CELEBRATE EARLY SPRING WITH BEAUTIFUL BRITISH GARDENS
THE
english
GARDEN MARCH 2021
For everyone who loves beautiful gardens
Brilliant borders at Arley Hall
Britain’s best daffodil gardens
Signs of SPRING
Magnolias, hellebores, camellias & more
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CONTRIBUTORS
Kathryn Bradley-Hole Kathryn’s lifelong interest in plants has led to a distinguished garden journalism career and her latest book, English Gardens from the Archives of Country Life. She visits Thenford on page 12.
Sheila Sim A photographer, writer and translator, Sheila spends large portions of her time in Scotland, Portugal and Russia, always seeking out new gardens to visit and stories to tell. She explores Humbie Dean on page 26.
Welcome D
affodils are my favourite monocot. I once said that in a flower shop, accidentally revealing the full extent of my horticultural geekiness, much to the mirth of the friend I was with. I don’t care: it’s true. Whether it’s the scent of tazetta daffodils in a vase on the kitchen table or spotting one of my favourite varieties* blooming in the garden – they are the flowers that make me feel spring has truly sprung. In this issue, daffodils are joined by magnolias, camellias and lots of other beautiful early flowers that help put winter behind us. At Thenford, Lord and Lady Heseltine’s collection of magnolias include varieties that could be just the ticket for your garden, while at Hodnet Hall in Shropshire they combine with cherries and rhododendrons to guarantee a memorable spring stroll. The pretty blue or purple flowers of early iris reliably bring cheer this month, while the hellebores bred by Rodney Davey offer uniquely marbled leaves and exquisite stained-glass flowers. This issue contains so much spring loveliness, but even so, nothing can budge daffodils from the top spot for me.
CLARE FOGGETT, EDITOR
* ‘Hawera’ for its multi-headed dainty, nodding, lemon-yellow flowers; ‘Geranium’ with its egg-yolk-orange trumpets and sweet fragrance; and ‘Thalia’ for its creamy white, elegant blooms.
IMAGES NEIL HEPWORTH; MARTIN POPE
Helen Yemm A writer, author and passionate, hands-on gardener, Helen is best known for fielding readers’ questions on The Telegraph’s ‘Thorny Problems’ page. She admires the garden at Parsonage Oasts in Kent on p20.
ON THE COVER The Grade I listed alcove building set at the end of Arley Hall’s famously sumptuous double herbaceous borders. Photographed by Nicola Stocken.
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FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 5
February/March 2021
CONTENTS
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32 12 41
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Gardens 12 Thenford The Heseltines have created an arboretum in Northamptonshire that’s now filled with beautifully maturing specimens. 20 Parsonage Oasts At this riverside garden in Kent, the vision of its creator, Gladys Raikes, is lovingly continued by her family. 26 Humbie Dean Frank Kirwan has done battle to reveal woodland, burbling burns and heritage daffodils here in East Lothian. 32 Hodnet Hall In this Shropshire valley garden, a new season enlivens vistas with bursts of pink from blossom and magnolia. 41 Loftus Road Small-garden strategies have been applied in this London garden and also fascinating breaks with convention.
Brilliant Borders 54 Arley Hall Let these splendid double borders set you off on a journey of discovery through this eight-acre Cheshire garden.
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62 Abbotts Ripton Lord and Lady De Ramsey curate historic landscaping and incredible borders here in Huntingdon.
Design 83 Craftspeople Siblings Lydia and Cuthbert Noble use dry stone walling techniques to create beautiful garden structures. 89 Botanical Books The earliest botanical books date back to the 15th century. Copies still exist and can form part of a collection.
26 6 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY /MARCH 2021
54
Plants 46 Daffodil Gardens The best places to see spring daffodils in all their shining glory.
ll
UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR LEARNING FROM BRITISH GARDENERS ONE YEAR GOOD GARDENING DIPLOMA September 2021 – June 2022
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)
THE ESSENTIAL GARDEN DESIGN DIPLOMA January – March 2022
20 71 Plant Focus The clear colours of earlyflowering miniature iris are a real tonic. 76 Plant Swatch Bergenias are unmissable with their huge leaves and spires of blooms.
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)
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.
77 Rodney Davey Hellebores These unique hellebores have been bred to produce intricately mottled leaves and bright flowers. 81 Plant Story Karl Foerster lends his name to various grasses – but who was he?
IMAGES HOWARD RICE; SHEILA SIM; CLIVE NICHOLS; NICOLA STOCKEN; MARIANNE MAJERUS
93 Garden Paths Meet Jennifer Trehane – a passionate world authority on camellias.
Regulars 8 On Location The city of Cambridge is the jewel in the crown of the watery fenlands. 10 Out & About News, events, jobs to do – and the best gardens for spring bulbs. 94 The Reviewer This month’s literary digest, plus an interview with author Twigs Way. 98 Last Word A spiny midnight visitor to Katherine Swift’s garden is a magical surprise.
Offers 52 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
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 7
ON LOCATION
CAMBRIDGESHIRE
On the Marshes The city of Cambridge is the jewel in the crown of this watery fenland world
Trains to Cambridge depart from London King’s Cross and take less than an hour. The county is also easily accessible by car.
C
ambridge isn’t all there is to Cambridgeshire but it is a large part of it. This beautiful, ancient city of thinkers and dreamers lies at the heart of the county, around 50 miles north of London. The mark of the famous university, founded in 1209, is indelible here: idle on The Backs, the scholars’ term for the grassy banks of the River Cam; gaze at the gothic architecture of
8 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
King’s College; and discover a scion of the original apple tree said to have inspired Sir Isaac Newton’s theory of gravity. Trumpington Street offers all the olde worlde atmosphere you could wish for, lined with university colleges, centuries-old shop fronts and with cobbles underfoot. Amid the academia, the Cambridge University Botanic Garden, renowned for its Winter Garden and Scented Garden, is a breath of fresh air. botanic.cam.ac.uk
Great Escapes Enjoy a taste of university life, punt or stroll along the River Cam – then enjoy a Cambridge institution STAY IN CAMBRIDGE This historic city makes a fine starting point for exploring the county and there is much to see. Base yourself at the boutique University Arms on Regent Street with a room overlooking Parker’s Piece. Enjoy Edwardianstyle comfort with rooms that are accented in the university’s iconic blue. universityarms.com
IMAGES ALAMY; SHUTTERSTOCK
The grassy banks of the River Cam are also known as The Backs and are overlooked by the splendid King’s College.
On the outskirts of Cambridge, a little to the north-east, lies Anglesey Abbey and Lode Mill, a Jacobean property now in the care of the National Trust. The extensive gardens here offer something to see in every season. nationaltrust.org.uk Ely, a small city 16 miles north of Cambridge, is also referred to as the ‘Isle of Ely’. It is dominated by its cathedral, ‘the Ship of the Fens’, which dates back to 673. These monikers hint at the geography of the county: this is flat, agricultural land reclaimed from marsh in the Middle Ages, using a system of ditches and ridges. Positioned on a raised island of clay, Ely is visible for miles around. This is a quaint city with independent shops lining narrow streets, and a brisk antiques trade. At its feet, the River Great Ouse winds its way out to the North Sea. ■
VILLAGE RETREAT Just a two-mile stroll – or punt – from Cambridge
along the River Cam, the village of Grantchester has offered respite to generations of scholars and claims to have the highest concentration of Nobel Prize winners in the world. Follow the path beaten by Rupert Brooke, AA Milne, Sylvia Plath and Virginia Woolf to the Orchard Tea Garden for tea in the apple orchard. theorchardteagarden.co.uk
FOOD AND DRINK Soft, plump, sweet fermented cakes were described by food writer Elizabeth David as “English institutions”. There are Sally Lunns, Bath buns, spice buns and currant buns – but queen of them all is the Chelsea bun, a spiral of cinnamon-scented, currant-filled dough drenched in a sugary glaze. With branches on Trumpington Street and Bridge Street, Fitzbillies, established in 1920, has turned these sweet treats into an art form. fitzbillies.com
DECEMBER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020/JANUARY 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 9
FEBRUARY/MARCH
Out & About Phoebe Jayes recommends gardens to visit as spring awakens and rounds up outdoor jobs to do at this time of year – as well as the latest news
Spring jobs Order seed potatoes and chit them on a light windowsill so they have fat green shoots in time for planting. Carry out winter pruning of wisteria, when the whippy growths shortened during summer are further reduced to just two or three buds.
Brilliant BULBS Wave goodbye to winter as swathes of colourful bulbs illuminate a selection of wonderful gardens around the country this spring Evenley Wood Garden
Colby Woodland Garden
Coton Manor
Stroll through this 60-acre Northamptonshire garden (above) in early spring to enjoy swathes of snowdrops and an 800m stream of blue scillas, followed by magnolias, rhododendrons and azaleas. evenleywoodgarden.co.uk
Splashes of colour start to appear in spring at this garden in Pembrokeshire. Snowdrops cluster around the stream, daffodils nod in the meadow, and a magnolia stands majestic. Tel: +44 (0)1834 811885; nationaltrust.org.uk
Overall winner of our Nation’s Favourite Gardens competition, this special garden in Northamptonshire (below left) has snowdrops, crocuses and hellebores in February, with primulas, narcissus and chionodoxa in March. Tel: +44 (0)1604 740219; cotonmanor.co.uk
Blicking Hall The gardens of this 55-acre estate in Norfolk feature an orangery, a temple, a walled garden, and some secret spaces. Head there in February to enjoy a multitude of snowdrops, followed by camellias, daffodils and magnolias. Tel: +44 (0)1263 738030; nationaltrust.org.uk 10 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
Myddelton House Gardens At this time of year the Alpine Meadow at Enfield’s Myddelton House, is carpeted with a mass of crocuses and snowdrops, shortly followed by daffodils and camassias. Tel: +44 (0)3000 030610; visitleevalley.org.uk
Some deciduous grasses can be pruned now, before their new growth appears. Cut back calamagrostis and deschampsia, but leave pennisetum intact until April – their old growth protects the crown. Add to snowdrop collections with new bulbs planted ‘in the green’ this month and divide existing clumps after flowers fade. Plant lily bulbs in containers now to enjoy their scented flowers in summer. Use large pots and some soil-based compost for weight and stability.
A PROVEN philadelphus
CLEMATIS
Proven Winners’ range of new plants for 2021 includes much to tempt, but the shrub that caught our eye is a new take on a nostalgic, English garden favourite: mock orange, or philadelphus. ‘Illuminati Arch’ has a more compact and tidy habit than many mock oranges, which do tend to be unruly. This one reaches 1.2m in height and spread with elegant arching stems. As you’d expect, the double-petalled white flowers are beautifully fragrant, releasing their heady, sweet scent during late spring and early summer. For more information visit provenwinners.com
Plant Heritage, the charity that aims to protect and conserve cultivated varieties of plants, has announced the winner of its Threatened Plants competition. Members of the public voted for their favourite from a shortlist of 12 rare plants put forward by the charity’s National Plant Collection Holders. The winner is Clematis montana var. rubens ‘Veitch’, grown in Wiltshire by Val Le May Neville-Parry, who conserves montana types. With deep pink flowers, it hails from seed collected in China in the early 20th century and was given to Val as a cutting from a very old specimen in a garden in Devizes. plantheritage.com
is the winner
IMAGES SHUTTERSTOCK; PLANT HERITAGE; PROVEN WINNERS. CHECK ALL WEBSITES BEFORE TRAVELLING FOR UPDATED OPENING INFORMATION.
Front gardens LOWER STRESS Research by the Royal Horticultural Society and the Universities of Sheffield, Westminster and Virginia has shown that a greener front garden reduces stress levels. The four-year project involved adding plants to previously bare front gardens in an area of Salford, Greater Manchester. Residents’ cortisol hormone levels were recorded: before the plants arrived only 24% had healthy cortisol patterns, but after the greenery was introduced, this increased to 53%. Half the residents also said they felt happier.
GARDEN sanctuaries The UK’s National Garden Scheme, the umbrella organisation that enables home owners to open their gardens to the public to raise money for nursing charities, has released a new report, Gardens and Coronavirus 2020. Some 2,400 people responded to an online survey, the results of which backed up anecdotal evidence that visiting gardens – even virtually – has a positive effect on mental health. A massive 92% of the survey’s respondents said that their gardens were ‘extremely important’ to them during periods of lockdown, 87% said that their garden ‘helped to relieve stress’ and 86% used their gardens more during lockdown. “The report clearly confirms our own belief that the power of gardens to do good has never been more important,” says George Plumptre, chief executive of the National Garden Scheme. Read the full report at ngs.org.uk FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 11
Beneath a canopy of Prunus ‘Shosar’, a grassy avenue leads to a stone fountain.
12 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
From Little ACORNS
The Heseltines have created from scratch a glorious arboretum and garden at Thenford, Northamptonshire, now filled with beautifully maturing specimens WORDS KATHRYN BRADLEY-HOLE PHOTOGRAPHS CLIVE NICHOLS
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 13
G
eographically located in the very heart of England, 18th-century Thenford House sits elegantly at the centre of a huge park. Great lawns sweep away to the north and south, so the views looking out from the house are open and expansive. Those lawns, however, are framed by a multitude of maturing trees and, southwards, a curvaceous lake that splendidly mirrors its surroundings. Over the course of more than four decades, Thenford’s owners, Michael and Anne Heseltine, have created from scratch what is now a truly great botanical garden stretching across 70 acres within a much larger estate. They have planted in excess of 3,500 different types of trees and shrubs so far but, unlike many botanical gardens, theirs possesses a fascinating narrative reflecting their varied interests and stylish personal touches, all woven into its coherent design and presentation. For example, among the extensive plant collections, there are numerous intimate and discrete gardens to be discovered. These include a formal water garden of joyful fountains, known as The Rill; a richly complex walled garden; a rose garden; and a ‘ziggurat’ mount presided over by a stone guardian lion from Cambodia, carved by craftsmen who repair the ancient Angkor temples. There are also extensive herbaceous borders, a garden of alpines displayed in numerous large stone troughs, and a series of ponds and waterside plantings. A distinguished sculpture garden, created and curated by Anne, comprises several adjacent rectangular ‘rooms’, with each open, grassy space concealed from the next by tall beech hedging. “My passion is art,” Anne explains. “So I decided to have an outdoor rather than an indoor sculpture collection. The hedges ensure you can see only one or two sculptures at a time.” Each well-chosen piece therefore achieves maximum impact, while the whole sculpture area is bookended by two immaculately maintained knot gardens. Nothing could be more surprising than to learn from Michael and Anne that all of the above remarkable endeavours came about by accident. “We have been here for 43 years now,” says Michael, as we clamber into one of the golf buggies he and Anne use to get around the extensive gardens. Arriving in 1976 and not having a clue what to do with the somewhat neglected grounds and bramble-choked forestry woods, they called
in a number of renowned experts to advise. Early on, landscape designer Lanning Roper (1912-1983) planned the planting for a shady courtyard near the house and a broad grass walk to the east. Sir Harold Hillier (1905-1985), of the eponymous Hampshire nurseries, lit the touchpaper that kindled Michael’s profound interest in trees. Roy Lancaster advised later, and several designers and friends contributed further suggestions in the years that followed. “Harold Hillier visited within the first year or so,” Michael recalls. “He produced a long list of trees that he thought would grow here. Unwittingly, in buying the list, we planted the beginnings of a collection – there were four or five different oaks, four or five different chestnuts, quite a few hollies, and various other things. It started us on a journey, without really realising what we were doing. But over the years since then, we have become manic collectors!” he says with a chuckle. Today, they are assisted by ten gardeners, headed up by the talented and knowledgeable head gardener Darren Webster. Michael waves an arm to point out the four or so tall trees that predate the Heseltines’ arrival. “Everything else here has been planted by us, except for some of the old yews,” he notes. There had been some scruffy, bramble- and elder-choked woods, functionally planted for their timber, and numerous fallen elms, which had succumbed to the disease that stripped the country of elm in the second half of the 20th century. The infamous drought of 1976 killed off nearly all of the old beech trees, and a fierce storm just a few years later blew down the remaining elderly sycamores. There was nothing for it but to start all over again. As we tour the grounds, Michael and Anne regularly pause to point out this and that. Their profound attachment to the place and the plants they have put in it is very clear. Michael gestures to a maturing North American red oak, Quercus rubra. “That came from Harold Hillier in 1978, and the ‘Grayswood Ghost’ birches over there, and the tulip tree and the cedar – all Harold Hillier, 1978.” Next we pause by a southern beech, Nothofagus dombeyi. “It came from the Prince of Wales. We swapped our granite cobblestones for some trees from the Duchy of Cornwall.” Another precious jewel in the Thenford crown is a young whitebeam that bears, in due season, clusters of small, pear-shaped, golden fruits. It is labelled Sorbus heseltinei. “Keith Rushforth collected it in the Himalayas and he named it after
“The southern beech came from the Prince of Wales. We swapped our granite cobblestones for some trees from the Duchy of Cornwall”
14 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
Above Magnolia x soulangeana and Prunus cerasifera ‘Nigra’. Right The large lake reflects St Mary’s Church in its cut-glass surface. Below right A glossyleaved camellia. Below left Thenford’s impressive rill comprises nine individual pools, the water ultimately tumbling into a pond. Left Close up, the flowers of Magnolia x soulangeana reveal their beautifully dark-pinkflushed outer petals.
