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CONTRIBUTORS
Mimi Connolly Mimi is an awardwinning photographer who uses both traditional film and digital techniques and specialises in gardens and craftspeople. For this issue she visits two Sussex gardens on pages 41 and 79.
Ray Cox Ray has been a garden photographer for over 20 years and his family has run Glendoick Garden Centre in Perthshire for three generations. See his photos of Tweedhill and Tunstall Grange on pages 32 and 46.
Welcome I
took a GCSE in Latin when I was at school, struggling terribly with the grammar as I wrestled with Ovid and Pliny, and failed to translate texts about Gauls attacking ditches with arrows. I hated every minute of it. Years later, when I changed direction and arrived at horticultural college, I was suddenly immersed in Latin plant names. But this time I loved learning them and their meanings and all the clues they offer to the plants they describe. That’s the difference between studying later in life, when you’ve chosen to do it and it’s a subject you have a real interest in, as opposed to the studying we do at school when we’re too young to appreciate the joy of learning for its own sake. In this issue, five gardeners explain why they decided to go ‘back to school’ and take a gardening course, and where their studies have taken them. Chatting to them, it became clear that no one had any regrets and all had enjoyed and benefited from their learning – some with life-changing results. Whether you just want to improve your skills or knowledge, or would like a wholesale career change, what better way to treat and invest in yourself? Carpe diem! Meanwhile, enjoy the rest of the issue: vibrant late-summerinto-early-autumn gardens, butterfly-smothered buddleja, garden-inspired art and gorgeous ceramics.
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ON THE COVER The garden at Tweedhill in Scotland is inspired by prairie planting and its owners’ love of perennials. Photographed by Ray Cox.
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Carolyn is a botanical stylist, award-winning planting designer and garden writer. She is also the author of two books: Urban Flowers (2017) and Cut & Dry (2021). She visits the studio of Zuleika Melluish on page 105.
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September 2022
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Gardens 22 Barnsley House These iconic Cotswold gardens are synonymous with their late owner, the virtuoso Rosemary Verey. And despite inevitable changes over the years, her legacy is still maintained and enhanced. 32 Tweedhill At just one acre, this garden in the Scottish Borders was too small for a full-blown prairie, but key motifs such as grasses and vivid perennials have achieved David and Kim Warden’s ambition on a diminutive scale. 41 Burletts Humphrey Avon commissioned Pauline and Paul McBride to create the soothing prairie-style garden at Burletts in West Sussex for the solace of his late wife Magrit, and it remains as a lasting tribute.
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46 Tunstall Grange Making a garden from scratch for a house that did not yet exist was no easy task for designer Alistair Baldwin, who has united the Yorkshire landscape with coherent planting and a dramatic cascade. 54 Highfield Farm In Monmouthshire, Jenny and Roger Lloyd used their vast experience to open a garden with instant impact, where dense perennials tower over narrow paths to immerse and entrance the visitor.
Plants 65 Top 10 Plants Head of Horticulture at London’s Horniman Museum, Errol Fernandes picks ten plants inspired by the museum’s Grassland Garden. 71 Plant Focus Wrongly derided as a wasteland weed, buddleja more than lives up to its common name of ‘butterfly bush’.
65 19
79 Marchants Hardy Plants Graham Gough and Lucy Goffin look back over 25 years of innovation as they prepare to pass the nursery’s reins to a new team. 87 Grow Your Own At Thyme in Southrop, apples and root vegetables are at their finest.
Miscellanea 95 Courses Studying a gardening course can set you on the path of a new career or simply have a beneficial effect on day-to-day life. 105 Craftspeople Ceramicist and artist Zuleika Melluish has a love of plants that inspires her exquisite pots, bowls and vases.
6 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
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71
IMAGES CAROLE DRAKE; ANNA OMIOTEK-TOTT; CLIVE NICHOLS; RAY COX; NICOLA STOCKEN; SUSSIE BELL
87 111 Garden Art Daniel Pembrey considers the inspiration gleaned from plants and gardens by great artists including Sir Cedric Morris and the Bloomsbury Group.
Regulars 9 This Month Plants, people, news and events, books and beautiful things to buy, plus designer Bunny Guinness’s diary. 19 Shopping Everything you need to create beautiful displays of flamboyant orchids. 122 To Conclude Non Morris sees Gertrude Jekyll in a different light.
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30 Competition Win an overnight stay in the Rosemary Verey Suite at Barnsley House. SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 7
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This Month Our guide to plants, people, gardens and events, tasks and shopping in September
IN FLOWER NOW
IMAGE GAP/DIANNA JAZWINSKI
Anemone hupehensis ‘Prinz Heinrich’ W
hen all around there are fading flowers, Japanese anemones (although this species actually comes from Hupeh in China), step into the spotlight. Try a pale pastel pink like ‘Königin Charlotte’ with soft-toned asters, the ever-reliable white ‘Honorine Jobert’, or, if you want something
a bit bolder, go for one of the deep, rich pinks. Of these ‘Prinz Heinrich’ is a lovely choice, with double flowers, their petals slightly quilled, giving a relaxed, informal appearance. Plantswoman Claire Austin calls it “indispensable” and says it can be left untouched for years. SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 9
People to Meet Introducing the gardeners and public figures we most admire in British horticulture
The author, lecturer, presenter and Urban Birder on the serendipitous pleasures of discovering wildlife where you’d least expect it and the spirituality of birdwatching When I was six, I found a library book that contained over 1,000 bird species. I took it into school to read during lessons. By the time I was eight, I knew most of the species – not just the ones in that book. I guess the “10,000 hours of practice” Malcolm Gladwell describes as the key to expertise happened before I was eight.
