2022 TRAVEL SPECIAL: HOLIDAY IDEAS FOR GARDEN LOVERS
THE
english
GARDEN MARCH 2022
For everyone who loves beautiful gardens
Treasures of
SPRING Delightful gardens & seasonal plants
Waddesdon Manor’s snowdrop collection
Celebrate fleeting cherry blossom
Vintage daffodils Discover rare & historic varieties $7.99
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Photographed by Richard Allenby-Pratt at Walsingham Abbey
CONTRIBUTORS
Matthew Biggs Matthew is a gardener, writer and broadcaster, and a regular on BBC Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time. He has a passionate interest in plant history and bulbous plants. He visits Waddesdon and Eythrope on page 14.
Barbara Segall Barbara writes articles, books (most recently Secret Gardens of East Anglia) and blogs about gardens and herbs. She’s also assistant county organiser for the NGS in Suffolk. She visits Fullers Mill on page 22.
Welcome I
t’s at this point in the year that winter starts to drag a little for many of us. I’ve found that one of the best ways to cheer myself up is to concentrate on the signs of growth emerging all around us as winter loosens its grip and spring starts to awaken. That’s what’s happening in the gardens we bring you in this issue: there’s the happy sight of masses of snowdrops at Waddesdon Manor and Eythrope, the Rothschild estates in Buckinghamshire, and at Benington Lordship in Hertfordshire. At The Lyndalls in Herefordshire, the snowdrops are joined by cyclamen and a host of other early spring treasures that are passionately collected by owner Stuart Donachie. A passion for plants is a given when you’re a keen gardener, whether you fall in love with one particular genus or share your attention across them all. This issue we also focus on gardens where certain plants steal the show in spring, like the alpines at Branklyn, the ferns in Benmore’s unique Victorian fernery, and Batsford Arboretum’s collection of Japanese cherries, as well as heritage daffodil varieties and the ongoing efforts by their collectors to conserve them. Hopefully there’s a plant in this issue that might ignite a new passion for you as well – or at least help while away what’s left of winter.
CLARE FOGGETT, EDITOR
IMAGE NEIL HEPWORTH
Francois Gordon A retired diplomat and lifelong student of gardening history, Francois lives and gardens in Kent. His book about Will Purdom was published last year; he introduces us to this forgotten plant hunter on p79.
ON THE COVER Erythroniums, daffodils and scillas line a path at Branklyn, a Perth woodland garden, filled with Alpine treasures. Photograph by Ray Cox.
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MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 5
March 2022
CONTENTS
22
48 57
38
14
22 30
Gardens 14 Waddesdon Manor & Eythrope The gardens of this Buckinghamshire estate were developed by the wealthy de Rothschilds, directed by a roll call of famous designers. 22 Fullers Mill Bernard Tickner’s Suffolk garden is now cared for by horticultural charity Perennial and maintained in harmony with its creator’s vision. 30 Benington Lordship This tranquil garden with historic snowdrop plantings dates back to the 8th century and honours its timeless Hertfordshire landscape.
73
38 The Lyndalls Passionate plant collector Stuart Donachie has an obsessive love of the new, constantly updating the planting at his rural Herefordshire garden.
Plant Passions 48 Alpines Stocked with the findings of early 20th-century plant hunters, Branklyn, near Perth, offers alpine treasures and woodland wonders to delight the enthusiast. 57 Ferns Sensitively restored Benmore Fernery enjoys a spectacular mountainside location on the Argyll coast and is home to over 70 species, curated by Peter Baxter. 63 Flowering Cherries The exquisite spring show put on by these trees is fleeting, but they work well in the garden all year round, as Matthew Hall of Batsford Arboretum explains.
30 6 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
69
68 Azaleas Evergreen or deciduous, these acid-loving shrubs are spring’s brightest. 69 Snowdrops Jacky Hobbs visits Avon Bulbs where choice collectors’ snowdrops rub shoulders with great garden varieties that are perfect for naturalising.
38 ll
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UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR LEARNING FROM BRITISH GARDENERS THE ESSENTIAL GARDEN DESIGN DIPLOMA January – March 2022
Based at the Chelsea Physic Garden and led by Rosemary Alexander and architect Catriona Rowbotham, the course is an overview of Garden Design, covering all the elements needed to rethink 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 drawing tuition and homework on design and plant portfolios. Tutors are well respected in the industry and will guide students on how to succeed in this diverse profession. (2 days a week (Wed & Thur) 10.30am-3.15pm, plus 2 days homework)
ONE YEAR GOOD GARDENING DIPLOMA September 2022 – beginning July 2023
Covers the best in planting design while training in the more serious aspects of horticultural techniques. Practical sessions held at Arundel Castle under the guidance of head gardener Martin Duncan and at Sandhill Farm House, Rogate. Lectures by many leading gardening personalities and regular visits to exclusive private gardens. Students also learn to draw up planting plans. (1 day a week (Tues), 10.30am–3.15pm, over three terms)
GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS
Wednesday & Thursday 20,21,27,28 April 2022
One of our most popular courses, led by master horticulturalist 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, sow seeds and regular maintenance tasks will be discussed. A light lunch and refreshments will be provided daily.
73 Daffodils Prolific breeding in the 19th century introduced masses of new daffodils, but many are now at risk of disappearing.
Extras 79 Will Purdom This overlooked Victorian plant hunter left his mark on British gardens.
GARDEN DESIGN & CARING FOR YOUR GARDEN
Distance Learning Courses study anytime, anywhere in the world
A stepping stone to a new career. These two correspondence 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 to us. 1-3 years to complete and individual assessment.
85 Travel The best trips and holidays for garden lovers planning a break in 2022.
IMAGES RICHARD BLOOM; RAY COX; ANNA OMIOTEK-TOTT; CLIVE NICHOLS
93 Craftspeople At Farm Soap Co in Dorset, Silvana de Soissons creates natural soaps.
Regulars 8 On Location Enjoy the ever-changing scenery of unspoilt North Yorkshire. 10 Out & About News, events, jobs to do – and the country’s most romantic gardens. 98 Last Word Katherine Swift on the garden imagery in the patterns of Persian carpets.
Offers 92 Discover Europe Enjoy exclusive access to the finest famous gardens of England.
Garden of Medicinal Plants – Chelsea Physic Garden
Photo: R Alexander
Not sure which Diploma course is for you? Come along to an information session to see our location and find out more.
www.englishgardeningschool.co.uk Email: info@englishgardeningschool.co.uk Tel: +44 (0) 207 352 4347 Long established as the leader in all design and gardening tuition and based at the unique and historic Chelsea Physic Garden
MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 7
ON LOCATION
NORTH YORKSHIRE
Hill, Dale and Coast From gently bucolic to rugged and wild, this vast county’s scenery enchants
A direct train from London’s King’s Cross to York takes just under two hours. From York, use local services or hire a car to explore.
N
orth Yorkshire is England’s largest county and one of its most beautiful and remote. It contains neither motorways nor cities, and more than 40 per cent of its area is taken up by National Parks: most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors lie within its boundaries. The vet and author James Alfred Wright, better known as James Herriot, was born here in 1916
8 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
and wrote the area into popular culture with his books about life in the Yorkshire Dales. In works including It Shouldn’t Happen to a Vet, he captured the reputation of those who live here: hardy, modest, careful with money. Later television adaptations showed off the unspoilt scenery at its very finest. While North Yorkshire’s rural identity and bitter winters demand a certain rigour, the spa town of Harrogate is altogether more refined. It owes its
Rolling fields and dry stone walls are quintessential elements of the Yorkshire Dales.
Great Escapes Sample hearty local specialities, stay in Georgian luxury and explore contrasting gardens at Scampston TRADITIONAL FARE High in the
Yorkshire Dales, the village of Wensleydale gives its name to a crumbly cheese made only in this area. Harrogate tearoom Bettys, meanwhile, is renowned for its fat rascals, a cross between a scone and a rock cake, with a ‘face’ made from dried fruit and almonds. Pop in for tea and cake. bettys.co.uk
IMAGES SHUTTERSTOCK; KI PRICE/EMULSION LONDON; ALAMY
STAY IN HARROGATE To appreciate the sensibilities of upper-class Georgian life, consider a stay at Harrogate’s Hotel du Vin, built from a row of Georgian houses. Its on-site Bistro du Vin serves classic French cuisine. Later, take in a show at the Grade II-listed Harrogate Theatre. It was built in 1900 and Charlie Chaplin and Sarah Bernhardt have appeared on stage here. hotelduvin.com; harrogatetheatre.co.uk
prosperity to the mineral waters widely appreciated by the Georgians: in 1842 the Royal Pump Room was built to service demand and now operates as a museum with daily tours. Just west of Harrogate lies RHS Harlow Carr, one of many notable gardens in the region. Further north, find the Himalayan Garden and Sculpture Park, where some 1,400 rhododendron and 150 magnolia varieties grow. On the county’s North Sea coast, Scarborough offers traditional seaside entertainments, while the picturesque fishing town of Whitby is famous as one of the settings in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. A gem made of fossilised wood and known as ‘Whitby jet’ washes up along the coast in this area, its lustrous blackness being so intense that it is the origin of the term ‘jet black’.
A GARDEN TO VISIT Just
outside the market town of Malton, you’ll find Scampston Hall and its wonderful gardens. Built in around 1700, the house is a glorious example of Regency design and its extensive grounds include a landscape by ‘Capability’ Brown. In contrast, the Walled Garden houses the largest of designer Piet Oudolf’s projects in the UK. An exercise in New Perennial planting, it is cared for by head gardener Andy Karavics. scampston.co.uk DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY MARCH 2022 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 9
MARCH
Out & About
Phoebe Jayes recommends some of the UK’s most romantic gardens and rounds up outdoor jobs to do in early spring – as well as the latest news
Spring jobs ● Order seed potatoes
ready for chitting and planting later in spring. ● Finish winter pruning
wisteria, shortening shoots to two buds to encourage more flowering spurs. ● Deciduous trees and
shrubs can be moved now, while they are still dormant, provided the ground isn’t frozen or waterlogged. ● Lift, divide and
replant snowdrops once their flowers have faded to increase existing clumps.
Budding ROMANCE We round up five of the country’s most romantic gardens, perfect for a Valentine’s stroll with a loved one and beautiful at any time of year Stourhead
Nymans
Iford Manor Gardens
This rambling 18th-century garden in Wiltshire (below) was described as ‘a living work of art’ when it opened. The focus is on water: trees and classical buildings surround a sinuous lake. Tel: +44 (0)1747 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 plants. Tel: +44 (0)1444 405250; nationaltrust.org.uk
These Italianate gardens were designed by Harold Peto in the 19th century and sit in the idyllic Frome Valley in Bath. Steps twist around statues, columns and urns on a terraced hillside with splendid views. Tel: +44 (0)1225 863146; ifordmanor.co.uk
Crook Hall Each of the 15 gardens at Crook Hall in Durham has its own style. See blowsy roses in the Walled Garden, enjoy sculpture in the Shakespeare Garden and visit the Silver and White Garden, which honours a 25th wedding anniversary. Tel: +44 (0)191 3848028; crookhallgardens.co.uk 10 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
Bowood House Designed by ‘Capability’ Brown in the 1760s, these Wiltshire pleasure grounds (above) include a terrace with trickling fountains, a Doric temple, woodland gardens and views over a mile-long lake. Tel: +44 (0)1249 812102; bowood.org
● March is the ideal
month to improve soil by mulching. Spread a generous layer of organic mulch such as compost on the soil surface – about a barrowload every two square metres. ● Take root cuttings
of oriental poppies (below), verbascum, phlox and acanthus.
Sue Biggs to
LONG WAITS
RETIRE
for allotmenteers Allotments have always been in high demand, but, since the pandemic, waiting lists in the UK have grown even longer, research by MyJobQuote reveals. Londoners who sign up for allotments face the longest wait of up to 17.5 years on average (one gardener in Camden waited for 18 years and three months), followed by gardeners in East Lothian, who can wait for up to 15 years. Nottingham City Council has the highest number of applicants with 6,845 names on their waiting list. Google searches for allotments are 4.5 times higher than pre-pandemic levels.
IRISH PLANTS
IMAGES NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES/CLIVE NICHOLS; ANNA STOWE; SHUTTERSTOCK; RHS/LUKE MACGREGOR; PADDY TOBIN; INDIA HOBSON/HAARKON
get collection status
The Royal Horticultural Society has announced that Sue Biggs CBE, its director general since 2010, will step down in June 2022. With Sue at the helm, the RHS has grown to record membership numbers and launched many initiatives to improve the Society’s gardens and flower shows, educational programmes and standards of horticulture and science. Most notably, Sue has overseen the opening of its fifth garden, Bridgewater in Salford, and Wisley’s RHS Hilltop – The Home of Gardening Science. Recruitment for a new director general is currently under way.
Some 1,000 plants held in 75 locations across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have been awarded National Plant Collection status by conservation charity Plant Heritage. The plants have either been bred or collected by, or named after Irish horticulturists or plant explorers and include rarities such as Iris unguicularis ‘Kilbroney Marble’ (pictured), listed by just one supplier. The collection is managed by the Irish Garden Plant Society and has been 40 years in the making. plantheritage.org.uk
CHATSWORTH’S Arcadia Gardeners at Chatsworth in Derbyshire have completed the final planting in the garden’s biggest transformation for nearly 200 years. Designers Tom Stuart-Smith, Dan Pearson and James Hitchmough have been working with Steve Porter, Chatsworth’s head of gardens and landscape, and his team for three years to bring Stuart-Smith’s masterplan for the 105-acre garden to fruition. More than 300,000 plants, including hundreds of trees, have been added to a previously underused area known as ‘Arcadia’. A new ‘meadow glade’, seeded with thousands of perennial flowers, was one of the final areas to be completed. Work has continued throughout the pandemic. “The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire have often been in the garden helping out with planting, placing and watering, particularly when we were short-handed,” says Steve. chatsworth.org MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 11
NEW SPONSOR
Classic book REPRINTED
The Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show has a new sponsor: The Newt in Somerset. The garden and country estate will be the show’s new headline sponsor for the next four years, starting when the event returns in May 2022. “We are great admirers of the RHS,” said Edward Workman, The Newt’s chief executive officer. “We want to support the RHS and hopefully this sponsorship will strengthen them.” The 2022 show takes place on 24-28 May and tickets are on sale now. Visit rhs.org.uk and thenewtinsomerset.com
With so many plants to choose from, selecting the best can seem impossible. Ten years on from its first publication, Adrian Bloom’s classic book, Bloom’s Best Perennials and Grasses, has been reprinted. In it, Adrian simplifies the choice by describing 70 of the most indispensable, triedand-tested perennials and grasses and shares plant combinations and practical advice drawn from his own experience. The book is illustrated with photographs by Adrian and his son Richard, one of the UK’s top garden photographers. £25 from thebressingham gardens.com
for Chelsea
Proven Winners’
NEW PLANTS Proven Winners has launched its tempting new plant range for 2022. Annuals include Heliotropium ‘Augusta Lavender’, a vigorous new version of cherry pie plant, while new perennials include compact Amsonia ‘String Theory’ with baby-blue flowers (left) and black-leaved, bubblegum-pink-flowered Hibiscus ‘Edge of Night’. Among the new shrubs are lime green Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight Prime’ and additions to the Perfecto Mundo series of reblooming azaleas. provenwinners.com
London’s Garden Museum has announced plans to revive and restore the former home and garden of artist and gardener Cedric Morris (1889-1982). The Pinchbeck Charitable Trust acquired Benton End in 2018 and has now transferred ownership of the house, a private home since Morris’s death, to the Garden Museum. Morris and his partner, Arthur Lett-Haines, bought the house in Hadleigh, Suffolk, in 1940 and established the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing there, while Morris grew and bred irises in what was one of the first modern gardens known for its naturalistic design. The revived Benton End will aim to support and inspire artists and gardeners of all ages, staying true to Lett-Haines and Morris’s ethos. Work will begin on renewing the garden in 2022, with an exhibition gallery and learning spaces to come later. bentonend.co.uk 12 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
IMAGES JAYNE LLOYD; PROVEN WINNERS; LUCY SKELLORN
BENTON END Revival
MAMA MIA.
