgic. At the cupped and globular rose silhouette. Key 85 I am very proud of what has been realised perennials include Nepeta nervosa ‘Pink here. It makes me feel as much a part of the Cat’, salvias ‘Amethyst’ and ‘Purple Rain’, history of Wynyard Hall as my predecessors veronicastrum, Agastache ‘Cotton Candy’ and the Londonderrys were.” ■ ‘Black Adder’, Actaea simplex ‘Atropurpurea Group’, phlomis, astrantia, and lythrum. Masses of grasses – Carex testacea, Calamagrostis ‘Karl Wynyard Hall, Stockton-on-Tees, Billingham, Foerster’, Stipa gigantea, Miscanthus ‘Morning County Durham TS22 5NF. Open seven days Light’ and Stipa tenuissima – provide a backdrop a week, from 10am to 4pm, November to April; to the second flush of roses, their golden haloes 10am to 5pm, May to October. Tel: 01740 644811; accompanying repeat blooms until Christmas. wynyardhall.co.uk 34 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

Soil preparation Deep-digging broke through the garden’s historic hard pan allowing plants to grow through newly applied estate topsoil. The roses were planted at the optimum time, in winter, with copious amounts of manure.

Deadheading This is done religiously as it redoubles blooms and maintains high aesthetics. We call in staff from across the estate to help.

Combat rust Problems with rust are quickly countered with preventative spraying in April when leaves are in bud.

Early pruning Pruning begins in January and is finished by early April. This results in a staggered, second flush of roses, which travels through the garden like a Mexicanwave – a delightful consequence of not having many pairs of hands!

Perennial care The 12,000 perennials have proved more challenging than the roses. Salvia ‘Amethyst’ flopped, but behaved once cut back hard.

Perennials with a tendency to clump up, like agastache and phlomis, are divided.

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Alchemilla mollis seeds into cracks between beautiful old paving slabs, while Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris spills over from the wall of the house.

36 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

CLINTON LODGE

Peace on EARTH

At Lady Collum’s harmonious garden at Clinton Lodge in East Sussex, the philosophy is one of calm, with carefully chosen colours and thoughtful landscaping creating a sense of quietude WORDS CLARE COULSON PHOTOGRAPHS MIMI CONNOLLY

I

F ONE WORD CAN DEFINE A GARDEN THEN

perhaps here it’s peace, since a sense of tranquility reverberates throughout the sublime garden that surrounds Clinton Lodge in East Sussex. When Lady Collum moved here in the 1960s with her late husband Sir Hugh Collum, she set about transforming the grounds into a series of garden rooms, each inspired by a different period of garden history. But her philosophy was that it should be peaceful – a soothing space in which the family could relax.

Set in Fletching on the edge of the Sheffield Park estate, the house, like the garden, is a mix of styles. Its front is from the 17th century, while an 18th-century addition at the rear was commissioned by the 1st Earl of Sheffield, who gave the house to his daughter, Louisa, in 1797 when she married Sir William Henry Clinton, a general at Waterloo.

The house was then let, and the garden went to sleep throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. The rear facade, in mellow Tunbridge Wells sandstone, overlooks a sweeping lawn bordered by a double row of 20ft clipped hornbeams, drawing the eye over a ha-ha to a distant column and parkland, all part of Clinton Lodge’s grounds.

38 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

Above In the herb garden, camomile paths lead through lavender to a central fountain that is framed by fuzzy cones and hedges of box.

Below right Perfectly proportioned, a green archway to the orchard.

Below left Pretty, striped Rosa gallica ‘Versicolor’.

It’s a truly beguiling vista. “I spent 15 years at Christie’s and I got a lot of help from looking at the landscapes in portraits of the period,” explains Lady Collum of the calming lawn, with its perfect proportions, which stretches elegantly into the distance. “The house had to look onto green and nothing else – that was absolutely essential.”

To the north, the six-acre garden slowly unfolds, with a series of garden rooms divided by tall yew hedges, starting with the lush, double herbaceous border, which has a blue and white colour scheme.

There are towering delphiniums, Crambe cordifolia,

Above The dramatic

William Pye Tavola water feature with great clouds of Rosa ‘The Garland’ in the background.

Left The Palladian-style folly, known as the Banqueting Hall.

Below Romantic roses envelop supports, while catmint and alchemilla effectively hide any bare stems at the base.

philadelphus, as well as irises, phlox and peonies.

“The colours are calm and quiet, it’s not regimented but the plants are all big, big, big. You want to be in it and then be drawn on,” says Lady Collum, who cites one of her key influences as Russell Page’s The Education of a Gardener, which she had already read, cover-to-cover, numerous times before she arrived at Clinton Lodge in her 20s.

The rose garden next door is similarly immersive; the gushing water on William Pye’s Tavola sculpture is a foil to the romance of the roses, which all pre-date 1900; ‘The Garland’ is trained over a large gazebo, giving a flush of creamy flowers and heavenly scent, while Old Roses including ‘Ispahan’, ‘Comte de Chambord’, ‘Chapeau de Napoléon’ and ‘Empress Josephine’ are trained on tall supports and underplanted with geraniums, nepeta and Alchemilla mollis. “In June it’s quite a wow and the scent is contained by the hedges,” notes Lady Collum. “By the end of July the roses are all over but the plants still look happy. I’ve no interest in a rose on a bare stalk.” She plans to make the experience even more enveloping by cutting narrow paths into the beds so visitors can get even closer to the blooms.

Julian Treyer-Evans was mostly responsible for the garden’s design and the scale of the planting and it’s in the Herb Garden where the historical theme really comes into play. The knot garden is based on a 17th-century design, with a central fountain and chamomile lawn paths and intricate box hedging providing structure for swathes of sweet briar roses (grown for their hips), Rosa gallica ‘Versicolor’, sweet cicely, lavender, meadowsweet, chives and pots of lemon verbena. “The lavender we’ve planted is a FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 39

Photo by Howard Rice

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Clinton Lodge’s ROMANTIC BLOOMS Cleverly orchestrated displays of flowers in pastel shades create serene prettiness

GILLENIA TRIFOLIATA

CAMPANULA MEDIUM

ASTRANTIA MAJOR ‘ALBA’

With dancing, butterfly-like white flowers, this is a beautiful choice for shade where it will flower all summer.

Reaching about 75cm tall, Canterbury bells quickly and easily add spires of colour to borders from a spring sowing.

Delightful pincushion flowers are borne from June to August on this robust perennial that’s a good pick for clay soil.

NEPETA RACEMOSA

ROSA ‘KÖNIGIN VON DÄNEMARK’

GERANIUM ENDRESSII

A slightly lower-growing species of catmint that will flower endlessly from May to September; try ‘Walker’s Low’.

‘Queen of Denmark’ is an excellent Old Rose, vigorous and disease resistant.

Magenta-veined, pale-pink flowers mark out this hardy geranium, which will romp happily to fill border gaps.

ROSA ‘ISPAHAN’

ALCHEMILLA MOLLIS

ROSA ‘THE GARLAND’

Layers of mid-pink petals form voluptuous flowers with a wonderfully strong fragrance in early summer.

A sharp, lime-green counterpoint to pastel pinks and blues, this hardworking perennial is a true must-have.

Creamy-white flowers open from blushpink buds to smother the rose garden’s arbour with nebulous swathes of flowers.

FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 41

Above Blue and white

double herbaceous borders are filled with crambe, geraniums, campanula and phlox.

Left Flowers of Geranium ‘Johnson’s Blue’ open among white astrantia.

Below The potager is now mostly given over to cut flowers.

modern variety but all the other plants here, some of which are medicinal, would have been grown and used in the 17th century,” explains Lady Collum. “I’m quite strict about it and somehow it quietly increases the atmosphere.” A turf seat tucked beneath a lime walk gives a wonderful view over the whole herb garden.

Indeed there are carefully placed seats and benches at every turn, providing contemplative spots or places to take in the best views, and there’s a sense that this is a garden very much about people. The formal potager has been largely turned over to a cutting garden, which supplies the house with bucketfuls of flowers in whites, blues and pinks, including campanulas, Orlaya grandiflora, stocks, larkspur, hydrangeas and scabious over the summer months when the house buzzes with guests.

Five years ago a Palladian folly, the Banqueting House, designed with Austin Clegg, was added and is used for dinners by an open fire.

Lady Collum is never fearful of change – the Wild Garden’s apple standards (Malus domestica ‘Tydeman’s Late Orange’) underplanted with pheasant’s eye narcissi, is on its third incarnation.

Similarly the stunning cloister walk has recently had a make-over, with arches of ‘Rambling Rector’ roses having been swapped for diaphanous white wisteria, which billows over borders of coarse-leaved hostas, geraniums, white astrantia and ‘Greenland’ tulips.

Another addition is a shady glade that occupies a tricky area south west of the house and is now a serpentine woodland walk with Paeonia emodi, philadelphus and hydrangeas all underplanted with white geraniums. “I climb mountains and when I’m away I have a little notebook with a pencil attached and I will write down thoughts and jobs to do,” says Lady Collum. “The brain definitely works better at altitude, but it’s quite tough on the poor body.”

This is an intensively worked garden, overseen by head gardener Gavin Whitton for 12 years, and when Lady Collum first advertised the job she accurately described it as a ‘romantic garden’. It’s easy to see why, after a lifetime spent here, its owner presses on with new plans to beautify it further.

“The place has had a lot of love,” she admits. “But it’s given to me much more than I’ve given to it.” ■ Clinton Lodge Gardens, Fletching, East Sussex TN22 3ST. Open for the NGS on selected days, and at other times by appointment only.

Tel: 01825 722952; clintonlodgegardens.co.uk

42 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

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Looking back to the barn over Cornus controversa ‘Variegata’ and scarlet Monarda ‘Squaw’.

Arcadian VISION At Tyger Barn in Norfolk, designer Julianne Fernandez has channelled the ancient Greek spirit of a country idyll, creating a cultivated garden that sits in harmony with the fields and woodland beyond WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHS ANNIE GREEN-ARMYTAGE

T YG E R BAR N

FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 45

HE STRAPLINE ON JULIANNE FERNANDEZ’ garden design website reads: ‘Creating magical spaces’. In the pink light of dawn on a still summer’s day, her own garden, on the southern edge of the Norfolk Broads, more than lives up to this promise.

On one side a vast swathe of wildflower meadow is tinged golden by the rising sun; on the other, colourful stands of bold perennials are softened by the flow of ornamental grasses. The old oak and pantile barn looks out and down the garden, the view borrowing the landscape of misty field and ancient woodland beyond. “There’s something very special about the East Anglian countryside,” says Julianne. “The flatness of the land gives us those wonderful skies and open vistas. It’s important to me to have the garden be at one with the landscape.”

Julianne and husband Tino moved here in 2006, when the barn sat in a farmyard surrounded by fields. “There was literally nothing, just empty land,” Julianne recalls. “There wasn’t even a boundary hedge.” They had come from a traditional-style new-build in Suffolk where Julianne had created the archetypal cottage garden; her first move was to make a similar space here, now known as the Secret Garden, on the southern side of the barn.

T

Top Early morning rays of sun shine on a border of Stipa tenuissima, Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ and Alchemilla mollis.

Above Designer Julianne Fernandez in her garden at Tyger Barn.

46 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

With this achieved, she realised she needed a different approach for the main plot. A period of deliberation followed, in which she observed the landscape and mulled over ideas. Two years later, as the couple extended the house, the terrace linking the barn to the outside space was created and a relatively formal planting of clipped box and grasses (Stipa tenuissima) came into being. In contrast, the first main border, created at around the same time, was open and flowing, full of hot, bold colour. “Many people suggest that my planting is influenced by Piet Oudolf, but actually it’s Christopher Lloyd and his iconic garden at Great Dixter that has really inspired me,” she says. “All that rampant abundance, and the huge borders with amazing colour combinations.

I totally get that.”

The soil is ‘nasty, heavy clay’ around the barn, mixed with the generous helping of rubble characteristic of a Norfolk farmyard. The stipa don’t seem to mind, and the vine on the pergola (Vitis ‘Brant’) positively relishes this, but Julianne’s eye-catching agapanthus stay in pots throughout the year to prevent rotting off. The soil becomes lighter and easier further from the house, allowing a variety of structural perennials and grasses to thrive, including Miscanthus sinensis ‘Zebrinus’,

Bold plants in the main border: Arundo donax towers over Yucca filamentosa, and the seedheads of Salvia nemorosa ‘Ostfriesland’.

FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 47

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Above Vivid heads of Agapanthus africanus with Stipa tenuissima.

Left Weathered wooden recliners take in a view of fulsome curving borders.

Below Verbascum chaixii ‘Album’ with Echinops sphaerocephalus ‘Arctic Glow’ makes an impact.

daylilies (hemerocallis) and plume poppy (Macleaya cordata). Julianne keeps the macleaya under control by ruthless but selective weeding, enjoying the occasional unplanned combination, such as with orange Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora ‘Emily McKenzie’.

Further down the garden and a couple of years later, Julianne created a second, even bolder, planting, based around a colour palette of magenta, apricot, cream and purple. “I went for bigger, more architectural plants, like Tetrapanax papyrifa, Arundo donax, and the yuccas,” she explains. “I started then to really experiment with colour combinations and different textures and sizes.” Following on from this was the ‘ghost border’ at the end of the garden, where Julianne has tried to limit flower colour to white and cream, relying on shape and texture for interest.

The wildflower meadow has delighted Julianne with its untamed character and its attractiveness to bees and u erfl e The wildflower meadow was another of her experiments: “I wanted to see what it would be like having that contrast of the natural meadow against the clipped grass and the structure of the planted beds,” she says. “It was also another way to connect the garden with the wider landscape.” At five years old, it has delighted her with its untamed character, its attractiveness to bees and butterflies, and most especially its diversity, with ox-eye daisies, teasels, knapweed, sorrel and even the occasional thistle popping up unexpectedly. “Everyone said we’d be overrun by the teasels,” she recalls, smiling, “but so far it’s been fine!”

Each of these so-called experiments has been the product of a long period of reflection, during which Julianne watches her current borders grow and mature, taking note of what works well and what needs changing, before she embarks on a new planting. There is no paper plan for this garden: “By the time I actually go ahead and do it, I’ve thought about it so much that I don’t need to write any of it down,” she explains. The planting also tends to takes place gradually: “Unlike my client work, where I have a planting plan and do it all in one go, here I tend to do the planting a little at a time,” she says. “I see different plants that I like or FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 49

want to try out, and I find a place for them within the overall scheme that I have in my head.”

The plant knowledge she gains here contributes to her garden design practice, serving as a test-bed for planting combinations: spires of Verbascum chaixii ‘Album’ paired with the spiky globes of Echinops sphaerocephalus ‘Arctic Glow’, for example, and drumstick alliums (Allium sphaerocephalon) grown through ornamental grass Deschampsia cespitosa.

For Julianne, garden design is a second career, after many years spent working in investment banking and investor relations. “I had always made gardens,” she remarks cheerfully. “It’s just that now I can do it full-time instead of having to fit it into evenings and weekends.” Although she clearly already had a passion and a flair for planting, Julianne decided at this point to retrain at the Inchbald School of Design, where she learnt more about design and the technical aspects, including drawing plans and hard landscaping. “People started asking me to design gardens for them, and I thought if I’m going to do it for others, I need to get some sort of qualification,” she says modestly.

Back in her own garden, the development is ongoing, with a wildlife pond and a bog garden planned for the area behind the serpentine hedge at the end of the plot. This has already been prepared, with an archway in place for the walk-through. The new space will take the garden beyond two acres, but Julianne is undaunted; she has the help of two part-time gardeners who weed, cut grass, and do the heavy lifting, letting her concentrate on developing 50 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

and improving the planting. “I’m always moving plants around,” she says. “I’ve already got a list of things that are going to be relocated or replaced ready for next year.”

Does she ever sit in the garden? She laughs. “Of course not! I have to force myself to go and sit on a seat, and then the moment I do sit down I see a weed, or something that needs pruning.”

For Julianne, the garden is about constantly seeking a version of the country idyll, a sense of the cultivated in harmony with the surrounding natural world. “That Ancient Greek

“I’m trying to go back to that time when everything was perfect, everything was beautiful, everything was peaceful” vision of Arcadia, I think that’s what gardeners are striving for,” she says. “I’m trying to go back to that time when everything was perfect, everything was beautiful, everything was peaceful.” At Tyger Barn, she may just have succeeded. ■ Tyger Barn, Beccles, Norfolk NR34 0DA is open for the NGS on Sunday 7 July 2019. See ngs.org.uk Julianne can be contacted at chasing-arcadia.com

Top At the front, catmint, peonies and Corylus avellana ‘Anny’s Purple Dream’ flank the path.

Above Drumstick allium, A. sphaerocephalon, flowers attract a painted lady butterfly.

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Wyken Hall, Suffolk image by Howard Rice

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DRAMATIC INTENT A rill, topiary and tunnels draw the eye, colour wheels dazzle, and statuary plays with perspective at this Cotswold garden of delights WORDS VANESSA BERRIDGE PHOTOGRAPHS GAP PHOTOS/CLIVE NICHOLS/DAVID RICHARDS

52 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

EASTLEACH HOUSE

The view overlooking the rill garden from the Italianate terrace takes in the Cotswold countryside beyond.

FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 53

VISIT TO STEPHANIE RICHARDS’ GARDEN at Eastleach House in Gloucestershire is wonderfully dramatic. The approach from Burford is along evernarrowing Cotswold lanes until you reach the hamlet of Eastleach Martin. Opposite the unadorned, square-towered 12th-century church, Stephanie’s drive snakes sharply upwards beneath a dark canopy of pines and cedars out onto a broad apron of gravel. Beside this stands a towering copper beech, which was described by Stephanie’s late husband, David, as: “The best plant in the garden.”

The drive, as it opens out towards the house, is lined by waist-high box hedging, behind which are spirals and other topiary shapes. One is a box mophead, which Stephanie plans to have cut into an umbrella with spokes and a ferrule at the top.

Spilling over the hedge is a rare, 36-yearold, blue berberis, Berberis temolaica, and beyond that an Indian bean tree, Catalpa bignonioides, which is covered in fragrant blooms in high summer.

This contrast of colour, shape and texture is just the overture to four acres of formal

A

54 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

Above Lollipops of Sorbus aria ‘Lutescens’ line up at the bottom of the rill, with yew behind.

Below Self-seeded golden Verbascum ‘Gainsborough’ spikes.

gardens of extraordinary variety, with open views and hidden corners, and ten acres of parkland beyond. When the Richards bought this early 1900s Arts and Crafts house in 1982, Stephanie had already developed a passion for gardening, chairing the garden committee of the London square where she lived as a young married woman. A holiday cottage garden in Woodstock was soon outgrown.

The Richards searched for some time before fixing on Eastleach House. “It was the first house we found which didn’t have an established garden,” recalls Stephanie.

“I didn’t want to take on someone else’s project – I wanted to start from scratch.”

The Richards bought eight acres initially, and when they added another six acres five years later, they were able to turn a field grazed by cows into ornamental woodland, planted with specimen trees and cut through by wildflower walks.

Trees were important from the outset.

In the first spring at Eastleach, they planted an avenue of lime whips, Tilia platyphyllos ‘Rubra’, stretching towards the Marlborough Downs on the southern horizon. Now mature, the limes fill the

Clockwise from top left

Hollyhocks self-seed on the Italianate terrace; a yew roundel and stag at the mid-point of the lime avenue; topiary shapes by the 1900s Arts and Crafts house; the front door is framed by wall-trained Garrya elliptica; Monarda ‘Squaw’ by the rill.

FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 55

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Above Buddleja

alternifolia, grown as a standard, next to the box-framed lily pond.

Left Deep-purple Clematis ‘Wisley’ with Euonymus fortunei ‘Silver Queen’.

Below Silver Eryngium giganteum and Berberis thunbergii ‘Aurea’ stand out next to the rill.

air with intoxicating scent in July. At the avenue’s midpoint, a huge stag appears silhouetted against the sky. As you near the roundel of yews encircling it, you discover that, by a clever trick of perspective, the statue is in fact quite small. It is this kind of visual surprise that makes this garden so intriguing.

The south lawn, originally a tennis lawn, is divided from the avenue by pillars of yew and low yew hedging. To one side, large box roundels flank the steps to a gazebo, built by skilled local builder, Ron Blackwell. Initially a rockery, this became a herbaceous border, and then a shrub border for autumn and winter interest from the windows of the house. A gleditsia, arching over the adjacent pergola, is a festival of golden light in spring and early summer. On the other side of the lawn is an abstract piece of topiary, created from ancient box hedges that collapsed under the weight of the snow one winter. Rosa ‘Princess Louise’ soars up through a nearby holly, and beyond are informal grass paths, shrubs and roses running up into trees. This area is carpeted with aconites, crocuses and miniature daffodils in spring, and scented by Daphne bholua ‘Jacqueline Postill’ in winter.

Hidden behind the abstract box are a lily pond and fountain, beside which are a standard Buddleja alternifolia, and a tall Italian cypress from Rosemary Verey’s garden at Barnsley. A rill, installed in 1997, brought the sound of water to a garden with no natural water: it is pumped around FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 57

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“I had such fun finding the flowers for this colour wheel, but nothing in nature is rigid. It has to be natural ” Top A stately yew hedge separates the south lawn from the lime avenue.

Above Clematis x durandii contrasts with the pink blooms of rose ‘Dorothy Perkins’.

as if bubbling up from a spring in the hill. From the terrace above, the view through the trees opens out to the west over the honey-coloured Cotswold stone village. Railings at the top of the rill mirror the shape of the west door of the house, a satisfying attention to detail that is visible from the semi-circle of mophead Sorbus aria ‘Lutescens’ at the bottom.

By the railings are Stephanie’s iris beds. Her interest in them was triggered by her first sight of Kelway’s catalogue. “I had no idea there were so

many types so, being me, I wanted them all!” Walls, steps and gravel are studded with wild strawberries, erigeron and Verbena bonariensis, while sloping beds beside the rill are laid out in a colour wheel, starting from red-orange and mutating to yellowgreen and then blues and purples. “I had such fun finding the flowers for this colour wheel, but nothing in nature is rigid,” says Stephanie. “Reds become pink, but I let them do so. It has to be natural – I garden with nature rather than trying to control it.”

Reds and oranges are represented by alstroemeria, monardas, penstemons, sedums and dahlias, with shrubs such as Berberis thunbergii for structure. The big leaves of Cotinus ‘Grace’ give interest through summer and into autumn. Alchemilla mollis, evening primrose, a golden berberis, and Laburnum x watereri ‘Vossii’ feature in the yellow area, while the stars of the blue border are Ceratostigma willmottianum and Buddleja davidii ‘Dartmoor’.

You can clearly see from the effects Stephanie has created in the rill garden that she is a painter. “I only came to painting when I was 60,” she explains.

“I realised then that I had been creating pictures in the garden, working out focal points, colour balances and perspectives.” In any area in this garden, visitors are subtly encouraged to look around from the many different standpoints.

You catch the fragrance of creamy jasmine as you walk through the door into the walled garden.

Once a vegetable garden, it was derelict and overgrown when the Richards bought Eastleach House. Although the walls had collapsed, the stone was still there, blanketed by ivy, and, over FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 59

TIMELY GARDEN ADVICE

By Stephanie Richards We use masses of compost and grit to make the borders more fertile and to improve drainage.

Always dig in plenty of grit when planting.

Plants don’t like their roots to be standing in water.

Grow grey-leaved plants in well-drained raised beds to help them come through the winter.

Put scented plants by doorways, particularly those with winter fragrance, such as mahonia, viburnum and sarcococca, so that you catch their scent as you go into another part of the garden.

Make the most of shrubs like yews by growing roses up them. I now grow many of my roses vertically.

I’ve always heeded Christopher Lloyd’s advice to take out any plant that isn’t working. Don’t waste precious growing time on failing plants.

Clematis need gallons of water, particularly during a dry summer like the last one. Start watering them from May onwards and use sulphate of potash for extra flowers. Mulch after rain to retain the moisture.

Above A mix of phlox and Buddleja davidii ‘Dartmoor’ in the blue border of the rill garden.

