The English Garden April 2023 - Sample Issue

CONTRIBUTORS

When I was studying horticulture, many of my fellow students were considering careers as gardeners. Some went on to be successful head gardeners for well-known gardens, but I knew that wasn’t the career path for me – for a start, I’m much too fairweather. I’m far happier sitting in a warm magazine o ce over winter than watching my fingers turn blue outside. But mostly, I knew I wasn’t cut out for it: imagine the pressure, especially in a famous garden with lots of visitors, of keeping it looking perfect all the time. It’s disappointing enough in our own gardens when something doesn’t quite work as envisaged, and that’s before the expectations of thousands of visitors are added to the mix. And in historically important gardens, add caring for rare specimens: imagine looking after a shrub collected by a famous plant hunter, the only one of its kind. What if you accidentally kill it! So I genuinely admire those gardeners who are willing to take on such pressure: Lottie Allen at Hidcote, Ken Cox caring for his family legacy at Glendoick, Miranda Gunn and Rosie Glaister at Ramster, Tom Coward at William Robinson’s former garden, Gravetye Manor, not to mention all those ‘normal’ (but really, superhuman) gardeners who open their gardens to the scrutiny of visitors for charities like the NGS. Hats o to you all.

ON THE COVER

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The beautiful gardens of Gravetye Manor in West Sussex, the erstwhile home of William Robinson.

Photographed by Clive Nichols.

CLARE FOGGETT, EDITOR

Valerie McBride-Munro

Valerie is a writer and gardening agony aunt based in West London. As Auntie Planty she encourages novice gardeners to discover the pleasures of the pastime. She visits Ramster on page 32.

Kenneth Cox

Ken is the managing director of Glendoick Gardens and Garden Centre and is a nurseryman, plant hunter, hybridiser, author and musician. He writes about Glendoick’s history and plants on page 62.

David Cummins-Egan

Lancashire-based photographer and writer David has a passion for organic and wildlife-friendly gardening. He admires the diverse gardens of Sizergh Castle on page 42.

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CONTENTS

Gardens

22 Bucklers Farmhouse In Essex, Ann Bartleet has overcome challenging conditions to create an enchanting country garden, uniting form, colour and wildlife for a true sensory delight.

32 Ramster This Surrey garden has passed through four generations of the same family. Successive incumbents have enriched its layout, planting and even the soil, resulting in a forward-looking garden steeped in history.

42 Sizergh Castle Famous for its limestone Rock Garden, created at the turn of the last century, this Cumbrian garden is now in the care of head gardener Susan Rowley.

52 Gravetye Manor The erstwhile home of William Robinson, this grand manor house overlooks gardens that stay true to the pioneering writer’s ethos, drawing inspiration from Nature herself.

62 Glendoick Euan Cox’s plant-hunting expedition to Burma in 1919 kickstarted one family’s fascination for the rare and the new, and the amassed horticultural riches are still being added to in these Perth gardens.

117 Hidcote Now celebrating its 75th year in the care of the National Trust, this Cotswold garden is being renovated to preserve its iconic status for generations to come.

Plants

79 Top 10 Plants Cambridge University Botanic Garden’s Sally Petitt suggests perfect planting partners for tulips.

85 Plant Focus Spring-flowering clematis have an ethereal beauty far removed from that of their blowsy late-season counterparts.

93 Tulip Fever Inspiring ideas for using vibrant-toned tulips in bold and beautifully styled settings for garden parties.

Miscellanea

71 Spend & Save Experienced designers advise on when to spend money and when to cut back, whether you’re creating a new garden or revamping an established space.

101 Perennials for Cutting In an extract from her new book, Rachel Siegfried shares techniques, tips and top plant selections for growing your own vase displays.

This Month

Our guide to plants, people, gardens and events, tasks and shopping in April

Erythronium

IN FLOWER NOW

tuolumnense ‘Pagoda’

This pretty cultivar of the dog’s tooth violet is a beautiful choice for enlivening areas of dappled shade beneath deciduous trees or shrubs. Plant the unusual elongated bulbs in autumn with your other spring flowerers and look forward to its broad leaves pushing their way up each

spring. From these generous clumps, elegant flower spikes are produced, each one topped with nodding blooms in a soft shade of yellow that perfectly complements pale blue brunnera, rusty young epimedium foliage or emerging fern fronds, primroses and other spring woodland delights.

People to Meet

the chance. We’re in charge of the garden part-time and we still run our nursery, so it’s the best of both worlds.