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The Great &
THE GOOD
One of the noteworthy English de Rothschild estates, Buckinghamshire’s Waddesdon Manor and neighbouring Eythrope have historic gardens created and extended by the wealthy family over the ages, directed by a roll call of famous and talented designers WORDS MATTHEW BIGGS PHOTOGRAPHS CLIVE NICHOLS
14 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
The lush parkland surrounding Eythrope is studded with white snowdrops in late winter and early spring.
MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 15
T
he showcase gardens developed by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild and his younger sister Alice on adjacent estates in Buckinghamshire are the foundations of the spectacular Waddesdon Manor and Eythrope gardens we know today. “In 1874, Ferdinand bought around 2,700 acres from the Duke of Marlborough to create his own country estate,” explains garden historian Dr Sophie Piebenga. “He employed Hippolyte Destailleur to design the manor house in the style of a 16-17th-century French chateau and Elie Lainé to lay out the garden. They had already worked together on the restoration of Vaux le Vicomte.” Once this first garden was established, Ferdinand bought the estate next door and immediately transferred ownership to his younger sister, ‘Miss Alice’, who employed George Devey to design a house for her by the River Thame at Eythrope. She never moved in. Advised by her doctor not to spend nights there due to bronchial problems, she used it as a daytime pavilion, spent nights at the manor, and wintered at her house in Grasse in the south of France. When Ferdinand’s wife died in 1865, his younger sister became his host and companion. Alice was a passionate gardener and, with the help of head gardener George Frederick Johnson, brought style and finesse to the gardens. She was very exacting, demanding that everything – from bedding plants to fruit and orchids – be grown in vast numbers, to perfection. The gardens became renowned for their colourful, large-scale shrub combinations, massed rose beds containing hundreds of plants and strawberries in pots under glass, in their thousands. Extravagant bedding schemes decorated the parterre. It was Alice who pioneered the technique of creating sculptures 16 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
Above Long-stemmed Galanthus ‘Limetree’ is a good choice for cutting, says Suzie Hanson. Right Pretty drifts of snowdrops colonise a bank alongside a lake. Below The tiny winter flowers of Cornus mas. Bottom Great sheets of white in the parkland below the boughs of stately, mature trees.
IMAGES WADDESDON IMAGE LIBRARY
with plants: a style of three-dimensional bedding that was widely adopted by the parks departments of Britain. Alice was in total control. Her cousin, Lady Constance Battersea (1843-1931) noted: “Alice reigns absolutely, there is nothing constitutional about this monarchy. No wonder the Queen [Victoria] has named her ‘The All Powerful’... She was most precise and punctual in all her habits, visiting daily her gardens, glass-houses and farm… and never resting until perfectly satisfied. No detail, however small, escaped her notice.” Sophie agrees: “Her standards of perfection were demonstrated when Lady Warwick arrived late one night as a torrential storm was flattening the bedding plants in the parterre. By
Above Alice de Rothschild. Right Dorothy de Rothschild.
MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 17
the time she awoke the following morning, they had already been replaced by an army of gardeners.” While overwintering in Grasse, Alice wrote to Johnson several times a week, outlining exactly what he should be doing. Her attention to detail was evident everywhere. “There are records in the archives of vast volumes of the soil in the kitchen garden at Waddesdon being replaced with some from the nearby village of Brill, because she felt that the existing soil made the fruit too acidic,” Sophie notes. “Jam made from the best fruit was marked no. 1; second-class jam was given to friends.” When Alice died in 1922, her great nephew James and his wife Dorothy inherited both estates. On bequeathing the Manor to the National Trust, Dorothy moved to Eythrope, reviving the Victorian kitchen garden there and breathing new life into the garden at Waddesdon with her friend, the garden designer Lanning Roper. Lord Rothschild and Lady Rothschild (Jacob and Serena) followed in 1988. They engaged another garden designer, Mary Keen, employed Sue Dickinson as head gardener and handed them a brief to turn Eythrope into a ‘Rothschild-quality’ garden once again. Lady Serena, Mary Keen and Sue Dickinson loved snowdrops, so one of the projects was the development of a collection within the woodland garden. “The first ones were planted in 1991, and these are now added to annually with purchases from specialist nurseries. Bulbs have also been gifted by notable galanthophiles like Richard Nutt, Bill Baker and Mrs Merton of The Old Rectory Burghfield, who bred and selected their own forms,” explains Eythrope’s current head gardener Suzie Hanson. In 2010, Galanthus elwesii ‘Mrs Macnamara’, an early-flowering snowdrop that began life as a clump of six bulbs, a gift from Mary Keen, was one of the first groups to be lifted and divided. “Some were replanted in the same area, others were moved to new locations where they have multiplied and are now established in large numbers; the collection is always expanding,” says Suzie. Most are in rough grass by the river, where desirable ‘Magnet’, ‘Limetree’ and ‘Ophelia’ have naturalised under mature trees. Robust varieties like ‘Magnet’ have been planted in the parkland beyond and the kitchen garden orchard is now embellished with Galanthus nivalis and double-flowered G. nivalis f. pleniflorus. “We select snowdrops for their interesting shapes rather than fine detailing and order annually in 18 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
This image A snowdrop
island, complete with an urn, makes for an intriguing feature. Below Elegant flowers of Lonicera elisae, a rare species of winterflowering honeysuckle. Bottom Snowdrops cluster around a grotto.
As the snowdrops fade the trees will burst into leaf, reflected in the river’s calm waters.
MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 19
Above Noted for its scent mid-January, buying and size, G. ‘Atkinsii’. a maximum of three Right Shrubs, hellebores of each kind. They are and snowdrops mingle planted in a nursery in borders by the house. Below Robust ‘Magnet’ bed inside the kitchen is a good choice for garden to increase the growing through grass. numbers, then planted out in the woodland garden,” Suzie explains. In 2020 there were 13 new introductions, bought as single bulbs, among them: tall, elegant ‘Honeysuckle Cottage’; ‘Pagoda’, whose curved petals reflect the name; ‘Sentinel’, which is vigorous with large flowers; and the oddly named ‘Wasp’, whose moving flowers, with wing-like, elongated petals, suggest an insect hovering over the clump. But it is not just about developing a collection of such connoisseur cultivars. In spring 2019, 83,000 Galanthus nivalis and G. nivalis ‘Flore Pleno’ were planted in a grove of lime trees on the main route around Waddesdon Pleasure Grounds as a tribute to the late Lady Serena; 1,000 for each year of her life. It took 25 staff nine days to plant 83 crates of bulbs ‘in the green’, massed in groups of 50, to create a naturalistic style. Mary Keen’s daughter, Alice Oswald, wrote several poems while working as a gardener at Eythrope. Several of them are written on individual slates, mounted on the walls of the passage leading to the Kitchen Garden. Given the flower’s historic association with lady gardeners at Waddesdon, it’s no surprise that one poem is entitled ‘Snowdrop’. n
Waddesdon Manor, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire HP18 0JH. Up-to-date visitor information for both Waddesdon and Eythrope can be found at waddesdon.org.uk and booking is essential. 20 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
White MAGIC Suzie Hanson’s top tips for growing snowdrops Snowdrops are happy anywhere in shade and will tolerate most soils, apart from the heaviest clay or the sourest acid conditions.
until the foliage has started to die
These are hungry plants and will appreciate the application of an annual dressing of bonemeal and leafmould in autumn.
planter, replace the bottom half of
back. Protect the leaves from slugs. When naturalising snowdrops in grass, take out a core with a bulb the core in the hole, put the clump on top and crumble the soil around it. Alternatively, cut a T shape with
Lift and transplant snowdrops ‘in the green’ after flowering and before they die back, planting at three times the depth of the bulb.
an edging iron, fold back the turf,
New clumps should contain somewhere in the region of five bulbs. Do not let the soil dry out
perfect for naturalising, ‘Atkinsii’ is
then plant at the junction of the T with the foliage above ground. ‘Magnet’ and ‘Mrs MacNamara’ are good for fragrance and ‘Limetree’ makes an excellent cut flower.
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A view of the house, garden and pond at Fullers Mill takes in spring bulbs such as snake’s head fritillaries and daffodils.
22 THE THEENGLISH ENGLISHGARDEN GARDENMARCH MARCH2022 2022
Faith, Hope & Charity Bernard Tickner’s former garden at Fullers Mill in Suffolk is now cared for by horticultural charity Perennial and maintained in harmony with its creator’s vision WORDS BARBARA SEGALL PHOTOGRAPHS RICHARD BLOOM
MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 23
T
Below left Annie Dellbridge has been head gardener at Fullers Mill for over a decade. Below middle Pink buds open into paler flowers on deciduous Viburnum carlesii ‘Charis’. Below right Covered in delicate spring blossom, Magnolia x loebneri ‘Leonard Messel’.
he bumpy track that leads to Fullers Mill doesn’t prepare you for the awakening spring mix of connoisseur’s plants that spills from the brimming borders, nor for the mists and shapes that rise from lake and stream. Over the course of 50 years, plantsman and head brewer of the Greene King brewery, Bernard Tickner (1924-2017), transformed a wild and untamed sevenacre site deep in the forest at West Stow, Suffolk, into a magical, secluded haven for plants and wildlife. The garden he created has overflowed into the spaces alongside the twin watercourses of the River Lark and the Culford Stream that meander gently by. Nestled snugly at the end of a track in King’s Forest, the original small garden, set around a former fuller’s cottage, is full of plants, both unusual and commonplace. Bernard renovated the cottage extensively in the 1960s and slowly but surely filled the garden with choice trees, shrubs, bulbs and perennials. First and foremost, he chose species plants rather than what he considered to be blowsy, flouncy hybrids. But inevitably he let things evolve, allowing some leeway, depending on a plant’s attributes. Since he was red-green colour-blind, plants had to offer him more subtle pleasure beyond vibrant flower colour. For Bernard, an interesting plant was interesting for many reasons. Leaf texture, tree bark, seedheads and shapes were aspects that attracted him to particular plants, and with those in mind he created a woodland and waterside garden that changes daily and seasonally. The views shimmer and dissolve as seasons change, mimicking the misty and watery reflections found in the waters of the Culford Stream, the River Lark and the Mill Pond, which add character to the planting.
As he worked his way outwards from the house, Bernard improved the land, digging out curved beds for planting, and putting in sinuous paths. He was insistent that there should be minimal hard landscaping, with no statues and no straight lines. He felt that curved barked, gravelled or grass paths that followed the shapes of the beds enhanced rather than detracted from the natural world. He acquired more land as his enthusiasm for plants grew. He had strong ideas and was clear that he wanted the garden to evolve, rather than being created as a designed space. He didn’t start with a plan, but it must have been hard work over a long period of time, transforming the site from woodland scrub into a garden filled with such choice plants. As is the case at any garden, Fullers Mill comes to life in early spring, and for head gardener Annie Dellbridge this is an extra-special time of year.
“Walking around is always interesting as there are exciting plants at every turn, but in spring it is like greeting old friends you had almost forgotten were there,” she explains. “Some announce themselves with unfurling foliage, others with sensational perfume that hangs in the early-morning air.” Annie has been at Fullers Mill for the past decade, and with her team of gardeners and volunteers she is able to interpret Bernard’s thoughts about the garden and how he hoped it might develop over time. In 2004, Bernard and his wife Bess donated the garden to The Fullers Mill Trust to manage and ensure its future. In January 2013 the Trust gifted the garden to Perennial, the charity for people in horticulture. At that stage Perennial had just one garden in its portfolio: York Gate, in Leeds. Fullers Mill and York Gate have now been joined by The Laskett, the garden created by Sir Roy Strong in Herefordshire.
Above The lake was de-silted when Perennial took over the garden, and a new, safer bridge installed; candelabra primulas, darmera and skunk cabbage will soon fringe its banks.
MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 25
SPRING STARS at Fullers Mill Delicate seasonal blooms turn heads from March as this Suffolk garden quietly awakens
HYACINTHOIDES ITALICA The Italian bluebell has starry flowers held on conical flowerheads. Order the bulbs in time for planting in autumn.
OSMANTHUS X BURKWOODII A leathery-leaved evergreen shrub with scented flowers in March and April.
EUPHORBIA ‘BLACKBIRD’ Gorgeous purple-tinged foliage contrasts beautifully with zingy lime-green flowers in late spring.
26 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
ANEMONE BLANDA ‘WHITE SPLENDOUR’
EUPHORBIA AMYGDALOIDES VAR. ROBBIAE
Ideal for naturalising in areas of sun or dappled shade for drifts of white.
Excellent groundcover for the dry soil beneath large trees, flowering in spring.
PRIMULA DENTICULATA
ORNITHOGALUM NUTANS
Drumstick primulas can be relied on for bright colour in spring. Grow in moist, well-drained soil in sun or light shade.
Plant this attractive bulb in light, freedraining soil in autumn for sprays of silver-grey blooms in spring.
FRITILLARIA VERTICILLATA
MAGNOLIA X LOEBNERI ‘LEONARD MESSEL’
Slender stalks bear nodding, pale green, chequered, bell-shaped flowers.
Pale pink flowers become star-shaped as they open on medium-sized, 4m trees.
Left Near the house, the Alpine Terrace is home to daintier specimens. Middle left Pulmonaria ‘Diana Clare’ is one of the best for silver leaves. Middle right Fronds of the shuttlecock fern, Matteuccia struthiopteris unfurl through blueflowered Scilla bithynica. Bottom Euphorbia characias seeds about in the woodland areas.
Horticultural excellence is the aim at all three gardens, which help to fund Perennial’s vital work helping people in horticulture in times of need. Each garden is maintained by a garden team and volunteers, its management evolving in conversation with individual Garden Committees, consisting of professional and practical horticulturists, working to the remit of Perennial’s trustees. Since Bernard’s death in 2017, the Fullers Mill Garden Committee has been involved, along with Annie and her team, in refurbishing and developing many areas of the garden, working to the agreed conservation management plan while keeping in mind Bernard’s views about his garden. One of the most imposing and statuesque plantings is at the furthest reach of the area known as the Top Garden, between the entrance drive and the River Lark. It’s formed from a stand of 12 birch trees, Betula pendula subsp. pendula ‘Silver Grace’, originally discovered by Bernard close to the lake. Planted around the birch, the silver foliage of Elaeagnus ‘Quicksilver’ begins to add colour in spring, before Tulipa sprengeri shows up en masse in May. Near the birch grove, rising out of the shingle, are massed groups of self-sown Euphorbia characias and mounds of Ferula communis, whose stately flower stems stand tall in summer. In the Low Garden, across the river and to the west of the Mill Pond, spring carpets of Crocus tommasinianus are followed by Anemone blanda, and later the shuttlecock fern begins to unfurl its iconic shepherds’ crook fronds. The Mill Pond itself was rescued early on in Bernard’s tenure, after it had more or less sunk into the Culford Stream. One of the first garden interventions by Perennial was MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 27
to arrange for it to be de-silted and to build a new, safer bridge and walkway at its south side. In spring, candelabra primula, darmera and skunk cabbage are among the early waterside performers. Also south of the Lark are two areas known quirkily as The Inner and Outer Quandaries, where massed snowdrops are followed by the delicate, soft pink flowers of Euonymus oxyphyllus and the foliage of emerging herbaceous perennials. Two stands of bamboo, one green and the other yellow, dominate the stream bank. Running alongside the Culford Stream, The Strip separates the garden from the Lake. There are future plans to open a walk around the lakes to visitors, but for the moment the view across the lake to the island and weeping willow is tantalisingly out of reach. The daily life of the garden goes on whether open for visitors or not and Annie and her garden team are fortunate to have additional help from a bevy of 30 garden volunteers. “We also have several 28 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
Above left Statuesque
trunks of ‘Silver Grace’ birch in the Top Garden. Top middle Libertia peregrinans adds strong foliage shape and colour. Top right Rare species tulip Tulipa kurdica flowers in April. Above right A brick path through the Low Garden.
horticultural apprentices training here and I so enjoy passing on knowledge to the next generation of gardeners,” Annie enthuses. “I have a sense of pride that Fullers Mill and Perennial are producing wellrounded, good horticulturists for the future.” Special snowdrop open days usually take place throughout February, which give visitors a glimpse of the re-awakening spring scene. “And then,” says Annie, “By the time the garden fully re-opens in April, the garden will be in full swing.” n Fullers Mill, West Stow, Suffolk IP28 6HD. Snowdrop open days are due to take place every Wednesday in February, 11am to 3pm. Booking is essential. The garden opens from April to October on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and for the National Garden Scheme on selected dates. Check the website before visiting for updates on opening. Tel: +44 (0)1284 334 396; fullersmillgarden.org.uk
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Tall, stately trees filter the winter sunlight through their bare boughs, illuminating the rose garden.