Left A spot to relax, surrounded by selfseeded verbascums.

two years the framework was painstakingly restored. The gardens within are divided by yew hedges, some undulating, others straight and topped by balls facetted to match the finials on the house. A summer house looks out onto a lawn beside which roses and clematis grow round fastigiate yews. Above steps are pillars of golden Taxus baccata ‘Standishii’, their tops shaped like flames. Elsewhere, four mophead holm oaks stand in box-edged compartments of herbs. A vine runs across a pergola by the cutting garden, while scrambling along a series of arches are four rambling roses: pale pink ‘Ethel’ and ‘Dorothy Perkins’, and blue ‘Bleu Magenta’ and ‘Veilchenblau’. A deep-blue herbaceous clematis, Clematis x durandii, climbs through the roses, while nearby are white tree peonies with flowers the size of dinner plates, and pale pink peonies whose crimson centres attract bees. Signature plants also reappear in the walled garden: roundels of Sarcococca confusa by one entrance, and Ceratostigma willmottianum, chosen for its long-flowering period and red autumn leaves.

60 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

Now in her early eighties and widowed for many years, Stephanie retains a youthful enthusiasm for her garden. She delights, for example, in the language of flowers: a favourite is Aesculus x neglecta ‘Erythroblastos’, chosen for its name as much as for its shrimp-pink leaves in spring and its small chestnut candles. She still mows the lawns herself, but is streamlining, planting more shrubs and fewer perennials.

This is a necessity, as Stephanie is supported for only two-and-a-half days a week by Stuart Austin, who has been with her for 30 years, and by another couple for a day and a half a week.

Although this is a small team to manage so much, the shortest of strolls around this richly varied garden will reveal the power of determination and imagination. ■ Eastleach House, Eastleach Martin, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 3NW is open to visitors by appointment only. To arrange a visit, email garden@eastleachhouse.com or go to the website at eastleachhouse.com

BOOKING NOW GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS

Wednesday & Thursday 24/25 April & 1/2 May 2019 One of our most popular courses, now led by master horticulturist Ben Pope, which aims to take each student through all the practical elements of caring for a garden from soil, tools, maintenance, seed sowing and propagating, weed control and pests and diseases. The first 3 days will be spent at the Chelsea Physic Garden and the final day will be spent gaining practical experience in Rosemary Alexander’s much praised garden near Petersfield and the garden nearby, where Ben is in charge.

Participants will be given a chance to prune, plant and sow seeds and regular maintenance tasks will be discussed. A light lunch and refreshments will be provided daily.

ONE YEAR GOOD GARDENING DIPLOMA

September 2019 – early July 2020

Covers the best in planting design while training in the more serious aspects of horticultural techniques. Practical sessions held at an exclusive garden under the guidance of an esteemed head gardener and lectures by many leading gardening personalities. Regular visits to outstanding private gardens.

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THE ESSENTIAL GARDEN DESIGN DIPLOMA January – March 2020

Based at the Chelsea Physic Garden and led by Rosemary Alexander. This course covers all the elements needed to design an average garden. Taking students step by step through site surveying, using the grid, horizontal and vertical features, garden layouts and planting plans, costing and specification, plus tuition and homework on design and planting portfolios. Tutors are well respected in the industry and will guide students through making a success of this diverse profession.

(2 days a week in Wed & Thur 10.30am-3.15pm, plus 2 days homework)

GARDEN DESIGN & CARING FOR YOUR GARDEN Distance Learning Courses study anytime, anywhere in the world

A stepping stone to a new career. These two courses are a step by step guide to either designing your own garden or learning how to plant and maintain an existing garden: drawing up plans, hard landscaping, site analysis, planting, month by month tasks etc. Taught through a comprehensive course book, with projects submitted by post.

1-3 years to complete and individual assessment.

Garden of Medicinal Plants – Chelsea Physic Garden

Photo: R Alexander

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DESIGNERS’ SECRET SOURCES

Majestic Trees, Hertfordshire

De La Warr Pavilion, East Sussex

DESIGN SECRETS Top designers open up their address books to reveal their sources of inspiration… from favourite stockists of plants and accessories, to beautiful places to explore

River Thames, London

Paola Lenti, Milan

IMAGES GAP/MARCUS HARPUR; ALAMY

WORDS JENNY DALTON

FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 63

DESIGNERS’ SECRET SOURCES Emily Erlam Award-winning landscape designer Emily Erlam specialises in large country homes. erlamstudio.com J’s Garden Antiques is a

beautiful Worcestershire outlet that sells unique pieces for the garden. You might have to save up, but it’s a special place to find pots, urns and water features to love. Tel: 01905 381679; jsgardens.co.uk Perennial is the Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Society, a charity that helps anyone who works in horticulture, and their families, in tough times. They organise trips to gardens that are usually private, such as the wonderful Folly Farm designed by Dan Pearson. The added benefit is supporting the garden community. Tel: 0800 0938510; perennial.org.uk I intend to stock some of Atelier Vierkant’s pots in my new online store, Better Things. These special containers, made from Belgian clay, are beautiful, frost-resistant and a real favourite of designers.

Tel: +32 50 370 056; ateliervierkant.com Chelmer Valley makes lovely paving bricks with a good colour range. They’re very similar to the European clinker bricks, but at a much better price.

Tel: 01277 219634; chelmervalley.co.uk

Matthew Wilson Rutland-based gardener, writer, broadcaster and TV presenter Matthew Wilson has won awards for his Chelsea show gardens. matthewwilson gardens.com I have always been fascinated by Romney Marsh and Dungeness in the south east of England. For such a seemingly barren place, Dungeness is remarkably rich in plantlife – a third of the UK’s flora can be found there, including the rare lizard orchid. theromneymarsh.net; dungeness-nnr.co.uk The De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea is a modernist masterpiece. This arts centre also has a wonderful shop – dangerous if, like me, you are into pencils and pads. In recent years, the surrounding landscape has been transformed with droughttolerant planting. Tel: 01424 229111; dlwp.com Beth Chatto’s garden receives plaudits but her nursery near Colchester is equally inspiring. The plants are displayed according to the conditions they prefer, which is great when sourcing for a specific location. Tel: 01206 822007; bethchatto.co.uk 64 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

Above St Thomas à

Becket Church stands alone in a field on the bleakly beautiful and very atmospheric Romney Marsh.

Below right Atelier Vierkant sell elegant containers, hand-made from Belgian clay.

Charlotte Rowe London designer Charlotte Rowe’s 200plus garden designs share a strong bone structure softened by lush planting. charlotterowe.com Paola Lenti is absolutely brilliant for outdoor furnishings. She offers fantastic crocheted furniture in over 200 colours: it’s quirky, vibrant and different from the rest. We’ve used her products in over 12 garden designs. paolalenti.it/en Knoll Gardens is simply one of the best suppliers of grasses that will work in a UK climate. If you’re going to choose grasses it makes sense to go to a specialist. Tel: 01202 870842; knollgardens.co.uk Urbis Design is based in Yorkshire and makes beautiful and elegant composite pots and containers.

We’ve used them in a number of projects over the years. Tel: 01759 373839; urbisdesign.co.uk

IMAGES GAP/DIANNA JAZWINSKI; ALAMY; RICHIE HOPSON; MARIANNE MAJERUS; BART VAN LEUVEN IMAGES XXXXXXXXXXX

Knoll Gardens in Dorset is a specialist provider of grasses, with beautiful gardens where you can find inspiration.

FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 65

DESIGNERS’ SECRET SOURCES

David Watkinson calls his Sycamore Seed sculpture: “A twofold homage to nature; the seed form and the wind.”

66 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

Hauser & Wirth in Bruton, Somerset, has managed to turn a small town into a centre of excellence for design. I don’t consider the grounds to be a garden – rather a large landscape that is well executed, from the excellent gallery through to the Radic pavilion at the end. It’s Piet Oudolf’s best work in the UK. Tel: 01749 814060; hauserwirth.com

Kate Gould Chelsea gold-medal winner Kate Gould specialises in beautifying small city garden spaces. kategouldgardens.com The Hampstead Pergola and Hill Garden in north London is not a manicured garden by any stretch of the imagination, but it is so beautiful. Tumbling wisteria and pillars of green foliage make the garden a magical place to sit and reflect. My parents used to bring me here when I was as a child, and I often return. Inverforth Close, London, NW3 7EX. Tel: 020 7332 3511; cityoflondon.gov.uk Many of the original designs by William Kent are still in situ at Rousham House and Gardens in Oxfordshire, which makes it a fantastic place to visit if you are interested in learning about landscape design. They are deceptively simple and rather brilliant. Tel: 01869 347110; rousham.org I spend hours at Jacques Amand nursery every autumn, filling paper bags with way more bulbs than I need. I become the proverbial kid in a candy store.

Tel: 020 8420 7110; jacquesamandintl.com

Above Arts & Crafts

style York Gate packs wonderfully inventive planting into its one acre.

Top right Charles Dowding recommends ‘Black Pearl’ aubergine from family business Delflands Nursery in Cambridgeshire.

Below Hampstead Pergola and Hill Garden, is one of London’s hidden delights.

tell me how he does it, but they move the same amount in gales as they do in gentle breezes.

Tel: 0113 2657984; davidwatkinsonsculpture.co.uk

Charles Dowding Organic specialist and author Charles Dowding is also a pioneer of the no-dig gardening movement. charlesdowding.co.uk I always use Dalefoot peat-free compost for

propagation. It’s made from waste wool and bracken

by Lake District farmers and I find it impressively nutritious for plant raising and great as a mulch.

Tel: 01931 713281; dalefootcomposts.co.uk

IMAGES MARIANNE MAJERUS; GAP/JOHN GLOVER; ALAMY; RHS

Paul Cook Paul Cook is garden Curator at RHS Harlow Carr in Harrogate. rhs.org.uk/gardens/ harlow-carr It fills just one acre, but York Gate on the edge of Leeds has a special feel. Every walkway reveals a new view, bordered by conifer or cedar. The café is great, too. Tel: 0113 2678240; perennial.org.uk/garden/york-gate-garden James Wilkinson started fabricating metal edging for our paths at Harlow Carr and he is an extremely talented blacksmith. He has a real touch for decorative metalwork, from gates to sculptures.

Tel: 01423 360105; jameswilkinsonblacksmith.co.uk The kinetic sculptures David Watkinson produces are hypnotic and so cleverly engineered. He won’t FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 67

rganic Plants Plug plants incl.

Aubergine Black Pearl, Vegetable, Salad, Strawberry and Flowers Small packs for gardeners www.organicplants.co.uk By the tray www.delfland.co.uk ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀

฀

฀

฀

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฀ Delfland Nurseries Limited

Nursery Shop PE15 0TU 01354 740553 info@organicplants.co.uk

Luxury farmhouse peacefully situated amidst 5 acres of beautiful mature Mediterranean gardens with a giant pool.

Great sea and mountain views.

Beaches only 10 minutes away.

Sleeps 10 in 5 en suite bedrooms.

5 minute walk across fields to village square.

www.mallorcancountrysideholidays.com Call 07714 230838

DESIGNERS’ SECRET SOURCES Delflands Nursery plants are seasonal and sturdy.

They may look less lush than some of their peers but always grow well for me. Check out the ‘Black Pearl’ aubergine. Tel: 01354 740553; organicplants.co.uk Twool from Devon offers garden twine, tree ties, head caps and more, all made from British wool, much of which would otherwise go to waste.

Tel: 01364 654467; twool.co.uk Copper tools (strictly speaking bronze, since they contain a little tin) from Implementations are a pleasure to use and don’t rust, so the high price is repaid over time: a great present for a special friend. Tel: 02476 392497; implementations.co.uk

Jo Thompson Designer Jo Thompson collaborated with Wedgwood for her 2018 Chelsea garden, and specialises in gardens with a sense of place. jothompson-gardendesign.co.uk

IMAGES JASON INGRAM; RACHEL WARNE; MARK WAUGH/RHS

I’m a roses person and supplier Peter Beales is just wonderful. You ring them up, say “Have you got…?” – and they sort you out. My favourites right now are Rosa ‘Adelaïde d’Orléans’, the rambling Rosa ‘Ghislaine de Féligonde’, and Rosa ‘Félicité Perpétue’. Tel: 01953 454707; classicroses.co.uk Marshall Murray are art advisors and this is highend stuff – true investment pieces, such as sculptures

by Ben Barrell. But they will come to your garden, and source a relevant piece of art. They’ve sourced for many of our show gardens. Email enquiries@ marshallmurray.co.uk; marshallmurray.co.uk If you need a mature tree, Majestic Trees are wonderful. They offer an optional planting service, they’re trustworthy, and they’ll guarantee the plant’s health. Tel: 01582 843881; majestictrees.co.uk

Above Ben Barrell’s Orca is one of the garden sculptures sourced and placed by art advisors Marshall Murray.