I grew up in an area of London comprised mainly of immigrants. There was no one to teach me or take me to the countryside, so I taught myself. Though, surprised by my interest, my mum forked out for a pair of binoculars. I didn’t pay her back for ages, but we’re square now! As time went by, I realised urban areas are interesting
10 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
RECOMMENDED
David’s favourite gardens to visit Tresco Abbey Gardens Scilly Islands Tresco is a great garden to wander around during a visit to the Isles of Scilly. Autumn is the season for me. It is when you are most likely to spot a rare bird or, at the very least, see the red squirrels scampering around. Tel: 01720 424108; tresco.co.uk
Kyoto Garden London Kyoto Garden is a wonderful corner within London’s Holland Park. This Japanese-style garden is a good place to watch jays foraging among the foliage of the trees, especially when you are enjoying a cup of tea from the café. Tel: 020 7361 3000; rbkc.gov.uk
INTERVIEW PHOEBE JAYES IMAGES SHUTTERSTOCK
David Lindo
and exciting. Anything can turn up anywhere at any time. Some 620 bird species have been recorded in the UK, and you can find 95% of these in urban areas. The Dartford warbler is often spotted in areas of heathland with gorse. I remember walking with a journalist in Wormwood Scrubs in West London and there was a solitary gorse bush. The bush rustled – and out flew a Dartford warbler! My career began with presenting on Springwatch, but I wanted to spread my message further so I began writing, lecturing and tour leading. My first book, The Urban Birder, is a personal record of what I’ve done in my life. My latest children’s book, The Extraordinary World of Birds, includes a range of species unknown to most people that will hopefully stick with kids their whole lives. One challenge of my career is my phobia of birds! I blame Alfred Hitchcock for my difficulty touching them. I’ve done a lot of leg ringing with The British Trust for Ornithology, though, so I’m now somewhat desensitised. My main tip for birding is not to worry if you don’t know much. That knowledge will come. Birding is a spiritual thing. It’s not about rarity, it’s about looking around and seeing what’s there – distinguishing the sounds of nature from those of humanity. Anyone who’d like to find out more about birding can gain access to information and recommended spots to visit by joining the community at theurbanbirderworld.com
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Out & About Unmissable events, news and the very best gardens to visit this month
Another World Than This at Sissinghurst 23 July-31 October, Kent
The National Trust’s Sissinghurst Castle Garden is hosting a specially commissioned installation by Charlotte Smithson. The Manchester-based artist will bring the outdoors in by filling the Oast House with a delicate suspension of glassware containing botanical specimens from the surrounding gardens, encouraging visitors to notice exquisite details found in nature that are often overlooked. Tickets are included in standard garden admission. nationaltrust.org.uk
17 & 18 September, West Sussex Boutique design fair Beautiful & Useful returns to the Sussex Prairie Garden this year with a lineup of top designer-makers, including Jennifer Tetlow, who makes stone bird baths and vases; Laura Baxter and her botanically inspired jewellery; and stitcher and painter Maude Smith of Maude Made, with her hand-painted tea towels. Visitors can also enjoy live music and refreshments amid swathes of perennials at their peak. Adult: £10; child: £5. beautiful-useful.co.uk
Toads in Trees New research has uncovered the surprising extent to which common toads live in trees. Researchers from the University of Cambridge and Froglife, supported by wildlife charity People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES), made the discovery when 50 common toads were found in nest boxes and tree cavities by volunteers looking for hazel dormice and bats. The discovery has highlighted the importance of sharing data between conservation organisations representing different species. froglife.org 12 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
NGS Garden Parsonage Farm
West Sussex Developed over 30 years with an emphasis on fruit to reflect the village’s applegrowing heritage, this large formal garden features long vistas, a walled garden, rose borders and a vegetable garden. A turf amphitheatre, yew cloisters and a jungle walk make it wonderful to explore. Parsonage Farm, Kirdford, West Sussex RH14 0NH. Opens Sunday 4 September, 2-6pm. Adult: £7; Children: free. ngs.org.uk
WORDS PHOEBE JAYES IMAGES JULIAN WINSLOW; MARIANNE MAJERUS; FROGLIFE; LEIGH CLAPP
Beautiful & Useful
Hendon Ladders, loved by professional and amateur gardeners alike. The tripod design offers a lightweight safe working position ideal for hedge cutting, tree pruning and general DIY. Independently safety tested. The Hendon Ladder collection is available in 4 models ranging in height from 4ft to 16ft. All of our ladders feature clawed feet, these are ideal for soft ground and come with the addition of rubber safety feet at no extra cost.
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Bunny’s Diary Bunny Guinness debates lifting dahlias, plants new trees and tries out a new water feature kit
IMAGES NEIL HEPWORTH; GAP PHOTOS; SHUTTERSTOCK
I
leave my dahlias in the ground over winter because they perform better on my thin soil when left in place to develop a deeper, wellestablished root system. Winter wet is dahlias’ big enemy, but everyone’s conditions are different and every year is different. With a reasonably mild climate (I am in the East Midlands) and free-draining soil, it is far easier to fling a thick carpet of mulch over them before the frosts and just lift one clump for insurance. The clump sits in a crate in a frost-free place with a bit of compost around it. So often the easiest system turns out to be the superior one! Recent research has turned tree planting techniques on their head. Planting in early autumn, it transpires, is far better than
doing it in spring. This way, the root system develops before the soil cools, and if a dry spring follows, they are more resilient. Small, bareroot plants do better than pot grown. Make the hole just big and deep enough to accommodate the roots. Backfill with the exact same soil that is in the ground anyway. Don’t add rich compost or the roots won’t leave the pit. Don’t stake unless you really have to; you can plant standards without stakes if they’re not exposed. Plant small trees: transplants or whips will overtake bigger specimens in no time at all. Keep weeds and grass away from the base of the tree for around three years and remember to give a big soak on planting and before mulching. Rabbit-proof guards will often prove essential.
A new miniature fountain kit from Hydria Life (£199.99, hydrialife.com) with a pump and a rechargeable cordless battery, enables even a technophobe like me to fit it into any pot in just a few minutes to make a great self-contained water feature. The battery lasts for 150 hours and it comes with a remote control, so you could run it for two months for two hours a day. I put one in a dolly tub on my terrace, but thought it would also work well in a stone trough. A great invention. n Visit Bunny’s YouTube channel to watch videos such as ‘The Simplest Self-Contained Water Feature’ and ‘How to Hide a Trampoline in Your Garden’ youtube. com/bunnyguinness SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 15
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Beautiful & Useful New plants, books, tools and creative designs, plus shopping inspiration
Dine Out in Style The evenings may be drawing in, but with the weather still warm there is plenty of time for long, lazy meals outdoors. Tablescaping, the art of setting a table beautifully, came to the fore during the pandemic and it remains a popular trend. Daylesford Organic has teamed with Colefax and Fowler to produce a range of tableware and linens with a strong botanical theme, perfect for entertaining in the garden. The Quince Garden Collection draws inspiration from the Ditchley pattern in the Colefax and Fowler archive, and 18th-century botanical designs. All tableware is handmade in Provence. Daylesford x Colefax Collection, from £29, daylesford.com.
Supporting Stars
WORDS VIVIENNE HAMBLY IMAGES RICHARD BLOOM; MARTIN MORELL
With almost 30 years of design experience under her belt, Janey Auchincloss knows exactly what will work in a garden. Her new obelisks, designed initially for a client and now available to buy online, measure 136cm tall and 58cm square at the base. Each copper and brass obelisk is hotdip galvanised then acid-etched for a patina that will develop over time. Janey advises sinking the obelisk by 20cm to make the overall height 116cm. Each obelisk is made by Gedding Mill Forge in Suffolk. Janey Auchincloss Design Obelisk, £400, geddingmill.co.uk
The Tree in My Garden: Choose One Tree, Plant It – And Save the World Kate Bradbury and Lucille Clerc, Dorling Kindersley, £20 Wildlife author Kate Bradbury explores the astonishing positive effect a single tree can have in a garden. Her book is peppered with revealing facts that make the case for trees clear. She includes a guide to choosing and planting trees, and presents a selection of 50 of the most useful garden trees to grow.
How to Grow the Flowers; A Sustainable Approach to Growing Plants through the Seasons Marianne Mogendorff and Camila Romain,
100 Curiosities & Inventions from the Collections of the National Trust
Pavilion, £20 Follow in the steps of a multitude of small-scale producers in the UK and step up efforts to grow your own cut flowers. In this inspiring book, the duo behind London-based Wolves Lane Flower Company show you don’t need a large garden for success.
Katie Knowles, National Trust Books, £10 Here is miscellany from the National Trust to enchant anyone with an interest in garden history. Examples include the 16 bronze tortoises modelled on the pets of William John Bankes at Kingston Lacy, and a 19th-century perforated orchid pot at Biddulph Grange Garden. SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 17
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Orchid Fever Nothing beats the timeless elegance of orchids. Put on a show-stopping display at home and maintain their ethereal beauty by looking after them carefully, according to their specific needs, using the right equipment. Or, for an easy first step, invest in this ‘everlasting’ large white orchid in stone pot, £199. Tel: 03450 920283; sarahraven.com
SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 19
RHS orchid stake, £3.49. Clear glass atomiser, £6.49.
hortology.co.uk
Baby Bio orchid food,
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RHS Orchids: A History through Botanical Illustration by Charlotte Brooks, £26.99. Tel: 01865
333536; blackwells.co.uk Kolibri orchid with ceramic pot, £40.
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Mini glass watering can, £20. Tel:
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Rameses ginger jar, £745.
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Orchid Myst, £5.99.
Tel: 0131 5616406; dobbies.com
20 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
Watch these mesmerising sculptures dance in the wind, sketching ever-changing forms across the sky. Will Carr has been exploring and creating fascinating contemporary kinetic sculptures for many years, combining complex engineering and in-depth study of balance to create pieces that move silently in the lightest and strongest of winds. These sculptures enhance the spaces they inhabit; their endless flow brings viewers a peaceful connection to nature as they flicker in the wind, through day and night.