LOOK Both Ways Benington Lordship dates back to the 8th century and honours its timeless Hertfordshire landscape. Yet under the fourth generation of the Bott family, this tranquil garden with historic snowdrop plantings is slowly refreshing its outlook WORDS VIVIENNE HAMBLY PHOTOGRAPHS ANNA OMIOTEK-TOTT 30 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
The grounds of Benington Lordship are attached to St Peter’s church, which dates from the 8th century.
MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 31
Above Yew, Euphorbia characias and box balls bring sharp green accents to the winter landscape at historic Benington Lordship. Right Snowdrops have grown here for centuries. This dimpled variety is Galanthus ‘Diggory’.
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andlemas bells, fair maids, Mary’s taper, Eve’s tear, white cup, white queen and snow dropper: the many regional names for snowdrops in English folklore point to their value in our gardens and churchyards when the year is on the cusp of spring and little else is bold enough to bloom. Like the Roman god Janus, the snowdrops at Benington Lordship, a seven-acre garden near Stevenage, Hertfordshire, are at once about looking back and looking forward. They mark the turn of winter to spring, but here they also signify the long history of the property and how a new generation has taken on the mantle of its custodianship. “The snowdrops look beautiful in February, especially in the wilder areas where there are lovely paths to walk along,” says Susanna Bott, who, with her husband Richard, is the fourth generation of the Bott family to live here. She suspects some of
32 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
Above A Victorian addition, the neoNorman gatehouse is a striking architectural element here. Below The Queen Anne house overlooks the rose garden and dates from the 18th century.
the snowdrops in the garden have migrated from neighbouring St Peter’s church, believed to date from the 8th century. The church offers a clue to the great age of this settlement. Benington Lordship appears in the Domesday Book where it is recorded under the name Belintone. Later, following the Norman Conquest, the estate belonged to Peter de Valognes who built a defensive moated castle in the 1130s. Demolished in 1212, all that remains of the castle from this time are the earthworks of the moat and the keep, and it is here that swathes of naturalised snowdrops, mostly Galanthus nivalis and G. nivalis ‘Flore Pleno’, emerge at the end of winter. Over the following 700 years, waves of ownership brought diverse changes to this landscape. In 1700, an Elizabethan farmhouse gave way to a dower house built in Queen Anne style, which forms the basis of the Botts’ home today. In the 1830s, a neo-Norman gatehouse, folly summerhouse and curtain wall were built from the ruins of the old castle. In 1905, Arthur Bott, an engineer who enjoyed the challenge of a new project, bought the property, which by then also included stables. Intent on making a home that would reflect their status, Arthur and his wife Lillian extended house and garden using land from the surrounding park and added a walled garden in the style of the day. The couple took pride in the garden, turning the site into a classic Edwardian showpiece. Lillian was an enthusiastic watercolourist and her paintings are now an essential – and beautiful – record of her detailed, floriferous garden. “I think Lillian planted a lot of snowdrops in the Snowdrop Walk on top of the moat,” says Susanna. “They’re happy here, so they’ve naturalised, but they’ve also crept around, which is what snowdrops do. There are places that were empty when my husband was a child that are now a very populated bank.” When Richard and Susanna took on the property, a century after Richard’s great-grandparents bought it, snowdrops, both naturalised and named, were a key part of the garden, which has been opening to the public since 1926. “Richard Webb, the gardener who was with us at the time, was very keen on snowdrops. He had started a collection by swapping with other galanthophiles and it was, I suppose, something that evolved over time. At the peak, we had over 200 different varieties,” Susanna recalls. “There are probably still 200 varieties, but we now only have about 50 labelled ones.” Varieties include ‘Mighty Atom’, ‘Diggory’, ‘Blewbury Tart’ and ‘Primrose Warburg’ but, as Susanna points out, snowdrops migrate – and they are eaten by mice.
“Snowdrops are happy here, so they’ve naturalised, but they’ve also crept around”
MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 33
Borders abutting the Walled Garden contain select snowdrop varieties that come to the fore in winter.
34 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
Above Susanna wanted to allow the garden setting to speak for itself. Left Galanthus ‘Magnet’ is one of the dominant snowdrop varieties here, with large flowers held on long pedicels. Below Clipped yew ‘bobbles’ give structure to the garden rooms close to the house.
“We were very lucky that Richard was so keen on the snowdrops, but when he left, we decided to take a different tack. It’s an extremely specialised area, so I’m consolidating the very distinctive ones and being a bit more selective about what we showcase. The galanthophiles will see what they want to see.” Although they had help from Richard’s mother when they first moved in, the pair didn’t have time to manage the garden as intensively as it had been at earlier points, so they have had to think carefully about the kind of garden they would like, while making sure it will continue to pay its way. Over time, Susanna grasped the proverbial nettle, removing thuggish plants and turfing over older borders to allow the landscape to speak for itself. Julie Wise, whose own garden at Rustling End in Hertfordshire is well-known, has been instrumental in helping Susanna establish a more streamlined design that can be managed easily. “The site is so beautiful that you don’t want too much labourintensive activity going on,” says Susanna. “The calmness of the view and the simplicity of the planting give you something quite restful. Well, that’s the theory. It’s always slightly less restful for those of us who live here and keep thinking: ‘Oh! Look at that which needs doing.’” The first major task was to refresh the rose garden, on which work began in 2016. Julie and Susanna improved its proportions to better suit the imposing scale of the house. They introduced height with weeping pears (Pyrus salicifolia ‘Pendula’) and structure with Yorkstone paving, box hedging and what Susanna calls “yew bobbles”. Then they removed woody lavender and replaced the elderly, somewhat sickly, mauve and apricot roses with beds of Rosa ‘Kent’. This white, lightly scented groundcover rose is repeatflowering up to the first frosts. “You don’t have to deadhead it all the time; you just chop it back when you feel like it,” says Susanna. Perennial species tulips also grow here now, including Tulipa ‘Little Star’ and T. humilis ‘Persian Pearl’, along with Iris reticulata ‘George’. “I did plant other tulips, but it was a bother having to redo them and deal with the dead foliage. It was a bit of a nightmare, so we’ve gone back to the original plan with species tulips. Hopefully this will be much better,” she explains. Herbaceous borders, too, have come under scrutiny. “They’re massive and we’ve really started to be a bit more brutal with them,” says Susanna. They’ve cut back or dug up dominant plants, flowed through Miscanthus sinensis ‘Ferner Osten’, planted more perennial tulips such as ‘White Triumphator’ and added Allium ‘Globemaster’. The sense was that
“The calmness of the view and the simplicity of the planting give you something quite restful”
MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 35
Far left With its rich
golden ovary and stem, G. ‘Primrose Warburg’ is a standout variety. Left In winter, snowdrops bloom in some of the long borders that Susanna and Julie have been streamlining. Below Shadows fall on the old moat, dating from the 12th century, where snowdrops have slowly naturalised.
KEEP IT simple Susanna Bott’s good ideas for streamlining a garden Choose good plants There is such a wonderful palette of lovely things to choose from. Have something that you like and that looks good when it’s coming up, when it’s flowering and when it’s going down. If it doesn’t work well, it goes. If it doesn’t behave well, it goes. Invest in mulch This is money well spent in my opinion. It improves the soil, keeps in water and reduces weeds. Be disciplined In terms of border design, I think less is more and the effect is more lovely if you limit your palette. It disciplines you if you say to yourself: ‘I can only have two new plants, they’ve got to perform, they mustn’t be thugs and can’t demand too much attention.’ Work with nature I take the view that we’re very much working with nature, not against it, so in the wilder areas of the garden, what will be will be. 36 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
it was better to refresh the borders and to include more structure than to pull everything out and start again. “I hope that if we carry on like this for a few years, it will come together over time.” The Bott’s main project with Julie has been in the Edwardian walled garden, which is still in development. Like many walled gardens that no longer need to produce the quantities of food and cut flowers once required of them, this was underused. Hornbeam hedges and two meadow beds sown with a wildflower mix created by Julie now feature. “Julie is a naturalist and absolutely understands what works in a place, so we’ve done a careful mix. We’ve also planted thousands of bulbs in there, with a lot of crocus and camassia,” says Susanna. The pair have planted Narcissus pseudonarcissus, the quietly understated, lemon-yellow native species. On a shady side of the walled garden, there is a new arrangement that Susanna hopes will be a winter bed in which to showcase the named varieties of snowdrop, along with hellebores, Iris reticulata and some cyclamen. “We’ve managed to consolidate a lot,” she says, “and in a year it’s going to be great. It’s very simple, but it’s got year-round interest and the whole point is that it’s very low maintenance.” Elsewhere, Susanna has put in other earlyflowering plants such as aconites and more cyclamen, which catch the sunlight and add
A winter bed will showcase the named varieties of snowdrop, along with hellebores cheer on a sunny February day. “But the snowdrops are so pretty. What’s lovely is that as soon as they’re over, spring is really here. Things are waiting in the wings and I just love that.” n Benington Lordship Gardens, Benington, Stevenage SG2 7BS. Tel: +44 (0)1438 869668; beningtonlordship.co.uk. Julie Wise, Wise Planting and Design. Tel: +44 (0)1438 821509; rustlingend.com
38 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
A frosty morning highlights the graceful curves of the borders Stuart Donachie created from scratch in his Herefordshire garden.
The Thrill of
THE CHASE
Galanthophile and passionate plant collector Stuart Donachie has an obsessive love of the new, constantly updating the planting at The Lyndalls, tucked away in the Herefordshire countryside, where there’s always something different to see or a new project on the go WORDS CLARE FOGGETT PHOTOGRAPHS RICHARD BLOOM MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 39
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at least made an excellent puddled lining for the new, hat to Stuart Donachie for a few minutes, and you’ll soon discover his larger ponds. When the new borders were ploughed, vast quantities of manure were incorporated, which, passion for plants – and especially together with mountains of bark mulch, has created for collecting them. “I love the thrill a nice layer of good soil to plant into. “Ploughing of the chase!” he says, when asked the borders was terrible really because it uncovered about his drive to gather together and grow certain a huge space very quickly, so every weed in the land plants. “I love trying out new things, new plantings, moved in. It meant a lot of work to begin with and and the wonderful thing about the garden is that it’s the only way to handle it was to cover it every year primarily herbaceous, so you can just dig it up and with vast quantities of bark,” says Stuart. “But change it.” But then, he freely admits, “I tend to lose continually shovelling on bark in the early days has interest. I’m gratified by the new, so when I get to made a big difference.” about 20 or 30 different varieties of something, I’ll Now, on an early spring morning with a light think ‘time to move on’!” touch of frost, the wider scene is one of settled It’s been 20 years since Stuart and his partner beauty, while closer up, treasures are there to be Chris Carter moved to The Lyndalls, a timberdiscovered. In the crevices between stone flags framed house set in an idyllic valley in rural just outside the house, magenta cyclamen flowers Herefordshire, spurred on by the need for a bigger hover above metallic pewter leaves, daphnes and garden after Stuart – and his plants – outgrew the space at their former home in the Cotswolds. Parts of edgeworthia fill the air with their sweet scent, and the building date back to the 16th century and, on an intricately patterned hellebores, early daffodils such as ‘February Gold’ and reticulata irises stud grass early spring morning, with the sun shining down the and borders with their subtle blooms. Clipped yew valley from the east and a light haze of mist hanging above the ponds, the landscape appears timeless, as if provides a steadfast counterpoint to the herbaceous planting. “It’s nice to have the odd thing creating it had always been like this. Not so, however: one of shadow and relief in winter,” says Stuart. the first things Stuart did on moving in was to bring Mixed throughout is one genus that Stuart has in “gigantic earth-moving machinery – a monster” to never tired of: his collection of different snowdrops create the beautifully natural garden you see today. didn’t stop at 20 or 30 but has grown to around 700. “There was a small pond up at the house, which It started slowly, “a tall one, a short one, a yellow ran down a little rill into a big hole in the field, and one, a green one, ones with thick leaves and thin every winter the hole filled up with water to about leaves”, but gradually developed into a full-blown 10 foot deep, 30 foot across. Then, in summer, it just case of galanthophilia. “The variety drained away and became a great big is so enormous and you realise there mass of weeds. So we did a lot of work Below The spicily scented flowers of are many, many differences between with an earth mover to rework the Hamamelis x intermedia them,” Stuart says. “And the most part where the ponds are, and with the ‘Frederic’, one of many exciting thing is that you’ve got rest I’ve tried to fit in with what was winter and early-spring something right through winter. I’ll already there,” Stuart explains. stars at The Lyndalls. have snowdrops flowering The borders follow the from September and in contours of the land, December right through their positions decided by to March and April – Stuart walking in front beautiful drifts just when of a tractor and plough, you want them, at a time which followed behind when nothing else is doing turning over the soil. “It’s anything. They are a pleasing to the eye and it godsend in winter.” looks quite natural, I hope. Most of Stuart’s That was the aim: not too snowdrops are planted in formal; very relaxed.” the ground, but in aquatic While the farmland in baskets, which stop the the area enjoys beautiful bulbs being disturbed by red Herefordshire soil, moles and also makes Stuart’s garden seems to locating, lifting and sit on its own pocket of dividing the clumps, which claggy clay. “I think there’s he does in the summer a geological fault that when their leaves have runs along our garden,” disappeared, an easier he notes ruefully, but he task. It also helps him acknowledges that the clay 40 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
Euphorbia characias, clipped yew and other topiary ensure the timber cottage is surrounded by greenery all year.
MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 41
Hellebores and snowdrops pepper the borders with flowers and bring cheer to a chilly time of year.
42 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
keep tabs on the original plants, since snowdrops tend to mingle and hybridise. “You can get all kinds of exciting, wonderful things,” Stuart exclaims. Seedlings he’s spotted from Galanthus elwesii ‘Big Boy’ for example, with big green splodges, or a hybrid that’s popped up between ‘Amy Doncaster’ and ‘Trymposter’, which has blended the striped green lines of the former with the green patches of the latter. Given his urge to collect, it’s apt that Stuart volunteers for Plant Heritage, the charity that aims to conserve cultivated plant varieties through its network of National Plant Collections. Having served on the charity’s council and as a trustee for many years, he’s now treasurer and newsletter editor for the Herefordshire branch. “I was gardening and collecting before I had any involvement with Plant Heritage, but I always admired what they did and they are such a good reference base when you are collecting,” he says. “It’s a very worthwhile charity that deserves support.” What next in the garden, for this self-described ‘mad collector’ and ‘project junkie’? “There’s
Top Stuart landscaped
the ponds to take scenic advantage of the valley’s propensity to become waterlogged in winter. Above Galanthus ‘South Hayes’, one of Stuart’s 700-strong collection. Right Silver birch cast long winter shadows. MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 43
The Lyndalls’ SPRING DELIGHTS Stuart’s choice cultivars have impact that belies their often diminutive size
CYCLAMEN COUM SILVER GROUP
ERANTHIS HYEMALIS CILICICA GROUP
A highly decorative cyclamen with almost entirely metallic-silver leaves.
Seek out this winter aconite for flowers a little later than those of the species.
HEPATICA JAPONICA
IRIS ‘FRANK ELDER’
Japanese hepaticas are often the most intricate, but usually need to be grown under cover rather than in the garden.
This cultivar is similar to more familiar ‘Katharine Hodgkin’, but is an even paler and more delicate shade of blue.
EDGEWORTHIA CHRYSANTHA
CROCUS HEUFFELIANUS ‘SHOCK WAVE’
A deciduous shrub bearing clusters of lightly fragrant yellow flowers in winter.