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 15
Magnificent MAGNOLIAS An expansive collection of magnolias fills Thenford with luxuriant blooms in spring
MAGNOLIA ‘STAR WARS’ A small tree up to 6m tall with large, fragrant flowers in deep pink: one of a crop of magnolias bred in New Zealand.
MAGNOLIA ‘PRISTINE’ Star-like, soft-white flowers on this hybrid of excellent parents: Magnolia denudata and M. stellata ‘Waterlily’.
MAGNOLIA ‘FELIX JURY’ Another impressive magnolia from New Zealand, with deep carmine coloured flowers shaped like waterlilies.
16 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
MAGNOLIA X LOEBNERI ‘LEONARD MESSEL’ The blush-pink flowers of this small, 8m tree flare into star shapes as they open.
MAGNOLIA ‘HEAVEN SCENT’
MAGNOLIA ‘IOLANTHE’ The first introduction from the Jury family of breeders in New Zealand, this has large, abundant, scented flowers.
MAGNOLIA ‘VULCAN’
Larger at 10m, with lavender-scented flowers that are pink on the outside.
This magnolia’s deep, port-red flowers become stronger in colour as the tree matures. Reaches around 7m tall.
MAGNOLIA X SOULANGEANA ‘SAN JOSÉ’
MAGNOLIA SARGENTIANA VAR. ROBUSTA
Another fragrant cultivar, with blooms in rose pink on a spreading, small tree.
Super-sized flowers on this 20m tall tree that can bloom as early as February.
me because we have Above Prunus cerasifera ‘Pendula’ drapes over a worked together a lot mellow stone wall and on this collection,” bottle-green gate. Michael explains. Left Along the main The species is new to drive, stately mature trees and clusters of cultivation, so nobody daffodils give a taste of knows yet how it will the arboretum inside. look in maturity, but it has an upright flame or vase shape and looks very promising so far. Every year the plant collections are enhanced, so the greenhouse and nursery yard is the very engineroom of Thenford and somewhere that Michael appears to relish as much as the gardens beyond. “We get all the things you would expect: seeds, cuttings, purchases, gifts, and it all comes in here – this is where it all begins. It’s very exciting.” In the greenhouse, he points to a carefully labelled batch of tubular root-training pots. “These are about 40 or 50 different oaks from California. If they germinate, I will pot them on in the spring – that’s if the mice don’t get them first!” This is certainly a garden for all seasons, but spring here is truly remarkable. Great swathes of ground are lit up by bulbs – daffodils in particular, and also seas of bright-blue Anemone blanda that FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 17
predate the Heseltines’ arrival. Added to these are the emerging leaves and blossoms of countless trees and shrubs. In spring there are literally hundreds of acers unfurling their varied foliage, plus a huge collection of flowering prunus, whose diverse cherry blossoms light up the landscape with clouds of white and pink. I had always thought Cornwall the best place to admire the magnolia genus, but Michael’s own magnolia collection runs into the hundreds. Of these, he singles out special attachment to M. ‘Felix Jury’, a highly regarded New Zealand cultivar, freeflowering with large, deep-pink blooms; also ‘Black Tulip’, which bears rounded, layered chalices of deep burgundy colouring. “‘Black Tulip’ is probably my favourite,” he muses. There are so many shrubs and trees illuminating the spring landscape here, but the two-acre walled Above left Magnolia x
soulangeana ‘San José’. Top right A blue-painted bridge crosses one of the ponds that thread their way across the site. Above right Beautiful against the blue spring sky, Prunus ‘Shosar’ blossom. This stronggrowing upright tree, also has excellent autumn leaf colour.
18 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
Behind the scenes
An excellent book, Thenford: The Creation of an English Garden, by Anne and Michael Heseltine (Head of Zeus, £40) is an illustrated history and well-documented account of the garden’s creation. Hundreds of photos show plans and structural works in progress and the crane-lifting of statues, as well as the beautiful flowers and foliage.
garden, designed by George Carter, marks a sudden departure into complex and stylish geometry. Its network of criss-crossing paths, laid out on the bias, has created areas for cultivated produce, pools, trellised and copper-domed pavilions, and ornamental beds that erupt with wallflowers and tulips in April and May. A range of glasshouses cosy up to the south-facing side of the north wall and, since this is a garden still very much in the making, Michael has further plans for one of them, which will add to the spectacle of late winter and spring. “I’m going to convert one of the greenhouses into an alpine house,” he says, with a glint in his eye. “It will have daffodils, crocus, muscari, scilla – anything goes!” ■ Thenford Gardens and Arboretum, Thenford, Banbury, Oxfordshire OX17 2BP. The gardens are open to visitors only on specific, pre-arranged days. To visit, you will need to apply for tickets through the website. There are two open days in February for snowdrops and eight more open days spread through the spring, summer and autumn months, all priced at £16 per person. thenfordarboretum.com
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A Sense of CONTINUITY
At the riverside garden of Parsonage Oasts in Kent, the vision of its creator, Gladys Raikes, is lovingly continued by her grandson Edward and his wife Jennifer WORDS HELEN YEMM PHOTOGRAPHS MMGI/BENNET SMITH
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Beyond a scented Daphne mezereum, a ‘Gascoyne’s Scarlet’ apple tree is poised to burst into bud.
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 21
I
the local area – most notably and destructively n a picture-postcard view of Parsonage in 2000 and 2013. A small paved eating area set Oasts, from the towpath on the opposite against the wall of the house is overhung by sweet bank of the River Medway at Yalding, the grape vines (Vitis ‘Fragola’, the strawberry grape). four, square, cowl-topped ‘towers’ and This forms a good point from which to view a long, the ruggedly defensive stone-and-brick mixed border that runs along the length of the river walls, softened only by a magnificent overhanging wall, home to plants that must tolerate arid summer specimen of Magnolia x soulangeana, can seem soil, baked from behind by the wall, as well as formidable. Only when you cross a narrow canal occasional watery interventions from the river. bridge and scrunch your way up the hidden drive, Planted here for spring are bright-leafed spiraea past massed daffodils and pretty trees, to be and berberis, with erysimums, crown imperials welcomed by the owners in their gardening clothes and tulips and, usually, an early proliferation of with two sociable geese in attendance, does a more self-seeded cerinthe. In terms of weeds, ground gentle picture emerge. It is one of devotion to elder is the main problem – constantly a family home and garden, created attacked by the owners when it gets from derelict farm buildings set in an too much. At the end of the border, acre of equally derelict land, that is under and around the great magnolia now a place of immense tranquillity. and spreading across the width of the The gardens were laid out garden with a flagstone path running and planted by a remarkable through it, the ground is thick with septuagenarian gardener Gladys daffodils and hellebores, the latter an Raikes in the 1950s and ’60s. Simply all-sorts mixture, originally planted referred to as ‘Granny’ by the present by Gladys, their ‘best’ colours now owners, her grandson Edward and his stage-managed by Jennifer. The bees wife Jennifer, at the age of 90 and no (from Edward’s hives) enjoy a spring longer able to cope with her creation, bonanza here. Among the numerous flowering Gladys invited the couple to take it on. They moved shrubs is a lone, experimentally planted Camellia in and did just that, learning the ropes from Gladys japonica ‘R.L. Wheeler’. Jennifer hopes that if it as they went along and, at the same time, bringing survives the gravelly and not-quite-acid-enough up their young family. A rare sense of continuity soil conditions, others from her numerous potted is tangible in a garden that has been loved, tended camellia collection will be able to survive being and modified by the Raikes, very much in the spirit transplanted into the ground as well. of its maker since her death. In a quiet corner of The visitor’s attention is inevitably drawn to the garden near the river is a home-made armillary the only truly ‘formal’ element in the garden: a sphere on which is written, in what Edward short, wide swathe of brick and gravel that leads describes as his ‘pidgin Latin’, words that roughly from one of the two back doors straight to an old translate to ‘This garden is the fruit of the wisdom well, encircled by lavender, in what is of Gladys Raikes.’ approximately the centre of the lawned The main garden is rectangular, area. In this ‘avenue’ is planted a double wider than it is deep, set behind the row of now huge, healthy-looking clipped long building that consists of the box balls. In between each ball stands a mainly black-weather-boarded house terracotta pot of semi-evergreen abelia, where hops used for brewing were a shrub that, according to Jennifer, makes originally stored and the adjoining a surprisingly amenable container plant converted brick kilns where the hops with a gloriously long flowering season. were dried. They were part of the To one side of this avenue is another estate owned by the local parson and of the original trees planted by Gladys, date back to around 1800. It all feels a now enormous and statuesque apple, very secluded: the long view, roughly ‘Gascoyne’s Scarlet’, pruned annually by to the south east, out and across the Edward. Close by, an expanding area of garden from the living room windows, self-seeding snowdrops and Fritillaria is dominated by lofty trees including meleagris blithely interrupts his mowing those in a small woodland area beyond regime for a few weeks. Beyond this, and below the garden, while the reached via gravel paths that connect the kitchen overlooks the river. various parts of the garden, many edged To one side of a wide lawn is the densely with vivid blue grape hyacinths, long brick riverside wall, a defence of are a vegetable garden, overseen by some sorts against the tendency of the River Above An early-flowering, purple-blue substantial roses growing on stout pergolas Medway to make headlines by flooding veronica makes a pretty plant for a pot.
Under and around the great magnolia and spreading across the width of the garden, the ground is thick with daffodils and hellebores
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Above The striking cowl-topped towers, seen from the opposite bank of the river. Right The scene-stealing Magnolia x soulangeana. Below A chaenomeles hedge decked with scarlet flowers bounds the vegetable patch. Left Camellia species thrive in containers.
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Seasonal PASTELS This selection of delightful spring flowers fills the Parsonage Oasts garden with soft colour
IPHEION UNIFLORUM Star-shaped, lilac-blue flowers sit above grassy foliage. One to grow in a sunny spot.
LATHYRUS VERNUS A spring-flowering member of the sweet pea family, with pretty pink or blue flowers. Grow it in sun or part shade.
HELLEBORUS X HYBRIDUS
CAMELLIA JAPONICA
These hellebores, with their bashful, nodding flowers, thrive in dappled shade.
Grow these evergreens in pots of ericaceous compost if your garden soil isn’t acid.
ERYSIMUM CHEIRI ‘BLOOD RED’
ERODIUM PELARGONIIFLORUM
Biennial wallflowers are always worth growing for their spicily scented blooms.
Will cover the soil in a sunny spot with its hairy leaves and red-blotched flowers.
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and, the eye cleverly distracted by a gorgeous flowering hedge of scarlet Chaenomeles japonica, a business-like composting area. On the edge of a deep area of big trees, a tiny wild woodland garden on a lower level is accessed through a gate and down a few wooden steps. It provides an area of maximum peace and quiet and allows close contact with the river. A tiny pond is surrounded by sheets of chalk-white wood anemones that kick off the spring performance, followed, as the overhead leaf canopy starts to close in, by a carpet of shade-tolerant Geranium phaeum. Both of these are no-maintenance, enthusiastic spreaders. The younger Raikes have had their work cut out at Parsonage Oasts. Edward obviously already had gardening in his blood, passed on to him, of course, by ‘Granny’ Gladys, and by his mother who also gardened avidly. Jennifer had no such background, but clearly revels in the ingenuity of the self-taught. She’s now a real plantswoman in her own right – the kind who keeps a stack of well-thumbed catalogues to hand and labels all her ‘newborns’ hoping against hope that she will Above An old, mosscommit their names covered wall gives to memory before the shelter to the hellebores labels fade or are lost. that cover the ground But both admit they below trees and shrubs.
The garden feels as if the right amount of sensitive interference with nature is being achieved
are no longer young, and are relaxing their expectations, no longer bothering, for example, with arduous work in their vegetable garden over winter. The many beautiful trees they have added to those that Gladys planted are now maturing, and any major modifications made over the years have largely involved simplification, as with the early removal of some of the island beds that made mowing difficult. They also have help in the garden from Hadlow College-trained Jacqui, who formerly worked in the garden at Knole, “which seemed to me like a pretty pedigree”, according to Jennifer. This beautiful garden feels, as a result, as though precisely the right amount of sensitive interference with nature is being achieved. “The secret,” Jennifer sagely Top Morning sun notes, “is to find out illuminates daffodils what likes you, and let on the river’s edge. it go.” Ground elder, Middle A cluster of pastel however, will continue cherry blossom is a sure sign spring has arrived. to be systematically Bottom In between attacked for the Gladys Raikes’ large box foreseeable future, balls are pots of Abelia it seems. ■ ‘Sunshine Daydream’.
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The daffodil lawn was inspired by the many heritage varieties (top right) Frank inherited; erythroniums (right) thrive in wooded areas. 26 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
SHAPING NATURE Frank Kirwan has fulfilled his dream of opening his East Lothian garden, Humbie Dean, to the public, having wrestled with the undergrowth to reveal burbling burns and woodland, with a display of heritage daffodils in spring WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHS SHEILA SIM
F
or generations East Lothian has been seen as Scotland’s ‘garden county’, renowned for its rich horticultural heritage and its wealth of gardens, designed landscapes and fine public parks. Humbie Dean is a relative newcomer to the county’s impressive list of private gardens. It lies at the south-western corner of the county, near the foot of the Lammermuir Hills, reached via sinuous country roads lined with neatly trimmed beech hedgerows that are a zingy green in spring. Frank Kirwan moved here in late 2008, having purchased Humbie Dean with a challenge in mind: to create from scratch a garden with year-round appeal that he could open to the public under Scotland’s Gardens Scheme within five years. And what a challenge it has been. When he moved here, only a small area near the driveway could have been described as garden. In more recent years the rest of this two-acre plot had barely been touched, although Frank did inherit some wonderful mature trees, fine rhododendrons and masses of bulbs from when the house was built in the 1930s. As described by Frank, the shape of the garden is reminiscent of “a wedge of ripe French cheese”. The long sides of this tasty triangle take the form of steep, wooded slopes leading down to two small rivers: Greenbank Burn to the south and Humbie Water to the north. The rivers meet at the apex of the garden, which faces west. The flat top of the triangle, with the house situated roughly in its centre, has gradually evolved into a number of distinct areas (“not ‘rooms’!” Frank insists emphatically) including a cottage-style garden around the house and a meadow of bulbs to the rear. The removal of a vast wall of light-blocking conifers near the house was the first priority. After that it was the steep, overgrown banks down to the rivers that required the most intensive effort. When Frank arrived, these slopes were virtually inaccessible; only by scrambling through a dense thicket of ash, alder, FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 27
rowan and hawthorn, not to mention brambles and nettles, could he see what was required. He bought a chainsaw, hired the largest woodchipper he could find, and set to work. Guided by the contours of the land, Frank identified where paths needed to be laid. From the first trees that he removed (and others that were felled by “the great landscaper in the sky”), large trunks were used to demarcate the first paths and provided the chippings to surface them. Encouraged by these initial efforts, Frank then felt 28 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
Above Masses of golden daffodils line the drive to the house, which sits at the top of the triangular, water-edged plot.
he could “create a garden that went with the land rather than being forced into a contrivance”. Having restored access down to Greenbank Burn, he constructed a zigzagging wooden boardwalk so that he – and those future visitors – could stroll alongside the river without getting muddy feet. A ‘passing place’ sign, made from a pile of discarded road signs, offers a humorous touch. The result of Frank’s endeavour on the southern edge of the garden is a light and airy tree canopy that has allowed attractive groundcover to be planted. The semi-shaded slope, damper than the rest of the garden due to rain run-off, is the ideal habitat for primula, meconopsis, pulmonaria and gunnera. These have been supplemented in recent years by hellebores and erythroniums – the latter being particularly successful. In fact, BBC Scotland came to film The Beechgrove Garden here two years ago, drawn by the erythroniums. “The species ones tend to disappear if there’s any competition,” Frank admits, “but the hybrids do well. I use ‘Pagoda’ and ‘White Beauty’, which bulk up quickly. ‘Pagoda’ has also performed surprisingly well in the meadow.” Swathes of snowdrops in February give way to daffodils in spring, which, in turn, are followed by a sea of native bluebells. Herbaceous plants bring colour throughout summer, followed by an abundance of berry-laden shrubs in autumn. Only in the depths of winter does the garden sink into a well-earned slumber. Much of the effect is achieved using a limited plant palette. When Frank finds a plant that performs well, he looks for other varieties of the same thing. One of the most successful features is the meadow. Inspired by the clumps of daffodils that he inherited (many of them thought to be pre-1930s hybrids from the Backhouse Rossie collection in Fife), Frank has gradually supplemented them over the years so that throughout April and May this area becomes a profusion of golden trumpets. “The varieties I’ve added have been chosen to extend the season; they flower earlier or later than the ones that were already here.” Since the meadow faces west, spring sunsets are now a very special part of the garden year.