Below Edulis is a delightful nursery in Pangbourne, Berkshire, which specialises in growing rare plants.

Charlotte Harris & Hugo Bugg Charlotte Harris and Hugo Bugg of Harris Bugg are designers of the new kitchen garden at RHS Bridgewater. harrisbugg.com We have gradually accrued our collection of Niwaki tools: secateurs, snips, garden knives, topiary shears, golden spades (light, strong and sharp), and a hori-hori is just the best all rounder. What owner Jake Hobson doesn’t know about topiary isn’t worth knowing.

Tel: 01747 445059; niwaki.com Hortus Loci are renowned for their high-quality show plants. But many people are unaware that they also run a well-stocked retail plant centre. Here you’ll find obscure or unusual designer plants, not to mention mature trees, beautiful hand-thrown terracotta containers, and more. Don’t leave before having a chocolate brownie at The Hobo.Co café.

Tel: 0118 9326495; hlplantcentre.co.uk Edulis in Pangbourne, Berkshire, and Crûg Farm Nursery near Caernarfon in North Wales are places of marvel and delight for those hunting the rare and unexpected – as we so often are for clients who are particularly interested in exploring more unusual plant palettes. crug-farm.co.uk; Tel: 01248 670232. edulis.co.uk; Tel: 01635 578113.

FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 69

DESIGNERS’ SECRET SOURCES

Studio Hardie is an immense building talent. They’re a team of experienced problem-solving designer-engineers who specialise in a range of unusual high-profile projects from pergolas to garden buildings and playgrounds.

Tel: 01273 473924; studiohardie.com Whatever it is you fancy – whether it’s a beer, a cocktail, a burger, a posh kebab or a civilised, sit-down dinner, you’ll find it all in one place at Kingly Court on London’s Carnaby Street. Head through a pale-blue alleyway and you’ll end up thoroughly spoilt for choice in a three-tiered, green, al-fresco courtyard in the city’s West End. carnaby.co.uk/food-and-drink/kingly-court One of the most breathtaking walks I know is Portscatho to St Mawes, in Cornwall. You’ll enjoy incredible views, clifftop walkways and sheep paths meandering through windblown trees and shrubs, whose habitat has been scorched by the wind. In my opinion, the rougher the sea and the stronger the wind, the better! falriver.co.uk

Butter Wakefield Designer Butter Wakefield is renowned for her English gardens woven with pattern, colour and texture. butterwakefield.co.uk Londoners like myself should reclaim the River Thames. I live between Hammersmith and Barnes Bridges and I often find that stretch is largely deserted, relatively unknown and a great source of comfort. It’s an overlooked natural beauty.

The Cloth Shop on Portobello Road is run by an exceptional lady with a very good eye. This is where I source picnic blankets, old buckets and ancient vessels for flowers for clients and myself. It’s a treasure trove. Tel: 020 8968 6001; theclothshop.net Angel Hughes of Tobias and the Angel in Barnes in west London, is the most clever person. She sells great big vats of muscari, or combines hyacinths and moss in old vessels, and has everything you need for Christmas decorating. She encapsulates that lost art of making something beautiful from nothing.

Tel: 020 8878 8902; tobiasandtheangel.com 70 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

Below A wintry view of

Portscatho in Cornwall.

Marcus Barnett suggests taking a walk from here to St Mawes.

Bottom right The Palm Centre in Ham, near Richmond, is a treasure trove of exotic plants.

Bottom left Tobias and the Angel in west London is the place for interiors and decorations.

Breakfast at the Quince Café at Clifton Nurseries in Surrey is my weekend treat. It’s set out as garden rooms and I love sitting on the big blue sofa with a plate of pancakes. The staff there are hugely knowledgeable about plants if you’re stuck. Tel: 01932 833822; clifton.co.uk The Palm Centre in Ham, near Richmond, is one of my go-to places for unusual houseplants. They supply a superb range of exotic indoor plants and beautiful succulents. Palms and exotics can also be bought online. Tel: 020 8255 6191; palmcentre.co.uk Burford Garden Centre is perfect for a day out – it’s a treasure trove of stylish finds, including garden furniture and home accessories. They also have a wonderful café that uses produce from their own kitchen garden. Tel: 01993 823117; burford.co.uk ■

IMAGES MILLIE PILKINGTON; CLIVE NICHOLS; ALAMY; HELEN CATHCART

Isabelle Palmer Designer and author Isabelle Palmer of The Balcony Gardener has helped to pioneer modern planting in the home. thebalcony gardener.com

Marcus Barnett Designer Marcus Barnett has won awards for his sharp, architectural garden and landscape designs and rich planting. marcusbarnett.com

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DREAM GARDENS “We’ve all got poetry in us and I think there is a collective yearning for contact with nature at the moment,” explains designer Jinny Blom.

DREAM SPACES Tumbling planting, a sense of seclusion, the sound of trickling water – a dream garden can take on many forms and attributes. Here, garden designers offer their thoughts on what is, ultimately, a very individual proposition

72 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

hat makes a dream garden?

In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the king of the fairies, Oberon, describes such a garden as having: “A bank where wild thyme blows, where oxlips and the nodding violet grows, quite overcanopied with luscious woodbine, with sweet musk-roses, and with eglantine.”

Shakespeare’s vision isn’t far removed from what many of us would choose for our own domestic gardens: delicate roses, sweet-smelling honeysuckle, spring flowers and fragrant herbs. And it is true that in a beautiful garden time passes as if in a dream; our concerns slip away as if we are not waking but sleeping.

“In a real dream, nothing makes sense,” notes garden designer, Jinny Blom. “I work with busy people who haven’t let their imaginations run wild for a while. So when I talk to clients about what they want, I say: ‘Don’t worry about anything making sense.’ You need to hear all these mad things, like waterfalls and ostriches, to get the mind working in an abstract way.”

WORDS VIVIENNE HAMBLY. IMAGES GAP/RICHARD BLOOM/STELLA CAWS/HIGHGROVE – A BUTLER

W

Above Symmetry, a focal point and a sense of place define this secluded garden.

Below A lavender walk, fragrant in summer, will be desired by many.

A MATTER OF PERSONAL TASTE A dream garden, a kind of gardening acme, is always going to be subjective, depending on the predilections of its creator. It could be large or small, shaggy or neatly trimmed, filled with large-leaved treasures or embroidered with a joyful tumble of colourful cottage-garden flowers. Yet, in practice, many of the most notable and beautiful gardens in England, the kind we would all term dream gardens, share characteristics that are the culmination of climate, the vernacular, socio-economics and the long and great tradition of gardening in this country.

There are productive gardens, orchards laden with apples, pears and quince, and follies echoing the aspirations of generations past. The nation is a patchwork of lawns, fulsome borders and delicate meadows embellished with glasshouses and conservatories that are filled to bursting with seedlings, slips and exotic specimens.

Importantly there are wonderful views, too, that take in hills, woods, streams or rivers, all of which can transport and encourage the observer to think beyond their immediate surrounds.

FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 73

DREAM GARDENS Each of these is a personal Eden, reflecting the original paradise that contained “every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food”. In My Roots: A Decade in the Garden, Monty Don ponders our attachment to gardens. “It is in the garden… that we are king or queen… It is our piece of outdoors that lays a real stake in the planet,” he writes, adding that it is the escape from daily life offered by gardens that is so appealing.

Jinny, who adores the National Garden Scheme’s ‘yellow book’ for every private passion it represents, concurs: “Many of my clients ask me for beauty and quietness. My job is to weave what they want into a journey of experience. Gardens have to have a magical quality.”

THOUGHTS ON PLANTING The sense of contained ebullience that pervades many influential English gardens is largely the legacy of William Robinson, who championed a more natural approach, in contrast to the previous Victorian style of carpet bedding. In Kent, his Gravetye Manor, which is now a hotel, continues to reflect this more relaxed mood. Gertrude Jekyll brought contrasting colour to his new style as well as adding formal hedging for structure.

As lifestyles have changed, that formality is not so attractive to as many people now. Angel Collins,

Top Traditional plants such as delphiniums have long held favour in English country gardens.

Middle A tumble of roses will inspire and delight.

Bottom Relaxed meadow planting is increasingly popular.

known for designing whimsical country spaces, is careful about how she delivers this. “I’m not a great believer in putting in a massively fancy garden because they are highmaintenance and so expensive to run. You can find good results with simple techniques,” she explains. “If you put topiary into a meadow it almost looks like a border, but the advantage is that it doesn’t have to be weeded and the edges don’t have to be cut.”

And it is a misconception that a large space is required for a meadow: designer Butter Wakefield recently eschewed bedding schemes to create a meadow in her small west London garden.

Jinny points to textured planting, which suits the English climate and landscape so well. “In this country I like to put in layers: trees, shrubs, roses, herbs, ferns and grass. It’s just the way this land works because we’re so temperate. It suits gardens here to have that complex layering.” Additional structure can be added with garden ornaments, a sculpture by Giles Rayner (gilesrayner.com) perhaps, or a series of garden obelisks from a source such as The Wooden Garden Obelisk Company (woodengardenobelisk.co.uk) can bring momentum to the garden and a sense of journey.

CALMING WATER SCHEMES Water has long been incorporated into gardens wherever possible. Alnwick’s Water Gardens, installed by the Duchess of Northumberland, offer an example on a grand scale, but there is much to be said for a quiet envelope spout in a courtyard or secluded corner, the speed of its flow adjusted to enhance a desired mood – quick or slow.

Likewise, a reflection pond, with a black lining to help it better reflect the sky and surrounding planting, is always a meaningful addition. And a slim rill will help to define a space, whether large or small. Where a more natural style of garden is desired, either as a room within a larger garden, or 74 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

IMAGES ROBERT MABIC; HOWARD RICE; MANUELA GOEHNER

Drifts of meadow planting punctuated with topiary are a low-maintenance take on a traditional border.

FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 75

IMAGES GAP/JOHN GLOVER/JULIETTE WADE/HOWARD RICE

“I would have hundreds of blowsy roses scrambling high and low over walkways and pergolas” JO THOMPSON

Top left ‘Madame Alfred

Carrière’ is suitable for arches and pergolas.

Top right Many dream of a productive garden.

Right Salvia ‘Amethyst’ and Rosa ‘Princess Anne’ in a walled garden.

Left Cottage flowers, pleaching and hedges.

FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 77

DREAM GARDENS in the garden as a whole, a natural pond or swimming pool could prove suitable. These will have the advantage of encouraging wildlife into the garden, something no selfrespecting garden should be without, given our responsibility to the natural world that surrounds us.

COMING UP ROSES

SOCIETY & SECLUSION Gardens are at once private spaces and a pleasure to be shared. Jinny, who read The Secret Garden “about a thousand times as a girl”, tries to include a ‘portal’ where she can, enjoying the expectation and change of mood a door or archway can bring. Within these spaces, a weathered oak room from Prime Oak (primeoak.co.uk) or Border Oak (borderoak.com) could be the site of years of summer parties, while a garden seat provides a place for solitary contemplation. Try Rayment Wire (raymentwire.com) for whimsical designs and planters and gates to match.

“In the garden you have this freedom of expression. You can make it what you want.

It’s completely unlegislated, more so than interiors,” says Jinny. “We’ve all got poetry in us and I think there is a collective yearning for contact with nature at the moment. We’re yearning for something softer, gentler, kinder and nourishing,” she concludes. ■

IMAGES GAP/JOE WAINWRIGHT; CAROLE DRAKE; HOWARD RICE

“My absolute dream is a garden filled with tumbling roses,” says designer Jo Thompson. “I would have hundreds of blowsy roses, scrambling high and low over walkways and pergolas, leading to a Top A building at the walled garden.” bottom of the garden can be a retreat or a Indeed, it is difficult place for gatherings. to imagine a dream Middle Include seating English garden without for quiet contemplation. roses, the most classic Bottom Water features are much-coveted where of garden flowers that space permits. have been so prized for centuries. David Austin has done much to champion nostalgic, multipetalled types, breeding them for fragrance as much as form. Fortunately, many of these are easy to grow, and many modern hybrids offer good disease resistance. An arbour or walk clothed in popular varieties, such as old rose ‘Madame Alfred Carrière’ or newer ‘Contance Spry’, would bring heavenly scent to the garden in summer. Angel would include

“groups of roses… ‘Bengal Crimson’, which flowers twice, as well as ‘Cerise Bouquet’ and ‘Complicata’.”