On the outside, the tips of this crocus’s pale mauve petals are tinted darker lilac.
44 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
GALANTHUS ‘GREENISH’ Fine green lines adorn this snowdrop’s outer segments and, unlike other green varieties, it’s a little less finicky to grow.
HELLEBORUS ASHWOOD GARDEN HYBRIDS These hellebores are renowned for their detailed markings and clear colours.
NARCISSUS ‘WEE DOTE’ This tiny daffodil reaches just 20cm high, its flowers combining a creamy white perianth with a sunny yellow corolla.
always something going on,” Stuart admits. One of his latest projects is creating paths alongside the stream, with new snowdrop beds in terraced pockets on the banks. The idea is to raise the snowdrops from the ground so their flowers can be backlit by spring sunshine, and their scent better appreciated. He’s also acquired a new three-acre piece of land, for which he’s choosing trees. “An arboretum would be a grand word for some trees in the corner of a field,” he jokes, but the crab apples, berrying sorbus, colourful acers and autumn-flowering cherries he’s planning sound like a wonderful combination. “I always concentrate on having something interesting for spring and something for autumn,” he says. “You can’t help your garden looking good in June or July because so many things flower then, so the principle I work on through the whole garden is: concentrate on spring and autumn and then everything else will fall into place.” n
Above Colourful, selfseeded cyclamen. Top right With its apple green bells, Helleborus foetidus sparkles at this time of year. Above right Stuart Donachie labels snowdrops in his vast collection.
Immaculate COLLECTION Stuart’s advice for new snowdrop collectors Improve your soil with sand and grit, and ensure the snowdrops have some form of shade in the summer. It doesn’t need to be a tree, it can just be a geranium, so long as it keeps the soil cool.
garden for a couple of years. They
Use upturned wire hanging baskets to keep clumps safe as they emerge in spring, both from your feet as you work in the borders, and from pheasants. I’d rather trip up over them than destroy my snowdrops!
Good varieties to start a
I quarantine all my new snowdrops in the vegetable
honey fragrance. ‘Colossus’ has
can be prone to fungal disease and you don’t want that getting into the garden. It also gives them a chance to bulk up, and for you to check they are the right thing. collection include ‘Lady Beatrix Stanley’, which is really pretty and a good doer. ‘Augustus’ has petals with an almost seersucker effect, while ‘S. Arnott’ is a large, impressive snowdrop with a a predictably huge flower. MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 45
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PLANT PASSIONS
IMAGES RAY COX; CLIVE NICHOLS; SHUTTERSTOCK
A celebration of fascinating, beautiful and much-loved spring plants, and the speciality nurseries, growers and gardens who make them their focus
48 Alpines
57 Ferns
63 Cherries
68 Azaleas
69 Snowdrops
73 Daffodils
The gardens and rockeries of Branklyn near Perth are filled with rare alpines collected over the centuries.
The restored Benmore Fernery in Argyll is home to a collection of over 70 species of fern.
Batsford in the Cotswolds turns pink in spring when its flowering cherries come into bloom.
We pick three excellent azaleas to grow, to add a brilliant shot of eye-popping colour in your garden.
Avon Bulbs grow a superb range of these dainty spring blooms, from collectible rarities to garden varieties.
Bred by 19th-century enthusiasts, these heritage species of daffodil are now at risk.
MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 47
Collector’s EDITION
Stocked with the findings of early 20th-century plant hunters, Branklyn, near Perth, offers alpine treasures and woodland wonders to delight the enthusiast WORDS JULIA WATSON PHOTOGRAPHS RAY COX
A winding path lined with spring bulbs, including daffodils, erythroniums and bright blue scillas.
MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 49
T
ucked away on a hillside outside Perth is what an expert once described as “the finest two acres of private garden in the country”. A tranquil place of meandering woodland paths and sunny stretches of rock garden, lawn and pond, Branklyn holds more than 3,500 species from across the world, many of them brought back by intrepid plant hunters in the early years of the 20th century. Now run by the National Trust for Scotland, Branklyn was the creation of Dorothy and John Renton, who bought a modest plot carved out of an old orchard and built their Arts & Crafts house here in 1922. John was a chartered land agent and helped lay out the garden, but Dorothy was the real gardener, eventually being awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal by the Royal Horticultural Society for her work on plant introductions. “The catalyst for all this was the collectors,” says Jim Jermyn, Branklyn’s property manager. After World War I, plant hunters like Reginald Farrer in Burma, George Forrest in China, and Frank Ludlow
and some of the fabulous hybrid varieties that the Coxes and others were beginning to breed. Today, Branklyn holds a National Collection of the hardy, dwarf-growing Rhododendron taliense. The Rentons were caught up in the enthusiasm of the era for creating rock gardens to display the many newly discovered alpine plants from the Americas and Himalayas. Sandstone from the quarry on nearby Kinnoull Hill was heaved into place, with gravel dredged from the River Tay below. Acid lovers like Phlox subulata and tiny rhododendrons grow happily in this carefully constructed habitat and, after the war, Dorothy Renton created a special limestone rock garden for lime-loving species such as Paraquilegia anemonoides and that rare relative of the daphne, Stellera chamaejasme. “It’s illegal to obtain weathered Westmorland limestone now,” notes Jim Jermyn, “but at the time she was able to obtain this material from a wellknown nurseryman in Silverdale in Lancashire, Reginald Kaye, and he sent this stuff up, which must have cost a fortune. It is beautifully laid out.”
Branklyn holds more than 3,500 species from across the world, many brought back by intrepid plant hunters and George Sherriff in Bhutan and Tibet, gathered hundreds of exciting new rhododendrons and acers, primulas, lilies and beautiful Himalayan poppies especially suited to conditions in Scotland. The Rentons were part of a network of knowledgeable gardeners who would share seeds and plants, and they were in receipt of a batch of 112 seed packets from Ludlow and Sherriff’s 1936 Bhutan expedition. “Mrs Renton was really the first person to master the culture of Himalayan poppies here at Branklyn,” says Jim Jermyn. Today, the garden is the holder of a National Collection of Meconopsis, with five different species and more than 50 cultivars. Rhododendrons and other choice shrubs came to Branklyn via Euan Cox at nearby Glendoick. He had travelled with Reginald Farrer and planted some of their finds at his home, eventually starting a nursery there with his son Peter. It still thrives today, managed by grandson Kenneth. The Rentons put in many species rhododendrons 50 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
Jim Jermyn ran his own alpine nursery in Berwickshire for many years, followed by 17 years in charge of the Gardening Scotland show at Ingliston, outside Edinburgh. He has been property manager at Branklyn for three years and runs the garden with the help of one full-time gardener and some 30 volunteers. Much of his time, perforce, is given to organising all these willing helpers, sharing his gardening expertise and information about the treasury of plants the garden contains. “It’s like a mini botanic garden,” he says, and it is clear that he finds the educational side of his work a real pleasure. Jim made his own contribution to the limestone rock garden not long ago when he heard Left Meconopsis ‘Great Glen’ with hostas and Rhododendron cinnabarinum subsp. xanthocodon behind. Opposite, clockwise from top Looking towards
Perth over magnolias and rhododendrons; the sandstone rock garden is full of treasures, such as Phlox subulata; an arch made from prunings frames the view.
MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 51
Red-leaved Acer palmatum ‘Atropurpureum’ is underplanted with Primula elatior. 52 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
that a new primula, Primula subpyrenaica, had been discovered high in the Pyrenees. With permission from the Barcelona Botanic Garden, and with the help of his daughter and Catalan son-in-law, he gathered samples of it, learning how to abseil in order to reach the cliffs where it grew. Planted in crevices in the limestone rock garden, this tiny new treasure is doing well at Branklyn, and Jim has been able to share specimens with the botanic gardens in Edinburgh, Munich, Tromsø and Gothenburg. Beyond the rock gardens, lawns and herbaceous borders near the house, woodland paths wind along the contours of the west-facing hillside garden, with steeper paths and steps joining the various levels. Not everything is as natural as it looks; Branklyn’s soil is light loam, but the Rentons pioneered the use of peat-wall gardening to create banks and terraced beds where plants such as primula, cassiope, meconopsis, gaultheria and trillium could grow in a moist, well-drained, acid Above Rhododendron environment. Dorothy ‘Chiffchaff’ at the foot Renton was inspired to of a path to the house. create these ‘peateries’ Right Unusual yellow Meconopsis integrifolia during World War II, subsp. integrifolia. when coal was scarce Far right Subtle and and blocks of peat were symmetrical herb paris, delivered for fuel. Paris quadrifolia.
Jim gathered samples of Primula subpyrenaica, learning how to abseil in order to reach the cliffs where it grew
MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 53
Jim Jermyn admires Dorothy’s eye for planting. “She knew exactly how this garden would look as it matured, so that the plants wouldn’t all be on top of each other and have to be moved on,” he says. “And there are signature combinations such as a golden maple, Acer shirasawanum ‘Aureum’, set against bright pink Rhododendron ‘Cynthia’, which are stunning.” Much of Dorothy’s planting was selected to offer more than one season of interest. Dorothy Renton died in 1966, and John the following year. He bequeathed Branklyn to the National Trust for Scotland, and the NTS officially took on responsibility for the property in 1968. Inevitably, as with any garden, there have been 54 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
Above left Compact
Rhododendron ‘Blue Tit’ has striking lavender-blue flowers. Top right Burgundy Trillium kurabayashii. Above right Sparkling white Trillium grandiflorum.
changes, but the intention is to preserve the Rentons’ legacy as closely as possible. Soon after Jim arrived at Branklyn, he was visited by David Knott, the curator of the living collections at Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Gardens, who had trained at Branklyn 40 years earlier, and sat him down to talk about the garden as he had known it. One of David’s revelations concerned the view along the garden from the terrace, which had closed up since his day. “He said: ‘When I was here, there was a grass path meandering between those acers. Dorothy Renton planted it so she could see right through the garden.’ We reinstated the path, and it was transformational. It’s such a popular walk.” With its treasures great and small, Branklyn is a garden that rewards close inspection as well as offering woodland strolls and long views. Dorothy
“Dorothy knew exactly how this garden would look as it matured, so the plants wouldn’t all be on top of each other”
A labour OF LOVE Jim Jermyn on maintaining this specialist garden You can prune most rhododendrons. The way to tell is to look carefully at the stem to check that there is internodal activity – a place where leaves will regrow – and then cut just above it. Organisations such as the Scottish Rhododendron Society are useful for advice. scottishrhododendronsociety.org.uk These days, the National Trust for Scotland has a policy of not using peat, but because the Rentons used peat blocks to make beds and banking, and because one or two of the specialist collections such as the cassiopes still require it, Branklyn has special dispensation to use it if necessary. We have, however, found moss-covered logs and pegs to be an attractive alternative way of holding up banking, and we use the Dalefoot range of bracken and sheep’s wool compost for things like pots. For hellebores, we go to the awardwinning Ashwood Nurseries at Kingswinford in the West Midlands. Their Helleborus x hybridus Ashwood Garden Hybrids are widely acclaimed. ashwoodnurseries.com To top up the rock garden soil, which is almost 80% pea gravel, we use a mix of one third garden soil to one third leafmould or sieved compost and one third washed river sand. For the limestone area we use the same mix, but we add a dusting of dolomite limestone to raise the pH. Spring is the time for cutting back and pruning, for lifting, dividing and transplanting herbaceous perennials, and for top-dressing with compost among all our plants. With rhododendrons, an early surge of growth can be walloped by a late frost. For this reason we hold off feeding them until the end of April, when we top-dress with acid compost and a granular fertiliser.
Renton, generous Above The confetti-like petals of Magnolia x with her time and loebneri ‘Merrill’ are expertise, was always strewn along the path. happy to welcome Right Broad, marbled people to the garden, foliage of shade-loving Trillium luteum. and she said that her favourite visitor was: “The enthusiast who goes round the garden at five minutes a step; he crouches down over plants and touches them lovingly. He even takes off his hat to some especially good specimens.” She would be delighted that this is still the case today. n Branklyn Garden, 116 Dundee Road, Perth PH2 7BB. Open daily 10am to 5pm, 1 April to 31 October. Tel: +44 (0)1738 625535; nts.org.uk MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 55
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Fern FEVER
The creation of an avid Victorian collector, sensitively restored Benmore Fernery enjoys a spectacular mountainside location on the Argyll coast and is home to over 70 species of fern, curated by Peter Baxter WORDS LOUISE CURLEY PHOTOGRAPHS RAY COX
The restored Victorian fernery at Benmore Botanic Garden houses and conserves ferns from around the world.
MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 57
T
he burgeoning middle classes, scientific advances and plant discoveries of the 19th century resulted in an unprecedented interest in the natural world. ‘Fern fever’, or pteridomania as it became known, gripped the country, with these beautiful but often understated plants becoming the inspiration for Victorian design, ranging from textiles, pottery and glass to stone and metalwork. They also became a must-have for plant collectors, and the advent of the railways combined with a plethora of articles and books about ferns spurred thousands of amateur botanists to head off on fern forays into remote countryside, where they’d risk life and limb scaling rocky outcrops and descending steep, slippery gorges in search of additions to their collections. The craze led to accidents and even fatalities, while over-collecting caused some ferns to become extinct in the wild. A further development that fuelled the interest in growing ferns was the Wardian case, a sealed, glazed container designed by Dr Nathaniel Ward in 1833. 58 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
Above Climb paths up to Benmore’s ‘Tasmanian Ridge’ for a bird’s-eye view of the fernery and its beautiful glass roof. Left Doodia media, the common rasp-fern, has red-tinged new fronds. Below Australian fern Microsorum pustulatum.
Elegant New Zealand tree fern Dicksonia squarrosa dominates the planting in the upper levels of the fernery.
MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 59
Top left Blechnum nipponicum is good in shady woodland spots. Top right Epiphytic fern Pyrrosia lingua. Middle right Small tree fern Dicksonia fibrosa needs frost protection. Bottom right Garden fern Blechnum chilense. Bottom left A gulley just outside the fernery.