Clockwise from top left
Frank thinks Humbie Dean’s daffodils date from the 1930s. ‘Twink’ has a similar split corona; try ‘Beersheba’ for a nodding white; for white with a yellow trumpet, look to ‘Brunswick’; ‘Duchess of Westminster’ is a similar pale lemon.
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“It’s not perfect… but if you’d told me ten years ago that this is what it would look like, I wouldn’t have believed you”
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During the short time that he has lived at Humbie Dean, Frank has noted the impact of climate change and intensive agricultural practices. Each year he wades into the burn to rescue snowdrops threatened by the rising waterline and move them to safety further up the banks. Extremes of rainfall, coupled with heavily compacted soil in the local arable fields, lead to increased rainwater run-off that erodes the garden’s banks and causes mudslides on country roads: a thorny issue for the local community. Humbie Dean brings new meaning to the concept of the wildlife garden. Frank co-exists with deer, rabbits, pheasants, mice, voles and moles – not always welcome, given the damage they have wreaked over the years. Fencing has been put in place, but Frank often feels it is a losing battle. “What can I do? They have prior squatting Above Purple Magnolia ‘Susan’ flanks a bark rights,” he sighs. path that’s in keeping Frank is in the process with this informal of writing a book about woodland garden. Humbie Dean that will Left Spring blossom on Prunus avium ‘Plena’. describe his gardening Far left Chequered year, month by month, Fritillaria meleagris letting him share his thrives in grassy accumulated experience meadow plantings.
Meadow MAINTENANCE Frank’s advice on caring for a daffodil meadow once the flowering display has faded Don’t feed or deadhead and don’t bother tying up the dying foliage; it’s not attractive and it doesn’t do anything useful. Follow RHS advice to leave the foliage to die back over the course of six weeks – and then run the lawnmower over the lot. Mow paths through the meadow, and dig up bulbs to move them only if they’re blocking a path. I’ve found you can lift a clump of daffodils when they first appear and
move them somewhere else, and they actually won’t mind at all. I used to mow the meadow only at the end of June, but recently I’ve started mowing it on a four-weekly basis thereafter. In addition to eliminating the most pernicious weeds, this will stop the bluebells from self-seeding. Even though the bluebells here are our native variety (Hyacinthoides non-scripta), not the Spanish one, they can still become invasive.
– particularly the lessons he has learned and the mistakes he’s made. To take one example, with the benefit of hindsight he wishes he had not planted camassia among the bluebells, since they are almost the same colour and simply merge together. Under usual circumstances, the garden opens to the public through Scotland’s Gardens Scheme and Frank is happy to be contacted by groups or enthusiasts who want to visit at other times. Although he has had previous gardens, this is the first one that he has created virtually from scratch. Has he achieved what he wanted to do? His response is modest as he points out that some of the paths are too narrow, the lawn is not manicured, some of the tall shrubs are perhaps too close together… “It’s not perfect,” he says, “and I’ll continue to change it. But if you’d told me ten years ago that this is what it would look like, I wouldn’t have believed you.” ■ Above The zigzagging boardwalk safely navigates the burns that run along two of the garden’s boundaries.
Humbie Dean, Humbie, East Lothian EH36 5PW. Usually opens for Scotland’s Gardens Scheme on selected dates and by prior arrangement. scotlandsgardens.org; frank.kirwan@gmail.com FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 31
The Joys OF SPRING
In the Shropshire valley garden of Hodnet Hall, a new season enlivens vistas with bursts of pink from cherry blossom and magnolia, and swathes of golden daffodils WORDS JIM CABLE PHOTOGRAPHS JOE WAINWRIGHT
A swan regards the restful scene of water, spring blossom and emerging leaves; stairs (right) lead through a bower of magnolias.
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Above The pools were
built by Sir Algernon’s father, Brigadier A.G.W. Heber-Percy, when he remodelled the gardens in the 1920s.
E
ach morning when Sir Algernon Heber-Percy opens his bedroom curtains at Hodnet Hall he experiences a surge of adrenaline, and this is particularly the case in spring when the magnificent gardens are also waking up. In the distance a dovecote built in 1656 nestles in a gentle landscape of rounded hills close to stands of oak and beech, with the south Shropshire hills serving as a splendid backdrop. The gardens, a tapestry of fresh growth and early blooms, tumble down from the house to a large pool, the first in a ‘daisy chain’ that threads through a shallow valley at the heart of the estate. A stream, warmed by underground springs, feeds these pools and so a scene shrouded in warm mist often greets Sir Algernon and his wife, Jane. The Heber-Percys’ ancestral connection with Hodnet can be traced back to the 11th century, when a motte-and-bailey castle was built on a site to the east of the current house. The next dwelling in the family’s history was Hodnet Old Hall, a 16th-century, black-and-white, timber-framed manor house set in the valley. The Heber-Percys vacated this Tudor home in 1865. No doubt relieved to leave the low-lying damp spot behind, they moved up the slope into a much grander Victorian house in
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the then-fashionable Neo-Elizabethan style. When Algernon and Jane took over the estate in 1966, some downsizing was called for. They removed the top floor and converted the north wing into an open cloister, cleverly creating a more manageable, lower and thinner house, which is the one we see today. Algernon’s father, Brigadier A.G.W. Heber-Percy took on a different challenge as a young man in the 1920s, remodelling the landscape around the hall. The story goes that his mother had urged him to get out of the house more – on the condition that it wasn’t to go to the pub. Whatever temptations he avoided, the brigadier became a passionate gardener. He set about giving the mansion the presence it demanded, linking it to features that survived from the old house, such as a terraced walk and a circular garden. It was also his idea to dam the stream and create the chain of pools. As an army man, he would promise teams of soldiers board and lodging over a weekend if they were prepared to dig! Despite being open to the public for much of the year, the grounds at Hodnet Hall still have the feel of
Top right Azaleas and a family garden. Visitors rhododendrons are arriving in spring are in beacons of colour in for a special treat. On early spring. a fine day as you walk Right Beneath clouds of white cherry blossom, down the drive beneath a picturesque waterfall magnificent oaks, you’re links two of the pools greeted by the fresh that thread through this green foliage on the valley garden. many deciduous azaleas and the spicy scent of their flowers. If you are lucky you will spot a Magnolia sargentiana var. robusta displaying its huge, rose-pink blooms in the distance. The flowers of Magnolia x soulangeana in its many forms open in mid-spring before the leaves. ‘Alba Superba’ is often first with its large, white, scented, tulip-shaped blooms. But these treats are a mere warm-up for the show along the Magnolia Walk. There are 60 acres of land surrounding Hodnet Hall, half of which is ‘gardened’, the rest being semimature beech and oak woodland and wet and dry meadows. The soil is lime-free clay, which suits most plants – not just the lime-haters. While it’s moisture
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Spring perfection: a pink-blossomed cherry hangs over a path that winds its way around one of the pools. 36 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
retentive, it lies over sand, which means plants on some of the slopes do need occasional irrigation. Ross Underwood is the head gardener here, supported by two full-time and two part-time members of staff. He explains that the season begins with thousands of wild daffodils lining the drive and scattered throughout the garden. Each year, daffodil cultivars are used in spring container displays and then, after flowering, are planted in the open ground to add new layers to the show. Out on the Magnolia Walk, Ross points out a Magnolia ‘Sayonara’, a beautiful hybrid that bears white, goblet-shaped flowers that are flushed pink and green at their base, underplanted with Narcissus ‘Actaea’ and ‘Thalia’. Magnolia salicifolia, meanwhile, releases a lemony-aniseed scent from its willow-like leaves when they are bruised. It produces white flowers from a young age and these too are sweetly scented. Outstanding white-flowered Magnolia x loebneri ‘Merrill’ is also noted for its perfume, but for true olfactory indulgence Ross recommends the dinner-plate blooms of Magnolia ‘Athene’. Each white petal is stained deep-pink at its base, which makes an amazing display against bare stems and a pure-blue sky. Ross explains it is easy to underplant by virtue Above Rhododendrons of its habit, so is suitable thrive here, the varieties for smaller gardens. selected to offer a long Magnolia campbellii, season of interest. Right Wide stone steps from the Himalayas, lead up to the house, flowers in March too, its which was converted large pink flowers a sheer in the 1960s to a more joy after the winter drear. manageable size.
The season begins with thousands of wild daffodils lining the drive and scattered throughout the garden
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Ross has developed a passion for rhododendrons during his 12 years at Hodnet. “They have really fallen out of fashion due to overuse and overbreeding and a lot of easy hybrids flooding the market,” he laments, “but there are lovely varieties available from specialist nurseries that do well in most gardens.” He leads the way down an avenue of beeches to the first of several areas of lightly shaded woodland garden featuring a 17th-century wellhead. In spring the ground is carpeted in trilliums surrounding unfurling crosiers of the male fern, Dryopteris filixmas. Ross points out Rhododendron arboreum, the first rhododendron to be introduced from the Himalayas and parent to many garden hybrids. The flowers, which appear in March, are dense heads of 5cm-long bells, variable in colour but pink in the
Green shoots are emerging and the bright spring light plays on the tumbling cascades of the water gardens Above left In April, the
magnolias are graced by large, opulent blooms. Above right Clumps of daffodils stud the lush grass beneath cherry trees, magnolias and other specimens.
FAVOURITE rhododendrons Ross Underwood selects his top three rhododendrons to grow Ross Underwood, head gardener at Hodnet, explains: “Rhododendrons are not just for spring. Some reflower later in the year, many have striking foliage and the deciduous rhododendrons that we refer to as ‘azaleas’ have lovely autumn colour.”
It’s adaptable, coping well with neutral soil, and is surprisingly drought tolerant.
R. yakushimanum has silvery young growth and leathery leaves with a fabulous, orangey-yellow indumentum on the undersides, plus apple-blossom flowers that appear in May and fade to white.
R. kesangiae has amazing leaves that can reach up to 30cm long. Backed with a silvery indumentum, they are a wonderful bonus alongside the large trusses of pink flowers in April and May.
R. ‘Matador’ is a fantastic Bodnant hybrid that produces a second flush of its vivid orange-red flowers in August.
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case of the Hodnet specimen. This is a huge and magnificent shrub reminiscent of those seen in the coastal gardens of Cornwall. It appears that the old forestry trees that shelter the gardens and the warm springs feeding the pools create a similarly benign microclimate at Hodnet. Hodnet Hall’s gardens are a plantsperson’s paradise and Sir Algernon confides that this is in part due to his former neighbour, renowned nursery owner John Ravenscroft. John not only offered advice but was very generous with his plants, which have added variety throughout the gardens. He had a particular interest in magnolias, which, of course, continue to be an important element at Hodnet. Interesting varieties are being used to replace forest trees that have become unsafe and future visitors will likely stumble upon hidden groves. Green shoots are emerging from a freshly restored herbaceous border and the bright spring light plays on the tumbling cascades of the water gardens at the main pool’s east end. A new season has begun in a multi-layered, accessible, yet personal garden that shines in spring but warrants a visit at any time. ■ Hodnet Hall, Hodnet, Market Drayton, Shropshire TF9 3NN. The gardens are usually open on Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays and on selected dates for the National Garden Scheme, but check the website for updates. Tel: +44 (0)1630 685786; hodnethallgardens.org
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Bending THE RULES
Emma Plunket has applied classic small-garden strategies to her narrow London garden on Loftus Road, but has also broken convention – with fascinating results WORDS CLARE FOGGETT PHOTOGRAPHS JACQUI HURST
Emma Plunket has made her long, narrow garden feel much bigger, using the classic design trick of dividing it widthways.
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 41
W
Nestling among the box balls is a large globe of hen Emma Plunket moved Pittosporum ‘Tom Thumb’, a much less problematic into her new flat in London’s choice that Emma has no hesitation in recommending Shepherds Bush, the walled, instead. “It’s nice and compact, and a very good box west-facing garden that came substitute, with dark, burnished, bronze leaves,” with it was a large part of she says. In spring, new leaves emerge all over in a the appeal. As a garden designer, she relished the beautiful contrasting shade of green that is the colour opportunity to put her skills into practice in a garden of Granny Smith apples. of her own, but as well as employing all the small But while she might have broken a few of her garden design rules, she bent a few, too. rules and allowed herself one or two indulgences, One of the garden’s most eye-catching features is the garden is an exemplary demonstration of how to a line of tall Photinia x fraseri ‘Red Robin’ lollipops, make the most of a small space. She moved in during their sprightly pink-red young leaves making a real 2006 and the main planting was completed in 2007 statement as they emerge in spring, followed by – unusually quickly, but Emma had been asked if the clouds of white flowers. “They are unusual,” Emma garden could be featured in a series of Love Your admits, “but actually, four of them have died over Garden with Alan Titchmarsh, and was filmed as the years. They’re just not sustainable because they have that long, exposed trunk, which can’t feed them, she created it. Had that not happened, she says she probably would have done it more slowly. and they’re not all that hardy. I’ve had to put pipe “I was very much into having all-year interest,” lagging on the trunks in really cold winters. They’re she recalls. “You need that in an urban garden. And not something that I would necessarily recommend when you spend so much time looking through to clients because I have to work hard to keep them glazed doors, the garden needs to work hard in the going. But then they flower, and they look amazing!” winter.” A beech hedge divides the garden across the Box balls are another feature of her own garden centre, which not only hides half of it from view to that Emma says she would never use in a client’s increase the sense of space, it also looks good yeargarden these days. “I haven’t planted box in London round, clinging onto its rust-coloured for about five years because of the autumn leaves throughout winter. issues with blight and box moths,” she Above left Garden owner and designer Emma “Then I thought that if I didn’t have explains. “I’ve only got these box balls Plunket relaxes with her a lawn, I could make it much more because they were unwanted from dogs, Oona and Slipper, interesting and have more plants. As another garden. I’ve kept them going: on the terrace next to soon as you get rid of the lawn you they get sprayed with Topbuxus and the house. Above right Fresh white don’t need to put all the plants around I have a butterfly net that I use to try blossom of Amelanchier the edges of it,” Emma says. Look and catch the moths in the summer, lamarckii, a superb tree at her garden next to some of the but box isn’t really an option in for small spaces, which neighbours’ and the difference made gardens in the south east any more.” flowers in early spring. 42 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
Above Impressive standard photinia trees frame the view back along the garden path. Right In spring, the photinia come alive, as corymbs of creamy flowers burst open. Left Carefully maintained box balls add structure to the garden’s first half.
Rosa ‘Paul’s Himalayan Musk’ towers above a grassy path that winds through beds of more roses and perennials. FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 43
The south-facing seating area beyond the beech hedge is nicely secluded, with a tall wall behind it.