Please visit his website to see the sculptures in movement www.willcarrsculpture.co.uk willcarrsculpture
One change at Barnsley House since Rosemary Verey’s day has been the lowering of the former yew pillars along the garden’s Yew Walk.
22 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
THE LEGEND LIVES ON Barnsley House garden in the Cotswolds is synonymous with the late Rosemary Verey. Despite inevitable changes, her legacy is still maintained WORDS VANESSA BERRIDGE PHOTOGRAPHS ANNA OMIOTEK-TOTT
M
y last visit to Barnsley House was in July 2001 for a reception following Rosemary Verey’s memorial service at Cirencester parish church. I was chatting to the Oxford don and Financial Times garden columnist Robin Lane Fox when Charles Verey came up to us, despairing of maintaining his mother’s garden. The classicist, in puckish mood despite the occasion, responded: “If I were you, Charles, I’d just grass the whole thing over.” Returning 21 years later, I was relieved to see that Charles had not taken Robin’s advice and that the garden remained much as I remembered it, despite the house becoming a hotel under a succession of owners in the interim. In fact, the only glaringly obvious change had been made by Charles himself shortly after his mother’s death: he halved the height of eight Irish yews along the Yew Walk because he couldn’t see the garden properly from his bedroom. The yews now look well settled, the shape of pattypan squashes rather than pillars. Barnsley House garden continues as a testament to Rosemary Verey’s talents thanks to head gardener Jennifer Danbury and senior gardener Lucy BowlesLewis. Both are conscious of Rosemary’s legacy, and make constant use of the planting plans in her book, Making of a Garden (Frances Lincoln, 1995). There is continuity, too: Jennifer worked for Richard Gatenby, her predecessor as head gardener, who started work at Barnsley during Rosemary’s lifetime. “She was ill when Richard arrived, but she would SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 23
come out to comment on what he was doing,” Jennifer tells me. “I learned a lot from him, and he handed things on to me.” Rosemary Verey’s grandson, Tony, also works part-time in the garden today. Rosemary’s starting point was the 1697 Cotswold stone house. Writing in Making of a Garden, she said: “For Barnsley House, in its handsome William and Mary style, I have attempted to create a garden with strong bones, vistas, garden buildings, pleached walks, a wilderness and a potager, all to reflect the period.” It is remarkable how many different areas Rosemary fashioned within the relatively small compass of four acres. Her structure remains largely in place, though trees and shrubs have matured over the years. For Jennifer and Lucy, their work is all about balance: adapting planting, for instance, to embrace new, improved cultivars within a sharply elegant garden redolent of a very different era in British gardening. Verey’s walks, vistas, Tudor-style knot garden, and ornamental potager are a world away from the rewilded landscapes of the 2022 Chelsea Flower Show. “You have to move with the plants – and Mrs Verey would not have stood still. She was a tremendous editor,” says Jennifer. Dealing with endemic ground elder has forced the reorganisation of several areas – particularly the Parterre beds. “We will be putting back perennials and shrubs that Mrs Above The iconic Laburnum Walk is more familiar in spring when it drips with yellow flowers. Right Persicaria and phlox join foliage that’s just starting to turn, giving Barnsley a warm, early-autumn glow. Below right Mellow sunshine in the Potager. Below left Eupatorium and dahlias in the border.
24 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
Verey picked, but also using new varieties, because that is how Barnsley would have developed in her hands,” Jennifer adds. They are using more annuals, also favoured by Rosemary, including Salvia patens and Nicotiana sylvestris, which releases its scent at dusk. “Fragrance has always been important in this garden,” says Jennifer. “A new cultivar, N. x hybrida ‘Whisper Mixed’, that Mrs Verey wouldn’t have known helps take the garden into autumn.” The team conserve a garden designed for a private house while meeting a hotel’s requirements. “Keeping the borders looking fresh all year round is challenging,” says Jennifer. “For anybody coming here, it is always a special day – a wedding or an event they have saved up for. We bear that in mind when we’re gardening.” SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 25
Paths in the Potager have been widened, but the layout is still the same as Verey’s original.
26 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
The Potager is set apart by a farm track still used by the farmer driving his cows from fields to sheds
Adaptations have included the building of meeting rooms, a cinema and a spa, but these have been skilfully hidden within the Wilderness, leaving unspoilt the view from the veranda across the Knot Garden and Croquet Lawn. During the first lockdown, substantial changes were made to the Potager. Many now over-large box bushes planted by Rosemary were removed, and the cross paths were widened, while keeping the original pattern. “Broader paths are better for guests and groups,” says Lucy, who is mainly responsible for the Potager. It was in the Potager that Rosemary popularised the time-honoured but lost practice of growing flowers and vegetables together ornamentally. What she did caught on in the 1990s, although planting today has become less formal than it was at Barnsley. Here, the gardening is intensive, reaching its peak in autumn with all the produce grown destined for the hotel kitchen. Again, there are tricky waters to be navigate: “When things are looking great in the Potager, I don’t want to harvest anything,” says Lucy. “But when they have gone over, the chef won’t want them.” Candelabra apples remain from Rosemary’s time, although the upright pears are new. Lucy would like to replant the sunnier side of the garden but the great stand of artichokes that grows there was on Rosemary’s original plan: “Everyone loves them and comments on them.” The Potager is set apart by a farm track still used by the farmer driving his cows from fields to milking sheds. That the lane was once the main road through the village always surprises American visitors according to Lucy. Rosemary Verey was fêted in America, where she lectured and designed gardens and Jennifer is pleased to see American groups returning after the pandemic. Most comment on the American ironwood, a deciduous shrub with plumes of white flowers in midsummer, planted by Rosemary. “That link with America is important. The garden feels well travelled even though it has always been in the same place,” Jennifer observes. The most famous feature is the Laburnum Walk, much photographed in May when it’s in flower Top Nasturtiums spill with purple alliums from a vast terracotta beneath. But, even pot in the centre of the Potager’s paths. before it became a hotel, Left Squash scramble Barnsley was a garden their way up stout, rustic for all seasons. The use teepees; beds are edged of evergreens, including by box and herbs. SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 27
Lingering sweet peas are a reminder of the fading summer, while starry clouds of pale mauve asters are a harbinger of autumn.
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box roundels, golden privet lollipops and yew pillars, spires of Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Stewartii’, and junipers, anchor the planting across the year. The Ribbon Beds were probably conceived with autumn in mind, with mop-head Euonymus alatus, whose foliage turns golden red in September, underplanted with sedums such as Hylotelephium ‘Autumn Joy’. Parterre beds by the house are now planted up seasonally with great splashes of yellow in late summer from Helianthus annuus. Seasonal colour is also added in pots by the hotel’s entrance, an innovation since Rosemary’s day. Even here, however, reference is made in the planting to her fondness for long-flowering pelargoniums. Dahlias are another departure (only one, Dahlia merckii, is mentioned in Rosemary’s book), important both for autumn colour in the garden and for displays in the hotel. These are planted in the Potager and also in the Bob Dash Border, named after Rosemary’s American designer friend who was a fan of colour. “We can be more exuberant here than elsewhere in the garden,” Lucy explains. Barnsley’s soil is heavy clay, so the dahlias need lifting at the end of the
“It is an honour to be able to reflect on what someone else has done, especially when the garden was her home”
season, overwintering and then potting on before being planted out again in June. Staying at Barnsley House Hotel is a unique experience, especially in the Secret Garden Suite. “Guests there,” says Jennifer, “can have breakfast in the Tuscan Temple on their own.” They get an idea of what it was like when the Verey family lived here and appreciate something of how the gardeners feel. “It is an honour to be able to reflect on what someone else has done, especially when the garden was her home,” Jennifer concludes. “You have to respect that.” n Barnsley House Spa Hotel, Barnsley, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 5EE. Charity open days occasionally take place, private tours for groups of 10-40 can be pre-booked, and hotel guests can explore the garden at their leisure. Tel: 01285 740000; barnsleyhouse.com
Above left Sunflowers
and dahlias ensure beds of Swiss chard and parsnips are beautiful as well as productive. Top right Dahlias make opulent cut flowers; try ‘Rip City’ for similar. Above right Flowers from the garden are displayed throughout the hotel.
SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 29
CO M P E T I T I O N
W IN
A Stay at Barnsley House Enter our competition to win a one-night stay for two people at Barnsley House, Rosemary Verey’s former home in the Cotswolds, and explore its timeless garden
W
ith the picture postcard perfection of the Cotswolds visible at every turn, Barnsley House is the quintessential country retreat. Garden lovers will know it as the creation of Rosemary Verey, and its Potager has inspired beautiful kitchen gardens across the country, while the famous Laburnum Walk has become iconic. In short, it’s a must-see. What better way to explore the garden than as a guest at this luxury country house hotel. Inside the wisteria-clad, honey-stone building, expect elegantly warm and inviting interiors. Hidden away in the garden is the spa, where you can indulge in relaxing and reviving treatments. Later, dine on delicious food that’s been made using produce picked fresh from the garden, in The Potager restaurant, or head across the road to The Village Pub, opposite. 30 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
Best of all, you can explore the garden at your leisure, and take in Rosemary Verey’s timeless layout. Verey designed gardens all around the world, and her client list included the likes of Elton John and HRH Prince Charles, but her own garden at Barnsley was her original and much-loved creation. Enter our prize draw for the chance to experience Barnsley House and its gardens yourself. Our prize includes an overnight stay for two guests in the Rosemary Verey Suite, with its private courtyard and conservatory. Indulge in a champagne afternoon tea at the Temple, a tranquil spot tucked away in the gardens, as well as a three-course dinner at The Potager restaurant in the evening. The following morning, enjoy a full English breakfast before you depart. Pride of Britain Hotels is a collection of the finest properties, each one unique
and characterful. With manor homes, castles, woodland retreats, elegant lodges and city boltholes to choose from, every guest can experience some of the best places to eat, stay and unwind in the British Isles. For more information on the portfolio of hotels, visit prideofbritainhotels.com
HOW TO ENTER
To enter, simply head to our website, theenglishgarden.co.uk/offers/ barnsley to fill in your details. The closing date for entries is 7 September 2022. For full terms and conditions, visit chelseamagazines.com. The prize is subject to availability, excludes the Christmas and New Year period and must be taken by 30 March 2023.
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A Prairie in ABSTRACT
At one acre, Tweedhill in the Scottish Borders was too small for a full-blown prairie, but key motifs such as grasses and vivid perennials have achieved David and Kim Warden’s ambition on a diminutive scale WORDS LOUISE CURLEY PHOTOGRAPHS RAY COX
32 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
The naturalistic planting scheme at Tweedhill takes its inspiration from prairie-style schemes, with bold perennials and lots of grasses.
SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 33
W
hen David and Kim Warden first encountered the walled garden at Tweedhill, they felt the opportunity to create a garden there was too good to pass up on. However, the overgrown wilderness they took on in March 2015 required a significant amount of vision, stamina and determination to transform it into the plant haven it is now. “I was 63 when we moved here, and it’s been quite a challenge to clear the approximately one-acre site of scrubby vegetation, fell overgrown conifers and fill 11 skips with all the rubbish and rubble that had been left on site from when the previous owners built the house here,” David acknowledges. Working out where to begin can be tricky when faced with such a site, but fortunately for David and Kim, who had created two other gardens from scratch, they weren’t daunted by those initial steps. “The approach to the house seemed to be the most obvious place for us to start reclaiming the space,” David recalls. “I began with a long border that ran down one side, removing lots of builders’ detritus as I went. Even today we’ll still come across something unexpected buried in the soil!” The garden, which is situated in a small hamlet just over the border in Scotland, five miles from Berwick-upon-Tweed, benefits from a shelterbelt of neighbouring trees that helps to diffuse the westerly winds sweeping across the surrounding farmland. The sandstone walls, thought to date to the late 18th century, also act as a buffer. “We’re
“Even today we’ll still come across something unexpected buried in the soil!”
Top Clumps of monarda
and helenium.
Middle David and Kim
Warden, who have lived at Tweedhill since 2015. Left Neighbouring trees and stone walls shelter the perennials within. This image Daylilies and lythrum surround a painted obelisk.
34 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
The lush leaves and wiry flowers of persicaria contrast with helenium, grasses, veronicastrum and Verbena bonariensis in the front garden.
SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 35
Above Delicate Molinia
caerulea ‘Cordoba’ with Monarda ‘Vintage Wine’. Right Echinacea purpurea ‘Rubinstern’. Below A sweeping border of long-lasting perennials in the front garden offers vivid colour and texture during late summer.
surprisingly dry here,” says David. “Even if rain is forecast, it tends to peter out before it reaches us. That, coupled with the very free-draining, loamy soil we have, means we’ve had to incorporate a significant amount of manure and compost and we need to mulch a lot as well. “The physical nature of creating the garden has been hard work, but what I hadn’t anticipated was that after a couple of years I would be juggling working on new sections with having to maintain the areas that had already been planted, which at times could be quite overwhelming,” David admits. Gradually though, the garden started to take shape with a network of gravel paths and deep borders filled with the couple’s favourite plants. “I’ve been influenced by Piet Oudolf, Dan Pearson and Tom Stuart-Smith, but because we don’t have acres here, prairie-style planting wouldn’t have been appropriate,” says David. “Instead, we decided it would be our version of a naturalistic planting scheme combining grasses and long-flowering perennials with a strong emphasis on bold colour.” Veronicastrum – one of three Plant Heritage National Plant Collections David and Kim look after in the garden, the others being miscanthus and helenium – add height and structure. “I particularly
“Because we don’t have acres here, prairie-style planting wouldn’t have been appropriate” like ‘Spring Dew’, which I think is the best for winter structure,” says David. Other tall perennials that act as anchors in the borders at Tweedhill include the statuesque Eupatorium fistulosum f. albidum ‘Ivory Towers’, Actaea simplex ‘Prichard’s Giant’, Thalictrum ‘Anne’ and the elegant, creamywhite, frothy flower plumes of Artemisia lactiflora ‘Elfenbein’. “Even though we have protection from wind here, we do still support the taller plants using 6mm steel bent to form stakes,” David explains. “We get the steel from a supplier in Berwick, and they cut it into 2-3 metre lengths for us.” Interwoven among these giants are grasses such as molinia, miscanthus and panicum, plus classic prairie-style plants like echinacea, monarda, persicaria, sanguisorba and heleniums, of which David and Kim have 92 different cultivars dotted about the garden. “I’ve always been a bit of a grasses geek because I love how they add movement to a space, and I started combining heleniums with grasses at our previous garden,” says David. “Heleniums can be tricky and not everyone can grow them – they’ll sometimes disappear from
36 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
Sunny DELIGHTS A selection of colourful varieties from David and Kim’s 92-strong helenium collection
‘RIVERTON BEAUTY’
‘UFO TOM’
Beautiful sunshine-yellow, flowers with a central brown cone from July to September on plants that reach 1m tall.
This reddish-orange variety is a relatively new, compact introduction, with clumps growing to just 50cm.
‘RUBY TUESDAY’ Deep red, dark-centred flowers live up to their name. This one forms compact, sturdy clumps of up to 75cm.