60 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
Right Just over a decade Ward was a fern lover ago the fernery was but struggled to grow restored, using steel them in the polluted where there had been air of East London timber for longevity. Below right The leathery until one day when, fronds of Blechnum by chance, he spotted palmiforme. a tiny fern growing in Below left Benmore’s a glass bottle where curator, Peter Baxter. he was watching the development of a moth chrysalis. He concluded that the conditions inside the bottle were conducive to fern growing. His invention became famous because it meant that plants being transported across the world, at that time on gruelling long journeys by sea, had a much greater chance of survival in an environment where they didn’t dry out and the humidity was constant. Wardian cases with ferns inside also became popular in drawing rooms across the country, but wealthier Victorians could indulge their obsession on a significantly larger scale with a fernery – a greenhouse dedicated to these plants. Benmore Fernery, now part of Benmore Botanic Garden in Argyll on the west coast of Scotland, was built for James Duncan, a sugar trader and refiner, in the 1870s. Unfortunately the building fell into decline in the early part of the 20th century and, as the roof disintegrated, many of the ferns exposed to the Scottish climate perished. In 2008, however, a project to restore the structure began, and the following year this rare and historically significant building opened to the public for the first time. “It’s a unique structure because it’s set on three levels, each providing different growing conditions,” explains Peter Baxter, curator of Benmore Botanic Garden. “The lower level, where you first enter the fernery, never gets any direct sunlight, so the planting there thrives in deep shade. You then go up to the middle level where the light is filtered by the tree ferns and there’s a range of understorey plants. There’s also a small pond in this section, which was a typical feature in ferneries to provide moisture to keep the humidity stable. The pond was renovated during the restoration and here we’ve planted delicate, filmy ferns. Then you move up to the upper level where the plants can take direct sun.” Despite a lack of plans or photographs of the fernery from its Victorian heyday, the architects were able to use the remaining fragments of timber and steel to piece together what the roof would have looked like. “Historic Scotland wanted us to make sure the new roof was seen as a modern addition rather than a replica so that gave us the opportunity to design something with the same profile and the same size panes of glass but using low-maintenance, long-lasting steel rather than timber, and we were also able to include a ventilation system,” says Peter. The fernery has an elevated location, overlooking the mountains of Argyll and nestled into the side of
MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 61
a rocky ravine. It has a church-like presence with its impressive stone gable end soaring high above a natural gulley where a path snakes up to the entrance through massed plantings of Osmunda regalis, the royal fern, alongside other native British ferns, some more exotic specimens, and perennials and shrubs chosen to complement the ferns. From paths that climb up to the Tasmanian Ridge, there’s a view over the magnificent vaulted glass roof, and here stands of the hardy tree fern, Dicksonia antarctica, will create a dramatic sight once mature. Inside the fernery, specimens such as Pyrrosia lingua emerge from planting pockets in between moss and algae-covered rocks and crevices in walls, and creep across the ground. Larger ferns, such as Woodwardia unigemmata form cascading mounds, while majestic Dicksonia squarrosa, a tree fern from New Zealand, towers above the rest, the delicate tracery of its fronds silhouetted against the sky. In Duncan’s day the fernery would have been heated. “Although this would have allowed him to grow tender ferns, it must have been quite an operation to haul coke up to the building to heat the boiler,” Peter remarks. Rather than permanently heating the fernery, the gardening team now use a propane heater during the winter months, but only to keep the temperature from dropping below -2°C. “We chose ferns that could cope with a bit of frost and we wanted a diverse range from Japan, China, the Himalayas, both North and South America and New Zealand. Most of the plants came from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, where we have a very gifted fern grower. Once the planting was complete we had over 70 different species in the collection,” says Peter. “Whether you’re a fern lover or not, the idea was to create something that would wow the visitor.” To keep the collection in tip-top condition the gardening team use chicken manure as a fertiliser and mulch with composted bark. “We try not to walk on the root zones of the plants because we don’t want to compact the soil,” Peter explains. “The ferns require an open, airy growing medium, so if we need to get in among them we’ll position stones in the beds and step on these instead.” This magnificent building was originally built at a time when little thought was given to how plants were acquired and the impact of this on the environment. However, its restoration means it has now become a safe haven for ferns, where they can be conserved for future generations. n
“The fernery has a churchlike presence, its impressive stone gable end soaring high above a natural gulley” Top left The royal fern Osmunda regalis is known for its bronze, spore-bearing fronds. Top right Young fronds of hardy Woodwardia unigemmata are an attractive rusty-red. Left The lush green path leading to the fernery.
Benmore Fernery, Benmore Botanic Garden, 4 Uig, Benmore, Dunoon, Argyll PA23 8QU. The fernery opens daily, from April to October, 11am to 4pm. Tel: +44 (0)1369 706261; rbge.org.uk 62 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
JAPANESE CHERRIES Japanese cherry, Prunus ‘Matsumaeusugasanesomei’ has lilac-tinged blossom that’s outstanding in spring.
WORDS CLARE FOGGETT
Ephemeral Bliss The exquisite spring show put on by Japanese flowering cherries is fleeting, but these lovely trees work well in the garden all year round, as Matthew Hall of Batsford Arboretum explains PHOTOGRAPHS CLIVE NICHOLS MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 63
JAPANESE CHERRIES
T
he Japanese spring-time ritual of ‘flower viewing’ or hanami is well known these days, with travel companies running special holidays for tourists to visit Japan and take part in festivals dedicated to cherry blossom. Incredibly, the first references to hanami can be found in Japanese scriptures dating from as long ago as 720AD. In 8th-century England, meanwhile, the old Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were at war, the Picts kept trying to invade Northumbria, while Vikings pillaged the east coast. The Japanese tradition of spending spring admiring exquisite cherry blossom sounds so peaceful in comparison. It wasn’t until hundreds of years later that the British people got to share in the delight of flowering 64 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
Above ‘Hokusai’ is a 6m tall Matsumae cherry with large, semi-double scented flowers from March through May.
cherries. Japan opened itself up to Western outsiders in the mid-19th century and Victorian plant hunters began to discover the wealth of cherries the islands had to offer. Cultivating cherries has a long tradition in Japan, and as well as the country’s native species there were hybrids too – the results of skilful cross-pollination and grafting. The Japanese had even coined two ancient terms, still used today, to differentiate wild cherries from cultivated ones: Yama-zakura or ‘mountain cherries’ for the wild plants, and Sato-zakura or ‘village cherries’ for the garden selections. While a visit to Japan may not be possible this spring, Gloucestershire’s Batsford Arboretum will be open to visitors. And it’s here that you’ll find the Plant Heritage National Collection of Prunus Sato-Sakura Group – or Japanese flowering cherries – for a little cherry worship closer to home. Batsford’s head gardener, Matthew Hall, is looking forward to sharing the arboretum’s spectacular spring display with visitors once again. “It is such a magical time of year,” he enthuses. Batsford’s East Asian inspiration can be traced back to 1886, when the estate was inherited by Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford, later 1st Lord Redesdale. He spent much of the 1860s and 1870s in diplomatic service in China and Japan and became a recognised authority on the two countries’ cultures. As well as compiling an anthology of Japanese short stories called Tales of Old Japan, and advising Gilbert and Sullivan on the finer points of East Asian culture for The Mikado, he modelled Batsford on the Japanese and Chinese landscapes he’d so admired. A wild garden of naturalistic planting evolved, featuring bamboos, special sculpture and a Japanese Rest House. After Algernon’s death in 1916, Batsford was inherited by his son David Mitford (father of the infamous Mitford sisters), but the costs involved in the estate’s upkeep were too high, and the family was forced to sell up after World War I. Gilbert Alan Hamilton Wills, the 1st Lord Dulverton was Batsford’s next owner, but in the years following World War II the garden become neglected. It was only when the 2nd Lord Dulverton inherited the
This image Batsford’s
East Asian influence is clear; the mythical Foo Dog, rests its paws on an enamelled globe. Below right ‘Takasago’ has abundant blossom. Below left ‘Hisakura’ is a favourite of Matthew’s.
MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 65
JAPANESE CHERRIES estate in 1956 that Batsford was put back on track. Lord Dulverton was passionate about trees and set about restoring the garden to its former glory, adding to its collection and creating the bones of the arboretum that exists today. “The wild garden had become overgrown and Lord Dulverton started paring it back, layer by layer. Then his love of trees took over and he was planting here, there and everywhere,” says Matthew. “He was so enthused, that he became well-known to many of the big collectors, and his links with Kew Gardens meant he was able to get hold of more and more material, including Japanese cherries.” In the early 1980s, the 2nd Lord Dulverton donated the arboretum to a charitable trust, The Batsford Foundation. He wanted to secure the arboretum’s future and protect and enhance both his own developments and Lord Redesdale’s original East Asian plantings and landscaping. For Matthew, who has been working at Batsford for just over 20 years, that’s meant, among other things, adding to the cherry collection. “We wanted to build on the existing collection and increase our spring emphasis,” he explains, “and obviously with a National Collection you are making sure that you’re keeping hold of unusual cultivars and propagating them. Keeping them safe, effectively.” Matthew now shares and swaps cherries with other collections, and ensures there are replacements ready for older specimens – most live for only around 50 to 55 years, so a programme of grafting replaces any losses. “Where we have large, older trees that aren’t paying their way and are looking a bit tired, we’re thinning out a few and opening up vistas. And then we look into what cherries are obtainable further afield to find unusual cultivars that will bring even more beauty into the arboretum, but also make it a vitally important collection.” That said, it’s one of the better-known cherries that Matthew recommends first. “I think you have to start with ‘Tai-haku’,” he says. “On a perfect spring day when the sun is shining and the sky is clear, there isn’t a better tree.” Also known as the great white cherry, ‘Tai-haku’ is breathtaking in March and April, when it is awash with masses of single white flowers. It’s also the cherry that Collingwood ‘Cherry’ Ingram re-introduced to Japan from a garden in Kent, after it had died out in its Top ‘Tai-haku’ is one of homeland. the best-known cherries, laden with white flowers. Batsford’s collection Middle A close-up view also includes several of the delightful single Matsumae cherries, blooms of ‘Hisakura’ raised near Matsumae alongside the tree’s emerging bronze foliage. Town, Hokkaido, which Bottom Double blossom always attract visitors’ of Prunus ‘Horinji’. attention. “‘MatsumaeFar left ‘Ezonishiki’ is usugasanesomei’ has a Matsumae cherry. 66 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
GROWING ADVICE
Success with cherries Matthew Hall’s tips on planting and caring for healthy Japanese flowering cherries Plant cherries any time from September through to late October, or from February to the end of March, provided the weather is not too dry. Use mycorrhizal fungi at planting time to give the trees a healthy start. After planting I always apply a good organic mulch, such as well-rotted wood chips. Keep the area around their trunks clear of grass and weeds, and stake as necessary. Keep pruning to a minimum to avoid problems with fungal
diseases, such as canker and silver leaf. Never prune in winter when it’s cold and damp. Only prune after flowering, between May and July, if there is any formative pruning to be done. Thin out any small branches but don’t make large cuts because the pruning wounds will need time to heal. If you have a small garden, don’t choose a big tree: plant to the space you’ve got. Try some of the Prunus incisa cherries, such as ‘Fujimae’, which are much smaller, or Prunus ‘Little Pink Perfection’ at 3m.
Above left ‘Ichiyo’ is a a lilac-purple flower medium-sized tree with and is incredible,” airy, pale pink-white says Matthew. “And double flowers. ‘Matsumae-hanaAbove right Smothered in blossom, ‘Matsumaekagoto’, which is early wakamushiga’. flowering and a pale pink-white, is one of the most photographed trees in the arboretum – it really is stunning.” Double-flowered ‘Matsumaewakamushiga’, he says is “absolutely beautiful”. ‘Ukon’, meanwhile is easier both to pronounce and to grow, and its greenish-white flowers make it a superb choice for gardeners seeking a cherry with a difference. ‘Ichiyo’, with its pale pink blossom, is easily obtainable and unfussy. “It grows well on our soil,” Matthew confirms. And if you’ve got space for a tree that’ll reach 6m, he suggests ‘Hisakura’: “It’s a fantastic tree, with an arching habit, bronze foliage and a really dark pink blossom. It’s one of the standout cherries of the arboretum.” Really though, any cherry in full, glorious flower is captivating, and after the dark months of winter there are few better ways to reacquaint ourselves with the abundant beauty of the natural world than by admiring an extensive collection of these uplifting trees – or planting our own. n
Batsford Arboretum, Batsford, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire GL56 9AT. Tel: +44 (0)1386 701441. Find opening times and tickets at batsarb.co.uk MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 67
AZALEAS
Acid Drops Evergreen or deciduous, acid-loving azaleas are one of spring’s brightest shrubs, producing a refreshing mass of eye-catching blooms in colours that zing
Azaleas are botanically part of the rhododendron genus, but many gardeners stick to the well-known common name for these shrubs. Compared to other rhododendrons, azaleas tend to be smaller and they can also be deciduous or evergreen. It’s mostly the deciduous varieties that produce scented flowers, and this species is one of the best for fragrance with clear yellow spring flowers that are small, plentiful and aromatic. Like all rhododendrons, azaleas are ericaceous so need acidic soil of pH7 or lower. In alkaline conditions, their leaves turn yellow and they won’t thrive. R. luteum grows in sun or dappled shade and reaches 1.5-1.8m, so it’s a good choice for the back of a border or a woodland garden. The leaves colour nicely in autumn, too.
68 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
Rhododendron ‘Perfecto Mundo Double Pink’ The Perfecto Mundo azaleas from Proven Winners are a superb choice if you want a shrub that not only contributes colourful spring flowers but also goes on to bloom again in midsummer and autumn. As well as flowering in spring on its old wood, this azalea reblooms later on its new growth. And because it’s an evergreen variety, it will continue to look good even when it isn’t in flower thanks to its glossy green leaves. Reaching a compact 60-90cm height and spread at most, with a neat, rounded habit, this variety is perfect for the middle of a border, where it will soon be smothered with masses of pastel pink blooms. You could also try it in a container filled with ericaceous compost.
Rhododendron ‘Blue Danube’ In truth, it’s more of a magentapurple than blue, but that hasn’t stopped this azalea becoming one of our most popular garden cultivars since its introduction during the 1960s by a Belgian breeder. An evergreen azalea, it reaches a modest 60-80cm tall with a lovely upright habit, making it a good option for smaller gardens and for incorporating into a mixed border. Its spring flowers, in that lovely deep colour, are large and showy and won’t fail to catch the eye. As ever with azaleas, give it acidic soil to keep it healthy and happy. While ‘Blue Danube’ is technically an ‘evergreen’, it is common for it to drop its leaves during the cold winter months. Try teaming it with matching or contrasting tulips planted beneath.
IMAGES PROVEN WINNERS; SHUTTERSTOCK
Rhododendron luteum
SNOWDROPS
Galanthus nivalis ‘Green Tear’
Galanthus nivalis (Sandersii Group) ‘Lowick’
White Album
Jacky Hobbs visits Avon Bulbs where choice collectors’ snowdrops rub shoulders with great garden varieties that are perfect for naturalising PHOTOGRAPHS CLIVE NICHOLS
Galanthus elwesii var. monostictus ‘Warwickshire Gemini’
Galanthus ‘Welshway’
MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 69
SNOWDROPS
I
n the woodland glades of Avon Bulbs’ nursery in Somerset, free-range snowdrops run amok in their shady pleasure ground, unwittingly spawning new generations of future gems as they promiscuously hybridise with one another. In the nursery itself, a vast array of meticulously labelled cultivars in pots line a procession of coldframes. They’re destined for national and international snowdrop fairs where they’ll tempt visiting galanthophiles. A February visit here reveals a spectacular collection of some 250 coveted galanthus species and cultivars. Chris Ireland-Jones, owner of Avon Bulbs, bought the Bath-based nursery over 30 years ago, relocating it to an eight-acre former farm in South Petherton, Somerset. But, at first, the site didn’t
70 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
Above Virescent
snowdrops, with outer green markings, are highly sought after – like this as yet unnamed green-tipped plicate.
really suit snowdrops at all. “Initially the clay soil was on the heavy side – not ideal for growing bulbs,” Chris recalls. “But over the years we have incorporated tons of organic matter, waste compost and leaf litter, which has left it much improved.” Strategic deciduous hedging now protects the coldframes, supplying the shade these specimen bulbs need in summer, while Chris has planted oak and beech across an open field, to create a new woodland. “Once the saplings were big enough, we planted surplus stock snowdrops in a dedicated glade and other woodland bulbs – cyclamen, winter aconites, crocuses and narcissi – at their feet, with paths meandering through.” Now the wood is filled with such an abundance of thriving and prolific winter bulbs that you need to tread carefully between the ever-increasing seas of flowers. The conditions here are perfect for naturalisation, and exemplary large snowdrop clumps are treated as nursery stock; thriving in their natural habitat, these impressively healthy-sized plants are perfect for propagating. Together with Avon Bulbs’ galanthus expert, Alan Street, Chris first identifies, marks and labels prodigious flowering clumps so that reliably named plants can be divided or otherwise propagated once dormant. Many of the rarer bulbs, are lifted and carefully ‘chipped’ – each tiny bulb surgically divided into eight or more segments – before being potted under the cover of a coldframe. Alan is very nearly a snowdrop ‘immortal’, a title reserved for those who have a snowdrop registered in their name – strictly speaking, Galanthus nivalis ‘Alan’s Treat’ just denies him this accolade on a technicality! The nursery’s extensive offering includes common G. nivalis and G. elwesii types, those good garden snowdrops perfect for naturalising, with plentiful middle-order snowdrops and then those rare collectible specimens, some unique to the nursery. Although there are only around 20 different species of galanthus, human intervention has resulted in more than 2,500 named cultivars. These have evolved over time and galanthophiles continue to hunt down all sorts of increasingly unusual variations, in particular: those with green markings on the inner perianth; virescent snowdrops
with outer green markings; unusual forms such as pagoda-shaped flowers; poculiform snowdrops, like ‘E.A. Bowles’ and ‘Seraph’, where the snowdrops have six uniform outer segments; yellow colouring; and, most recently, all-white specimens. Snowdrops’ inner markings are often reflected in the cultivar name, like G. elwesii ‘Grumpy,’ which wears down-in-the-mouth markings, while the inners of large-flowered G. elwesii ‘Deer Slot’ depict a cloven hoof. Breeders, collectors, ‘owners’ and garden names are also commonly represented. Classics include G. elwesii ‘Marjorie Brown’, which Alan says is late-flowering, vigorous and highly garden-worthy, highlighting “the blue cast of its wide glaucous foliage.” ‘S. Arnott’, meanwhile, was probably bred by Samuel Arnott in the early 1900s.