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by abandoning the idea of a lawn is clear. While they look out onto muddy grass in winter, Emma’s garden is full of greenery, rustling pheasant grass (Anemanthele lessoniana), and birds dipping and diving in and out of the beech hedge. From the kitchen, the original terrace is used as an outdoor dining space, with large pots of herbs in summer, as well as a cunningly positioned bamboo that hides a soil pipe against the house. Emma uses pheasant grass here in pots, where “it just works brilliantly and moves with the wind. Because it’s west-facing we get shadows on the white walls inside the house from the bamboos and the grass.” Thanks to the tendency of pheasant grass to seed around, she’s never had to buy new plants since putting in the originals, replacing clumps when they get tired after a few years with seedlings from the garden instead. A step leads to the central path, which is made of Breedon gravel – or hoggin – to bring a little touch of ‘country estate’ to this city garden. On either side, those large box balls sit in an asymmetric pattern, surrounded by groundcover plants that Emma swears by. “I’m very keen on groundcover,” she insists. “It’s rather lovely, I’ve got wild violets which must have been in the soil’s seedbank because I never planted them. I just let them fill the gaps and when they get a bit thuggish and slightly overpowering you can just pull them out. I’ve been picking lovely scented violets
Above left Emma softens
the planting here by using mounds of bronzy pheasant grass, Anemanthele lessoniana. Above right Rosemary is a surprisingly early flowerer, loved by bees. Below Brown for the moment, this beech hedge will soon form a vivid green screen.
for about a month already,” she adds. Galium odoratum, also known as sweet woodruff or bedstraw, is another favourite groundcover plant. “If you have good groundcover, weeds have nowhere to establish themselves. The other day I found a weed in the garden and thought: ‘I haven’t seen one of those for a while!’” It’s a far cry from the garden Emma took on back in 2006. “It was empty apart from the most extraordinary amount of weeds,” Emma recalls. The bindweed was so thick that it was rolled up like a carpet before she got to work on its spaghetti-like network of white roots. Along one side, a low wall between Emma’s garden and the neighbours’ increases the sense of space. Above this, privacy is created with wires that support Clematis armandi. “It’s a good, cost-effective alternative to a fence and gives you more growing space, but the climbers do need to be controlled on both sides,” says Emma. “As long as you get on with the neighbour on the other side that’s fine.” Behind the beech hedge there’s a second south-facing seating area, with a bench perfectly positioned to catch the sun. “When I work from home I’ll go and sit and have my lunch down there,” says Emma. “You feel very protected with the wall behind you covered in honeysuckle and the hedge. You’re just surrounded by plants with open sky above you.” ■ 49 Loftus Road, London W12 7EH. Opens for the National Garden Scheme and by arrangement. For details, visit ngs.org.uk or plunketgardens.com FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 45
DAFFODIL GARDENS
GOING FOR GOLD
A sea of daffodils is illuminated by brilliant rays of spring sunshine at Nottinghamshire’s Felley Priory.
46 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
IMAGE CLIVE NICHOLLS. CHECK GARDEN WEBSITES BEFORE VISITING AS OPENING DATES AND TIMES MAY CHANGE AT SHORT NOTICE IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOVERNMENT GUIDELINES.
With a fanfare of golden trumpets, daffodils herald the start of spring proper. Here we round up some of the best places in the country to go and admire them in all their shining glory
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 47
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48 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
In the wild
Above Felley Priory’s
lawns are completely smothered by blooms; many of the daffodils growing here are old or unusual cultivars.
William Wordsworth loved the ‘jocund company’ of a host of golden daffodils. Following the death of his daughter, Dora, he planted hundreds of daffodil bulbs in her memory in a field neighbouring his home at Rydal Mount. The National Trust now cares for Dora’s Field and it is a lovely place to while away an hour or so. nationaltrust.org.uk. At one of the poet’s former homes in the area, Wordsworth House in Cockermouth, head gardener Amanda Thackeray planted 7,000 daffodil bulbs, which flowered for the first time last spring to mark the
IMAGES GAP/RICHARD BLOOM; ALAMY; CLIVE NICHOLS
he garden-visiting year may kick off with snowdrops, but it’s their successors, daffodils, that really begin to brighten up spring. The milky-white flowers of the snowdrops fade away to be replaced by narcissus in every shade of yellow, from the palest lemon to golden buttercup as well as pristine, pure white. They flower from around mid-March into April, as the days are getting longer and the weather’s (hopefully) becoming more spring-like. So head out to admire one of the season’s most cheering sights.
250th anniversary of Wordsworth’s birth. While you’re in the Lakes, you could also walk some or all of the Ullswater Way, a 20-mile route around Ullswater, which even features a daffodil on its signposts. It passes through Glencoyne Wood, the very place where Wordsworth spotted the daffodils he immortalised in his poem, ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’. ullswater.com Head to Farndale in North Yorkshire, also known as the ‘Daffodil Dale’, for gentle walks of between three and seven miles through countryside spangled with wild daffodils. It’s a beautiful display that carpets the meadows and riverbanks along this stretch of the River Dove. northyorkmoors.org.uk The Gloucestershire village of Kempley forms one corner of an area that’s known as the Golden Triangle because daffodils grow here in such abundance – in no small part down to significant conservation efforts. A circular ten-mile route (shortcuts are available) takes ramblers through the landscape around Kempley, Dymock and Oxenhall. During Kempley’s annual Daffodil Weekend, held each March, informative guided walks take place, explaining the area’s daffodil history in more detail – from the 1920s onwards wild daffodils were harvested and sent to London Paddington on the Cheltenham Flyer train, for the market and to be distributed to hospitals. Meanwhile a Daff’n’Ride bus drops visitors off and returns them to the car parks. Dymock and Oxenhall also host daffodil Above Dora’s Field near
Ambleside, was planted by poet Wordsworth in memory of his daughter. Left Noteworthy Narcissus ‘Telamonius Plenus’ with forget-menots at Felley Priory. Below Farndale offers gentle riverside walks through the Dove Valley, washed with yellow.
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 49
In gardens
weekends; the three usually held over consecutive March weekends, with money raised put towards the upkeep of local churches. kempleytardis.org.uk Dunsford Nature Reserve, which is looked after by the Devon Wildlife Trust, is known for its displays of wild daffodils in early spring. Just west of Exeter on the edge of Dartmoor National Park, its beautiful scenery turns yellow as a flood of Narcissus pseudonarcissus flowers in its valleys and woodland. There are plenty of walking trails to lead you through the reserve. devonwildlifetrust.org. 50 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
Top left Trelissick in Cornwall holds a Daffodil Weekend in late March. Top right A veritable sea of daffodils in front of Norfolk’s Blickling Hall. Above Cliveden celebrates the daffodil with its ‘Gilded Gardens’ programme. Varieties grown here include diminutive N. minor.
For en masse planting, Norfolk’s Blickling Estate, is unbeatable. More than 100,000 daffodils put on a show among the trees and formal gardens, which are cared for by the National Trust. Not too far away is Felbrigg, another National Trust property, where the lawn in front of the 17th-century hall is thickly buttered with golden blooms. nationaltrust.org.uk In Suffolk, spring is a superb time to make a visit to Ickworth House, a grandly flamboyant Italianate property built by the 4th Earl of Bristol in the 18th century, to see the swathes of heritage daffodils that grow here. nationaltrust.org.uk A trip to Smallhythe Place in Kent is a must. Its former occupant, late 19th- and early 20th-century actress Ellen Terry called it her ‘daffodilly farm’. nationaltrust.org.uk. Not far away, near Ashford, it’s the three acres of wild meadows at Godinton House that are the main draw for daffodil lovers. From March, the glades are studded with bulbs including double-flowered ‘Van Sion’, an old cultivar that has been here for 400 years. godintonhouse. co.uk. Also in Kent, at Mere House in Mereworth, marvel at a breath-taking show of daffodils, swathes of which cover the lawns surrounding the handsome former rectory. Open days for the daffodils are held each spring. mere-house.co.uk Cliveden, near Maidenhead, was already known for its daffodil displays, but last year some 57 new varieties were added to the collection of different cultivars that grow in the South Terrace Ferneries, while 5,000 more Narcissus pseudonarcissus were planted to swell the numbers in the garden’s
IMAGES NATIONAL TRUST/JOHN MILLAR/HUGH MOTHERSOLE; GAP/NICOLA STOCKEN/ANDREA JONES
naturalised displays. nationaltrust.org.uk. At Clandon Park, near Guildford, a Palladian mansion that was almost destroyed by fire in 2015, throngs of daffodils were planted in the 1890s by William, 4th Earl of Onslow, a passionate horticulturist who started what is now considered to be one of the best pre-1930s collections of daffodils in the country. nationaltrust.org.uk In Wiltshire, the garden around Fonthill House is host to a healthy population of daffodils each March, shortly joined by azaleas and rhododendrons. fonthill.co.uk. In neighbouring Somerset, try Fairfield, near Bridgwater, which opens for the National Garden Scheme, to admire the woodland garden, illuminated in spring by masses of daffodils, fritillaries, wood anemones and bluebells. ngs.org.uk Cornwall’s Cotehele celebrates its Daffodil Festival each March. The daffodils here are mostly older varieties, some dating back to 1620. They used to be picked and sent to Plymouth by boat in the 18th century, later to Covent Garden by rail. nationaltrust.org.uk. Trelissick, meanwhile, holds a Daffodil Weekend in mid-March, when Cornwall’s daffodil breeders and growers showcase their plants in the stables. nationaltrust.org.uk Heading north, Felley Priory is a short hop from the M1 but you would never know it as you stand in peaceful grounds, surrounded by sunny blooms. The orchard here is an ocean of yellow, and head gardener Lindsey Ellis has been trying to identify the cultivars, which so far include ‘Beersheba’, ‘W.P. Milner’ and ‘Mrs R.O. Backhouse’, the first pink daffodil to be registered, in 1921. felleypriory.co.uk Daffodils have been growing at Bodnant in Conwy since 1920 and you can see them from January when cultivars such as ‘Cedric Morris’ bloom. N. cyclamineus follows in February, then in March and April the glades of Old Park meadow turn gold. nationaltrust.org.uk. The paddock in front of Powis Castle in Welshpool is also painted yellow when N. pseudonarcissus bloom. nationaltrust.org.uk In Cheshire, Dunham Massey Winter Garden celebrates its 11th birthday this year, but despite its relative youth, the display of daffodils as winter progresses into spring is no less impressive. There are well over 70 cultivars, from tall Narcissus ‘Glen Clova’ with its bold, dark-orange trumpet, to dainty ‘Tête-à-tête’. nationaltrust.org.uk
Top The grassy lawns
at Mere House in Kent feature thick swathes of daffodils in late March. Above A very unusual daffodil from the Backhouse daffodilbreeding dynasty.
Scottish daffodil enthusiasts are well served at the Backhouse Rossie Estate in Fife. Here, William Backhouse, an early pioneer of daffodil breeding, raised ‘Emperor’, ‘Empress’ and ‘Weardale Perfection’, the first triploid and tetraploid daffodils, which transformed subsequent breeding. It was his youngest son, Robert, who introduced the first pink daffodil, ‘Mrs R.O. Backhouse’, named after his wife, a daffodil breeder in her own right, who won an RHS award when she introduced ‘Moonbeam’ in 1901. Their son, William Ormston Backhouse, specialised in red-cupped narcissus. Now over 89 Backhouse cultivars are gathered in a National Collection at the estate. backhouserossie.co.uk Turreted Brodie Castle in the beautiful Moray countryside has been a place of pilgrimage for daffodil lovers for some time. Daffodils have been growing here since Tudor times, but when Major Ian Brodie inherited the castle in 1889, he focused on more unusual varieties. Another dedicated Scottish daffodil breeder, he named more than 400 varieties, many of which still grow here today. nts.org.uk ■ FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 51
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Brilliant BORDERS
Britain’s herbaceous borders are the envy of the world, and the gardens at Arley Hall in Cheshire and Abbots Ripton Hall in Cambridgeshire are renowned for their colourful examples FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 53
Journey for THE EYE Let the splendid double herbaceous borders of Cheshire’s Arley Hall set you off on a journey through an eight-acre garden of unexpected visual delights WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS NICOLA STOCKEN
Dawn breaks over Arley Hall’s famous double borders, their blue delphiniums and silvery thistles standing out.
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 55
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he gardens at Arley Hall vary greatly in character as each twist and turn of the pathways leads unpredictably from hushed inner sanctuaries to wide open spaces with far-reaching vistas. Ranging from enclosed courtyards bathed in soft sunbeams and fresh fragrances, to rose gardens of singular profusion and lavishly planted herbaceous borders, around each corner lie sights, sounds and scents designed to captivate and soothe. The estate is set amid parkland and a patchwork of fields and copses in Cheshire and has been owned by the same family since the 15th century. As head gardener Gordon Baillie explains: “The gardens have a special warmth and intimacy that derive from having been a much-loved family garden for many generations. The family are very engaged in every aspect of the gardens.” He notes that: “Lady Ashbrook takes an interest in the rose garden and herbaceous borders [believed to be England’s first] while Lord Ashbrook’s passion is the woodland.” Some specimens date back to the 1830s when the gardens were laid out by Lord Ashbrook’s great, great grandfather who had the foresight to plant a garden as much for his own pleasure as for generations to come. “He created the garden’s bones, planting the yew hedges and building walls to 56 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
Above The white alcove
building at one end of Arley’s famous double borders is Grade I listed. Thick yew buttresses are undergoing renovation.
create different areas,” says Gordon. Lord Ashbrook also planted one of the garden’s most remarkable features: an avenue of 14 clipped holm oaks. Standing eight metres tall, these cylindrical giants dwarf the gardeners who, balanced on ladders, spend weeks clipping them into shape each summer. Great gardens never stand still and the eight acres of formal pleasure gardens at Arley Hall, with their
Each twist and turn of the pathways leads unpredictably from hushed sanctuaries to wide-open spaces enduring blend of romance and inspired design, continue to evolve. Appointed in 2009, Gordon has instigated a rolling programme of improvements, starting in the heart of the garden and moving out to its corners. “I compare this approach to the ripple effect you get from dropping a stone – you keep standards high by never taking on more than you can maintain on a regular basis,” he explains. Even
though there is a five-strong team of gardeners, the gardens are extensive and different areas compete for attention. “It is tempting to blitz one area, but then by the time you return, it is back to how it was when you started and you’ve made no progress,” he adds. The main garden is divided into compartments, each with its own distinct personality. The Herb Garden is set apart, wedged between an enclave of scented plants and the Flag Garden, a parterre arrangement of roses and lavenders. After several twists and turns, the path then arrives at a large walled Kitchen Garden that is both productive and ornamental. “It was growing vegetables as a 14-yearold lad that led me into horticulture,” says Gordon. “I discovered that for every seed potato, you got back ten. After that realisation, I was hooked.”
Top left Silvery thistles
poke through dense plantings of astrantia, veronicastrum, cirsium and maroon berberis. Top right Head gardener Gordon Baillie. Above Tom Leaper’s Magnolia Fountain encircled by catmint and Alchemilla mollis.