78 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

K I R K E R H O L I D AY S F O R D I S C E R N I N G T R AV E L L E R S

Kirker Holidays provides a range of carefully crafted escorted holidays, with fascinating itineraries designed for those with an interest in gardens, music, history, archaeology, architecture and art. Groups typically consist of 12-22 like-minded travellers, in the company of an expert Tour Lecturer.

Dates for your Diary "Wonderful garden, wonderful hospitality and superb afternoon teas" 5th MAY Garden Open Day Cherry Tree Walk

7th JULY Garden Open Day National Garden Scheme

Prices are per person and include flights, transfers, accommodation with breakfast, meals and guided excursions as described and the services of a Kirker Tour Lecturer.

11th MAY Painting Workshop Cherry Blossom with Debbie Chatield

14th SEPTEMBER Painting Workshop Autumn Colour with Debbie Chatield

GARDENS OF MARRAKECH

29th JUNE Last Night of the Proms

29th SEPTEMBER Garden Open Day Autumn Tour & Talk

A SEVEN NIGHT HOLIDAY | 2 MAY 2019 Marrakech is an intoxicating destination for all the senses, and the city and its surroundings are also home to a number of remarkable gardens. In the company of expert horticulturist David Wheeler, we shall explore some of the finest – from the famous Jardins Majorelle created by Yves Saint Laurent, to several private gardens which are not normally open to the public. Our base for the duration is the 5* Palais Aziza & Spa, which is surrounded by five acres of gardens and patios.

Price from £3,396 (single supp. £595) for seven nights including seven lunches and four dinners.

4th JULY Garden Theatre Pride & Prejudice

Check out our website for tickets and further details

www.mittonmanor.co.uk Mitton Manor is a 7-acre country garden that was started in 2000 and has been developed from an overgrown wilderness. The garden surrounds a Victorian manor house and contains a range of different styles; formal box and topiary, prairie planting and natural woodland bordered by a stream. Stunning water features and sculptures just add to the magic.

Telephone: 01785 291391 Email: info@mittonmanor.co.uk

Mitton, Near Penkridge, Staffordshire ST19 5QW

THE ITALIAN LAKES – GARDENS & VILLAS OF COMO & MAGGIORE A SIX NIGHT HOLIDAY | 24 APRIL & 5 JUNE 2019 Our tour is based at the 4* Hotel Terminus, in the lakeside town of Como. After a walking tour, we travel by hydrofoil to idyllic Bellagio, known as the ‘Pearl of the Lake’. We shall explore the gardens at the Villa Carlotta before taking a private boat to Villa Balbianello. A day is spent at Stresa, on the shores of Lake Maggiore, we will visit the beautiful Borromean Islands by boat and at Isola Bella will explore a magnificent palace surrounded by terraced gardens. In Cernobbio we shall enjoy lunch at the renowned Villa D’Este, one of the finest hotels in Italy.

The Romance of the Rose...

Price from £2,288 (April, single supp. £460) or £2,547 (June, single supp. £470) for six nights including three dinners and three lunches.

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READER OFFER

Sarah Raven’s BULBS IN THE GREEN 20% OFF

“Introduce these lovely bulbs into your garden and they will gradually naturalise, creating a beautiful carpet of colour.”

BULBS IN THE GREEN Bulbs in the green are planted when they’re in active growth. When planted this way in spring they establish well and will start to flower the following year.

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British native bluebells (Hyacinthoides non scripta)

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Resembling miniature spring anemones crossed with waterlilies, aconites make superb displays when cut and floated en masse in a shallow bowl. Flowers from February to March.

Snowdrops are a must in your winter garden, and are lovely cut and placed in a vase at the bedside. Flowers from January to March.

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TOP 10 PLANTS

Country Classics A dreamy English garden can be yours with these romantic, timeless plants

A

WORDS CLARE FOGGETT IMAGE GAP/DIANNA JAZWINSKI

n English country garden is a wonderful thing, admired the world over. When we conjure one up in our mind’s eye, we tend to think of the same plants – something that could perhaps be attributed to the well-known folk song, arranged by Percy Grainger in 1918. Blowsy roses are

clearly a must, as are tall spires of delphiniums the colour of blue sky, quintessential herbaceous borders overflowing with all the standards – fat-budded poppies, aromatic lavender, velvety irises – and masses of floriferous climbers. Happily, everyone can grow these beautiful plants, large country garden or not, to enjoy a slice of classic English garden style.

1 Clematis ‘Arabella’ This much-loved, hard-working variety flowers from late spring to early autumn. Being a hybrid of the herbaceous Clematis integrifolia it’s non-clinging, so rather than growing it up a wall or fence, let it throng around and through shrubs or obelisks to charmingly fill gaps with dainty blue-purple flowers, which become pink-veined as they age. Height: 1.5-2m.

FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 81

TOP 10 PLANTS

2 Delphinium ‘Blue Dawn’

3 Aquilegia chrysantha

No traditional herbaceous border is complete without a stand of gorgeous blue delphiniums. ‘Blue Dawn’ holds an RHS Award of Garden Merit, and has spires of 1.5-2.2m, its cobalt-blue flowers each starred with a central black eye. Use three canes wrapped with string to stake each spike rather than one, or risk breakages.

Nothing conjures up the feeling of an English country garden quite like a granny’s bonnet. The long-spurred, lemon-yellow flowers of this species set it apart: truly graceful, they’re carried on stems between 50cm and 1m tall and nod delicately in the breeze above ferny foliage. Also seek out the superb cultivar ‘Yellow Queen’.

4 Papaver ‘Patty’s Plum’

5 Iris ‘Sable’

Remember how we clamoured for this poppy when it was first introduced? Its popularity hasn’t waned and it still regularly sells out, which is no surprise when you consider its subtle, dusky, plum flowers atop bristly green foliage. It grows to 80cm and shouldn’t be placed in strong sun, which can bleach or brown the petals.

Chic bearded irises are superb in late spring and early summer.

They may not have the longest flowering period, but when they are in bloom they’re so good it doesn’t matter. Myriad colours exist, but for inky purple-black drama, great with the bright greens of late spring, try ‘Sable’, which grows to 70cm in a hot, sunny spot.

82 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

IMAGES GAP/ROB WHITWORTH/TIM GAINEY/NICOLA STOCKEN/HOWARD RICE/JASON INGRAM

6 Digitalis purpurea Foxgloves are one of the most recognisable and commonplace plants going, but they’re still hard to beat. Child’s play to grow and seeding around to create natural-looking displays year after year, they fill dappled shade with their regal purple spires and are loved by bees to boot. Sow seed in summer for flowers the following year. Grows to 2.5m.

FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 83

TOP 10 PLANTS

u

8 Rosa ‘Princess Alexandra of Kent’

“When in doubt, plant a geranium,” said renowned plantswoman Margery Fish, wisely. In sun or shade and virtually any soil, these tough plants always come to the rescue. Geranium x magnificum is quite a tall variety, reaching around 70cm, so it’s perfect at the back or middle of a border. Cut back for a second flush.

Choosing one rose to summon up an English country garden is impossible, but this cultivar stands a fighting chance. Its large, many-petalled blooms sit on a shapely shrub, at home in borders or containers. And, of course, it has a superb scent: fresh tea, maturing to lemon and blackcurrant. Height: 1.5-2.5 metres

9 Phlox paniculata ‘David’

10 Lavandula angustifolia ‘Folgate’

Traditional herbaceous borders need a large clump of phlox and ‘David’ has particular flower power with its large packed heads of white. Dig lots of humus-rich organic matter into the soil to help it retain water and prevent problems with mildew in hot weather, and give it a year or two to reach its full potential. Height 1.1m.

Aromatic English lavender is a must for edging paths in herb gardens, and thrives in any well-drained, sunny site. ‘Folgate’ has been around since 1933 but it isn’t as widely known as it should be.

It’s a superb choice with deep bluish-purple flowers on lovely and bushy mound-shaped plants that reach around 60cm tall.

84 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

IMAGES GAP/CAROLE DRAKE/TORIE CHUGG/DAVE ZUBRASKI

7 Geranium x

Cultural tours, private views & study days Our visits are led by experts whose passion and authority on their subjects are equal to their sense of hospitality, attention to detail and above all, their sense of fun.

SELECTED TOURS 2019 AN ISLAND PARADISE:

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27 MARCH – 5 APRIL WITH JULIET BARCLAY

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24 – 28 SEPTEMBER WITH CAROLINE HOLMES

To request a brochure please call 01869 811167, email or visit our website Tivoli, Villa d’Este, Fountain of Neptune

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+44 (0) 1869 811167 | info@ciceroni.co.uk | www.ciceroni.co.uk

Superior quality designer meadows from seed and pre-grown turf based on 20 years of research and development Improved biodiversity Longer, successional flowering Species rich Dense, layered colours

If you like wildflower meadows, you’re going to love Pictorial Meadows.

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Colesbourne Park “The historic home of English snowdrops”

Started by plantsman Henry John Elwes FRS and continued by great grandson Sir Henry Elwes and Lady Elwes, the snowdrop collection at Colesbourne Park is the acknowledged home of snowdrops in Great Britain. Around 350 different varieties are growing in large drifts throughout the arboretum and garden as well as in smaller named groups which allow visitors to appreciate the different forms. Visitors can walk beside the intriguing blue lake and along the woodland paths of the 10 acre grounds to see the snowdrops and other winter-flowering plants such as aconites, cyclamen, iris, miniature daffodils, snowflakes and hellebores as well as winter‑flowering shrubs. The arboretum contains over 300 different trees, including 13 UK champions and 35 Gloucestershire champions recorded by the Tree Register of Great Britain.

The gardens are open on weekday mornings and afternoons in February for pre-booked guided tours including refreshments and a talk. Colesbourne Park is also open to the public from 1.00 pm (last entry 4.30 pm) on Saturdays and Sundays from 2 February to 3 March 2019. Coach parties are welcome on weekends but must be prebooked. Teas are available and there are plant sales too.

Colesbourne Park is easy to find, halfway between Cheltenham and Cirencester on the A435. It’s a perfect addition to a visit to the Cotswolds and is just 10 minutes from junction 11A of the M5 and 25 minutes from junction 15 of the M4.

For more information or to book a guided tour please call 01242 870264, or email info@colesbournegardens.org.uk or go to the website www.colesbournegardens.org.uk.

Trellis, made to fit your garden perfectly...

Catalogue requests and enquiries:

01285 706511

Delivery across UK and beyond

Munton’s 12mm steel Trellises are made to measure to any length and height, with any number of poles so that they fit your garden space exactly; either wall- or ground-mounted and welded into large permanent grids.

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IMAGES GAP PHOTOS/JOE WAINWRIGHT

PLANT FOCUS

Fleeting Beauty Their clouds of blossom are often scattered by the first gust of wind, but ornamental cherry trees’ colourful leaves, fruit, and winter bark give them year-round appeal says Louise Curley

Prunus x yedoensis spreads its graceful branches over a path at Cholmondeley Castle.

FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 87

PLANT FOCUS

“L

oveliest of trees, the cherry now./ Is hung with bloom along the bough,/ And stands about the woodland ride/ Wearing white for Eastertide,” wrote English poet A E Housman (18591936). While most ornamental cherries have their origins in Japan, they have, since they first arrived in this country in the mid-19th century, become a quintessential spring sight in parks, avenues and gardens across Britain.

Their delightful blossom fits perfectly with the dreamy floriferous style of a classic English garden, and it’s impossible not to be wowed every spring

88 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

Above The almond-

scented blossom of Prunus x yedoensis is often the first true sign of spring.

when an explosion of colour transforms where we live from drab winter browns and greys to crisp whites and every shade of pink. One blustery spring day can be all it takes for their fleeting beauty to vanish in a confetti of petals, but if the weather is kind, we can be treated to week upon week of a billowy froth of colour that is a true joy to behold.

Flowering cherries are part of the prunus genus, along with peaches, plums and apricots.

They’re native to Japan, China and the United States, and we have our own indigenous cherries: Prunus avium, the wild cherry or gean, and the bird cherry, Prunus padus, with its unusual long flowering spikes covered with white blossom.