Je : My teachers pushed me to study physics, but my family were in agriculture, so I completed my rural science GCSE and then worked for di erent farms. My employer was due to retire, and I felt it was time to make a change.

Claire and I knew Trewidden Plants and were invited to take it over. The Eden Project was in its infancy, and we were the main supplier for its bananas and citrus: we found ourselves potting up to 20,000 bananas and 8,000 citruses annually!

Claire: The Minack is an extraordinary place, and we want to make it a destination garden. One of our biggest projects has been planting the South African bed with rare bulbs, gladioli and freesias that we’d grown from seed in 2013 and are now splitting. Some of these plants have been ten years in the making.

RECOMMENDED Claire & Jeff’s favourite gardens

The Australian National Botanic Gardens

Canberra

Je : Fire and rain stopped my first three attempts at visiting, but it was worth the wait. They recently planted an area of banksia, which will look amazing in full flower. anbg.gov.au

Claire Batten & Jeff Rowe

The head gardeners of The Minack Theatre discuss the challenges of caring for a clifftop subtropical garden while running a nursery

Claire: My gardening journey began when I studied Rural Science as a GCSE at school. After my RHS training, I got a job with the local authority working in parks and gardens and on roundabouts.

Je is my brother-in-law, and we decided to join forces and take on Trewidden Plants (Penberth Plants as of 2016 when we relocated), supplying the Eden Project with exotic

plants for retail. We’d never worked in commercial horticulture, so it was a giant learning curve. Je was travelling all over the country going to shows, and in 2017 we had a Best in Show at Chelsea in the floral marquee.

Making a living out of selling plants is a rocky business, so when we heard a new head gardener was needed at The Minack Theatre we jumped at

Je : The elements that make the garden so beautiful also make it challenging. Winter is di cult, be it the arrival of a 70mph wind that blasts plants over the cli or the dreaded snow. We never get a dormant season here, so when the weather is brutal it does a lot of damage.

We’ve been conscious of the needs of theatregoers, planting aromatic lavender and rosemary and moving spiky agaves from the edge of the path. In the coming years, we plan to make every bed a show bed with its own identity. penberthplants.co.uk; minack.com

Hunte’s Gardens

Barbados

Claire: I had the pleasure of sitting on the veranda with the owner, Anthony Hunte, who is such a gentleman. We enjoyed a rum punch while viewing his extraordinary garden. The bromeliads, the palms and the beautiful colours make it a must-visit. huntes gardens-barbados.com

© RHS, Credit: RHS / Chris Gorman

Out & About

Unmissable events, news and the very best gardens to visit this month

Tulip Celebrations at Hever Castle

17-23 April 2023, Kent

Hever Castle, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, is hosting its annual Tulip Celebrations this April. Some 40,000 colourful tulips will bloom across the estate, entrancing visitors as they explore the Italian Garden, Pergola Walk and the gardens of the Pompeiian Wall. Head gardener Neil Miller will be on hand to advise on bulbs, and both he and his expert team will be running free twice-daily tulip tours, pointing out beautiful varieties, such as Tulipa ‘Apricot Foxx’ and T. ‘Purissima’, along the way. Adult garden-only ticket, £12.40. hevercastle.co.uk

Isle of Wight Spring Art & Garden Fair

7-8 April 2023, Isle of Wight Grade II* listed Georgian manor Northwood House & Park is hosting a two-day event that will combine plants, shrubs, garden machinery, tools and landscaping products with a stunning selection of works from the island’s artists. This iconic Cowes property was a popular destination for the Royal Family during the reign of Queen Victoria and its ten hectares of parkland o er ample inspiration for gardeners. northwoodhouse.org

Helmingham Hall Hosts Art for Cure

28 April-17 September 2023, Su olk

The Grade I listed gardens of Helmingham Hall will host an outdoor sculpture exhibition arranged by Art for Cure, a charity that raises money to fund breast cancer research and support services through the sale of art. Over 50 sculptors will be exhibiting, and art lovers who visit on the opening weekend can also enjoy a specially curated exhibition of paintings and sculpture in the Great Hall and Dining Room. Adult tickets, £10. helmingham.com

NGS Garden

Brook Hall

Northern Ireland

Brook Hall is home to a superb private arboretum with collections of conifers, rhododendrons, magnolias and camellias. In 1856 the estate became the home of the Gilliland family who have developed this landscape through six generations. Brook Hall Estate, 65-67 Culmore Road, Londonderry, County Londonderry BT48 8JE. Opens Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 April, 2-5pm. Admission: Adult: £5; children: free. ngs.org.uk