A doorway leads from the Kitchen Garden to the one-acre Walled Garden. At its heart, the Magnolia Fountain (created by Tom Leaper) rests in a circular pond, enclosed by creamy dahlias, alchemilla and catmint. With the muted colour palette and broad green lawns, an air of calm descends before settling between the twin herbaceous borders. Flamboyant waves of flower and foliage flow for 90 metres between a Grade I listed alcove and two topiary sentinels to the south. “There’s no denying that these borders are the ‘jewel in the crown’,” says Gordon, “but the gardens also have so much more to offer.” The backdrop of yew hedges and buttresses – dividing the border into a series of bays – are an essential foil to the flowers. “An autumn clipping keeps the topiary looking crisp and fresh throughout winter and spring when it becomes the main focus of attention,” says Gordon. Last year, a brave decision was made to trim back nearly half of the yew hedges which, over the decades, had grown to such a splendid girth that cutting was decidedly hazardous. “For the first year, the brown stems were very visible, but they are quickly greening up. Yew is extraordinarily resilient,” he notes. The borders awake in spring with the striking combination of purple alliums and red berberis offset by burgeoning clumps of foliage. By June, splashes of creamy white come from astrantias, sanguisorbas or Clematis recta. “This is such a good herbaceous clematis,” points out Gordon. “The spring foliage is really intense in colour, followed by a long flowering season and attractive silky seedheads, so it doesn’t need deadheading.” Scottish thistles, meanwhile, add silvery flourishes above myriad blues that emerge from delphiniums, FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 57
Right The enormous
clipped cylinders of holm oak in the Ilex Avenue stand over 8m tall. Below The quadrants of the Flag Garden house roses, while lavender lines its paths.
aconites, salvias and campanulas, mingling with purple veronicastrum and cirsium, and soft golden Cephalaria gigantea, anthemis and thalictrum. “Hardy geraniums are more useful for their foliage than flowers because it helps to screen the stalks of taller perennials,” Gordon explains. By late summer, hotter colours emerge with phlox, bergamot, inulas, heleniums, crocosmias, rudbeckias and echinaceas. Finally, autumn brings asters, sedum and helianthus. The herbaceous borders are planted to flower from spring until the first frosts. “The later the frosts arrive, the sooner the clay soil becomes too heavy and claggy to work on,” says Gordon. He has noticed that winters seem to be at least a couple of weeks shorter than of old. “We used to prune wisteria in January, fruit in February and the roses in March – but now it all happens earlier.” This has a knock-on effect on dividing plants in autumn, 58 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
leaving any final tweaks until spring. As each perennial emerges, support is provided to encourage it to grow in its natural shape. “I hate to see a plant trussed up with string and canes,” he maintains. Throughout the main flowering season, Gordon makes observational notes. “Lady Ashbrook also identifies plants to move, either based on a planting combination that needs refining, or if an imbalance develops because too many flower at once within a small area,” he explains. The decision as to which plants to divide is a hard one. “We can’t divide every plant in the same season because it would so drastically reduce flowering the following year,” he points out. Instead, each autumn he divides one particular plant group that crops up throughout the borders – astrantias, thalictrums and sedums, for example. “However, we leave the delphiniums well alone – they don’t like to be touched!” he exclaims.
By late summer, hotter colours emerge with phlox, bergamot, inulas, heleniums and crocosmias On the other side of the yew hedge lies the Shrub Rose Garden, overlooked by the whimsical Tea House that draws the eye from different angles. Over time, the borders became dominated by herbaceous planting, to the point where it began to resemble a cottage garden, although, as Gordon concedes: “We’ve reined back some of the herbaceous plants to show off the shrub roses.” Today the herbaceous perennials are restricted to foxgloves, hollyhocks,
Belles of the HALL Arley’s large garden contains many lovely and long-flowering roses and perennials
ROSA ‘JOIE DE VIVRE’ Clusters of ruffled, peach-pink blooms appear in flushes throughout summer on this bushy, compact, 60cm shrub.
ROSA ‘BELLE DE CRÉCY’ An Old Rose with richly perfumed, cerise flowers that turn violet as they age. A strong grower, it reaches 1.5m tall.
CLEMATIS RECTA A handy herbaceous clematis for growing in a border, where it will romp among perennials to fill any gaps.
GERANIUM PRATENSE ‘PLENUM VIOLACEUM’
GERANIUM SANGUINEUM VAR. STRIATUM
A pretty, double-flowered cultivar of the meadow cranesbill, reaching 50cm tall.
Pink-veined flowers smother this lowgrowing hardy geranium from June.
KNIPHOFIA ‘TOFFEE NOSED’
ROSA ‘DOCTOR JO’
Golden-orange pokers appear around June and last well into August.
ROSA ‘HAPPY RETIREMENT’ A repeat-flowering Floribunda blooming from June through until the first frost.
This neatly compact Floribunda rose has apricot and pink flowers produced from early summer on 80cm tall plants.
ASTRANTIA ‘BUCKLAND’ Thought to be one of the longestflowering astrantias, ‘Buckland’ carries its soft pink flowers on wiry 60cm stems.
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 59
Crambe cordifolia and tall yellow verbascums silhouetted against the yew hedge. “And these plants are not repeated in the herbaceous borders,” says Gordon. “We actively avoid allowing individual plants to proliferate – it becomes monotonous when the same ones crop up again and again.” Keeping the roses in good condition is an ongoing challenge. While cutting back herbaceous planting around them has increased air flow, plant hygiene is key. “In winter, we clear away any leaves to remove black-spot spores,” says Gordon. No chemical sprays are used: instead, a homemade compost tea is used, and is proving to be reasonably effective. In addition, greenfly are eaten by a parasitic wasp, Aphidus
Above left Lobelia and
verbena displayed in terracotta pots. Above right The Tea House is a whimsical 19th-century folly in the Shrub Rose Garden. Below Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Boulevard’ domes around the pond.
colemani, which was originally introduced into the greenhouse nine years ago. “It is now resident throughout the garden – I often see it on the plants in summer,” says Gordon. Roses are once again the centre of attention in the Flag Garden, now that the original, worn-out bushes have been replaced. “But first, we removed a doublespade depth of soil from the beds, and replaced it with fresh soil from the kitchen garden, which is uncontaminated by rose-related diseases,” explains Gordon. One rose in particular stands out, Rosa ‘You’re Beautiful’, “a storming variety”, he enthuses.
Next door, hidden within the shelter of tall yew hedges and walls, lies the small, secretive Herb Garden The original, woody lavender lining the paths has also been replaced, with two compact L. angustifolia varieties, ‘Folgate’ and ‘Little Lady’ from The English Lavender Company. The bushes are kept in good shape with a quick tidy up as the flowers fade, with the main pruning deferred until spring. Next door, hidden within the shelter of tall yew hedges and walls, lies the small, secretive Herb Garden, which was originally laid out with the paths and beds all at the same level. “But whenever it rained heavily, the garden turned into a giant puddle,” Gordon recalls. The solution was to improve the drainage, so the edges to every bed were raised by around 10cm, the herbs removed, and sand and grit dug in. “Each herb was then returned to its original position,” he explains, “plus we added some 20 different varieties of mint.” There was a different challenge in the Fishpond Garden. “It was infested with mare’s tail,” admits Gordon. The only solution was to dispose of all the
60 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
TIPS FOR Brilliant Borders Gordon shares his advice on successfully maintaining herbaceous borders over a long season In early spring, mulch deeply with compost to suppress weeds and retain moisture in the event of a hot summer – Arley’s borders are covered in a blend of municipal compost and leafmould from the estate’s woodlands. Use groundcover plants such as hardy geraniums, tradescantia or salvias to help bind the taller plants together, which will hide bare stalks and stems. Grow plants such as campanulas with sufficient foliage to provide body and act as a constant foil to a succession of flowers. You wouldn’t want to be without campanulas – they provide a good amount of colour without being in your face: after all, not every plant can be a show-stopper. Repeat dominant clumps such as delphiniums, Scottish thistles, red hot pokers or anthemis to create a ripple effect that carries the eye effortlessly along the border.
Choose plant families such as aconites that include different varieties that will flower from spring through until autumn. Plant densely to restrict the growth of annual weeds. Ensure that plant supports become pretty much fully concealed by the perennials once they’re grown. If there’s one thing I hate to see it’s a line of canes sticking up around plants. Deadhead regularly, since one wave of flowering will give way to the next. In plastic pots grow late-flowering plants such as dahlias, salvias and other tender perennials, ready to plant in any gaps that appear when early-season plants die back. Keep careful notes throughout the season, identifying unhappy plants that might flourish in a different position, or congested clumps that need dividing.
old soil and replace it with new, and a volunteer charged with pulling out new shoots now visits every Monday. “Mare’s tail always returns, but we’ve now tipped the balance in our favour,” remarks Gordon, hopefully. A rectangular pond in the centre of this area is flanked by mature, greenish grey domes cut from juniper, Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Boulevard’, which makes a good alternative to clipped box. It is in the Walled Kitchen, however, that Gordon is able to indulge his chief passion for cultivating vegetables. Here he creates raised beds with wigwams of ‘Cupani’ sweet peas, alongside rows of sweetcorn, beetroot and cabbage, edged in alternating varieties of red or green lettuce. After studying for a degree in horticulture at Strathclyde University, he spent a period running a commercial bedding nursery: the experience proved to be pivotal. “I learned that my heart lies in growing plants and seeing them mature: gardening is for the long haul.” There can be few lovelier places to follow your heart than among the hidden spaces, stately trees and flower borders of Arley Hall. ■ Above The clock tower is a striking focal point in the Flag Garden, viewed above the splendid rose ‘You’re Beautiful’.
Arley Hall, Northwich, Cheshire CW9 6NA. The gardens are usually open daily, 10am to 5pm, but check the website for updates. Tel: +44 (0)1565 777353; arleyhallandgardens.com FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 61
62 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
Historic PRESENT The past is given vibrant immediacy at Abbots Ripton Hall near Huntingdon, where owners Lord and Lady De Ramsey are curators of historic architecture, landscaping and planting, from such names as Peter Foster, Lanning Roper and Beth Chatto WORDS GARETH RICHARDS PHOTOGRAPHS HOWARD RICE
This page Gothic trellis
added by Peter Foster marks the mid-point of the herbaceous borders.
Opposite The beautifully trained rose tunnel.
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T
he historic county of Huntingdonshire is, in parts, a place of quiet country lanes, majestic elms and wide arable fields. There is nothing but the distant hum of a tractor or the warbling of skylarks to break the sound of the breeze rolling in across the flat fen landscape. Lying almost exactly in the centre of the county, Grade II listed Abbots Ripton Hall was built in around 1720, and although it was altered in both the 19th and 20th centuries, it retains an elegant Georgian air. Twentieth century alterations came in the form of the addition of striking white-painted trelliswork and a loggia designed by Peter Foster – a nod to the 1700s craze for Chinoiserie that gripped the nation as trade expanded and the foundations of the British Empire were being laid. A local man, Foster was an architect who directed the restoration of Westminster Abbey. At Abbots Ripton he designed not only the loggia but also the follies that are dotted through the grounds. Prominent among them is a gothic hardwood trellis crossing at the centre of the garden’s enormous herbaceous borders, marking the point where they march off towards elegant gates leading to parkland beyond. Venerable trees, a canalised brook with four bridges and various themed gardens, complete the picture. It’s a complex and interesting site – and one that bears the influence of some of the 20th century’s most celebrated designers and plantspeople. Although the site has been inhabited since the 11th century, almost everything you can see today dates from the last three. A few intriguing relics remain (such as the monastic eel pond) to hint at the more distant past. In the 1930s, the current Lord De Ramsey’s parents moved into the estate, which had become dilapidated following a long period of neglect after World War I. Repairs, family life and then the outbreak of another war meant that the development of the garden didn’t begin in earnest for another 20 years. The bulk of the garden was laid out in the mid20th-century by the present Lord De Ramsey’s parents in conjunction with prominent post-war designers and garden makers Humphrey Waterfield, Jim Russell and Lanning Roper. Today the gardens cover a little more than eight acres set across a wider landscape of managed parkland, which includes a five-acre lake. It was Waterfield and the De Ramseys who laid out the magnificent double herbaceous Right The traditional borders, backed with Double Borders contain yew columns and a cheerful and colourful mix of border classics: billowing philadelphus. tall delphiniums, hardy These make a strong geraniums and phlox, the axis, leading away from tiered planting backed the rear of the house by yew hedging. 64 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 65
with its manicured lawn and imposing, centuries-old London plane tree. “The site has good trees and a bit of water, but it’s very flat – so you need surprises,” says John Fellowes, the current Lord De Ramsey. These designs cleverly lead you on, creating intrigue through a series of enclosed areas. John and his wife Alison, Lady De Ramsey, took over the reins of the estate in 1993, and have been planting, replanting and replacing as necessary ever since. Trees are a particular enthusiasm of theirs. From a network of friends in Britain and across the world, they have now collected more than 60 oaks, including many endangered varieties, along with some that are rarely seen in England such as the Shumard oak, Quercus shumardii. Elms are a particular speciality of the estate, which has several hundred mature specimens. Their billowing, leafy canopies speak of a lost England – since the arrival of a particularly virulent strain of Dutch elm disease in the 1960s, elm trees have all but vanished from the countryside. Huntingdonshire is one of their few strongholds and Abbots Ripton is full of them, thanks in part to genetic resistance from local elm varieties, and a ruthless felling programme for infected trees. Unexpectedly, some of the resistant trees on the estate recently set viable seed, so there’s renewed hope for a new generation of healthy, local elms. Back in the garden, planting is rich and varied, with over 1,660 recorded species and cultivars. Having such a total to hand is a by-product of the fact that plants are numbered rather than named, since plant labels used to disappear into the pockets of light-fingered visitors. A label with a number is somehow far less appealing to the casual voleur... Repeated rhythms of spires and clouds punctuate the long Double Borders. Delphiniums, lupins, dreamy white spires of white willowherb, (Chamaenerion angustifolium ‘Album’) leavened with fluffy clouds of plume poppies (Macleaya 66 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
Clockwise from above
Pyrus salicifolia ‘Pendula’ is set in a calm glade away from the colourful borders; elegant, urn-topped gates lead to parkland beyond the garden; climbing rose ‘Dorothy Perkins’; in the rose tunnel, roses are exquisitely trained along hoops and swags.
microcarpa and M. cordata) – and occasionally shot through with vibrant streaks of colour from plants such as alstroemeria hybrids, with variegated cordylines used as dot plants. Abundant campanulas and tradescantias provide contrasting cool pastels and blues, while shocking orange and yellow daylilies and brazenly magenta Geranium psilostemon up the colour ante. This use of vibrant zingy colours and startling combinations such as Euphorbia griffithii ‘Fireglow’ with pastel astrantias might appear to be a nod to Christopher Lloyd and his famous garden at Great Dixter. Certainly Lloyd was a great friend of the renowned garden designer Lanning Roper, who designed some of the plantings at Abbots Ripton, so perhaps this is an echo of the warm friendship between two of the 20th-century’s gardening greats. FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 67
Grief-stricken Princess Alice scrapped her garden, and with it a huge bed of irises – most of which she gave to the De Ramseys
An old wall of mellow red brick encloses what is perhaps the most intimate part of the garden, which is home to the Grey Border, greenhouses and pond. Designed by legendary plantswoman Beth Chatto in the 1950s, the Grey Border was “shockingly ahead of its time”, according to head gardener Gavin Smith. Roses, abutilons, geraniums, irises and artemisias mix with Agapanthus ‘Peter Pan’ and ‘Midnight Cascade’, backed with silver-leafed willows and whitebeams. Here the garden’s stiff boulder clay has been replaced with sandier soil to help the more drought-loving plants thrive. Some of the irises have quite a history. Princess Alice, the old Duchess of Gloucester, was a friend of Lord De Ramsey senior. Their sons were firm friends until Prince William of Gloucester was tragically killed racing an aeroplane at the age of just 31. The grief-stricken princess scrapped her garden, and with it a huge bed of irises – Above An immaculate, most of which she gave wide-striped lawn is a to the De Ramseys. perfect match for the They still grow in the elegant white trelliswork. garden today: ‘Green Left Try ‘Cotswold Queen’ for similar yellow Ice’, ‘Pigeon’, ‘Pierre spires of verbascum. Menard’ and baby Far left Old oaks by the blue ‘Jane Phillips’ are thatched summerhouse among them. date back to the 1600s.
Perennial CLASSICS Traditional roses and perennials combine to give the Abbots Ripton garden a timeless atmosphere
ALSTROEMERIA Choose a refined cultivar of these clump-forming plants, such as ‘Orange Glory’ rather than the invasive species.
DELPHINIUMS High-maintenance, but worth the effort of staking each spire and protecting from slugs for these vivid flowers.
CLEMATIS ‘PRINCESS DIANA’ A texensis type with trumpetshaped flowers in a beautiful, glowing magenta-pink.
EUPHORBIA GRIFFITHII Choose ‘Fireglow’ for bold orange bracts, but watch for wayward advancing shoots.
ROSA ‘JENS MUNK’
INULA RACEMOSA
Fragrant mauve-pink flowers appear from June to July on this rugosa rose, with a second, autumn flush too.
This bristly member of the daisy family is a classic for borders. Keep this tall and robust grower at the back.