Most Japanese cherries are the result of centuries of cross breeding, which has meant that they no longer produce fruit. Their exact parentage has also been lost to time, hence the lack of a species in their names, for instance Prunus ‘The Bride’.

The arrival of ornamental cherries in Britain was largely thanks to passionate plantsmen like Collingwood ‘Cherry’ Ingram. Ingram, an officer in the British Army during World War I, became an authority on Japanese cherries. He filled his garden, The Grange, at Benenden in Kent, with these trees, making various planthunting trips to Japan. It was on one of these trips in 1926 that he recognised a picture in a book of a white flowering cherry, believed to be extinct in Japan, as one he’d seen growing in a garden back in Britain. Because the British tree had looked sickly he’d taken cuttings and, as a result, was able to reintroduce Prunus ‘Tai-haku’ back into its native Japan.

Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford was another Japanophile. He had worked for the Foreign Office in the 1860s and fell in love with the landscape and plants there. When he inherited Batsford, near Moreton-in-Marsh in Gloucestershire, he used his time in Japan as inspiration to create a garden and arboretum. Batsford now holds a National Collection of Japanese flowering cherries, with more than 125 different types producing a crescendo

IMAGES GAP/HOWARD RICE/MARK BOLTON/DAVE ZUBRASKI/JONATHAN BUCKLEY; CLIVE NICHOLS

Above left Doubleflowered wild cherry Prunus avium ‘Plena’.

Above right Pure white Prunus ‘The Bride’.

Below right Extend the season with the delicate, winter-blooming beauty of Prunus x subhirtella ‘Autumnalis Rosea’.

Below left Prunus ‘Taihaku’, the gorgeous great white cherry.

FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 89

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IMAGES GAP/JOANNA KOSSAK/HEATHER EDWARDS/DAVE ZUBRASKI

Petal Power

Above Slender weeping

branches of Prunus pendula ‘Pendula Rubra’ bear deep-pink blossom.

Right ‘Amanogawa’ has a columnar habit, making it ideal for tight spots.

Below The deep maroon leaves of P. cerasifera ‘Nigra’ perfectly offset its sugar-pink flowers.

Whatever the size of your garden there’s an ornamental cherry for you. There are large majestic specimens for big gardens, mid-sized trees and those that are small enough to grow in containers. You can choose from trees with single blossoms that have only five petals and are loved by pollinating insects, or semi-doubles, doubles and chrysanthemum types, like P. ‘Kiku-shidare-zakura’, with so many petals they look like pompons.

They come in many different forms too. There are broad-canopied cherries like P. ‘Shogetsu’, elegant weeping cherries like P. pendula ‘Pendula Rubra’, with single rose-pink flowers, and slender fastigiate trees, such as ‘Amanogawa’. The purple-leaves of Prunus cerasifera ‘Nigra’ (AGM) – one of the most popular street trees planted in the 1950s and 1960s – provide a striking contrast to the single pink flowers.

One of the best cherries for seasonal interest is P. sargentii ‘Rancho’. It has delicate pink flowers followed by coppery-red leaves, which turn green in summer before taking on fiery red and orange hues in autumn. And if you’re not keen on pink blossom, then P. ‘Gyoiko’ has unusual creamy-white blooms

FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 91

and an attractive spreading habit that would suit a medium- to large-sized garden.

For small spaces, Matthew Hall, head gardener at Batsford Arboretum, recommends Prunus incisa ‘Kojo-no-mai’, a small, slow-growing tree with pink flowers and fantastic autumn colour, which can be grown in containers. He also suggests Prunus ‘The Bride’, a small tree with a bushy habit and single white flowers. And for a larger garden, he suggests Prunus ‘Tai-haku’, the cherry rediscovered

by Collingwood Ingram, which is renowned for its perfect white flowers on spreading branches. It can reach 6m (20ft) by 10m (33ft).

But if he could grow only one cherry, Matthew says he would pick Prunus x yedoensis, with its almond-scented white flowers. “It’s the unofficial flower of Japan and signifies the start of hanami, which is the celebration of flowering cherries in Japan,” he explains. “When this tree starts flowering at Batsford, I know that spring is upon us.”

The season can be extended by planting Prunus x subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’ a cherry that flowers from November to February. But it’s not all about blossom. Some cherries are blessed with beautiful bark, such as the polished mahogany-coloured Prunus serrula and the shiny cinnamon trunk of the Manchurian cherry, Prunus maackii – both of these trees look fabulous in winter.

Matthew recommends digging a square planting hole that’s 20cm wider than the rootball, and if it’s an exposed, windy spot, staking the tree for the first couple of years will help the tree to establish.

“Cherries need a well-drained, fertile soil that’s

Above ‘Kojo-no-mai’

will thrive in a container, offering dainty blossom and vivid autumn colour.

GARDENS TO VISIT

Celebrate the blossom In Japan, the passion for cherry blossom is so deep seated that every spring they celebrate its arrival with a festival – sakura matsuri, which involves making pilgrimages to iconic sites where they picnic beneath the trees, a tradition known as hanami.

But you don’t need to travel to Japan to marvel at this spectacular spring sight. As well as Batsford Arboretum, there are other cherry blossom

92 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

hotspots around the country. The timing will vary depending on the weather and the local climate, so check before you set off.

Alnwick Gardens, Northumberland Doddington Hall, Lincolnshire Brogdale, Kent Royal Botanic Gardens Kew Savill Gardens and the Valley Gardens, Windsor Keele University, Staffordshire, has a National Collection of Flowering Cherries.

slightly acidic and gets plenty of sunshine,” he explains, “So avoid damp clay.”

With their shallow vigorous root system, cherries are unsuitable for planting in lawns, since they will make mowing tricky, or near flagstones, which they will lift with their roots over time. If you can, plant in a spot sheltered from strong winds so that the blossom lasts as long as possible.

Ornamental cherries have a natural shape and shouldn’t need much pruning, but if you do need to remove any branches, do it in early- to mid-summer to avoid silver leaf disease. Matthew also suggests looking out for blossom wilt in the spring, which causes brown, shrivelled blossom and leaves, and bacterial canker, a disease of the stems and leaves recognised by the oozing gum produced on the stem.

“Top-dress with a balanced fertiliser during spring and summer each year, no matter how old the tree gets, as it will always be a welcome boost of nutrients,” says Matthew. “Once a tree is established only water during drought, or the tree will become reliant on the extra water and stop seeking it.” ■ Batsford Arboretum, Batsford, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire GL56 9QB. Open every day except Christmas Day. Tel: 01386 701441; batsarb.co.uk

IMAGES GAP/J S SIRA

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CRAFTSPEOPLE French knots, bullion, chain and long stitches are all employed to create pretty scenes with intricate detail.

Painting with Threads Embroidery artist Jo Butcher combines traditional stitches with a contemporary eye to create exquisite pictures of wildflower meadows and cottage garden plants PHOTOGRAPHS MIMI CONNOLLY WORDS FIONA CUMBERPATCH

FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 95

CRAFTSPEOPLE

rothy heads of cow parsley growing on a verge, a wildflower meadow that almost seems to sway in a soft breeze, and a field of ripe wheat ears studded with red poppies: embroidery artist Jo Butcher captures the essence of plants with a needle and thread. Layers of soft colour and texture create depth and an almost 3D effect in a fresh, impressionistic style.

Although she is inspired by floral embroidery traditions of the past, there is nothing twee or vintage about the images Jo creates, none of which are larger than 47cm square. “I often look at the plants I sew from a rabbit’s eye view,” she says.

“When I’m walking in the countryside where I live in Somerset, I might lie down to observe the grasses and flowers. I take photos and I sometimes make a sketch for reference, although I won’t necessarily use it for the final composition. I always want to ensure that my planting combinations are accurate and realistic.”

F

96 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

Above Lupins and bees buzzing around a hive create a classic English country garden scene.

Below Jo is often inspired by her garden, an old apple orchard.

Jo’s ideas for her work come from the countryside surrounding her village, North Curry, and her own natural garden, which comprises an acre of old apple orchard. “It’s not really cultivated, although I like pottering around out there,” she says. “In the spring I love to see the cow parsley taking over. I can get an idea for a picture while I’m pegging out my washing!” She is fascinated by wildflower meadows and drifts of flowers but finds inspiration in the landscape whatever the season. “In the winter, snowdrops bring me joy, then the bluebells flowering in late spring. I love English country gardens, with summer spires of lupins and hollyhocks, lavender and Japanese anemones, then structural seedheads in autumn. There’s something to see all year round and I suppose that I am always looking, even when I don’t think I am!”

Jo has been transferring the joy of plants into embroidered pictures full time since 2012, and demand for her work is constant.

She has recently started to produce kits

An inspiration wall in Jo’s studio, with pictures of naturalised fritillaries, her favourite alliums and the drifts of wildflowers that she is so drawn to.

FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 97

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based on her designs. She sells at RHS Hampton Court Flower Show, with a stand booked for 2019, and teaches her skills worldwide, travelling as far as Australia in 2018. “Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that my hobby would turn into a business and take off the way it has,” she remarks.

As a teenager growing up in Leicestershire, she loved to make her own clothes, and later worked as a designer and pattern cutter in the fashion industry in London. It was while she was pregnant with her first daughter, Emily, that she spotted a craft magazine with an embroidered garden on the cover.

“Something about it just clicked,” she explains.

“I bought the magazine and stored it away, thinking that one day I would make something like it.”

When Emily tragically died at ten months old in 2000 from a rare genetic condition, Jo joined a stitching group as a way of coping with her grief.

“I had empty arms and it was my therapy,” she says.

“I have since had another gorgeous daughter, Sophie, who is now 16, but I think of my business as Emily’s legacy.”

A picture starts life with a piece of coloured linen or heavy cotton, or it might be inspired by a fragment of vintage lace purchased at one of the textile fairs Jo loves to visit. She works in a studio in the Victorian house where she lives with Sophie and husband Nick. The shelves are lined with boxes of thread, piles of linens, and scraps of vintage lace. “I may pull out some different colours to see what would work, and then I start experimenting,” explains Jo. Sometimes, when she is creating a meadow, she paints a background with watercolours first. “I paint the sky, and perhaps make some stroke marks as a guide, before I start to sew.”

She always works with the fabric pulled taut in an embroidery hoop. “Once I’ve started, I can take it anywhere: out in the garden on a favourite seat, in

Above left Jo’s light and

airy studio, with vintage finds and pretty storage.

Top right Threading two colours through the needle allows Jo to build up lovely tonal layers.

Above right Some fabric is tinted with watercolour paint before Jo begins to stitch.

FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 99

CRAFTSPEOPLE the car, or sitting in the house with a glass of wine.

I even take my work with me on holiday. It really has become an addiction!”

Good light is essential, as is a sharp pair of scissors and a selection of fine needles. Different stitches are used to depict certain plants. For example, bullion stitch is Jo’s choice for grasses and lavender, creating a long, textured stem. “My twist is that I put two colours through the needle,” she explains. “This is how I achieve a tonal layering.”

Another favourite stitch is the French knot, which is integral to Jo’s cow parsley, the centre of a daisy or a bee buzzing around a white-washed hive, one of her best-selling designs. Long stitch is another staple, as is a detached chain stitch that can be used for a leaf or a daisy. “I’m self-taught so nothing is set. It gives me freedom,” Jo notes. “I’ve been stitching fir branches, which I decided were too stylised, so I added extra stitches to make them more natural.

That’s why I can never say how long a picture will take. I judge as I go along, and it’s finished when it’s finished. A lot of love goes into each one.”

Jo is developing some tiny 3D plants, which are cut out of fabric and stitched to a background

Top Finished pieces are available to purchase from Jo’s website.

Above Jo studies flowers in detail so her embroidery is realistic.

Left Textural ears of corn and vibrant poppies recreate a wildflower meadow.

and displayed in box frames.

She is still experimenting, remarking: “It’s something I’ll be working on in 2019.” She portrays her favourites again and again. Allium seedheads, cow parsley, daisies – “the list is too long!” – but one eludes even her talents. “I love peonies but I can’t stitch them; there are too many layers!”

Selling her wares at fairs and shows enables her to meet her customers, which she enjoys. “People have a really emotional connection to my work which is lovely. Perhaps it is because there is a link to the embroidery of the past. One lady even gave me a kiss because she felt so moved!”