Top row from left From
Avon’s woodland glade, Eranthis hyemalis ‘Schwefelglanz’; Crocus tommasinianus; Galanthus ‘South Hayes’.
Bottom row from left
Galanthus ‘S. Arnott’; owner Chris IrelandJones with head nurseryman Alan Street.
“It’s tall, thick-petalled, very white, handsomely proportioned and memorable for its honeyed scent,” notes Alan. ‘Hill Poë’, is named for Irishman James Hill Poë who found it in his garden. This late-flowering double has a tightly packed inner rosette and narrow outer segments. And G. elwesii var. monostictus ‘Warwickshire Gemini’, which was discovered in said county, “is an absolute giant, which, once established, will throw two flowerheads,” according to Alan. Other coveted cultivars include those with green markings on the outer rather than the inner petals. These so-called ‘virescent’ snowdrops include the Dutch-discovered ‘Green Tear’ with green brushstrokes along the full length of its outer petals. The rare and later-flowering ‘Green Arrow’ has MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 71
SNOWDROPS
sharper, green-tipped outer petals. Somewhere in between lies ‘Cowhouse Green’, named after the field nearby in which it was found in the late 1980s. The 21st century saw the arrival of extraordinary pagoda-shaped snowdrops (also known as inverse poculiform hybrids), with green markings on their outer, but upturned, petals. They include G. plicatus ‘Trym’ and its offspring, which include striking ‘South Hayes’, ‘Trymming’ and ‘Trumps’.
Above left Slender-
petalled, elongated Galanthus ‘Wasp’. Middle Classic, yellowcapped Galanthus ‘Wendy’s Gold’. Above right Galanthus ‘The Wizard’.
Growing SNOWDROPS Alan Street’s galanthus planting tips will ensure good establishment and pretty spring displays Plant all snowdrops 10-15cm deep in a cool, moist position with some sunshine in spring, but with drier summer shade. When bulk planting for mass effect or naturalising, buy and plant snowdrops in the green whenever possible, from February. Our bulbs are delivered in biodegradable bags and sent out first class for planting on the day of delivery. Plant immediately on receipt, at 10cm intervals, water in and protect from severe weather using leaves, bracken or horticultural fleece. Grow special snowdrops in extralong pots. Or put individual special plants into labelled aquatic pots filled with a soil-based potting medium and a little sharp sand. 72 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
Plunge them into the border to make them easily retrievable in summer for repotting. Lift and divide every three to four years in late spring as leaves turn yellow and replant in a new spot refreshed with granular fertiliser. Apply a leafmould mulch in autumn. Dormant snowdrops or dry bulbs are available from August onwards for immediate planting into open ground or in mesh pots as above. Label and water very sparingly until autumn. Plunge individual specimen pots into a border to protect roots from temperature extremes. If growing under glass, ensure good ventilation and move pots to a shady space outdoors, after flowering.
“It’s easily the best and brightest green-tipped snowdrop around. It flowers early and increases freely,” enthuses Alan, who discovered his own inverse poculiform in Avon’s woodland copse and christened it ‘The Wizard’. “Yellow-capped snowdrops with corresponding yellow markings are another one for the collector,” suggests Alan, adding that “their colouring has a tendency to vary”. He finds they colour up better in full sun. G. plicatus ‘Wendy’s Gold’, is the classic benchmark, named after the warden’s wife at Wandlebury Ring where it was discovered. Newer findings are even more scarce. G. nivalis (Sandersii Group) ‘Lowick’, from the Cambo estate in Scotland, is similar to classic G. nivalis, but its inner heart is gold not green, while elegant ‘Ecusson d’Or’ was one of the first to bear yellow on its outer petals. G. nivalis ‘Blonde Inge’ preceded the allyellows, unusually combining yellow inner markings with a contrasting green cap. In Avon Bulbs’ prolific woodland copse, keen-eyed Alan has discovered a similarly arranged, yellow seedling that was named ‘Midas’, and initially listed at £120. This is a rare, fabled colour-change snowdrop. “Its initially green inner and outer markings turn a glowing golden yellow a few days after opening,” he explains. Alan and Chris guide customers through myriad snowdrop choices on their website, recommending “‘foundation’ snowdrops for beginners” and “very good snowdrops that are distinctive, vigorous and less costly”, before unveiling more mouth-watering, limited availability ‘Collector’s Snowdrops’, which come at a price. At snowdrop fairs and shows across the country their specimens surpass all others. ■ Avon Bulbs is not open to the public but visit their website at avonbulbs.co.uk to view the catalogue and listings of the events they will be attending. Tel: +44 (0)1460 242177 or +44 (0)1460 249060.
DAFFODILS Taking on the mantle of her daffodil-breeding ancestors, Caroline Thomson bred this yet-to-be-named narcissus herself.
Hidden Gold Prolific breeding in the 19th century introduced masses of new daffodils, but many of these historic cultivars are at risk of disappearing. Louise Curley meets their guardians PHOTOGRAPHS RAY COX MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 73
DAFFODILS
U
p until the mid-19th century, all the daffodils growing in Britain would have been the wild species, Narcissus pseudonarcissus, immortalised by William Wordsworth. It was only in the mid-1800s, when botanists began to understand how hybridisation worked, that new forms of daffodils were created. Daffodils weren’t popular garden plants at the time; the Victorians thought of them as wild flowers, and their dainty blooms couldn’t compete with the more exotic plants being introduced from abroad. There were, however, a couple of daffodil lovers who were also enthusiastic plant breeders. Edward Leeds and William Backhouse began their hybridising in the mid-19th century, building 74 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
Above With nodding flowers in pristine white, Narcissus ‘Niveth’, bred by Henry Backhouse, is a lovely choice for naturalising in meadows.
up important collections, while the Reverend George Engleheart became known for his work breeding the poeticus species of daffodils. Peter Barr, a Scot who owned a nursery in London, was an early pioneer in cultivar conservation, raising the funds to purchase the bulb collections of Leeds and Backhouse when they died. Barr did much to popularise the daffodil as a garden bulb. He made perilous trips to remote parts of Spain and Portugal in search of wild daffodils and produced many new hybrids. Breeders in Cornwall were also spurred on by the booming cut flower trade, new daffodils with large trumpets proving popular. The International Daffodil Register lists over 30,000 daffodil cultivars, but most of these are no longer in commercial production, and many of the older cultivars have been lost over time. A shortage of labourers in the Cornish bulb fields during World War I resulted in what became known as the ‘Daffodil Plague’, when hundreds of acres of bulbs rotted due to a nematode infection, and World War II’s Dig for Victory campaign meant daffodil fields were turned over to food production. Other cultivars were simply dropped by nurseries in favour of new introductions. Many heritage varieties have disappeared forever, but others could still be out there in gardens, hedgerows and parks, waiting to be rediscovered. Today there are several Plant Heritage National Collections of daffodils, whose guardians catalogue what they have, track down cultivars believed to have been lost, look after the bulbs in their care and distribute any surplus, in the hope of preserving these spring beauties for future generations. At the National Trust for Scotland’s Brodie Castle near Inverness, there is a National Collection of daffodils raised by Major Ian Brodie from 18991942. “We have 116 Brodie cultivars out of some 500 he raised,” explains head gardener Ed Walling. “Daffodils are a huge part of the history and heritage of Brodie Castle.” Major Brodie was one of the greatest pioneers in daffodil hybridisation in the first half of the 20th century. Since 1982, the Trust has been trying to gather together as many of the Brodiebred varieties as it can find, and they are still coming
Top left Narcissus
‘Weardale Perfection’.
Top right Bred by Brodie,
Narcissus ‘Smyrna’.
Centre Backhouse’s
Narcissus ‘Emperor’.
This image Narcissus
‘Mrs R.O. Backhouse’.
Left Narcissus ‘Istria’,
named by Major Brodie.
MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 75
DAFFODILS
Flaming FANFARE Six heritage daffodils with the pink and orange trumpets so coveted by narcissus breeders
‘GLOWING PHOENIX’
‘MERKARA’
A Backhouse cultivar with double primrose-yellow petals and a frilly orange centre.
This cultivar, bred by Sarah Elizabeth Dodgson, has creamy white petals and a large orange cup.
‘SCARLET LEADER’
‘ROSY TRUMPET’
A large-cupped daffodil bred by Sarah Dodgson, with creamy yellow petals and a short, orange-red trumpet.
A pretty daffodil created by Robert Ormston Backhouse with creamy white petals and a fluted apricot trumpet.
‘DESERT FOX’
‘RED IKE’
Bred by William Ormston Backhouse, with golden yellow petals and a fiery orange trumpet.
The pure white petals and bright orange cup of this daffodil, bred by Major Brodie, make a striking contrast.
76 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
to light. Some have come from local collections, and others from as far away as Australia where there are leads still worth pursuing. “It’s thought Brodie named daffodils such as ‘Istria’ and ‘Smyrna’, after places he visited during his military service,” says Ed. “He and his wife loved music, especially the opera, hence the daffodils ‘Salome’ and ‘Sarastro’, and there are several with names inspired by the local area, such as ‘Rosemarkie’ and ‘Invergordon’.” Caroline Thomson, a direct descendant of William Backhouse, is the custodian of her ancestors’ Narcissus cultivars at the Backhouse Rossie Estate in Fife. “Several members of the Backhouse family were bankers and botanists from the North East of England,” says Caroline. “William was born in 1807, and his hobby from an early age was hybridising plants, with his lasting legacy being N. ‘Emperor’, N. ‘Empress’ and N. ‘Weardale Perfection’. His sons Henry and Robert also took an interest: Henry registered his own cultivars including N. ‘Niveth’. Robert married Sarah Elizabeth Dodgson, who was also a talented plant breeder, creating lilies, colchicums and some extraordinary daffodils, such as the pink-cupped ‘Mrs R. O. Backhouse’, which is still very popular today. “When my family moved back to Fife, we restored the walled garden and I wanted to connect our horticultural heritage with the rich history of the area. That’s when my mum said someone in the family should gather together what remains of the plants our ancestors created. She was worried the history and the plants were disappearing. I agreed, not realising I was taking on a lifetime commitment. The Backhouses created 956 cultivars, of which only 13 were still commercially available in 2008.” Caroline visited relatives, gathering bulbs from their gardens; spent a year researching plant catalogues and studying photographs and botanical paintings at the RHS and Kew libraries; and delved into the family history at the archives in Darlington where the family was originally from. “Serendipity has played a part, too,” she notes. “I went to visit a friend in Cornwall and I spotted a flower in her garden that looked like a Backhouse daffodil. She did a bit of research and discovered a member of the Backhouse family had, at one point, lived there.” Some daffodils have proved very difficult to find. “The breeding process for the red trumpet daffodils created by William Ormston Backhouse, took years and required multiple crosses, which created an instability in some cultivars – they don’t bulk up quickly, which is possibly why they weren’t a commercial success. We do have three red-trumpet cultivars though, including Narcissus ‘Desert Fox’.” Meeting botanist and daffodil expert Dr David Willis was pivotal. “He rediscovered N. ‘Weardale Perfection’, bred by William Backhouse, and propagated it so it is now widely distributed, not
only in the village where William lived in County Durham, but in other gardens as well,” Caroline explains. The Backhouse daffodil collection has been accredited by Plant Heritage and contains 82 identified cultivars, with others still under review. Continuing the family tradition, Caroline has turned her hand to breeding, registering a new cultivar named after her mum, who passed away in 2020. The family also holds Scotland’s National Daffodil Festival every April, when visitors to the estate can enjoy the spectacular sight of over 20,000 daffodils. Caroline is dedicated to curating and creating a relevant future for her family’s horticultural legacy, but growing heritage varieties goes deeper than a link with our past. They contain irreplaceable genetic material and, with the ever-increasing risk of pests and diseases and a changing climate, preserving plant collections like these may well be crucial for future generations. n
Left Narcissus ‘Empress’,
a grandparent to many modern-day daffodils. Above Major Brodie’s Narcissus ‘Rosemarkie’.
GROWING ADVICE
Propagating daffodils Caroline Thomson explains the technique of ‘chipping’ to propagate precious bulbs A good way to bulk up a favourite daffodil that you might not know the name of or be able to find in plant catalogues is by vegetative propagation of the bulbs, which is known as chipping. At the end of summer, carefully lift a bulb from the soil. Trim any roots and remove the bulb’s papery outer skin. Divide the bulb into six equal pieces using a sharp knife,
ensuring that each piece has a portion of the bulb’s basal plate. Dust each piece with sulphur to prevent fungal infections. Place in a clear plastic bag on a bed of moist vermiculite, seal and keep in a warm dark place such as an airing cupboard for about 12 weeks. Each section should develop bulblets. Pot up the sections into seed trays or 9cm pots and put in a coldframe to grow on.
Brodie Castle, Forres, Moray IV36 2TE. Tel: +44 (0)1309 641371; nts.org.uk. Backhouse Rossie Estate, Fife KY15 7UZ. Tel: +44 (0)844 414 5803; backhouserossie.co.uk.
SUPPLIERS Croft 16 Tel: +44 (0)1445 781717; croft16daffodils.co.uk Thomas Etty Tel: +44 (0)1460 298249; thomasetty.co.uk Scamp’s Daffodils Tel: +44 (0)7826 067175; qualitydaffodils.com
MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 77
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WILL PURDOM
IMAGE ALAN PURDOM
Relaxing in Peking, plant hunter Will Purdom packed a great deal into his relatively short life.