Roses feature in Above The Grey Border, home to artemisias and many parts of the silver-leafed willows, had garden. Colourful its drainage improved by shrub roses adorn the replacing the boulder borders, and rugosas clay with sandier soil. such as Rosa ‘Jens Munk’ scent the air. A rose tunnel – also designed by Beth Chatto – strikes off in a south-easterly direction from the walled garden. Swathed in a mixture of climbers, ramblers and shrub roses trained as climbers, it is a pure delight in summer. The more vigorous ramblers, such as ‘Rambling Rector’ are kept in check by frequent summer pruning. Much better behaved, the small climber ‘Gloriana’ is a particular favourite for its very long flowering season, beautiful blooms and disease resistance. “Gardens are living things and if they’re not loved they slowly dwindle away,” says Lord De Ramsey. There is no chance of that happening here: this garden is awash with care and love, not just from its owners but also from Gavin Smith, head gardener here for 27 years now, and his colleague Darren Smalley. With such dedication, sensitivity to the past and a forward-looking approach, the gardens at Abbots Ripton should continue to flourish for many years to come. ■ Group visits only by arrangement. Visit abbotsriptonhall.co.uk for information. FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 69
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PLANT FOCUS
The large, bold flowers of Iris unguicularis are a cheering sight when they appear from February.
Early Risers Val Bourne revels in the clear, bright colours of the early-flowering miniature iris, an energising tonic for gardeners at this time of year PHOTOGRAPHS CLIVE NICHOLS FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 71
PLANT FOCUS
E
arly March is often dominated by the yellow of daffodils, so miniature irises provide a welcome colour contrast with their upright stance, tufts of green foliage and richly embroidered flowers, mostly in purple, blue, violet and sapphire hues. They’re miniature tapestries against the bare earth, the jewels in the spring crown, and they reveal their presence reassuringly early, with plump pointed spears often piercing the ground by November, before flowering in March. These diminutive irises need careful placing so that they’re in open light by mid-autumn. They also need a warm and reasonably well-drained situation, such as a south-facing border or the sunny side of a 72 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
Above Iris histrioides is
reliably hardy – ‘Lady Beatrix Stanley’, shown here, is a brighter blue form of this excellent garden species.
wall, for many of these miniatures hail from the bare mountain slopes of Western Asia, usually at around 1,500m. They like to have cool roots in warm weather, however, so they fare well planted between or behind summer-flowering perennials like potentillas. Some of these irises come back reliably well, others less so, but you can treat miniature irises as annuals, for most are inexpensive and versatile whether grown in a pot, border, or raised bed. Plant them deeply in the ground, to a depth of 10cm, which helps the bulbs return, and plant groups of five or seven bulbs to encourage them to form clumps. It’s also possible to force potfuls by placing them in frames or unheated greenhouses. Line them along the shelves of a plant theatre so you can best appreciate their strong scent. In the garden, the strongest and most likely to return year on year is Iris histrioides, a true-blue miniature with larger standards and falls. The original species was collected in Northern Turkey in 1892 by Sir Michael Foster (18361907), although he thought it more useful as a conservatory plant and didn’t risk planting it in his chalky, sloping Cambridge garden where most of his other bulbs and irises thrived. Often dubbed ‘the father of iris breeding’, Sir Michael counted Charles Darwin and Thomas Huxley among his friends. His great, great granddaughter, Lucy Skellorn, now holds a Plant Heritage collection of his irises near Stowmarket in Suffolk. Iris histrioides is reliable and hardy, returning year after year even in my cold Cotswold garden. ‘Angel’s Tears’ is a selected form with voluptuous mid-blue flowers, although it’s hard to find now. The more readily available ‘Lady Beatrix Stanley’ has bluebirdblue flowers that are immensely striking, rather like the lady herself. The ample falls, delicately veined and spotted with white, have a mere smidgeon of yellow that could pick up a nearby miniature narcissus such as the rather ragged double ‘Rip Van Winkle’. The foliage of ‘Lady Beatrix Stanley’ is obligingly short at flowering time, but afterwards it reaches a foot in height and stays in leaf until early summer, replenishing the bulb for next year.
Above left A breeding
IMAGE GAP/VISIONS PREMIUM
breakthrough: yellow ‘Katharine’s Gold’. Above right Iris ‘Fabiola’ with violet-blue petals, veined on the outside. Below right Iris reticulata ‘Sheila Ann Germaney’ is distinctively blue-veined. Below left The reddishpurple and yellow flowers of Iris ‘J S Dijt’.
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 73
PLANT FOCUS
Above left ‘Palm Springs’ forms substantial clumps of indigo-blue flowers. Above right Smoky blue-grey and yellow Iris ‘Katharine Hodgkin’, an excellent choice for pots. Below right Plum-purple ‘George’ has an exquisite, dark, velvety sheen. Below left ‘Cantab’ was named by E. A. Bowles.
74 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
Lady Beatrix Stanley (1877-1944), who also has a wonderful double snowdrop named after her, used to go plant hunting with fellow bulb enthusiast Edward Augustus Bowles (1865-1954) throughout the 1920s. Bowles referred to her as ‘Aunt Bea’ and it’s believed likely that this brighter blue form was discovered and collected by her in the wild. Delicate Iris reticulata has slender flowers in a wider range of colours, from pale to deep-blue, violet and reddish purple, and there are usually buttercupyellow blotches. It was introduced into Britain in 1808 and is the most widely distributed species, found in mountain meadows and rocky hillsides in Eastern Turkey, the Caucasus, Northern Iraq and throughout Iran. However, in certain parts of its range, I. reticulata overlaps with I. histrioides and the wisteria-blue-and-violet-flowered I. reticulata var. bakeriana, a Turkish species found in rocky places. It means many of the forms collected in the wild are likely bee-pollinated hybrids between two or even three species, giving them greater vigour. Dutch bulb breeders have also created hybrids, sometimes using I. kolpakowskiana, a notoriously difficult species with violet flowers and dark tips on the falls. The primrose-yellow, moisture-loving I. winogradowii, collected in 1914, was also added to the gene pool, along with I. reticulata var. bakeriana. I. danfordiae, a yellow Turkish species that was collected by Mrs Danford in 1876 and is difficult to grow because it habitually splits into tiny offsets, is also in the mix. All of the resulting hybrids and species with this very varied parentage are known as reticulate irises because the bulbs have a loose covering that looks like netting. Other enthusiasts have also hybridised their irises. E. B. Anderson (1885-1971) produced a muted grey-blue iris seedling in his Gloucestershire garden, after crossing blue I. histrioides ‘Major’ with paleyellow I. danfordiae. Anderson’s cross produced just two seeds, and only one of those survived to produce blue-freckled, smoky-grey flowers. He named it ‘Katharine Hodgkin’ in 1958, after fellow bulb enthusiast Eliot Hodgkin’s wife. While it looks stunning in a pot, its greyish flowers can get lost against the soil in spring. Others copied the same cross, resulting in two more very similar irises. ‘Sheila Ann Germaney’ is a stronger blue and stands out better, while ‘Frank Elder’ is the palest of all. E. B. Anderson also distributed the winter-flowering mid-blue Iris unguicularis ‘Mary Barnard’, collected near Algiers by Mary Barnard of Honiton, and the silver-grey ‘Walter Butt’ collected by a friend in Algiers. ‘Katharine Hodgkin’ was a breakthrough in terms of breeding miniature irises, but it was sterile so it couldn’t be used to make more stock. However, its arrival inspired a Canadian hybridiser, Alan McMurtrie, to examine the possibilities of using Iris
Above Containers show these diminutive plants off to their best, and stop them getting lost against dark soil. This iris is deep-blue ‘Harmony’.
danfordiae to create new irises in a wider range of colours. In 1985 Alan travelled to Turkey, where he discovered a form of I. danfordiae that was diploid (meaning its cells contain two complete sets of chromosomes) increasing the chances of successful hybridisation and the production of viable seeds. He was able to cross this with I. reticulata subsp. sophenensis and then waited patiently for five years until his first-generation seedlings flowered. Some 30 years later, in February 2015, Alan McMurtrie exhibited at a London RHS Show, astonishing gardeners with the range of colours he’d been able to produce. ‘Scent Sational’, ‘Eye Catcher’, ‘Spot On’, ‘Storm’ and ‘Mars Landing’ were all raised by him and new colours included browns, greens and oranges. ‘Katharine’s Gold’, a wonderful Dutch-bred yellow iris, the result of a rare seedling from the normally sterile ‘Katharine Hodgkin’, was also exhibited at the same show. All are diminutive, with small flowers, so are best in pots, and all have become more available and more affordable, giving grateful gardeners a plethora of options. ■ FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 75
PLANT SWATCH
The Elephant in the Room Unmissable bergenias have big, glossy, often colourful leaves that lend them the common name of ‘elephant ears’, plus pretty spires of flowers in spring
While most bergenias start to flower in March, it’s during winter and early spring that they really prove their worth. Tough and robust, they’ll grow virtually anywhere, coping well with tricky exposed sites or dry conditions to reliably cover the ground with their squeakily glossy leaves. In colder temperatures the leaves of many bergenias develop tints of red, bronze and purple to add to the display – ‘Sakura’, which is part of Proven Winners’ Dragonfly Series, is no exception. They’re shiny green in summer, but when winter comes, the foliage turns a deep shade of purple-black. In March, it produces its flowers in pretty shades of baby pink, reaching around 30-40cm tall. Other bergenia cultivars with flowers in pale pink include ‘Schneekoenigin’, ‘Beethoven’ and ‘Schneekissen’.
76 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
‘Bressingham White’ Pure white flowers go so prettily with bergenias’ green leaves, and ‘Bressingham White’ is one of the best cultivars to go for if you enjoy this colour scheme, since it is both easy to grow and vigorous. Like all bergenias it can cope with tough growing conditions, such as shade beneath trees, but will shine all the more brightly for being given plenty of sunlight. Bergenias can also be grown in containers, and relish this rare chance to be in the spotlight. For even more spring impact, try combining them in a pot with a white variety of tulip, such as ‘Hakuun’ or green-tinged ‘Spring Green’. Bergenia flowers are also good for cutting and work particularly well as part of a spring posy containing daffodils and grape hyacinths.
‘Overture’ If you prefer bold colours, this variety is a good choice with its flower spikes of deep magentapink. Others to choose from in this vibrant colour range include ‘Abendglocken’, ‘Sunningdale’, ‘Bressingham Ruby’ and Bergenia cordifolia ‘Purpurea’. All are renowned for their crimson-purple leaf colouration during winter, which is strongest when they are grown in a sunny position. One way to highlight this bounty of deep, rich colour during an otherwise bleak time of year is to grow snowdrops through their leaves. The dainty and delicate white flowers seem all the more so for their backdrop of lustrous, resilient bergenia leaves. Perhaps try both beneath a winterflowering shrub such as daphne or witch hazel, to create a fragrant and colourful winter vignette.
IMAGES PROVEN WINNERS; ALAMY; SHUTTERSTOCK
‘Sakura’
HELLEBORES
Rodney Davey’s marbled hellebores are ideal container plants. Shown here is the pearlescent ‘Molly’s White’.
Marble Run
Jacky Hobbs delights in Rodney Davey’s hellebores, a unique range with intricately mottled leaves and bright flowers
PHOTOGRAPHS CLIVE NICHOLS
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 77
HELLEBORES
H
ellebores have long been appreciated for the cheer and sumptuous colour they bring to the winter garden. Their brave blooms may wilt in the severest of frosts, but they pick themselves back up to stand, heads nodding, through inclement weather. Over the decades, dedicated breeders have seized upon their good looks and developed a broad range of hellebores in an ever-increasing range of desirable colours, pattern and form. One of those breeders, hellebore specialist Rodney Davey, doggedly pursued an untrodden path. His complex, multiple interspecies crosses resulted in a breakthrough range of stunning hellebores unlike any other. The Rodney Davey Marbled Group, a collection of 12 unique cultivars, refers not as one might imagine to the speckles and picotee patterns found on many desirable blooms, but to the plants’ beautifully veined and marbled foliage, expertly drawn from the gene pool of the parent plants. Not only are these hellebores’ leaves uniquely veined, the foliage is also evergreen, adding another dimension to these decoratively enhanced plants. Flushed and frequently blushed, the new season’s foliage provides decoration before the extraordinary flowers bloom. The leaves intensify in colour in spring and summer, while their longevity makes these hellebores an asset in winter pots and borders. The flowers are brilliant, saturated, vivacious blooms with intense jewel-like colours. Reds range from garnet ‘Anna’s Red’ to ‘Reanna’s Ruby’. Amethyst ‘Dana’s Dulcet’ is the darkest of the group; ‘Penny’s Pink’ a beautiful carmine; ‘Sally’s Shell’ and ‘Dorothy’s Dawn’ have graduated flowers. The crisp, opal-white flowers of ‘Molly’s White’ and the snow-white, claret-trimmed ‘Glenda’s Gloss’ offer bright, illuminated blooms to the otherwise rich and sumptuous collection. All the flowers are bold, simple, large singles, their rounded petals pinned at the centre with an impressive boss of golden stamens. No nonsense, no frills, no anemone centres, no doubles: they have immediate impact. Rodney Davey’s hellebores are not shy or downward-looking; their confident, outward-facing blooms look you right in the eye as they rise, strong and sturdy, above their glorious foliage. These are vigorous plants with incredibly long-lasting flowers that bud in December and carry their decorative sepals right through to April. They stand as well in the vase as they do in the garden. It has taken years of dedication for these multifaceted hellebores to come to fruition. At his former nursery in Devon, Rodney sowed thousands of seeds, scrutinising each single hand-reared seedling with his keen-eyed partner, Lynda Windsor, who is renowned for her ability to quickly spot the ‘out of the ordinary’. From every batch of seedlings, 78 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
Above The attractive
veined leaves of Helleborus ‘Dorothy’s Dawn’, crown a weathered stone urn.
countless numbers are rejected to leave just two or three specimens with a glimmer of potential. Unlocking the desirable characteristics of individual species and combining them in one plant requires vision, tenacity and persistence. Ultimately, Rodney’s life’s work has brought just rewards, with the successful creation of this revolutionary range. Unlike his remarkable blooms, Rodney Davey is not one for the limelight. He has always kept a low profile and is now, at least commercially, retired. However, not before bringing his blooms successfully to market. In 2009 he invited John Massey, fellow hellebore expert, breeder and founder of Ashwood Nurseries, to take a look at his new cultivars. “I could immediately see that Rodney had made a real breakthrough,” John recalls. John was given a precious clutch of the plants, which he trialled in his own garden. “They were not just showy, they performed brilliantly, despite the really harsh winter of 2009-10 when they endured
Rodney Davey’s HELLEBORES These exquisite hellebores flower from January to April in shades of white, pink, plum and red, many delicately spotted or with a picotee edge, the blooms held above prettily marbled leaves
‘Penny’s Pink’
‘ Reanna’s Ruby’
‘Pippa’s Purple’
‘Anna’s Red’
‘Molly’s White’
‘Cheryl’s Shine’
‘Dorothy’s Dawn’
‘Glenda’s Gloss’
‘Charmer’
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 79
HELLEBORES colleague Kevin Belcher. Left ‘Penny’s Pink’ in a terracotta pot. A top Hellebores in the dressing of moss is a Ashwood Evolution lovely finishing touch, Group have similarly ensuring the flowers outward-facing flowers, are the stars. but held over deciduous, unmarbled foliage. They do, however, come in an alluring range of yellow and apricot hues, which John gave to Rodney, hoping he might be able to introduce additional shades to the predominantly red, purple and pink varieties in the Marbled Group. With John’s help, Rodney’s plants have quickly come on stream. Dutch micropropagation has fasttracked more traditional vegetative reproduction and made thousands of replica plants available across Europe and America. Now, British commercial grower The Bransford Webbs Plant Company (not open to the general public) supplies direct to garden centres across the country making these remarkable hellebores widely available. Rodney Davey’s plants have undoubtedly raised the profile of hellebores in the garden, in pots and as long-lasting cut flowers. ■ Ashwood Nurseries, Ashwood Lower Lane, Kingswinford, West Midlands DY6 0AE. Tel: +44 (0)1384 401996; ashwoodnurseries.com
GROWING ADVICE
freezing temperatures between -10°C and -19°C for a prolonged period of three weeks,” he says. Enthusiastically, and with Rodney’s blessing, John launched the Rodney Davey Marbled Group hellebores at the Royal Horticultural Society’s February Plant Fair in 2012. ‘Anna’s Red’, the first in the series, named after gardening correspondent Anna Pavord, was a great hit. “Its fresh, young foliage emerges green, tinged pink at the midrib. Because its flowers are outward facing, rich-red and last for so long, it makes an excellent container plant,” notes John. In addition, whereas most coloured garden hybrids are no good as cut flowers, other than floating in a bowl of water, ‘Anna’s Red’, according to John, “will drink and stand upright as a cut flower for at least a week to ten days.” The second introduction was even more alluring: ‘Penny’s Pink’, named after Penelope Hobhouse, “develops a gun-metal, pewtery sheen to its deep, dusky pink petals as the flowers mature,” John says. Intense-pink, speckle-faced ‘Charmer’ is another gem and, together with ‘Molly’s White’, represents the most popular of the series. Ashwood Nurseries has its own auspicious hellebore introductions of course, bred by John’s 80 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
Maximising marbled hellebores John Massey’s tips for success with the Rodney Davey Marbled Group and other specimen hellebores In the garden, harden off new plants in pots for a week before planting. Choose a front-ofborder site in full winter sun with herbaceous summer shade. Avoid planting in frozen earth, and loosen the topsoil around the neck of plants. Loosely mulch annually with spent mushroom compost and remove the evergreen foliage only if it becomes tatty. New, flushed foliage emerges in March and April. In containers, plant three to four hellebores together in a 45-60cm diameter pot, using
general-purpose compost. Apply a diluted liquid feed such as an organic seaweedbased fertiliser from August onwards to sustain vigour, retain the marbled leaf quality and promote multiple blooms. After three years, plant your hellebores out in the garden. For vases, cut flowering stems and condition them overnight by first standing them in 2cm of boiling water, before topping up with cold water. Arrange in clean vessels with a sprinkle of flower food or a dash of bleach to help further prolong vase life.