‘HARTMUT RIEGER’ A German-bred variety known for the subtle rusty stripes on its golden-yellow petals. Reaches 1.2m tall.
‘RAUCHTOPAS’
‘TURA’
A beautiful 1m tall variety with petals that are bright yellow on top with coppery-orange tones on the undersides.
A striking compact variety with a central cone that is the same shade of butter-yellow as the flower’s petals.
Above The silken a border altogether and flowerheads and bold, that’s happened to me arching leaves of a too, so I make sure I take miscanthus tower above plenty of divisions as the pale flower spires of Veronicastrum insurance against losses. virginicum ‘Pink Glow’. This year the RHS started a trial of heleniums at RHS Bridgewater, which I’m pleased to be participating in.” The need to produce plants for the garden and to maintain the national collections has meant that David no longer uses the greenhouse for the exhibition onions he used to grow. “Producing onions for showing is a long and expensive exercise because you need to start them off from seed in December and provide them with heat and supplementary light through to spring. They were just taking up far too much space, so I’ve had to give them up,” he explains. While the garden is at its peak in late summer and early autumn, David and Kim were keen that it should offer year-round interest. Several original trees – an oak with an attractively crooked trunk, a couple of apples, a large silver birch and a yew – were retained, and alongside these David and Kim planted semi-mature specimens of Cercis siliquastrum, Betula albosinensis ‘Fascination’, Alnus incana ‘Aurea’, several rare sorbus and a couple of crab apples including ‘Evereste’, the species Malus spontanea, which is endangered in its native Japan, and ‘Rudolph’, which David recommends as being the best for pink blossom. And in areas near the house there are hardy geraniums, camassia, lupins, alliums and the orchid-like flowers of roscoea.
SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 37
David’s tips for growing heleniums SOIL
Ideally heleniums need fertile, moist, well-drained soil, but they are adaptable. The traditional yellow-flowered cultivars have Helenium autumnale parentage, and these tend to cope better with drier soils. PLANTING
Whether you’re planting a shopbought helenium or divisions, prepare the ground by adding lots of compost. Water thoroughly and mulch with more compost. DEADHEADING
Deadheading will prolong flowering. Wear gloves when handling mature plants as they can cause allergic reactions. PESTS
Slugs can be a problem for young plants. I go out at dusk and pick
38 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
them off the plants and dispose of them. You need to do this early in the season, when new shoots are pushing through. Mature plants are less palatable to slugs. HOEING
Don’t hoe close to the plant as you can damage the roots just under the surface of the soil. DIVISION
The centre of a clump will die away over time so heleniums need to be divided every three to five years. Division is also the easiest method of propagation. Avoid dividing in autumn since the plants can struggle to reestablish before winter, instead divide in early- to mid-spring. Lift the plant and pull apart sections about the size of your hand or use a hand fork to divide.
Many of the perennials and grasses provide interest and presence well into winter, but David and Kim are not wedded to the idea of leaving everything in place until spring. “What stands up well is left, but anything that starts to flop and goes soggy is cut back. These plants just look unattractive and provide hiding holes for slugs, and we wouldn’t be able to have such extensive beds and leave all the cutting back until late winter so we do need to stagger it.” Now that the initial plans for the garden have been completed, David and Kim have started to tweak elements of the planting, adding more colour, form and interest to certain areas. “I’m keen to experiment to see how plants work with each other and I hope I never lose that fascination,” David reflects. “We didn’t create the garden to be static: it’s an ever-evolving space.” n Above left David and
Kim’s home is almost hidden by its enveloping perennial planting. Top right Bobbly wands of Actaea ‘Chocoholic’ with purple Monarda ‘Gewitterwolke’ and a vivid lythrum backdrop. Above right Lobelia x speciosa ‘Red Velvet’.
The Plant Heritage National Plant Collections of Miscanthus, Veronicastrum and Helenium can be viewed by appointment. Contact David and Kim Warden: 01289 386132; warden007@btinternet.com
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CALM & REPOSE Humphrey Avon commissioned Pauline and Paul McBride to create the soothing prairie-style garden at Burletts in West Sussex for the solace of his late wife Magrit, and it remains as a lasting tribute alongside her own work WORDS VIVIENNE HAMBLY PHOTOGRAPHS MIMI CONNOLLY
A central pathway flanked by deep drifts of prairie-style perennials curves past the barn at Burletts.
SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 41
The view from the barn to the round house takes in a tapestry of Pennisetum ‘Viridescens’, Sedum ‘Matrona’, and Verbena bonariensis.
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B
“He fell in love with our borders and how the urletts, a Grade II-listed rectory dating garden felt in a natural landscape with the wider from the early 19th century and countryside beyond. He believed it would fit well overlooking the rolling South Downs, with his own project,” says Pauline. Humphrey chose is the West Sussex home of Humphrey two spots for development: a site near an orchard Avon. With his late wife Magrit, he some distance from the house, and, closer in, what bought the property in the late 1970s, from Audrey has become known as the Barn Garden, where a Feest, who had lived there since just after the Second restored heritage Sussex barn now anchors a fabric World War. For the most part, Burletts is a classic of sinuous paths and textured planting. country garden, with borders, pasture, an orchard Originally a small paddock, the site has long views and a large walled garden that had previously towards the voluptuous, curving South Downs, supplied produce for the house. something Paul and Pauline were keen to echo in When Humphrey and Magrit moved in, the their design for the Barn Garden. The pair were also garden was overgrown, having become too much for careful to select plants that were right for the setting Audrey to manage, but they turned it into a space and created a design suited to the way Humphrey for their young family. Magrit in particular loved and Magrit used the garden. Key to their work to garden, and her daughter, Vicky Cahill, recalls at Sussex Prairies and at Burletts are paths that that she worked on it “day and night” with gardener meander right through the planting, so visitors are Kevin Hodges. Magrit understood that, in the way immersed in all the colours, textures and movements of gardens that have built up over centuries, she and of any given season, from fresh growth in spring to her family were but one layer in the archaeology of pared back senescence in autumn and winter. This their property. “One of our previous gardeners, who is something that suited Magrit especially as her had worked for my parents for years, said he often illness developed. “The naturalistic planting style saw a Victorian lady in the walled garden when he has a freedom and a looseness to it that is attractive was working,” says Vicky. The gardener would look to those folk seeking a wilder style of planting. It is up from his digging to see the garden laid out like a market garden, completely different to how it looked less rigid and more embracing and is moving back towards a more natural way of gardening with plants in the present day. Magrit, never one to take tales of as the main focus,” Pauline explains. ghosts lightly, looked up Burletts in archives held in Having worked with prairie-style planting for nearby Chichester. “She found an old map of Burletts over 20 years, Pauline and Paul have a good sense of that directly related to the description, so perhaps it what will work in a garden like this. But for them, was a true flashback to the past,” muses Vicky. gardens are about experience and plants. In late By the 1980s Magrit’s work in the garden was summer and early autumn in the Barn gathering pace, only to be ruined by Garden, the planting the McBrides the Great Storm of 1987. “But my Below The pale daisy flowers of Kalimeris compiled has its moment, although mother insisted that new trees were incisa ‘Madiva’ lend a Pauline explains that they look for planted immediately, and now, 35 touch of freshness to the plants that “offer colour and spectacle years later, much of that planting is mix of warm autumnal for a long time”. Mounds of brilliant well established,” Vicky explains. colours at Burletts. yellow Rudbeckia fulgida Gardening had always been var. sullivantii ‘Goldsturm’ Magrit’s solace, and she immediately catch the found plants much more eye, but closer inspection interesting than people reveals off-white, greenand their endless chatter. tinged Echinacea purpurea Sadly, Magrit developed ‘Green Edge’, Achillea Alzheimer’s in the ‘White Pearl’ and Erigeron early 2000s. By chance, annuus mingling with Humphrey visited Sussex lilac Verbena bonariensis. Prairie Garden in nearby Brighter shades of pink Henfield, with a gardening emerge from Persicaria friend. Humphrey was amplexicaulis ‘September so taken with the relaxed Spires’, Sedum ‘Matrona’ naturalistic planting in and Echinacea ‘Sussex the eight-acre garden, that Prairie Seedling’. he asked owners Paul and Meanwhile, grasses unite Pauline McBride to create the floral elements. “There a similar garden, albeit are so many varieties to on a smaller scale, for the consider. For example, benefit of his wife. SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 43
Above A large drift of Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’ forms a ribbon of sunshine through the russets and purples of grasses and eupatorium. Right Slender flowers of Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘September Spires’. Opposite from top
Echinacea ‘Sussex Prairie Seedling’; Gaura lindheimeri; a melee of verbena, echinacea, rudbeckia, eupatorium and Erigeron annuus.