She has kept the embroidery magazine which sparked her career as an artist. “It saved me,” she states simply. “And there is so much potential in what I am doing. When I started this as a therapy, who ever would have dreamt that it would take me to the other side of the world.” ■ To see Jo’s work and buy items from her online shop, visit jobutcher.co.uk We have one of Jo’s embroidery kits to give away. For your chance to win, visit theenglishgarden.co.uk/jobutcher

100 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

THE TIEN SHAN

352

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Alpine Garden

VOLUME 86

NO.3 | SEPTEMBER

2018

er

| VOL. 86 ∙ No. 3 ∙ SEPTEMBER 2018 ∙ pp.

240-

altaicus ABOVE Trollius meadow favoured a wet speciosa LEFT Phlomoides at the roadside

for local source of revenue ic y day, needed mid-June the semi-nomad off an extraordinar settled with a people. By meadow. To cap fuscus created people had mostly high grassy thousands of Eremurus the road Kyrgyz up on the a slope beside in an their animals yellow wave on they may not they live all summer cars. but, steppe where to Chichkan. Individually and old railway league as E. robustus 2m assortment of yurts were busy making be in the same like this, their Many of the women mare’s milk that in a massed display a dramatic sight. were kumiss, the fermented region. tall yellow spires the next day took in demand in this The drive to KochkorBel Pass. Roadside is much the drifts of Trollius altaicus, Ala Soon albertii us back over the local honey were a asiatica, Ranunculus Myosotis selling Journal of the necessitated floral vendors algida Alpine Garden that the magnificenta much- and Primula reminderSociety ARDENER provide THE ALPINE G displays also indirectly

of Eremurus fuscus ABOVE Masses road to Chichkan beside the

was algida, which RIGHT Primula several locations found in

stop. The snow-cappeda yet another range provided Susaymyr mountain to this floriferous splendid backdrop saw blue Polemonium scene. Later, we through a yellow caucasicum growing Caragana pleiophylla. haze of shrubby a long rocky gorge, Driving east into the raging Karakol river our route followed kilometres, the river for many the torrent of banks barely constraining stop (1,887m) a roadside snowmelt. At ferganica formed deep pink Chesneya

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WRITERS’ GARDENS

The Tale of Hill Top Beatrix Potter’s Lakeland home gave her a long-awaited independence. Here she made a traditional cottage garden, which found fame in her exquisitely illustrated children’s books

IMAGE NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES/JAMES DOBSON

WORDS AMANDA HODGES

The vegetable garden at Hill Top looks very much as it would have in Beatrix Potter’s time: a source of inspiration.

FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 103

WRITERS’ GARDENS

“I

t’s as nearly perfect a little place as I ever lived in.” When Beatrix Potter bought Hill Top Farm in Near Sawrey in 1905, it marked a seminal moment in her life. She’d long loved the Lake District and had hoped to buy land there ever since first visiting with her parents in 1896, but it was only phenomenal literary success that brought her dreams to tangible fruition.

Born in 1866, Beatrix had grown up in an affluent household in Kensington but she always preferred country life to the city and found freedom from the confines of a rather stultifying Victorian existence on long summer vacations when her parents rented country houses, first in Scotland and subsequently in the Lake District.

In later years she recalled: “I do not remember a time when I did not try to invent pictures and make fairy-tales – amongst the wild flowers, animals, trees, mosses and fungi – all the thousand common objects of the countryside; that pleasant unchanging world of realism and romance.” It was this fusion of authentic detail and imagination that made her illustrations so enduring.

As a child she and brother Bertram had kept a menagerie of pets (generally rabbits and mice, but occasionally, a frog, snake

104 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

Above Potter loved traditional cottage garden plants such as aquilegias and irises.

Below Beatrix Potter stands in the stone and slate doorway of Hill Top.

or bat) and she loved to capture their idiosyncrasies on paper. Drawing was a compulsion. “It is all the same, drawing, painting… the irresistible desire to copy any beautiful object... Why cannot one be content to look at it? I cannot rest, I must draw,” impatient 18-year-old Beatrix confided in her diary.

When she bought Hill Top she was in urgent need of distraction. Her fiancé Norman Warne had died suddenly and Beatrix was grief-stricken. A project like Hill Top was ideal since it would engage all her considerable energy; her time here would soon see her enthusiastically embrace both farming and conservation as well as continuing her literary career.

Initial forays into illustration began in 1890 with a serendipitous commission from a greetings card publisher. Encouraged by this and the support of her former governess Annie Moore, Beatrix developed a story from a picture-letter she’d sent Moore’s son, Noel, while on holiday. “I don’t know what to write to you but I shall tell you a story about four little rabbits whose names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter.” So began the immortal Tale of Peter Rabbit.

Several publishers rejected her story but, confident of its merits, she chose to selfpublish and had no sooner done so than

IMAGES NATIONAL TRUST/VAL CORBETT; FREDERICK WARNE & CO; ALAMY

WRITERS’ GARDENS publishers Frederick Warne (who’d expressed earlier enthusiasm) reaffirmed their interest on the proviso she changed all illustrations from black and white to full colour. She agreed and commercial publication ensued. Later she reflected, “the earlier books… were written for real children in picture letters of scribbled pen and ink. I confess that afterwards I painted most of the little pictures to please myself!”

With the proceeds from this book and others that followed, Beatrix was able to realise her hopes of independence at Hill Top, although she divided her time between London and the Lake District, assisting her parents until she married solicitor William Heelis in 1913, whereupon Near Sawrey became her permanent residence.

Spacious Castle Cottage, another purchase, became the couple’s residence and beloved Hill Top was kept as her study, a home for all her books and a base for welcoming literary visitors.

Hill Top dated from the late 17th century and was typical of Lakeland architecture, with stone walls and a slate roof. The range in the kitchen appeared in the pages of The Tale of Samuel Whiskers and the long clock from here was glimpsed in The Tailor of Gloucester. Inheriting an “overgrown and untidy” garden, Beatrix swiftly resolved to change it. In many of her illustrations she displayed her knowledge of traditional cottage garden plants; she herself planned and executed the garden’s layout, her intention being to create an old-fashioned cottage garden populated by fruit trees, herbs, vegetables (like that in Mr McGregor’s garden from The Tale of Peter Rabbit) and plants like hollyhocks, lavender, azaleas and roses.

In autumn 1906 Beatrix wrote to her friend Millie Warne – her former fiancé’s sister – “I have got a large bed in the garden prepared by digging.

I am going to the nursery at Windermere this week to choose some bushes.” Neighbours were gifting cuttings, for, as she added with amusement, “I am being inundated with offers of plants! It is very kind of people.” She talks of “some splendid phloxes, which will look nice between the laurels... I shall plant the lilies between the azaleas and I have got a saxifrage here that would be just what you want.”

As she became more settled in the Lake District, the area’s reflection within her tales expanded, first in Squirrel Nutkin and then Samuel Whiskers, The Tale of Mrs Tiggywinkle and others. In The Tale of Tom Kitten, Tom and sisters play in what is clearly Hill Top’s garden, muddying their clothes to their mother’s chagrin, and Jemima Puddle-Duck (based on a Hill Top duck) seeks a quiet place to hatch her eggs, her naivety about a certain “foxy gentleman” redeemed by the appearance of Kep, Beatrix’s collie.

Top A mix of flowers, fruit and vegetables at summer’s height.

Above Peter Rabbit, the mischievous garden visitor who made Beatrix Potter famous.

Below Beehives and slate walls are kept as they were in Potter’s day.

Local reaction to her work was positive. In 1909 Millie heard, “The Ginger and Pickles book has been causing amusement, it’s got a good many views which can be recognised in the village which is what they like, they are quite jealous of each other’s houses and cats getting into a book!” Beatrix’s life as a countrywoman expanded too as she bought farm stock; soon there were cows, pigs, ducks and hens at Hill Top plus Herdwick sheep, a breed that she loved, native to the Lake District.

Beatrix wanted to safeguard the future of the area, which had offered her first real taste of freedom.

When she died in 1943 she left her 4,000 acres of land in the care of the National Trust. Her legacy ensured the survival of the Lakeland landscape she loved and which her books preserved forever. ■ Hill Top, Near Sawrey, Hawkshead, Cumbria, LA22 0LF. Tel: 01539 436269; nationaltrust.org.uk

FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 105

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BOOKS

The Reviewer

WORDS VIVIENNE HAMBLY

A selection of the best garden writing on the shelves this month

Terrain

Shrubs

Pruning Simplified

by Greg Lehmkuhl Artisan, £26.99

by Andy McIndoe Timber Press, £14.99

by Steven Bradley Timber Press, £14.99

In the United States, Terrain is a sister brand to Anthropologie, the popular shop that stocks quirky clothing and homeware. While there are several branches of Anthropologie on this side of the Atlantic, Terrain, suppliers of eminently desirable garden tools and accessories, is yet to arrive here. So for the time being we must be satisfied with their new book, celebrating seasonal living in all its forms.

Terrain is all your favourite, rustic, garden-themed, home-making images from Instagram in book form. Notes on dahlias feature popular US grower Floret Flowers (@floretflower), and a chapter on wreaths alone extends to more than 40 beautifully styled pages filled with easy makes and plenty of inspiration. There are instructions on how to age a galvanised planter, make kokedama and plant a terrarium, too, as well as more traditional thoughts on colour combinations for planters and savvy foliage selection.

Some elements, such as autumnal pumpkins, for instance, do not translate completely to a UK readership, but that does little to diminish the appeal of this wonderfully lavish title.

Andy McIndoe is best known as the former managing director of popular Hillier Nurseries in Hampshire, and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal from the RHS in 2017 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to horticulture. Since retiring from Hillier, McIndoe has brought his considerable expertise to writing in particular.

Shrubs is his most recent offering and will become a favoured addition to most gardeners’ bookshelves.

The good thing about shrubs is that there is one to suit every situation and soil type, something McIndoe drives home in this book. An initial chapter advising on selecting the right shrub and caring for it sets the tone for ensuing chapters, which cover shrubs for challenging situations, shrubs for restricted planting spaces and shrubs with desirable characteristics. Text is informative and to the point, outlining ultimate height, appearance, and planting and care advice. Every entry is accompanied by a clear image, working as both identifier and selection aid.

In all, this is a useful book to have at your fingertips, whether your garden is established or just getting going.

Is any plant so useful in the garden as a steadfast shrub? It is doubtful. Often hardy, sometimes evergreen, bearing flowers that are either showstopping or a handy chorus for seasonal divas, given a chance shrubs will reliably form the backbone of a garden. The only thing intimidating about them is their pruning requirements and it is to this ignorance that many shrubs have succumbed.

Fortunately Steven Bradley’s new handbook, billed ‘a step-by-step guide to 50 popular trees and shrubs’ is here to help. An introduction to techniques is followed by illustrated instructions on how to prune our most common shrubs, for shaping, remedial work and maintenance – an alphabetical listing makes plants easy to locate. A final chapter considers best management of trees, hedges, climbers and groundcover shrubs, and looks at specific techniques, such as espalier.

Bradley is well-placed to explain the correct technique, having taught at various horticultural colleges over the past 20 years, and this handy work should remove doubt about what to prune, and when and how to do it.

Leggy shrubs may live another day.

FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 107

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BOOKS

Q&A In her new book, Rose, journalist, author and broadcaster Catherine Horwood explores the complex but compelling nature of the world’s favourite flower night as well. Doing the research was a joy – after all, who wouldn’t love hunting for paintings from across the centuries and meeting knowledgeable people who have devoted their lives to this flower family? Visits to rose gardens in France were particular highlights for me, but I will never forget being hit by the scent of roses on entering the little-known Officina Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella in Florence, where the nuns have been making rose water for over half a millennium.

What are the earliest references to roses and where do they come from? And how old are the earliest specimens that have been found?

People are amazed when I tell them that rose fossils dating from 40 million years ago have been found in Colorado, and recently in China, which could be 25 million years old. Images from the early Minoan period depict roses, but the earliest dried specimens of rosebuds were found in an Egyptian tomb dating from around AD 170.

What led you to research the topic and what is your relationship with the rose?

What is it about roses, do you think, that has made them so compelling over the centuries?

Garden history is one of my favourite topics and I was approached to write this book by Reaktion, the publisher. I thought I knew quite a lot about roses – I certainly do now! I’ve grown over 100 named varieties over the years without realising what an amazing history they have.