PLANT STORY
Blade Runner Many gardeners know the name Karl Foerster from the various grasses named after him – but who was he?
WORDS SARAH FEELEY IMAGE SHUTTERSTOCK
T
he notion of grass being the hair of Mother Nature came from Karl Foerster, the German plantsman, nurseryman, plant breeder and writer. His name is inextricably linked with grasses – most famously Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’. Born in 1874 in Berlin to an astronomer father and an artist mother, the young Foerster was an apprentice gardener at a castle nursery in Schwerin, Germany. He then studied under plant breeder and landscape architect Ludwig Winter, who created ecological gardens that slotted into the natural landscape. This made a big impression on Foerster, who developed a style using large drifts of tall, hardy plants in gardens that flowed into the landscape. By then his parents owned a nursery in Berlin, and in 1903 Foerster set about
revamping it, selecting plants for beauty, resilience and endurance. Four years later, the first Foerster catalogue was printed, and an article he wrote about cold-hardy Japanese chrysanthemums was published. When the nursery moved to Potsdam, he transformed 1.25 acres of agricultural land, with great success. Rather than the traditional view of plants as colouring material to be replaced after flowering, for Foerster each plant was an individual, and he emphasised the importance of an interplay of appearance, colour and fragrance in seasonal succession. He gave his first lecture on cold-hardy perennials in 1910, and in 1912 started to cultivate perennials for exhibitions and experiments. He aimed to enhance a plant’s best qualities and make it more robust without changing its essence. A few years later, he redesigned the landscape around
the palace of Cecilienhof, using grasses to soften planting, and introducing perennials, grasses and ferns from around the world, many of which didn’t need staking. After World War I, his book Vom Blütengarten der Zukunft (From the Blooming Garden of the Future) was published. He became a renowned breeder of delphiniums, producing around 70 cross-breeds and the cultivar ‘Berghimmel’ in 1920. Joining forces with two landscape architects, he transformed the town of Bornim into a magnet for gardeners. In the Nazi era, Foerster employed many Jewish friends, and defied Nazi demands to propagate and sell only native German plants. He made show gardens in Germany and beyond, and in 1950 received an honorary doctorate from Humboldt University. The same decade saw him introduce Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’. This clump-forming perennial grass is hardy and fast growing. A classic of prairie schemes, its soft, feathery green plumes mature into wheat-coloured spikes. Karl died in 1970 aged 96 at his home in Bornim. Today, his garden is managed by his daughter and is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. ■ FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 81
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CRAFTSPEOPLE
Hearts of Stone Siblings Lydia and Cuthbert Noble are passionate about dry stone walling. Louise Curley finds out how they use traditional techniques in new ways to create beautiful garden structures PHOTOGRAPHS NEIL HEPWORTH Sister and brother, Lydia and Cuthbert, working in tandem on one of their projects.
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 83
CRAFTSPEOPLE
D
ry stone walling is a technique that uses stones to create structures without mortar to hold them together. By placing the stones like a 3-D jigsaw, it’s possible to create immensely strong compositions. The technique grew out of necessity and practicality – it was most common where there were large quantities of stone above ground and where hedges weren’t an option because the climate, elevation, strong winds and thin soils meant plants struggled. This is why it’s so often seen in upland areas, such as the Yorkshire Dales, the Lake District and the Pennines, where it is used to enclose agricultural land and has become an iconic part of the landscape. In Britain the history of dry stone building stretches back at least 3,500 years to the prehistoric settlement of Skara Brae on Orkney and the Iron Age brochs of northern and western Scotland, structures that still stand today despite bearing the brunt of Atlantic storms for thousands of years. Yet after World War II, dry stone walling declined as fencing became a cheaper and quicker way to secure farmland. However, in recent years there has been an upsurge in interest as its value as a definer of ‘localness’ in the landscape has found greater appreciation, and the environmental value of repairing and building these walls has been recognised. There are an estimated 125,000 miles of dry stone walls in Britain (a survey in 1988 recorded 5,000 miles in the Yorkshire Dales alone) and all the nooks and crannies in those walls provide important habitats for insects, small mammals and a diversity of plant life, including lichens, ferns and mosses. Sister and brother Lydia and Cuthbert Noble, aged 23 and 26 respectively, come from a long line of stone wallers and masons. “We’ve traced back as far as five generations, but potentially there might be more,” says Lydia. Their family has been working with the local sandstone in and around the village of Shepley in West Yorkshire, for more than 200 years. “Our great-great-uncle Henry built the first school we went to,” she notes. They learnt their craft from their father, William, a Dry Stone Wall Association (DSWA) Master Craftsman, as they were growing up. They were filmed for the children’s TV programme Teletubbies (you can still watch it online) helping their dad build a wall – Lydia was only two and Cuthbert, who was already a dab hand with a walling hammer, four. “We were surrounded by walling as kids, but neither of us thought of doing it as a job. I was going to be a sound engineer until I damaged my hearing,” 84 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
Clockwise from top left Walling hammers
waiting to be used; marking a semi-circle before cutting a coping stone to size; shaping the stone; Lydia places upright coping stones into position to straddle the top of the wall.
explains Lydia. “And I wanted to get really good at oil painting, so I went to Central St Martin’s and Wimbledon College of Art,” adds Cuthbert. After graduating, Cuthbert joined Lydia dry stone walling while he worked out what he was going to do next – they’ve been a team ever since. “Cuthbert’s definitely got the more artistic eye and I guess I’m a bit better at the fine detail,” says Lydia. “I’m a little more patient. As for inspiration, we look to other wallers such as Andrew Loudon and Matt Carter, who both do a lot of design work. And we’re both interested in historic buildings, ancient architecture and garden design. I’ve got a book by Gertrude Jekyll that’s all about ornamental garden features. A lot of it is masonry, mortared work, but I often look through it for ideas.” “We go on holiday specifically to places where there’ll be walls,” adds Cuthbert. “Last summer I dragged my girlfriend around all sorts of walling sites in France!”
“We use walling hammers made from tempered steel, which is good for breaking stone,” Lydia continues. “One end has a sharp cutting edge and the other a flat end; we use these for dressing stone. But the best tool is your eye. You’re constantly scanning a pile of stones to see what you’ve got. Every time you put a stone on a wall you think about what will go on top of it and what will go either side of it. Then you’re looking to see if it’s straight. My dad always says: ‘If it looks right, it is right.’” While a lot of their work is building and repairing walls in the traditional way, brother and sister are increasingly asked to work on garden projects. Creating gardens with a ‘sense of place’ by using local building materials and crafts is an increasingly common theme in garden design, and this is bringing crafts like dry stone walling into a new realm. In recent years dry stone walls have been a feature of several show gardens at RHS Chelsea. Lydia
Above Sorting stones by size, so the largest can go at the base and smaller ones at the top, is always the first task. Right Tempered steel hammers are ideal for breaking and shaping stones to size.
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 85
CRAFTSPEOPLE
Right This structure is inspired by the shepherds’ huts in the mountains of Europe. Below right Sister-andbrother team, Lydia and Cuthbert Noble. Below The pair are often asked to help create a ‘sense of place’ using local materials.
86 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
has worked on some of these gardens herself, most recently in 2018, with Andrew Loudon, on the artisan garden A Very English Garden, creating walls, paving and a half-domed niche seating area – all intricately crafted from stone. As Lydia points out, pretty much any hard landscaping feature in a garden can incorporate the dry stone technique, whether it’s retaining walls, raised beds, steps, benches, sculptures, pillars, arched gateways, niches in walls, planting pockets or paving. One of Lydia’s most prestigious projects was a stunning beehive-like structure she built along with another young dry stone waller, Adam Clarke, for a private garden in West Yorkshire. “There had been a stone building in the garden that was flattened in a storm when a tree was blown down,” Lydia recalls. “They asked me if I could rebuild it, so I showed them a few photos of buildings that had been created on the Isle of Skye by Andy Loudon, and I did a few drawings for them inspired by the shepherds’ huts in the mountains of Italy, France and Spain.” The construction used reclaimed stone from the site as well as newly quarried stone, and incorporated a circular opening in the domed roof, splayed windows and a cantilevered seat. It won the pair the DSWA Pinnacle award, the highest honour the association bestows. “It took us a winter to build,” Lydia recalls. “Before we started we had to think about how much the roof would weigh so we could work out how wide the walls would need to be. There are about 50 tonnes of stone in the whole building and about 20 tonnes in the roof and it’s all self-supporting. We also the built the inside first and
Right One of the designs previously constructed by Lydia and Cuthbert. Below The interior of the beehive structure with its circular roof opening, which won Lydia a DSWA Pinnacle award. Bottom The new ‘sunburst’ seating area made from stones placed on their sides.
then the outside so that it’s watertight.” The clients were so happy that they called Lydia back, this time joined by her brother. “They initially wanted a seating area of just flags, but we suggested we could do something different within their budget,” says Cuthbert. The design, built last summer, consists of stones laid on their side, radiating out from a central point like a sunburst. Cuthbert and Lydia each recently gained their Master Craftsman certificate, becoming the youngest dry stone wallers in the world ever to achieve the ultimate standard in the business. To pass, they had to prove they could build the trickiest of designs, such as steps, pillars and arches. In these young hands this ancient craft is flourishing. “Walling is almost like a religion for us; we’re completely obsessed by it,” says Cuthbert. “Even in the worst weather I find myself with a smile on my face,” adds Lydia. ■ Noble Stonework. Tel: +44 (0)7557 399978 or +44 (0)7837 582589; noblestonework.com FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 87
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BOTANICAL BOOKS
WORDS PHOEBE JAYES IMAGE HIGHGROVE ROYAL GARDENS
Watercolour plate of Rhododendron basilicum by Lizzie Sanders, from the Highgrove Florilegium (2008).
Shelf Life
The earliest botanical books date back to the 15th century. Amazingly, copies still exist and can form a collection alongside contemporary limited-edition offerings
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 89
BOTANICAL BOOKS
T
he first botanical books to be printed on paper were those writings on the medicinal uses of plants known as ‘herbals’. They didn’t contain anything very innovative for the time – rather, they were inky presentations of ideas put forth as far back as the first century by Pliny the Elder and other polymaths of the Roman Empire. The earliest published herbals originated in Germany. German Herbarius (1485) was a foundation for many later publications, and it was followed by Otto Brunfels’ Herbarum vivae eicones, which includes woodcuts drawn from nature – stem bends, leaf rips and all – and finally De Historia Stirpium by Leonhart Fuchs, which made notable original observations alongside its intricate illustrations. Though the earliest recorded print occurred in 1454, the Caxton press didn’t start up in Westminster until 1476. Finally, Wynkyn de Worde, a printer cuttingly described by Edwardian librarian E. G. Duff as issuing “small popular books of a kind to attract the general public”, published a translation of De proprietatibus rerum in around 1496, and so began the hefty output of English-written herbals. To highlight a few, the physician William Turner was the first to produce an English herbal from his own observations in 1551, while John Gerard and John Parkinson published reputed works soon after. These distinguished herbalists kept botanic gardens, 90 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
Top An ‘after’ slide from an unpublished Humphry Repton manuscript of Waresley Park, Huntingdonshire in the RHS Lindley Library. Above A garden plan from The Theory and Practice of Gardening by Dezallier d’Argenville, at the British Library.
in which they grew the rare and exotic plants that enlivened their work. Parkinson, who was Royal Botanist to Charles I, describes 28 species that were not previously recorded in Britain in his Theatrum Botanicum, including lady’s slipper orchid and the Welsh poppy. Meanwhile, Wynken de Worde printed the first book on gardening in England in 1520. Gardens were then seen as places in which to cultivate vegetables, herbs, fruit and medicinal plants, rather than plants for beauty’s sake. Fruit tree cultivation in particular was deemed important, and the shrewd printer didn’t miss a trick with his The Crafte of Graftynge and Plantunge of Trees. The book did well despite what botanical writer Blanche Henrey calls ‘its medieval gardening beliefs’. Then, from 1563, Thomas Hill, an astrologer, author and translator, contributed his engaging books to horticulture. Though, as with the early herbals, much of their knowledge is taken from the works of men long deceased, they contain some of the bestknown illustrations of formal Elizabethan gardens. The Restoration period saw book prints increase and broaden in scope. Botany became a science in its own right, rather than being of interest only in so far as it contributed to medicine. An apothecary called Thomas Johnson wrote the first British flora, Mercurius, after several plant hunting trips, and later Leonard Plukenet’s catalogue of plants had more new plates than had ever been published.
IMAGES THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM; RHS LINDLEY COLLECTIONS; BRITISH LIBRARY 1601/534 PLATE 4A
The Royal Society was established in 1660, and botanical lectures began soon after. A notable member of the Society in those early days was John Evelyn, who, once it became apparent that England was cutting down a lot more timber than it was planting (plus ça change) was commissioned to come up with proposals for planting new trees. This he did with a curiosity and verve that would make him the most reputed horticultural writer of his time. Sylva influenced tree cultivation for many years after. Further innovations around this time include John Parkinson’s Paradisi in sole, paradisus terrestris, a horticultural treatise that assigns plants to certain types of garden and explains how they should be grown, and the manuscripts of Nehemiah Grew and Marcello Malpighi, filled with anatomical drawings. Through the 18th century, botanical literature was enriched by illustrations, sometimes coloured by hand, with descriptions of exciting new plants. Commercial nurseries were popping up around the UK, and nurserymen would bring back rare specimens from their travels abroad. Gardens also played a big part in the advancement of botanical knowledge. Elizabeth Blackwell was one of the first women to publish a botanical book in the UK, and her illustrations of medicinal plants were drawn and coloured from life, with specimens taken from the Chelsea Physic Garden. The list of recommendations from leading botanists and physicians of the day is another unusual element in A Curious Herbal. Blackwell was keen for the book to be a success, following the financial ruin of her husband.
Above left Elisha Kirkall
mezzotint plate from Catalogus Plantarum by the Society of Gardeners (1730), held by the British Museum. Above right Engraved pictorial title page from Paradisi in sole by John Parkinson (1567-1650) in the RHS Lindley Library.