the miscanthus varieties have height as well as fabulous colour on their seedheads. Panicums have light airy seedheads giving super texture to any planting scheme. And extraordinary sporobolus grass is scented,” Pauline observes. “We like to make gardens that are just as much about the feeling you get as the actual planting combinations themselves. The two should go hand in hand and you may not quite be able to put your finger on what provokes that response. It is all about the right plant for the right place, of course, but you have to think about a lot more besides.” “Despite her illness, the garden cheered my mother up, as the flowers were so bright and vibrant,” Vicky reflects. “The grasses created lovely movement and gentle rustles in the breeze; all the sensory stimuli to which dementia patients can joyfully respond.” n Read about Pauline and Paul McBride’s work in the October 2022 issue of The English Garden. Sussex Prairie Garden, Morlands Farm, Wheatsheaf Road, Henfield, West Sussex N5 9AT. Tel: 01273 495902; sussexprairies.co.uk
44 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
Prairie Style Advice from Pauline McBride on this distinctive form of planting How long does it take for a prairie garden like this to start looking established? A garden like this should be showing its full potential in height and colour by the second year after planting. The growth of plants should be well established by then, too. The beauty of using herbaceous perennials and grasses for this type of planting is that they are relatively cheap and quick to establish. They will also help to create an important and diverse habitat for wildlife.
What do you have to do to keep the different planting groups balanced? It’s all about knowing the plants you are using for your scheme and being aware of which will be the thugs and which will be the shrinking violets. Gardening is all about control, so although the plants feel very wild there has to be some control underlying the scheme. You may also choose to let some plants run wild if you love that effect.
How easily does this style fit into the English landscape? Well, I think this sort of garden fits very nicely into a countryside setting. But we do not have to be constrained to using naturalistic planting only in the countryside: it can fit into many other scenarios. It can give a softness and a fullness that you would want from the natural garden as well as dynamic energy through the varying textures and movement it can exhibit. It can also offer the possibility of an immersive experience if you can bring people in among the plantings.
And do prairie-style plants suit the English climate? A lot of the material we use in our schemes is from North America but not exclusively so. Some plants also come from Japan, Siberia and parts of China that are on the same latitude and enjoy the same climate that we experience in the UK. Climate change is another issue. We are looking closely at plants that will answer the climatic questions being asked of us all in our gardening styles at the moment. Our discoveries so far have shown that these plants are doing well under the conditions we are now experiencing.
SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 45
The cascade appears to flow from a source beneath the house itself, when in fact it is pumped up from the lake below.
46 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
Something out of
NOTHING
Making a garden from scratch for a house that did not yet exist was no easy task for designer Alistair Baldwin, but at Tunstall Grange in North Yorkshire he has united the existing landscape with coherent planting and a dramatic new cascade WORDS LOUISE CURLEY PHOTOGRAPHS RAY COX
F
or garden designers every project brings with it different challenges, but one of the trickiest has to be creating a garden for a house that doesn’t yet exist. That was the conundrum that faced Alistair Baldwin when he was commissioned by his clients James and Jo Lambert in 2013. “We were in the process of knocking down our old house to build a new one,” explains James, “and our architect, Michael Tempest, said to us that when you have a house built, it’s a bit like baking a cake: you need a cake stand for it to sit on to show it off. That really struck a chord with me.” The eight-acre plot surrounding Tunstall Grange, on the outskirts of Catterick in North Yorkshire, consisted of a collection of old farm buildings that were being incorporated into the new house design, a field grazed by sheep, a lake that James had dug and some shrubs that had been planted by James a few years before. “Our brief to Alistair was to join the field, the lake and the new house together so it felt like a coherent space,” says James. “Our architect, who loves caves and grottoes, also sowed the seed of an idea for a water feature, and Jo and I both thought it would be lovely to be able to hear the sound of water from the terrace and the house.” “When I first visited the site, the old farm cottages were in the process of being demolished and the architect was still designing the new house, so I had to use a huge leap of the imagination,” says Alistair. Coming on board at this point, however, meant it was possible for Alistair to work on the idea for a stone water cascade. “We spent weeks coming up with a design for the cascade, which would create the illusion of water emerging from beneath the house, when in fact it’s pumped from the lake up to the house into a grotto-type structure under the main garden terrace. We also designed it so that it would utilise the rainwater run-off from the roof of the new house. From the grotto, the water would then tumble down into a series of pools formed by stone walls, with each pool lined with rocks and pebbles from a local quarry, before joining the curving lake lower down the garden. The idea was to draw the eye down the cascade, along the lake, over the rolling North Yorkshire landscape and out to the horizon,” says Alistair. “We looked at lots of different configurations for the cascade. I didn’t feel that something formal would fit the rural location and I was keen to avoid anything that would feel twee or contrived. The resulting design is flowing and organic, but on a sufficiently grand scale to sit within the large space.” Because the building of the cascade was so inextricably linked to the building of the house, this became the first phase of the garden project, which included digging out the lake to make it deeper. “The lake that was already there was too shallow 48 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
Right A dreamlike tapestry of planting unites grasses with vivid heleniums and pale pink Persicaria polymorpha. Bottom right Paths are softened by planting to give an immersive feel. Bottom left The stone cascade’s series of pools are lined with pebbles from a local quarry. Below James and Jo Lambert, the owners of Tunstall Grange.
and murky because it collects a lot of water from the land drains on James’s fields, so the deeper lake meant that the water could drop its silt making it much clearer,” Alistair explains. Alistair was keen that the cascade could be traversed at certain points, so he designed two curving bridges constructed from crisply cut timber, which appear to float over the water. “The planting around the cascade acts as a visual plinth to the house, so it needed to be both natural in its aesthetic and strong in its massing, holding its own against the confident stone mass of the new house. I designed it to clothe the sloping ground on each side of the cascade in broad natural sweeps, which echo the lines of the far horizon to form a tapestry of spires, plumes and dots.” The result is a dreamy impressionistic landscape where the greeny-yellow domes of Phlomis russeliana contrast with the SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 49
Above left Autumnal
shades in the path-side clumps of Hylotelephium ‘Munstead Dark Red’. Above right The courtyard garden is more restrained, with green hakonechloa and buddleia against yew. Below Ferns thrive in shady pockets in the replanted field.