The Forgotten Man Compared to the big names of the Victorian era, Will Purdom is an overlooked plant hunter, but he nevertheless left his mark on British gardens, says Francois Gordon MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 79
WILL PURDOM
W
Purdom’s first trip illiam Purdom, who died to China was in 1909; suddenly in Peking 100 years he learnt Mandarin ago last November, packed in preparation. a great deal into his short life. A head gardener’s son from Westmoreland (now Cumbria) he trained at Kew where he was elected Secretary of the Kew Employees Union. In 1905, aged just 25, he lobbied the Board of Agriculture for better pay and conditions at Kew and was promptly sacked for ‘agitation’ by the director, William ThiseltonDyer. Labour Members of Parliament protested that civil servants were entitled to join a union and Thiselton-Dyer was ordered to reinstate Will. Faced with this humiliating public reversal, he resigned – an extraordinary outcome to a David-andGoliath dispute between the director and a ‘student gardener’, the most junior grade of Kew employee. In 1907, Will led the only ever strike by Kew student gardeners and drew public attention to their low wages. It is perhaps not surprising that in 1908 the new director, Colonel Prain, enthusiastically recommended Will to Harry Veitch, the premier British nurseryman of the age, and Charles Sprague Sargent, the director of the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, as the very man they needed for a three-year expedition to China in search of plants and trees new to Western science and horticulture. Whether or not there was any ulterior motive behind the recommendation, Will was well qualified for the job. On leaving school at 14, he had trained with his father, the head gardener at Brathay Hall in Windermere, and had worked for two leading London nurseries before training at Kew, where he was sub-foreman of the arboretum. He would also prove to have a good eye for a plant worth collecting and an impressive capacity for the sheer hard work, often in difficult, sometimes dangerous, circumstances, required of him. Sargent was the driving force behind the expedition. He was convinced there were new Sargent tasked Will with collecting seeds from pines and larches plants and trees waiting to be discovered in northern and norththat were not in cultivation in the West, but the wet summer of western China and in eastern Tibet where winters are so bitterly 1909 meant the trees did not set seed. Although Will sent cuttings cold he hoped they would be fully hardy in New England. (In and seedlings, many died on the six-week journey to Boston and fact, although plants from this region will survive very low winter Sargent was only partly mollified by the 30 parcels of seeds and temperatures, they are also acutely vulnerable to late spring frosts, bulbs from more than 300 other plant species that Will despatched which do not occur in their native range.) Veitch, for his part, had to Boston and London over the course of the year. These included made a handsome profit from the sale of the handkerchief tree, rhododendrons and primulas, a fine blue anemone, several Davidia involucrata, and other Chinese plants collected by Ernest peonies and three clematis, of which ‘downy clematis’, Clematis Wilson and hoped that Will would find “some really good things” macropetala, has graceful, deep blue, bell-shaped flowers. It that would redound to his firm’s credit, figuratively and literally. first flowered in Veitch’s Coombe Wood nursery in 1912 and Will worked hard to learn Mandarin Chinese and, unusually remains popular today. For Sargent, there were poplars, elms and for a Westerner in China at this time, consistently treated a new bird cherry, Prunus padus, a small tree with copious white administrators and local farmers as his social equals. As a result, racemes, red berries and fine foliage. P. padus thrived in the Arnold he was allowed into areas of China where foreign travellers were Arboretum, where today it makes a spectacular autumn display. actively discouraged, not least for their own safety. He spent the In 1910, Will left Peking for western China and Tibet’s Amdo 1909 collecting season in northern China and Mongolia, mostly in region. Sargent had asked him to investigate the Moutan-shan, the the Wutai-shan, the former Imperial hunting reserve. 80 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
IMAGES ALAN PURDOM; STEN RIDDERLÖF; SHUTTERSTOCK
“peony mountain” west of the ancient city of X’ian where he hoped Will would find the original wild peony, but the plants had long ago been grubbed up for traditional medicines and the mountain was bare. Will fared better in Kansu (now Gansu) province, where he found the winter-flowering Viburnum fragrans. He sent seeds to Veitch, who grew them on and sold his stock to Gerald Loder, owner of Wakehurst Place in Sussex, where in 1920 they flowered for the first time in Britain. Will also found a rhododendron with pink buds shading into white flowers, subsequently named R. purdomii, and collected over 500 seeds of a dark red peony, Paeonia x suffruticosa, which was raised in both Boston and Coombe Wood. He also sent seed from an edible honeysuckle, Lonicera caerulea, whose curious cylindrical fruits are today sold as honeyberry. 1911 found Will in Amdo, and then in Minchow, Kansu, where he had to wait for order to be restored following the chaos that flowed from the Xinhai Revolution in October. Fortunately, he had more or less completed the season’s collecting, which included several fine primulas and asters, and in spring 1912 he was able to return to Peking, thence home to England on the Trans-Siberian Express. Both Veitch and Sargent were disappointed by how few ‘novelties’ Will had sent home, but while Veitch was philosophical, saying “If the plants weren’t there, he couldn’t send them”, Sargent felt Will simply hadn’t tried hard enough. Today we know that the region where Will was collecting, which had been chosen by Sargent, is not rich in endemic species, especially when compared to Yunnan, where Wilson had collected successfully for the Arnold Arboretum. His sponsors’ lack of enthusiasm meant that Will’s achievements went largely unrecognised on both sides of the Atlantic. In the summer of 1913, Will was invited by Reginald Farrer to join him, for his expenses only,
Clematis macropetala
Purdom in Peking; he went on to settle in China and became the Chinese government’s forestry adviser.
Rhododendron purdomii
Paeonia x suffruticosa
Lonicera caerulea
MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 81
WILL PURDOM
on a plant-hunting expedition to China. Will was by now fluent in Mandarin with good contacts in China, and Farrer wanted him to act as manager and guide. Will was hoping to join the nascent Chinese Forestry Service and would be better able to pursue this from China than from Cumbria. He accepted Farrer’s offer and in January 1914 returned to Peking to be joined by Farrer in March. The two men travelled to Will’s 1911 and 1912 stamping-ground of Kansu and Amdo, where they discovered Viburnum fragrans growing in the wild (this entitled Farrer, as the leader of the expedition, to name it: with typical vanity he called it Viburnum farreri), a very fine hellebore, beautiful Buddleja alternifolia, and a stunning white peony. But Farrer was mainly interested in alpines, so they headed west towards the high Tibetan plateau, where they made a rich harvest of anemones, primulas and poppies. Like so many others, Will and Farrer believed that World War I would “all be over by Christmas”, and they spent the autumn collecting seeds from plants they had marked over the course of the summer. By 82 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
the end of 1914, the devastating impact of the war on British horticulture had become plain and Farrer’s plans to fund the next year’s expedition from sales of seeds and plants were unfeasible. Undaunted, they continued to collect over the course of 1915, finding probably the best single plant of the whole expedition, Gentiana farreri, a lovely blue alpine that has proved fully hardy in Britain, before returning to Peking in autumn. The following spring Farrer made the perilous journey home via Moscow and Norway, while Will began his new career as forestry adviser to the Chinese government. Readers who are keen to find out more about the work Will undertook to restore China’s forests, how he captured the heart of the daughter of an earl, and his tragically early death, may enjoy the biography of Purdom released last year. I hope readers will also think of Will the next time they see “his” viburnum or clematis, a bird cherry or Buddleja alternifolia. n Will Purdom: Agitator, Plant-hunter, Forester by Francois Gordon is published by RBGE (RRP £18.99). Visit rbgeshop.org to order.
IMAGES ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN EDINBURGH; SHUTTERSTOCK
Left Setting up camp during a 1914 expedition. This image It was during their 1915 expedition that Farrer and Purdom discovered Gentiana farreri while seeking out new alpine plants. Below Pretty blossom of Prunus padus.
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The English Cotswold A magnificent journey of Gardens, Castles, Mansions, Quaint Villages and Scenery Join us on a small group tour unlike any other No daily unpacking and packing! Leave your luggage at the hotel and enjoy 7 separate day excursions in and around the Cotswold Choose from three US departure dates • June 9th • August 11th • August 25th 2022 Other great vacation places of Great Britain are:
CHANNEL ISLES
Everything for a great vacation. Island hopping to places with no cars – think of that peace and fresh air! See the history of the German occupation during WW II
Images courtesy of Visit Guernsey
ISLE OF WIGHT
The holiday location of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert at Osborne House open to public. Visit the Botanic Gardens and experience the steam age which still exists. An island that has given many dinosaur fossils and is known as the Dinosaur Capital. The Royal Show! will be back on the island in 2022
ISLES OF SCILLY
The Caribbean of England with temperatures warmed by the close proximity of the ocean Gulf Stream to support sub-tropical plants and marine life not seen elsewhere in the UK. Great beaches, family run hotels and B&B’s
For brochures and more information on the above call Barry Devo on 330 284 4709 EDT Canton OH email barrydevo@prepcotravel.com or visit www.precotravel.com and click on Start Planning
The Art & Soul of Spring Bring the beauty of bulbs to your gardens from over 800 of the best Dutch flower bulbs and Peonies at the best prices. The simple act of planting plump bulbs on a sunny fall day will bring your family and community years of gorgeous flowers. What would spring be without the easy magic of flower bulbs? They are the art and soul of spring. Visit our new web sites where we’ve posted thousands of photographs of our trial gardens, the Keukenhof, Dutch bulb fields and exquisite, real photos of every variety. You may also sign up to receive our Van Engelen 56-page wholesale price list and our John Scheepers colorful 92-page Beauty from Bulbs catalog. Need seeds? Visit us at Kitchen Garden Seeds for our curated collection of over 800 varieties of vegetable, herb and flower seeds from all over the world. You may also sign up for our 64-page catalog featuring Bobbi Angell’s beautiful illustrations. Family-owned and operated enterprises, we’re here for you throughout the year. Feel free to call us with any question you might have about your garden. Never underestimate the power of planting. TM
Kitchen Garden Seeds Phone: (860) 567-6086 www.kitchengardenseeds.com
John Scheepers
Phone: (860) 567-8734 www.vanengelen.com
Beauty from Bulbs™ Phone: (860) 567-0838 www.johnscheepers.com
Serving America’s finest gardens since 1908. EG21-B_JS_VE_KGS.indd 1
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TRAVEL
Get Away from It All
WORDS CLARE FOGGETT IMAGE SHUTTERSTOCK
After a long period of travel restrictions, we’re all itching to get away. Here we round up some of the best trips for garden lovers across the globe
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Wildflowers in bloom on Crete’s rocky shores; spring is one of the best times to see the island’s rich array of flora.
ow that the world is gradually opening up again, opportunities for travel are burgeoning. If 2022 is the year you hope to book a memorable getaway, our guide to botanical holidays and garden tours could tempt you away to try something new. We’ve rounded up activity breaks and longer holidays from around the world, with a special focus on trips and tours in the UK. MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 85
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Above Cawdor Castle
is a must-see on a tour of gardens in northern Scotland. It’s included on Adderley Travel’s Scottish itinerary. Left The astonishing Royal Greenhouses of Laeken, in the Belgian city of Brussels, are a stop on ECT Travel’s flower show tours.
ACTIVITY HOLIDAYS Having spent the long months of the pandemic cooped up, feeling less active and doing less than normal, many of us want a little bit extra from our holidays than we did before. Lots of us took up a new hobby during 2020 and 2021, or rediscovered an old one, and a holiday incorporating a new pastime could be just the thing to improve those skills. Flower arrangers should consider a trip to Belgium’s Fleuramour, one of Europe’s most prestigious floral events, which draws visitors from around the world. ECT Travel are taking bookings 86 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
for their tour to the September 2022 show, which also happens to be Fleuramour’s 25th anniversary. Floristry lovers flock to it to see the latest trends and spot the newest techniques. The company also runs a spring tour to Belgium’s flower shows Floralia and Floraliën, which incorporates a visit to Laeken’s magnificent royal greenhouses. ecttravel.com If you’d like to improve your plant knowledge while you holiday and take in gardens, Arena Travel offers a June tour called The English Rose, with expert Paul Zimmerman, which is sure to satisfy rose lovers. It includes lots of rose-packed gardens, such as Sissinghurst, Mottisfont, Coughton Court and Wollerton Old Hall, a behind-the-scenes tour of David Austin Roses, plus accommodation and travel, making it a super way to discover more of the UK while indulging your love of roses. arenatravel.com In a similar vein, if peonies are your passion it’s worth making a note of the 2022 peony weekends at Primrose Hall Peonies in Bedfordshire this April, May and June. Incorporate one into your itinerary for floristry workshops and a tour of the nursery. primrosehallpeonies.co.uk In South Devon, The Crush Course is a residential weekend at the Dartington Estate covering all
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things wine and winemaking. It’s a superb taster for budding winemakers, and if you grow your own grapevines it’s a chance to find out more about the processes involved in turning grapes into wine. Weekends take place in April, May, June and September. The 1,200 acre Dartington Estate is near Totnes, and the weekend could form part of a longer stay, taking in visits to beautiful villages around the River Dart and gardens such as The Garden House in Buckland Monachorum, or Burrow Farm Gardens, one of the winners of this year’s Nation’s Favourite Gardens awards. dartington.org An art break could be just the ticket for anyone who picked up a paintbrush during lockdown. Artist Anna Martin runs painting holidays in Turkey, Spain and the UK. In Spain, stay in the pretty whitewashed village of Frigiliana in Andalucia and practise painting in plein-air in Moorish gardens, among ruins and on beaches. annamartin.co.uk
You could follow your painting holiday with a trip to one of Spain’s most enticing gardens, the Alhambra in Granada. With HF Holidays, Anna also leads painting holidays in the UK, many of which take in garden settings. hfholidays.co.uk In the Scottish Highlands, Wild Rose Escapes runs crafting retreats and weekends, including a chance to learn about natural dyeing for gardeners who want to bring plants and crafts together. Other courses include spinning and felting, all combined with invigorating walks through beautiful Highlands scenery. wildrose-escapes.co.uk. Team it with one of the tours of Scottish gardens by Adderley Travels – in August, The Far North & Orkney takes in the Castle of Mey, Cawdor Castle and Inverewe. adderleytravel.com. Alternatively, you could join a cruise by The Majestic Line to enjoy the islands of Scotland’s west coast and the Hebrides. themajesticline.co.uk
Top left The Hebrides boast some of Scotland’s most beautiful, unspoilt scenery – a must-visit on a trip to the north west of the country. Top right Try your hand at winemaking during a stay at Devon’s Dartington Estate. Above right Indulge a love of floristry at Fleuramour in Belgium. Above left Superb rose gardens at Mottisfont Abbey in Hampshire.
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HOLIDAYS AROUND THE WORLD Nature lovers will enjoy the July tour, Wildlife of the Austrian Alps, run by Ace Cultural Tours. Taking in the meadows and woodlands around Lake Constance, the mountain lake of Lünersee and Liechtenstein’s Sassweg trail, among others, it’s eight days of bird and wildflower bliss. Looking further ahead, the company’s Japan in Autumn tour visits the country’s most beautiful gardens and scenery at a colourful time of year. aceculturaltours.co.uk Japan is also renowned for its celebration of spring cherry blossom, and Brightwater Holidays runs a tour called Seasonal Gardens of Japan that explores Japanese gardens in and around Kyoto that can be timed to make the most of this prized display. It also takes in historic towns, Tokyo’s Imperial Palace Garden and Mount Fuji. brightwaterholidays.com 88 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
Top left Lake Maggiore’s Borromean Islands, one of the destinations on Brookland Travel’s Italian Lakes holiday. Top right Take in the wildflower-rich meadows of the Austrian Alps with Ace Cultural Tours. Above right Book a stay at Corfu’s spectacular Kassiopia Estate. Above left The Palace of Pena in Sintra, Portugal; the town boasts several superb gardens to visit.
For gardeners who love to see flowers growing in their natural habitats, a visit to South Africa is surely on the bucket list. Spring Flowers from the Cape to the Kalahari, an August tour by The Travelling Naturalist (part of the Natural Travel Collection), will tick it off the list in spectacular style. You’ll take in seven nature reserves and five national parks, travelling through superb areas for birding and spotting some of South Africa’s incredible wildlife. And in Namaqualand, spring flowers will be creating a kaleidoscope of colour. naturalist.co.uk A little closer to home, eight days in search of spring flowers and migrating birds on the island of Crete sounds like heaven, particularly if you are lucky enough to see some of the island’s 60-odd species of wild orchids. The Crete in Spring tour run by Naturetrek takes place in late March and April,
Tokyo’s Imperial Palace Garden is transformed by spectacular blossom displays each spring.
Raise money while you holiday
IMAGES SHUTTERSTOCK; CLIVE NICHOLS
Perennial’s special events for 2022 letting you see treats such as drooping star of Bethlehem and snake’s head iris in the wild. naturetrek.co.uk Corfu is worth considering, too. Known as the garden isle, it also boasts beautiful flora, as well as many incredible private gardens that some tour operators visit. Or, stay at the Kassiopia Estate to enjoy its stunning garden. kassiopiaestate.com What better timing for the Fine Gardens of the Italian Lakes tour by Brookland Travel than autumn, when the temperatures are still mild but the crowds are gone and the lakes regain their serenity. Andy McIndoe leads this October tour, which whisks you off to beautiful villas and gardens by private boat. brooklandtravel.com Sintra is one of Portugal’s most magical destinations, a town of romantic architecture and memorable gardens such as the Quinta da Regaleira with its quirky follies and rich planting. On the Gardens of Sintra – Lisbon and the Portuguese Riviera tour by Martin Randall Travel in May, you’ll also see the Estufa Fria greenhouse and gardens of the Palácio dos Marqueses de Fronteira in nearby Lisbon. martinrandall.com For gardeners yearning to travel much further afield, Botanica runs a selection of holidays in Australia and New Zealand, which are well worth considering. Tours include gardens in Canberra and New South Wales, the diverse gardens of Australia’s ‘garden state’ of Victoria, and gardens on New Zealand’s North and South Islands, all led by garden experts. botanicatours.com
If you’re looking for a European garden tour but want a change from the usual destinations of France and Italy, head to Malmö in Sweden. In late May, horticultural charity Perennial is running a guided tour through southern Sweden that takes in three of Malmö’s historic gardens (Katrinetorp, Norrviken and Sofiero), the Malmö Garden Show, and plenty of beautiful scenery.