More works started popping up in colour. John Martyn’s Historia plantarum rariorum features colour-printing from a single metal plate. These ‘mezzotint’ prints were made by Elisha Kirkall, who seemed to favour the colour green, seeing as most of them are done in a deep pine shade. The writings of William Curtis, who undertook many herborizing excursions during his lifetime, were enriched by watercolour illustrations that facilitated botanical study, while William Gilpin’s tree study Remarks on Forest Scenery is full of impressionistic plates with a mixture of aquatinted areas and deep red etchings. Another innovation was the publishing of books in parts to tackle the expense of printing. Divided into FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 91
BOTANICAL BOOKS
Collector’s items Specialist dealers in rare and antique books are the first port of call for botanical works, most listing publications for sale online The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes. Very much Enlarged and Amended by Thomas Johnson Citizen and Apothecarye of London (1633) An extensively illustrated first edition of Johnson’s edition of John Gerard’s major work, in which he marked his additions and major alterations to the original. £3,750 at peterharrington.co.uk
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Sketches and Hints on Landscape Gardening by Humphry Repton (1745) A first edition of Repton’s first book which employs clever aquatint overslips by William Bulmer to demonstrate the transformation of the landscape under Repton’s guiding hand. £19,500 at peterharrington.co.uk Highgrove Florilegium (2008) A very modern collectible, this is the first British Royal Florilegium and is limited to 175 sets signed by HRH The Prince of Wales. Its beautiful watercolour plates depict the plants and trees at Highgrove and were painted by leading international artists before being reproduced by 21st-century technology. £12,950 at highgrovegardens.com A collection of roses from nature by Mary Lawrance (1796-99) The first book on the rose, depicted in all its complexity, with 90 folio plates hand coloured by the author. Lawrance was a noted flower painter who taught painting and exhibited at the RA. £50,000 at shapero.com
IMAGES RHS LINDLEY COLLECTIONS; PETER HARRINGTON RARE BOOKS; HIGHGROVE ROYAL GARDENS; SHAPERO RARE BOOKS LTD
affordable parts, a book was more likely to sell, and if it didn’t, the work could be abandoned sooner by the printer. In 1727, Stephen Hale published his pioneering experiments in biological science. Vegetable Staticks includes groundbreaking research on transpiration, plant nutrition and the raising of sap. The 18th century marked the start of books on garden design. A translation of Dezallier d’Argenville’s The Theory and Practice of Gardening was a hugely popular guide on the design of pleasure gardens, covering parterres, mazes, basins and cascades, with illustrations to match the splendid writing. Near the end of the century, Humphry Repton created ‘Red Books’ for his commissions. These leatherbound volumes contained ingenious overslips with a ‘before’ and ‘after’ of the garden being redesigned. The 20th century saw the number of garden books soar, and many pivotal works changed the direction of gardening practice. Gertrude Jekyll began producing her prolific writings including Colour in the Flower Garden, which explores how theories of colour should govern plant selection; Christopher Lloyd, of Great Dixter, packed oodles of wit and practical knowledge into The Well-Tempered Garden (1970); and Joy Larkcom ensured the wheel came full circle with her Creative Vegetable Gardening of 1997, which argues that kitchen gardens in themselves can be very beautiful things. ■
Above Valerian engraved on folio copper plate after an original from Elizabeth Blackwell’s A Curious Herbal, Lindley Library.
Flora Londinensis: or plates and descriptions of such Plants As Grow Wild In The Environs of London by William Curtis (1777-98) A first edition of Curtis’s survey of the flora of London. This was the first comprehensive English flora to be illustrated with colour plates. £15,000 at shapero.com
GARDEN PATHS
Treasures of the World Jennifer Trehane is a world authority on camellias, plants that have been with her since childhood and have taken her all over the globe
WORDS GREG LOADES IMAGE TREHANE NURSERY
I
grew up in a horticultural family. Both my parents were graduates in horticulture and my father was a highly respected market gardener, responsible for 120 acres of fruit and vegetables in Dorset’s Stour Valley. He loved ornamental shrubs, so he decided to create a garden from the heathland around his home a mile or so away. There was no refuse collection back then, so the rubbish would be buried a metre deep in the garden. As more space was needed to bury it, so the garden expanded and it eventually became filled with a fine collection of interesting, hardy, mostly ericaceous plants. My father started to grow camellias in the garden in the 1940s and the first one that I really noticed was a C. williamsii hybrid called ‘Bow Bells’. It starts flowering in December and can still be in flower in April. It is still in the garden today.
I followed my parents’ path and completed a degree in horticulture at Reading University in 1959, having helped my father to plant the first commercial blueberry plantation in England in spring 1957. I married and moved away in 1961, raised three children and was called back to run the nursery in the early ’80s. By this time, my father had created the leading specialist camellia nursery in Britain. I maintained and extended the nursery over the next 12 years, before retiring to concentrate on writing, talks – and, of course, camellia consultancy. Camellias are truly international plants. There are about 40,000 named cultivars, with huge variations in bush habit, leaf and flower form, colour and size. Most of our garden camellias are derived from temperate-climate species, particularly C. japonica, but there are others from
sub-tropical and tropical regions that thrive in warm gardens or in conservatories here. The biggest myth about camellias is that they are exotic and will not grow well in this country. The truth is they are easy, given the right conditions. The most popular camellias here tend to be the C. williamsii hybrids, (C. japonica x C. saluenensis), because they flower so freely. I have seen camellias all over the world but one of the places where they fascinate me the most is on the island of Oshima, off the east coast of Japan. There are 3 million wild C. japonica trees growing in forests there and they are also grown commercially in orchards, using selected forms that produce a high yield of fruits, with a high percentage of edible oil in their seeds. ■ For more information, visit trehane.co.uk or call +44 (0)1202 873490 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 93
BOOKS
The Reviewer
A selection of the best writing on the shelves this month
Sissinghurst: The Dream Garden by Tim Richardson Frances Lincoln, £30
For all its accomplishment, there remained one aspect of Sissinghurst that was unsettled. Delos, the classical garden Harold and Vita attempted to model on the landscape of the Greek island was, in author Tim Richardson’s terms, “a disaster”. The Wealden clay, the aspect, the climate: all were unsuitable. Much of the garden was removed in 1969 and it lay, as Richardson puts it, in “suspended animation” until 2019 when it fell to designer Dan Pearson to take it on as a restoration project. With this missing piece of the puzzle now in place, a new work on this most famous of gardens seems apt. It doesn’t disappoint. The author’s flair for authoritative and compelling prose, combined with Jason Ingram’s photographer’s eye, attuned to the subtlest shifts in light, make for a sumptuous book on the subject. Further, as a record of the work of Vita and Harold in this garden, it more than earns its place on a bookshelf. As with so many inspirational undertakings, there is plenty here to advance smaller projects. Thoughts on the Cottage Garden with its lopsided fastigiate yews might elicit similar elsewhere, a beech hedge niche could be replicated and schemes from the renowned White Garden, adapted and tweaked.
Potted History: How Houseplants Took Over Our Homes
Charles Dowding’s No-Dig Gardening: Course 1
by Catherine Horwood Pimpernel Press, £9.99
by Charles Dowding No Dig Garden, £22.50
Houseplants are so fashionable you’d have to look hard to find a home without one, especially among young adults: in 2019, the RHS found that 80% of people aged 16 to 24 owned one. There is much to attribute to their current popularity but, as Catherine Horwood discovers, houseplants – the term emerged in 1952 – have been around for almost as long as we’ve had homes. This is a reissue of a book first published in 2007, and while much has changed in those intervening years, other elements are constant, such as the waves of intense focus on desirable species or products, be it a Wardian case or a macramé holder, an aspidistra or a fiddle leaf fig. Catherine is a consummate garden historian with a talent for storytelling: this work reflects her considerable skill. 94 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
A vegetable garden that barely requires a spade seems almost too good to be true. But if you’ve followed Charles Dowding’s thoughts on no-dig growing, and have enjoyed some success, you may be interested in taking his first course on the subject. This approachable work is wide-ranging, beginning with the movement’s antecedents and ending with ways to grow multiple crops in a single space over a year. The course comprises 19 lessons or chapters, for which Dowding draws chiefly from his experience of his own market garden, Homeacres. These are clearly presented, easy to follow and thoroughly illustrated, often with compelling motivations for adopting this way of gardening. A quiz at the end of each lesson reinforces key points.
Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake The Bodley Head, £20
WORDS VIVIENNE HAMBLY
Any thinking gardener will look at the condition of their soil for an indication of plant health: some might even stretch to adding a spoonful of mycorrhizal fungi to a planting mix. Few of us, however, understand the extent to which soil is not an inanimate entity but a living thing, comprising billions if not trillions of micro-organisms – not least of which are fungi. Merlin Sheldrake, a biologist who has a PhD in Tropical Ecology, is one such person, and in Entangled Life provides a fascinating look at organisms that are more animal than plant. “Mycorrhizal fungi are so prolific,” he writes, “that their mycelium makes up between a third and a half of the living mass of soils.” Sheldrake begins his work with an account of sniffing fungi at the roots of trees in Panama, setting the tone for the rest of this compelling book. He takes part in a clinical LSD trial, ventures into woods with truffle hunters and sweats in a bath of decomposing woodchips. Fungi are as much about decomposition, as they are composition. Consider packaging made from mycelium designed to replace plastics, or the fungal leather clothes designed by Stella McCartney. If this all sounds like too much fun, be assured that there is plenty of science here, yet this work is so beguiling, so finely written, that the reader is easily drawn from concept to mindboggling concept. Entangled Life is a wonderful, diverting read.
The Kinfolk Garden
Life in the Studio
by John Burns Artisan, £30
by Frances Palmer Artisan, £27.99
True gardeners will garden wherever they can, working with the idiosyncrasies of their location. This is one take-out from The Kinfolk Garden, a hardback from the fashionable Kinfolk stable in Denmark, which also produces a quarterly magazine. Thirty properties feature here from gardens around the world. All are linked by a focus on bringing the outdoors in and the indoors out, and their caretakers are those who have found ways to include the natural world in their lives. The book is interesting for its geographical spread, and the range of subjects. Mallorca, Morocco, Mexico and Manhattan are all featured, but if you are looking for sumptuous English gardens, you may be disappointed. One star is Yasuyo Harvey, a Kyoto-raised florist who came to London in 2004 to study and decided to stay. Other appealing subjects include Luciano Giubbilei’s Mallorca retreat or Babylonstoren, the South African sister to The Newt in Somerset.
Frances Palmer is a Connecticut ceramicist whose work has been sold in this country by Pentreath and Hall. You may, however, be more familiar with her Instagram account @francespalmer, on which she posts gorgeous photographs both of her work and the many flowers she grows – not least colourful dahlias. In Life in the Studio Frances reflects on her path, which has combined ceramics, family, gardening, beekeeping, photography and food. There are thoughts on the need for company and exercise to balance hours of solitary studio work, learning from her children and friends and, through it all, her garden and beloved dahlias, of which she has countless varieties. Frances opens a window on a way of life to which many aspire but few have the courage to embrace. Insightful, practical and escapist, this book is a balm for our times, especially as we re-examine our ways of living. FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 95
Q&A BOOKS
In her new book, Suburban Gardens, historian, writer and lecturer Twigs Way celebrates the gardens that make up the green patchwork of suburbia wonderfully titled Rustic Adornments for Homes of Taste (1856), which included rockeries, terraces, floral borders and even aviaries – all envisaged on a suburban garden scale. Plants were sold door to door from donkey carts and, by the late 19th century, small greenhouses could be ordered that were suitable for even the smallest garden. How have suburban gardens changed over time, and has there been a ‘golden age’ for the suburban garden?
The mid-19th-century period saw the first major wave of suburban gardens with the expansion of the towns. They were associated with the ideal of the rus in urbe, country come to town, part of a wider social concern about the ills of the urban populations, most particularly overcrowding and smog, which gardens and public parks were meant to resolve. Public parks addressed the working class ills; gardens were aimed at the middle classes. Suburban gardens paved the way for gardening to emerge as the hobby we know today. How did this come about?
Prior to the suburban garden, rural populations had their cottage gardens, which mixed productivity and pigs with pansies and periwinkles. The upper classes had their large parks and pleasure grounds, increasingly available for the middling classes to visit and eventually to ape in their own smaller gardens. As the number of middling-class suburban gardens increased, gardening periodicals and books flooded the market such as (James) Shirley Hibberd’s 96 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
What is the future of suburban gardens and green spaces, do you think?
If densification of housing continues, the future lies in a return to public parks for all, alongside allotment provision. This would mean a return to the 1950s inclusion of small amenity gardens and parks, as well as the larger public parks that remain from an earlier era of suburban creation. We might well see increasing balcony space and roof spaces for gardens as we reconsider the need for inclusion of private garden space within each housing area. In the 18th and early 19th century, one could rent ‘detached gardens’ (also known as guinea gardens): like allotments but with lawns, hedges, summerhouses and the like – perfect for a population that had little garden space at home but wanted to indulge in flower gardening and picnicking. These would be ideal for today’s flexible and moving populations – creating private spaces grouped together would offer more community feeling. ■
Suburban Gardens by Twigs Way Amberley Publishing, £8.99
INTERVIEW VIVIENNE HAMBLY IMAGE STEPHEN KEMP
When did the suburban garden begin to emerge in earnest? What was the thinking behind it?
The golden age for the suburban garden was undoubtedly the 1930s. Think Tudorbethan semidetached with standard roses and a small square of perfect lawn at the front, long borders at the back, a tiny patch of fruit trees and ‘father’s vegetable plot’. World War II brought the air-raid shelter and the chicken coop, and in the 1950s came the predominance of the cheap and cheerful annual, in bright blues, reds and whites for the coronation. Cars sounded the death knell for the front garden, once the pride of the suburbs, while sub-divided housing and busy lives have left the rear gardens usually sadly neglected – although they are often a haven for wildlife of all forms.
IMAGES CLIVE NICHOLS; ANNIE GREEN-ARMYTAGE; RAY COX
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LAST WORD
Do You Believe in Magic?
T
here is a tiny pool in my garden. It’s hardly larger than a dinner plate – in fact, really only the size a child would make for the fairies who undoubtedly live at the bottom of her garden – sunk in the turf of my front lawn. I call it the Hedgehog Pool. It got its name one very hot night in the drought the summer before last, when I went out into the garden seeking some cooler air and met a hedgehog: right there in the middle of the lawn. Hedgehogs are creatures of habit, and walk miles every night along their favourite routes. Thinking she might need a drink, I filled a terracotta saucer with water and placed it before her. I liked to think she might stop off on her travels each evening and refresh herself there. But now, in winter, with the leaves off the trees and the hedgehogs tucked up in bed, I find myself reluctant to remove it. I am captivated by the way it reflects the sky, shimmering with
98 THE ENGLISH GARDEN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
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The pool reflects the sky, shimmering with each passing breeze
the effect of each passing breeze. I watch the clouds passing in it. Sometimes I even have the vertiginous feeling that it is a window, not a mirror, and that I am gazing down into another world, below the green skin of the lawn. This topsy-turvy feeling puts me in mind of the garden at Great Fosters near Egham in Surrey – the most romantic hotel in the world – where the reflection of the little hump-backed bridge in the dark water of the moat completes a perfect ‘O’ through which black swans sail with aplomb. Gardeners have been using trompe l’oeil (effects designed to ‘deceive the eye’) for thousands of years. In ancient Pompeii, house walls were painted with hyper-real scenes of birds and flowers and statuary, to give the illusion of standing on the brink of a garden. Dutch 17th-century gardeners lengthened views with intricate trellises constructed on a false perspective. Twentieth-century surrealists did it with urns the other way round, to disorientate and amuse. Modern gardeners use mirrors to double their space, to light up dark corners, to create views where none exist. A forced perspective is easy to do. When I created my woodland garden, I made the rather short path appear longer by winding it about and making it narrower at the end than at the start. My friend Mirabel put a door leading nowhere at the bottom of her town garden; it was made deliberately smaller to appear further away, and approached by a path that narrowed and up a flight of stairs that got smaller as you climbed. She also had the door of her tool-shed painted to look as if it were open: a stable door, with an owl perched on it, and tools and plant pots visible inside. With effects like these, solid walls can vanish, gardens seem bigger, views more extensive. Paths can look longer, flat surfaces three-dimensional. But the real magic for me is stepping out into the garden at midnight and meeting a hedgehog. Hedgehogs are becoming endangered, due to increased road-building, loss of habitat, and climate change. Many die on roads. Many more starve to death in our hot dry summers or long cold springs. For more information contact The British Hedgehog Preservation Society. Tel: +44 (0)1584 890801; britishhedgehogs.org.uk ■
ILLUSTRATION JULIA RIGBY PORTRAIT BEVERLEY FRY
Trompe l’oeil garden features disorientate and deceive. But for Katherine Swift, true magic is the mysterious midnight appearance of a spiny garden visitor
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