50 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
hot pink spires of Stachys monieri ‘Hummelo’, the pale pink flower spikes of Lythrum salicaria ‘Blush’ and the steely-blue globes of Echinops ritro ‘Veitch’s Blue’. Meanwhile, impressive stands of Persicaria polymorpha, with its froth of creamywhite flowers that fade to pale pink as summer merges into autumn, add both height and presence, as do clumps of veronicastrum, their striking seedheads just starting to form. The spiky low hummocks of the grass Sesleria autumnalis mingle with Hylotelephium ‘Munstead Dark Red’ to soften the edges of buff-coloured gravel paths. The cascade planting is indisputably at its peak in late summer and early autumn, but Alistair has planted for earlier in the year too, with Iris sibirica, drifts of drumstick primulas, alliums and tulips. Because tulips aren’t reliably perennial, more are added every autumn to ensure a good spring display. Further phases of the garden design have included an elegant courtyard entrance to the house. “Cars used to park right next to the previous house, but we didn’t want that here. We were keen for
Above A summerhouse with a decking area for relaxation overlooks the tranquil lake; deepening the lake has made its waters even clearer.
this garden to have a different feel from the other areas,” explains James. Surrounded by buildings on three sides – the large elevation of the house and the original barns – this is a sheltered, enveloping space in contrast to the expansive cascade garden. “There are a lot of different types of stone work and architectural styles, so I chose to work with a more pared-back planting palette in this area,” says Alistair. Two Magnolia stellata were planted to create a link with an existing specimen outside the courtyard garden. A calming backdrop of green is provided by yew topiary and the grasses Calamagrostis brachytricha, Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ and Hakonechloa macra, through which Alistair has woven dwarf buddleia, its magenta flowers just poking out above the sea of grasses, while Verbena bonariensis appears to float through the planting. Erigeron karvinskianus softens path edges, and the tulips ‘White Triumphator’ and almost-black ‘Paul Scherer’ are planted for spring interest. The field that was once home to sheep has now been planted so that the garden gently merges into
Stands of Persicaria polymorpha, with its froth of creamy-white flowers, add both height and presence
SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 51
“We love how the planting celebrates the seasons and the contrasts between the different areas” the wider landscape. “The shrubs that had been planted previously were struggling to establish in the heavy clay soil, so we stripped the beds, put in land drains and dug over the soil, preparing the ground before replanting,” explains Alistair. A couple of the original fruit trees were shaped and pruned and have been joined by new plantings to create an orchard. Trees such as white-stemmed birches, liquidambars and Prunus serrula, whose amber bark glows in the autumn light, as well as shrubs such as cotinus and Hydrangea paniculata ‘Kyushu’, have been planted in islands with a mix of daylilies, agapanthus, salvias and grasses such as stipa and deschampsia, with their diaphanous, golden seedheads. This area is already maturing to create curving drifts of colour and pockets with a woodland feel; in the resulting shady spots, ferns now thrive. “I’ve been a businessman all my life and there have been similar challenges in making this garden,” says James. “But we love the peace and tranquillity, how the planting celebrates the seasons and the contrasts between the different areas. We just get so much pleasure from this place.” n 52 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
Above Grasses, including deschampsia and stipa, soften boundaries with the wider landscape. Right Spiky steel-blue balls of Echinops ritro ‘Veitch’s Blue’. Below Great drifts of hot pink Stachys ‘Hummelo’, phlomis and spiky Sesleria autumnalis.
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Below Hot pink Echinacea
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54 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
The Fast TRACK
At Highfield Farm in Monmouthshire, Jenny and Roger Lloyd used their vast experience to open a garden with instant impact, where dense perennials tower over narrow paths to immerse the visitor WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS CAROLE DRAKE
W
hen Roger and Jenny Lloyd began making a garden around Highfield Farm in rural Monmouthshire in 2017 they wanted quick results: “We had the intention of opening for the National Garden Scheme within two years, so we planted very tall plants in blocks of 15 and in just one growing season we had immediate impact,” says Roger. The couple had opened their previous garden in Cheshire for six years to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support, whose nurses cared for Jenny’s mum at the end of her life, and have now raised more than £40,000 from entrance fees and plant sales across the two gardens. As well as being obsessive fundraisers, both Roger and Jenny are fascinated by plants: Jenny grew up at Highfield Farm in a gardening family, and helped her godmother sell cut flowers at Abergavenny market. She went on to have a varied career in horticulture, including plant breeding at Sutton’s Seeds, importing
tropical plants for offices and film sets, working as a garden designer and running a small nursery. Roger admits he didn’t much like plants as a boy, having been tasked with cutting the privet hedge around his parents’ front garden, and considered the hybrid tea roses in his grandfather’s garden to be “vicious damn things”. “My interest in plants all started with Jenny,” he admits. “Although it didn’t really take root until I retired and we made the commitment to open for charity.” While Jenny’s father had planted some unusual and beautiful trees, including araucarias (monkey puzzles), ginkgos (the maidenhair tree) and gleditsias (the honey locust), there wasn’t much structure in the garden when the couple moved in, bringing with them a furniture van filled with over 700 plants. After spending two years renovating and extending the old farmhouse, they were ready to start work on the garden: Jenny had a topographical survey made of the sloping land around the house, SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 55
Above Standard hydrangeas in pots line the terrace with its stylish seating areas. Left Jenny and Roger Lloyd, who began work on the Highfield Farm garden in 2017.
56 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
while Roger got stuck in mowing curving pathways into the long grass to work out a layout. While the garden is very much a joint effort, Roger and Jenny come at it from different directions: “I can’t work things out on paper first, I have to have it in front of me, and I read the space as I go,” says Roger. Jenny, meanwhile, is keen to know the dimensions of a space before starting a design. Initial challenges included “a plague of rabbits, the national collection of ground elder and strong winds from the north and east”. On a more positive note, the site has a fertile, free-draining soil with a pH of 5.5, which produces “stunning deep blue hydrangeas”. Jenny was delighted to find that roses and peonies, shrubs that hated the dry, sandy conditions around their Cheshire home, thrived in the Monmouthshire soil: her desert island plant would be Rosa mutabilis. Now encompassing almost three acres, the garden is a densely planted sequence of spaces spreading out from the old farmhouse and its modern extension, taking visitors on a journey through a garden “defined by plants”. Influenced by gardens such as Wollerton Old Hall in Shropshire and Le Jardin Plume in Normandy, and the approach of designers Piet Oudolf and Tom Stuart-Smith, Roger and Jenny have made a garden where
Vivid, impactful perennials here include lime-green patrinia, persicaria, torches of kniphofia and achillea.
SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 57
A black-stemmed hydrangea
Althaea cannabina
Heliopsis helianthoides var. scabra ‘Bleeding Hearts’
Rosa ‘Eye of the Tiger’
Rudbeckia maxima
Echinacea purpurea ‘Fatal Attraction’
Agastache ‘Blackadder’
Albizia julibrissin f. rosea
58 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
Kniphofia ‘Tawny King’
“design is submissive to plants and evolves as they grow. We’re choreographers of plants rather than disciplinarians,” explains Roger. In late summer, the ‘Joni Mitchell’ garden – so called because Roger’s “canyon of plants” reminded him of Mitchell’s album, Ladies of the Canyon – is a richly coloured and textured forest of towering herbaceous perennials and grasses. It includes three-metre tall Miscanthus x giganteus and soaring Vernonia arkansana ‘Mammuth’, topped with clusters of pink-mauve flowers, a self-supporting giant ironweed from North America that can reach two metres. “We kept the paths narrow so you’re almost buried among the plants; you become immersed in them, although Jenny does complain that the paths aren’t wide enough to get the wheelbarrow along,” says Roger. Colour is rich and jewel-like: the orange flowerheads of 1.5m high Kniphofia ‘Nobilis’ glow among the fluffy pink wands of Sanguisorba ‘Blackthorn’ and zingy chartreuse of Patrinia aff. punctiflora vibrates against intense magenta Echinacea purpurea ‘Fatal Attraction’.
Above A path mown through longer grass is lined with Allium ‘Summer Drummer’ and leads to a sculpture, Longface, by Dennis Fairweather, set on a Corten steel plinth.