The tour is part of their lineup of special events for 2022, the highlight of which is a 19-day trip to New Zealand. This exclusive guided tour, from Auckland to Queenstown, takes in New Zealand’s incredible landscapes and horticultural treasures. Money raised through these holidays helps Perennial help horticulturists in need. perennial.org.uk/events
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HOLIDAYS IN THE UK Gardeners with a passion for food – both growing and eating it – will love the Houses & Gardens of Cork tour by Ciceroni Travel. The base for this six-day trip, which runs in May, June and September, is Ballymaloe House. Here, Darina Allen’s team cooks seasonal food, much of it grown in the hotel’s own kitchen garden. ciceroni.co.uk Join Colette Walker and Fran Pride on an expertly curated tour of UK gardens by Sisley Garden Tours. Many of the company’s classic garden tours for 2022 have booked up fast, but check online for additional dates. The Garden Gems of Cornwall, Devon & the Isles of Scilly tour – including classic destinations such as Tresco and Heligan, as well as three less well-known private gardens – still has availability at the time of going to press. sisley.co.uk If you’re based in the US and the Isles of Scilly are on your must-visit list, then island-tour specialist Prepco Travel runs breaks that take in 90 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
the ‘Caribbean of England’. The company also offers holidays on the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey. prepcotravel.com One of the most popular destinations for garden lovers is the Cotswolds, with its wealth of horticultural treasures. Tailor your own tour with A Cotswold Garden Companion (£8.50, Finch Publishing), a beautifully illustrated map and handy guide by Natasha Goodfellow. It also includes unmissable garden shops and plant nurseries. There is an abundance of guided tours in the area by specialists such as Travel Editions and
Top left The gardens at Tresco Abbey are a magnet for garden lovers keen to see its exotic planting. Top right Miserden’s serene and beautiful gardens are a must on a tour of the Cotswolds. Above right Timeless, rural charm abounds in the Cotswolds. Above left Ballymaloe is the ideal base for a tour of Irish gardens.
Good Resources Boutique Retreats If you’re planning a tour of UK gardens and want somewhere special to stay, try Boutique Retreats’ range of luxury holiday cottages. Tel: +44 (0)1872 553491; boutique-retreats.co.uk
Contours Walking Holidays Contours will help you plan a self-guided walking holiday in the UK or Ireland, while taking care of luggage transfers and accommodation. Tel: +44 (0)1629 821900; contours.co.uk
Kirker Holidays A range of garden tours in Europe and further afield. In France, tours include gardens of the Cote d’Azur and Brittany. Tel: +44 (0)20 7593 1899; kirkerholidays.com
IMAGES GAP/MARK BOLTON/JONATHAN BUCKLEY - DESIGN DARINA ALLEN/BALLYMALOE COOKERY SCHOOL; CLIVE NICHOLS; SHUTTERSTOCK; ALAMY
One Traveller If you’re travelling on your own, One Traveller specialises in holidays in the UK, Europe and further afield for mature single travellers, with no off-putting single supplements. Tel: +44 (0)1760 722011; onetraveller.co.uk
Above Levens Hall’s ancient topiary is a sight not to miss on a holiday to the Lake District. Right Highclere Castle, familiar from Downton Abbey, is part of Violets and Tea’s Touch of Magnificence tour.
Perennial Special events, day trips and longer breaks raise money for the charity, which helps horticulturists in times of need. Tel: +44 (0)1372 373962; perennial.org.uk/events
Rural Retreats For self-catering holiday cottages across the UK and Ireland, choose from over 600 locations in the Rural Retreats’ portfolio. Tel: +44 (0)1386 897920; ruralretreats.co.uk
Travel Editions Escorted tours of gardens in destinations such as Holland, Italy, France and the UK, and trips to see wildflowers in beautiful European locations. Tel: +44 (0)20 7251 0045; traveleditions.co.uk
World Odyssey A specialist tour operator offering a vast array of holidays worldwide, from Provençal lavender fields to the Ugandan jungle. Tel: +44 (0)1905 731373; world-odyssey.com
Brightwater Holidays. Both companies
run tours that take in gardens including Highgrove, Hidcote, Miserden and Kiftsgate. traveleditions.co.uk; brightwaterholidays.com If you’ve ‘done’ the Cotswolds, or want to avoid its busier spots, consider Northamptonshire. This quiet county in the heart of the UK enjoys scenery and countryside reminiscent of the Cotswolds, with villages built from the same honeycoloured stone. Gardens include excellent Coton Manor, charming Cottesbrooke Hall, and Lamport Hall with its Piet Oudolf-inspired walled garden. On the Northamptonshire Country Houses tour in May, Ace Cultural Tours takes garden lovers to both Cottesbrooke and Lamport Hall, along with other country houses and gardens that make the perfect introduction to the area. aceculturaltours.co.uk
The Hidden Houses of the Lake District tour by Just Go Holidays is the perfect way to tick off all the famous Cumbrian gardens that are bound to be on your list. It includes Askham Hall, Dalemain (famous for marmalade and blue meconopsis poppies), Levens Hall with its spectacular topiary, and Holker Hall, among others. The five-day tours depart in June and September. justgoholidays.com A Touch of Magnificence is the aptly named tour in July by Violets and Tea. On it you’ll see not only HRH Prince Charles’s garden at Highgrove and the halls and grounds of Highclere Castle (famous as the setting for Downton Abbey), but also grand Bowood House and Iford Manor, known for its Harold Peto-designed gardens. Enjoy six nights in historic fivestar hotels and a Michelin-starred dinner in Castle Combe. violetsandtea.com ■ MARCH 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 91
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CRAFTSPEOPLE
Clean Living
Silvana de Soissons has taken over an old dairy farm in Dorset to launch Farm Soap Co. Here she produces her own range of natural, ethical, plant-based soaps, with a focus on home-grown botanicals and other locally sourced ingredients WORDS PHOEBE JAYES PHOTOGRAPHS CAROLE DRAKE
Silvana de Soissons in her garden, where she grows her own botanicals for use in her natural soaps.
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Above Flowerheads
including lavender and calendula are snipped from plants for drying. Above right Calendula seedheads drying for use in Silvana’s soaps.
I
n the cheese room of what used to be a dairy farm in Cheselbourne, Dorset, you’ll find curing racks stacked not with hunks of cheddar or Dorset Blue Vinny, but with petal-scattered soap bars, great orange moulding blocks and countless glass bottles of essential oils. Here, whiffs of lavender, geranium, pine and clementine have replaced the more earthy odours of fermentation and cow flank. “Saponification is the name given to the process of soap making,” explains Silvana de Soissons of Farm Soap Co., “and it’s just like cheese making. You’ve got to be very accurate.” Silvana is no slouch. Hailing from Italy but raised on farms all over Africa, she moved to England
94 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
to take a degree in Economics at the University of Bath, before embarking on a corporate career in the capital where she dabbled in finance, marketing, sales and retail. After years of hard graft, she decided to forge a new path, abandoning her city career to start up a food and lifestyle business in Bath. So began the very successful The Foodie Bugle, later sold to another family so she could turn her attentions to a new project at The Newt in Somerset. In this recently renovated country estate and gardens, Silvana established a farm shop where you will find all sorts of fresh produce grown on site, as well as lifestyle goods. Once her work at The Newt was wrapped up, Silvana once again moved on to pastures new – and so began the Farm Soap Co. The natural soap and skincare business went live, unintentionally on the first day that the UK went into lockdown. Luckily for Silvana, the pandemic didn’t affect sales. In fact, it was quite the opposite. As hand-washing became something of a national pastime, soap was just the product everyone wanted – along with tinned tomatoes and a lot of toilet roll, of course. The endeavour swiftly took off. “I’ve been so busy I can’t tell you!” she exclaims. “Within six months I already had to move somewhere else to be able to upscale.” But the Farm Soap Co.’s success is not just down to fortuitous timing. Silvana’s enthusiasm, passion and knowledge shines through. “I did a lot of research before I invested my money in this business,” she explains, “and I’d previously worked as a buyer of
skincare products in retail. It’s shocking how many chemicals there are in most toiletries, including those meant for babies. The skincare toiletries industry is huge, and dominated by massive corporates that use chemicals derived from the petrochemical industry. Thankfully, there’s recently been a revolution in the skincare industry, which has given rise to more small, local businesses and plant-based products.” That’s exactly what you can expect from the Farm Soap Co.’s range – each product is vegan and chemical-free, made without plastic and using transparently sourced materials. In fact Silvana grows many of her ingredients in her garden and last year enjoyed a brilliantly successful harvest due to the hot summer weather. But the keen plantswoman has plans to improve and expand on this front. “I should have started growing way earlier in the year and organised successional planting, so I’m going to get a greenhouse or a polytunnel for this growing year,” she explains. “I’m also going to have a bed dedicated to cut flowers so I can start sharing the beauty of dried flowers with my customers.” So how does Silvana make her soaps? The first step is to create essential oils using home-grown botanicals. Petals, leaves and flowerheads are steeped in locally produced base oils including almond, flax, rapeseed, borage and hemp, and left to infuse in the sun for a month. Once the plant’s properties have transferred to the oil, the soapmaking process can begin. Saponification occurs when an acid and an alkaline meet, and since oils are acidic, an alkaline substance called lye is necessary to complete the process. This is where
it gets complicated. In order to mix the essential oils with the lye to form soap, it’s important that the two substances are at the same temperature – somewhere around 40-48°C. “I can almost make soap blindfolded now, but when you first start, it’s important to have two thermometers and to keep checking them as the liquids cool,” Silvana emphasises. “It can be a challenge to make sure the temperatures are right if you’ve got a lot of batches on the go. Then, once you’ve combined the liquids, you pour them into moulds to set overnight.” Silvana has a wealth of knowledge about the beneficial properties of plants. Her childhood was
Above Freshly harvested herbs are hung upside down from frames in the garden to dry naturally. Below left Macerated calendula oil is sieved through a muslin cloth prior to use in the soaps. Below middle Calendula petals are left to steep in a mixture of base oils. Below right Unctuous chunks of rich shea butter, a natural moisturiser, ready to be melted down.
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spent outdoors, and this is perhaps what cemented her love of all things natural. “My family grew all sorts of fruit, vegetables and herbs,” she explains, “We were usually located about eight hours from the nearest shop, so there was never any “popping out” to go and pick something up. My mum picklepotted everything.” Now Silvana concentrates on growing plants with antibacterial and antioxidant properties. There’s the geranium soap, for example, with its antimicrobial, anti-ageing properties, or the pine soap that soothes itchy and inflamed skin. The Dorset Sea Salt bar is made using salt that threebrother team ‘Dorset Sea Salt Co.’ collects on the nearby Jurassic Coast. This raw material is more of a challenge than the other ingredients Silvana works with, since sodium chloride sets quickly and firmly, creating a need for a speedy transferral of liquid into soap mould. It is worth the effort, according to Silvana: “Sea salt is one of the oldest ingredients used in spas, and it is extremely good for your skin as it detoxes, mineralises and cleanses.” Although she has created many beautifully scented products, Silvana’s personal favourite is her unfragranced soap. “It’s a good, old-fashioned soap that I can use to wash my skin, my hair and even the dog! It’s just so liberating to smell completely clean, and then I put a few drops of an essential oil like lavender on my wrists to feel calm.” Perusing the Farm Soap Co.’s online shop reveals Silvana’s natural skincare range, as well as carefully chosen products along the same lines. Customers can order a soap dish handmade in Wiltshire by Libby Ballard Ceramics, or one made in Somerset by You Are Farm. Silvana is on the lookout for talented local makers and hopes to expand her curated line to include textiles such as towels and bathrobes. Once she upscales, she wants to create further products 96 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
Above left Home-
grown lavender is used for its calming and antibacterial properties. Above centre A mixture of sea salt and seaweed harvested locally from Dorset’s Jurassic Coast. Above right The liquid soap is poured into moulds to set overnight. Below The finished bars of soap, moulded into the Farm Soap Co.’s signature rounded shape.
like calendula, borage and seaweed soaps, oils for the whole body and herbal teas specifically for skincare. And if reading this has piqued your interest in the art of saponification, you may be in luck. “At some point, I would love to teach workshops,” Silvana muses. “But the most important thing for now is that every product from the Farm Soap Co. is handmade in small batches, with purpose and honesty. You cannot get purer than that.” n Visit farmsoapco.com to order products, or follow Silvana on Instagram @farmsoapco
IMAGES MIMI CONNOLLY; NICOLA STOCKEN; EMMA GUSCOTT PHOTOGRAPHY; ANNAÏCK GUITTENY
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Spring bursts into life • Spectacular tulip displays at Arundel Castle in West Sussex • A colourful, bulb-filled, restored Victorian walled garden in Northamptonshire • Designer Sophie Conran’s dreamy Wiltshire garden • Tulips and cherry blossom in the smart town garden of Lancaster House • Grow your best-ever displays of alliums PLUS How to press and preserve your garden’s most beautiful blooms and grow cut flowers for drying; explore the gardens of Somerset; Derry Watkins’ Special Plants Nursery
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LAST WORD
Paradise Underfoot
T
here is something delicious about walking back to the house in a winter dusk, when all in the garden is dreary, and seeing the house with the lights on – the multicoloured spines of books lining the walls, the brilliant green leaves of orange trees overwintering, the old Persian carpet on the floor. The carpet was made in about 1900, in eastern Iran, and is what is called a tribal or village rug. Dark blue, with a brick-red border and stylised images of flowers and trees, animals and birds, it is startling in one particular respect: the slanting, asymmetrical grid of brighter blue channels that move across the dark blue ground, exploding here and there into colour. Irrigation channels, perhaps, bringing water and life to what is very clearly a walled garden. The dream of a walled garden set in a parched landscape has possessed the human imagination for millennia. It is a motif that recurs in all three of the great religions of the ancient Near East – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – and is based on the reality of ancient Persian walled gardens. With water brought in by a system of meticulously engineered qanats (underground gravity-fed channels that carried snow-melt from the foothills of the mountains to the villages and gardens of the plain), trees planted for shade, and an abundance of fruit and flowers, these gardens were unlike anything that had been seen in Europe at the time. They were admired by invading Greeks in the 4th century BC, copied by the first-century Romans on their estates in Italy, and ultimately inherited by invading Arabs in the 7th century. The Greeks called them paradeisos, from the Persian pairi (around) and daeza, (a wall). Paradise – the word that Greek scholars later used in their translation of 98 THE ENGLISH GARDEN MARCH 2022
The Wagner carpet, is touring the museums of America, like an eighth wonder of the world
the Bible to render the Hebrew word for the garden planted by God in Eden. Gardens were an enormously important part of Persian culture. One 6th-century Persian king went so far as to commission a carpet that was 90 feet square to represent his garden in spring, as consolation for its lack in winter. ‘The Springtime of Chosroes’, as it was known, was probably woven in situ, in the royal palace of Ctesiphon, where it was discovered by invading Arabs in AD 636. Following the Arab conquest of Persia, and the conversion of the Persian peoples to Islam, the Persian desert garden acquired a further spiritual dimension as a foretaste of the heaven to come – the chahar bagh, or quadrilateral garden, divided by four flowing watercourses, recalling the four rivers of Eden, as described in the Qur’an – and it was in this form that the Persian garden was carried to North Africa, Spain, Central Asia and India, as the Islamic empire expanded. One of the oldest and finest garden carpets to survive today is the Wagner carpet, in the Burrell Collection in Glasgow. The Burrell is currently closed for refurbishment, and the carpet has been touring the great museums of North America, like an eighth wonder of the world. Because of its size (530.9cm in height and 431.8cm in width, or 17.5ft by just over 14ft), although only a fraction of the reputed size of ‘The Springtime of Chosroes’, the Wagner carpet has rarely been exhibited at home, and has spent much of its time in storage. But when the Burrell reopens in March 2022, it is hoped it will be on display in the new galleries. In the meantime, in the middle of dreary winter, I shall console myself by gazing upon my own little slice of irrigated Paradise. ■
ILLUSTRATION JULIA RIGBY PORTRAIT BEVERLEY FRY
Take a closer look at the patterns woven into Persian carpets, says Katherine Swift, and you may find a representation of the paradisal walled desert garden
Rupert Till S
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