I think their attraction has a lot to do with their scent. Although there are incredibly beautiful roses that don’t have any, it is a natural reaction to lean over and bury one’s nose in the flower in expectation.

Also, it is because the rose touches us at so many stages of our lives. We choose it to mark our most significant occasions – weddings, anniversaries, births and deaths – just as has been done across the centuries. It is really no exaggeration to call the rose the world’s favourite flower.

Which were your most useful or unusual sources?

Given the scope of the book – it looks at the place of the rose in everything from religion and royalty to poetry and perfume, not to mention its development through plant breeders – this is a tough question to answer. German rosarian Gerd Krüssmann’s book, The Complete Book of Roses, was an invaluable starting point. The most unexpected was a delightful correspondence with enthusiastic paleobotanists in both America and China.

How long did it take first to research and then to write the book?

For nearly two years my life revolved around nothing but roses – morning, noon and often in my dreams at

Is there a particular anecdote about a rose or rose grower of which you are fond?

Collecting roses can be an obsession that transcends national boundaries, as it became with Empress Josephine (1763-1814). I love the fact that even at the height of the Napoleonic War in 1810, with French ports blockaded by the English, London nurseryman John Kennedy was granted special clearance to cross the Channel, not just to deliver new plants but also to prune her vast collection of roses at Château de Malmaison near Paris. ■

Rose

by Catherine Horwood, Reaktion Books, £16

FEBRUARY 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 109

BESPOKE PROMOTION

GARDENS TO VISIT

Celebrate the start of spring by visiting one of the UK’s finest snowdrop gardens

CHIPPENHAM PARK Ely, Cambs, CB7 5PT Tel: 01638 721416 | www.chippenhamparkgardens.co.uk With a breath-taking display of snowdrops and aconites in February followed by a succession of hellebores, scillas, cyclamen, deliciously scented daphnes and viburnums and a crescendo of daffodils and other narcissi, the gardens are at their very best in early spring.

OPEN: 10am-4pm. Tearooms and Gardens open 9 February-31 March and 15-19 April.

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY BOTANIC GARDEN 1 Brookside, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB2 1JE Tel: 01223 336265 | www.botanic.cam.ac.uk Cambridge University Botanic Garden’s Winter Garden celebrates 40 years of stunning winter colour in 2019. It is a masterclass of flowers, foliage, stems, structure and scent providing winter interest from January to March.

“It teaches gardeners new lessons and it delights those who simply want a bright walk on a clear winter day.”

Robin Lane Fox, Financial Times. Free seasonal tours on Sundays during January and February. See website.

OPEN: The Garden opens daily at 10am. November, December, January: 10am–4pm. February, March, October: 10am–5pm. April-September: 10am–6pm.

WATERPERRY GARDENS Waterperry, Near Wheatley, Oxfordshire OX33 1LA Tel: 01844 339226 | Email: office@waterperrygardens.co.uk | www.waterperrygardens.co.uk Celebrate the first signs of spring with Snowdrop Weekends at Waterperry Gardens on 16-17 and 23-24 February. With more than 60 different snowdrop varieties carpeting the ornamental gardens over the season, come and enjoy these little heralds of spring in a magical setting. Waterperry Gardens – a place to explore, relax, and shop in beautiful surroundings all year round.

OPEN: 10am to 5pm Nov-Mar, 10am to 5.30pm Apr-Oct. Party bookings welcome by arrangement.

FORDE ABBEY HOUSE AND GARDENS Chard, Somerset, TA20 4LU Tel: 01460 221290 | www.fordeabbey.co.uk The Kennard family welcomes you to their unique 850-year-old house and 30 acres of award-winning gardens, with topiary-lined avenues, England’s tallest powered fountain, walled kitchen garden and renowned Mortlake tapestries. Visit the gift shop, plant nursery and enjoy lunch or homemade cakes in our vaulted tea rooms.

Seasonal interest with all year round events, including snowdrop weekends throughout February, over 40,000 tulips in bloom in spring, an Easter trail, our annual summer fair and a diary full of dates.

OPEN: Gardens open daily throughout the year from 10am-4.30pm. House open 2 April-31 October (except Monday and Saturday) and Bank Holiday Mondays 12-4pm.

CERNEY HOUSE GARDENS WINTER SNOWDROP & HELLEBORE TRAIL North Cerney Cirencester GL7 7BX Tel 01285 831300 | email: janet@cerneygardens.com | www.cerneygardens.com Cerney House Gardens is a romantic English garden for all seasons. There is a beautiful secluded Victorian walled garden which is filled with herbaceous borders and overflowing plants. We open our doors again at the end of January for the arrival of our fabulous winter display of snowdrops and hellebores. A snowdrop trail guides you around our woodland packed with drifts of snowdrops. Enjoy Cerney House Garden’s charm and its combination of informality and tranquility.

OPEN: from Saturday 26 January 2019 10am-5pm. For more details: www.cerneygardens.com

HEDGING UK Boundary House Farm, Holmeswood Road, Holmeswood, Lancashire L40 1UA Tel: 01704 827224 or 07789 922457 | sales@hedginguk.com | www.hedginguk.com 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 TEG2018).

OUR GUIDE TO THE BEST OF BRITISH NURSERIES SPRING REACH NURSERY

TWELVE NUNNS Spring Reach Nursery grows a fantastic range of clematis, trees, hedging, ferns, shrubs, fruit, perennials, roses, climbers and grasses.

WINTER WONDERS starring now: Daphne ‘Jacqueline Postill’, Nandina domestica, Sarcococca confusa and the new season’s roses. Visit one of Surrey’s finest nurseries – a gardener’s paradise!

Just five minutes from RHS Garden Wisley.

Twelve Nunns mail order nursery specialises in Harvington Hellebores®, Trilliums, Erythroniums and Roscoea – all plants which enjoy dappled shade in your garden.

Plants, bulbs, rhizomes and tubers are sent by post, carefully packed with planting advice enclosed.

Our Harvington Hellebores® in 9cm pots are just £6.99 each.

They are excellent garden plants offering winter colour year after year. © Clive Nichols

Order online or phone for a mail order plant list.

Tel: 01483 284769 info@springreachnursery.co.uk | www.springreachnursery.co.uk Spring Reach Nursery, Long Reach, Ockham, Surrey GU23 6PG

Tel: 01778 590455 penny@twelvenunns.co.uk | www.twelvenunns.co.uk

BLUEBELL ARBORETUM & NURSERY

DAISY CLOUGH NURSERIES LTD

Specialists in hardy trees, shrubs and climbers including a huge selection of unusual and rare species and varieties. Expert advice is available from our helpful staff. The nursery is surrounded by a nine-acre woodland garden (RHS Partner Garden), and visitors are welcome all year round.

Informative website and reliable mail order service if you would like plants delivered.

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.

The 2018 plant list is available to view on the website. There is a beautiful shop selling garden sundries and homeware and a fabulous new tearoom to round off your visit.

Tel: 01530 413700 sales@bluebellnursery.com | www.bluebellnursery.com Annwell Lane, Smisby, Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire LE65 2TA

Tel: 01524 793104 info@daisyclough.com | www.daisyclough.com Daisy Clough Nurseries Ltd, Station Lane, Scorton, Preston, Lancs PR3 1AN

WEASDALE NURSERIES

ASHWOOD NURSERIES Weasdale Nurseries have been growing hardy trees and shrubs on their site at 850ft elevation in the Howgill Fells, at the heart of beautiful Cumbria, since 1950.

Specialising in mail-order from the outset, their careful packaging system has become legendary and guarantees safe arrival of the delicate contents anywhere in the UK. More than 1,000 different plants are listed online and in the comprehensive, illustrated and highly-readable 128-page catalogue.

Tel: 015396 23246 Email: sales@weasdale.com | www.weasdale.com Newbiggin on Lune, Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria CA17 4LX

A traditional working nursery situated in the West Midlands.

We specialise in Hellebores, Hardy Cyclamen, Salvias, Hepaticas, Hydrangeas, Lewisias, Dwarf Conifers, Snowdrops, Primula auriculas and offer many more choice plants. We feel Ashwood Nurseries is a plantsman’s paradise. Our mail order service sends plants, garden essentials and gifts to UK and EU destinations. Special events throughout the year.

Please visit our website for more details. Open daily. Free colour brochure quote EG19 Tel: 01384 401996 mailorder@ashwoodnurseries.com | www.ashwoodnurseries.com Ashwood Lower Lane, Kingswinford, West Midlands DY6 0AE

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IMAGES MARIANNE MAJERUS; CLIVE NICHOLS; ANNAICK GUITTENY

Next issue

O S 30 A N JA L N UA E

Daffodils herald the start of spring • A sea of historic flowers at Elizabethan Doddington Hall • Beautiful spring planting at Pettifers in Oxfordshire • Colourful early-season inspiration at Beth Chatto’s Essex garden • Magnolias in the medieval grounds of Nottinghamshire’s Felley Priory • Breathtaking daffodils at Mere House in Kent PLUS Mark Diacono’s spring guide to growing unusual edibles; how to grow hepaticas; and Beatrix Havergal, the great gardener behind Waterperry and its famous school

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LAST WORD

Sweet Dreams Scented stalwarts of the cottage garden, sweet peas have a fascinating history. Katherine Swift ponders the discoveries that led to today’s varieties.

Here are sweet peas, on tiptoe for a flight: With wings of gentle flush o’er delicate white, It was not until the second half of the 19th century that Henry Eckford, a nurseryman of Wem, Shropshire, developed the technique for fertilising the flowers by hand. From the six varieties available in 1837 (the five variations plus the original violet and reddish-blue bi-colour, still available today as ‘Cupani’), by 1900 there were 264 – almost half of which had been bred by Eckford himself. He called his new varieties ‘Grandiflora’ sweet peas, which is the name under which they are still sold today.

It was one of Eckford’s Grandiflora varieties, the pale pink ‘Prima Donna’, that gave rise to the huge ruffled blooms we see today. Prior to 1900, the petals of all sweet peas had plain edges. Then the Countess Spencer’s gardener at Althorp in Northamptonshire (future family home of Lady Diana Spencer) noticed a seedling from ‘Prima Donna’ that had flowers with wavy edges. This one plant produced five seeds.

Three were then lost to mice. But the remaining two seeds germinated and from them sprang the whole race of Spencer sweet peas, supplanting the older varieties in terms of sheer flower power. But for scent there is still nothing to beat the old Grandiflora ones.

114 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY 2019

“

It was pale pink ‘Prima Donna’ that gave rise to the ruffled blooms we see today”

If you are of a competitive bent, grow them on the cordon system, (pinching out the tendrils and side shoots for exhibition-standard blooms with extra-long stems. If you are of a more rustic frame of mind, like me, pinch out the main shoot – more than once if the plants are getting leggy before you have had a chance to plant them out – to produce bushy plants, shorter stems and lots of flowers.

Sweet peas are perfectly hardy. In Henry Eckford’s day the seed was apparently sown in late summer and young plants put out in autumn, producing huge plants with thousands of flowers. Nowadays the usual practice is to sow in October in a coldframe and plant them out in April. I sow mine in February, or even March, and plant them out in May. This is because I don’t need them to flower until after my roses have finished, and then I want them to go on flowering right up to the first frosts. But you could, of course, make two sowings, one in autumn and one now in early spring, and enjoy sweet peas in flower from June to October. ■

ILLUSTRATION JULIA RIGBY PORTRAIT BEVERLEY FRY

O

ur long love affair with sweet peas goes all the way back to 1699, when Father Cupani, a Sicilian monk, sent seeds of a tall twining pea with reddish-blue and deep-violet bi-coloured flowers to Dr Robert Uvedale of Enfield.

The blooms themselves were rather inconspicuous, and it was their overwhelmingly sweet, carrying scent that made them so desirable.

Sweet peas are self-fertilised. Their shape is such that they do not naturally cross-pollinate, since the plants’ sexual parts are enclosed within the ‘keel’ – the lower petal – making it difficult for pollinating insects to gain access to them. By the end of the 18th century, only five colour variations had arisen: black, white, striped, red, and a pink-and-white bi-colour still available as ‘Painted Lady’. It was probably ‘Painted Lady’ that John Keats was thinking of when, in July 1816, he wrote his poem ‘I Stood tip-toe upon a little hill’, which includes the lines

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