“Permanent structure comes from fastigiate copper beeches, which give a sense of verticality that is reflected in everything else, in contrast to the horizontals of Cornus controversa ‘Variegata’ that I’ve used in the newly planted meadow where perennials rise out of a matrix of grasses,” explains Roger. Colour here is more muted: a mix of purples, pale yellows and soft oranges, including Agastache ‘Blackadder’, a blue-black hyssop beloved by bees, and Kniphofia ‘Tawny King’ with bicolour poker flowers of apricot and orange. The garden also hosts a fine collection of shrubs, including dogwoods and hydrangeas, the latter being a particular passion of Roger’s that was ignited during the four years that the couple lived in America. Looking especially fine in August is Hydrangea aspera ‘Hot Chocolate’, with its large, pink and mauve, lace-cap flowers and leaves with warm red undersides that make the whole shrub glow. Jenny volunteered at the famous Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania while in the US. “It was here that we first saw ‘black water’,”
“We kept the paths narrow so you’re almost buried among the plants; you become immersed in them”
SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 59
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“Design is submissive to plants and evolves as they grow. We’re choreographers rather than disciplinarians”
The smart gravel garden perfectly complements the more contemporary addition to the original farmhouse building.
SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 61
Gravel garden tips Roger and Jenny made their gravel garden on a sloping area of poor, rubbly soil left after the building work on the house was finished. It gave them an opportunity to grow plants not suited to the rich, fertile soil in other parts of the garden. l Gravel reflects heat, so choose plants that enjoy hot, dry conditions. Surprisingly hylotelephiums (formerly sedums) struggled, so these had to be taken out and planted elsewhere.
Plants that have flourished include pale yellow scabious, Scabiosa columbaria subsp. ochroleuca, white-flowered Gaura lindheimeri ‘Whirling Butterflies’ and Baptisia australis with its deep blue lupin-like flowers. l
Don’t overplant otherwise you risk losing the sense of it being a gravel garden and it just starts looking like a mixed border. Maintain plenty of space between your plants. l
she recalls. “It’s the practice of gardeners Justine Gallaccio and Top A thick swathe of persicaria and rudbeckia. using food dye in ponds, which Mike Fleming, former WRAGS Above right Ground gives a crystal-clear look as well (Work and Retrain as a Gardener Sphere by Rose & Rust as preventing algal growth. We’re Scheme) trainee Trudi Cowper, and marks a junction of paths. going to use it in the circular pool in Above left Zingy Patrinia a cousin, Ron Davage. Roger and aff. punctiflora makes a the new meadow, with just a ring of Jenny have recently agreed “not to great foil for bright Miscanthus sinensis ‘Gracillimus’ cut any more beds”. Even so, they perennial flowers. around it. Everything will calm may introduce planting below the down at that spot, with the still avenue of Pyrus ‘Chanticleer’ that water and the rustling of the grasses.” frames the original driveway to the farm; there’s The ‘Luxury Meadow’, so called because it always space for a few more plants after all… n features cultivated plants rather than wildflowers, is Roger’s project, while most other parts of the Highfield Farm, Penperlleni, Goytre, garden are a shared enterprise except for the Monmouthshire NP4 0AA. Opens 11 September polytunnels, glasshouses and the kitchen garden, and to groups by appointment from 1 May to 30 which are under Jenny’s control; she is also September in aid of the National Garden Scheme. chief propagator, raising plants for sale on open Tel: 01873 880030; ngs.org.uk. Instagram: days. On Thursdays, help arrives in the form of @davidrogerlloyd and @jenny.plants 62 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
l Roger and Jenny tried laying a permeable membrane on one side and not the other. The side without the membrane has performed better with more vigorous growth. l Gravel gardens are fairly low maintenance but keep on top of self-seeders: Verbena ‘Bampton’ is everywhere at Highfield Farm, and, according to Jenny, whatever you do, don’t plant bronze fennel because it will take over.
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TO P 1 0 P L A N T S
Natural Beauty
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Head of Horticulture at London’s Horniman Museum, Errol Fernandes picks ten plants for naturalistic schemes inspired by the museum’s Grassland Garden
INTERVIEW VIVIENNE HAMBLY IMAGE CLIVE NICHOLS
ne of the star attractions of the grounds of the Horniman Museum in South London, is the Grassland Garden designed by James Hitchmough. Featuring plants from North American and South African grassland biomes, it’s a masterclass in naturalistic planting. Keeping a close eye on the gardens is Errol Fernandes, head of horticulture, who joined the
Museum in April 2021 and focuses on sustainability, biodiversity and meeting the challenges of a changing climate. Here he picks ten plants for naturalistic schemes. “These ten are all firm favourites, but they also work well combined with each other,” he explains. Horniman Museum and Gardens, 100 London Road, Forest Hill, London SE23 3PQ. Tel: 0208 699 1872; horniman.ac.uk
1 Dierama pulcherrimum ‘Merlin’ This dierama species is threatened in its South African habitat, where it benefits from summer rain and well-drained soil. The commercial variety, ‘Merlin’, is available from specialist growers. “It hates overcrowding, but has such presence,” says Errol.
SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 65
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2 Echinacea pallida
3 Erigeron annuus
Bearing subtly coloured pink blooms fading almost to white, this reflex-petalled species needs full sun to really thrive. “The thin petals of the flowers of this echinacea hang down in an achingly cool almost nonchalant manner,” notes Errol, “but they also turn into fantastic seedheads that are held in place long into winter.”
Larger than popular Erigeron karvinskianus, E. annuus reaches around a metre in height, with upright stems that bear a mass of white daisies. “Beautifully transparent, this plant is best woven through a planting scheme and works just as well at the front of the border as it does at the back,” Errol observes.
4 Symphyotrichum turbinellum
5 Molinia ‘Transparent’
“With thin wiry stems standing tall above fine foliage, these flowers appear to float above the plant,” says Errol. Native to dry prairies in the USA, the priairie aster flowers from August to October, reaching an approximate height of 1m. “It’s mildewresistant, and works so well with grasses,” he adds.
“A stunning grass. This has such a small footprint on the ground but erupts to create a beautifully transparent display of flowers over and through other plants. It takes on the most lovely buttery yellow tones in autumn and requires little maintenance, collapsing to the ground after a frost or two with no cutting required.”
66 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
IMAGES SHUTTERSTOCK; CLIVE NICHOLS; GAP/CAROLE DRAKE/ROBERT MABIC
6 Liatris aspera A robust, drought-tolerant plant with elegant flowers borne at the height of summer. For best growth and to reach its full height of 2m, it needs plenty of sun and well-drained soil. “The thin stems hold beautiful, almost feathery, purple blooms,” says Errol. “The foliage is fine and insignificant.”
SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 67
7 Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
8 Stipa barbata
This New England aster bears abundant, daisy-like flowerheads. “It’s a rich purple with good mildew resistance,” notes Errol. “It’s also one of the earlier asters to flower.” Frost-hardy, it grows well in full sun or part-shade, but it does require well-drained soil.
Also known as bearded feather grass, this perennial grows best in full sun. Its summer flowers are silvery to begin with and become softer and fluffier with age. “Its long flower plumes catch the breeze and whip around other plants. This grass provides so much animation and drama,” says Errol.
9 Sporobolus heterolepis
10 Parthenium integrifolium
“A stunningly airy grass when in bloom, Sporobolus heterolepsis isn’t that tall but works so well with asters, heleniums and Eryngium x zabelii ‘Jos Eijking’,” observes Errol. This is a deciduous grass that will benefit from having its old stems cut back in late winter ahead of spring growth.
“This is a stunning plant all through the year, but in spring and summer it bears clusters of white flowers that have a pearl-like appearance, particularly in bud. The seedheads darken to almost black and look fantastic against the paler lignified stems of grasses and other perennials,” says Errol. n
‘Marina Wolkonsky’
68 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
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Butterfly Effect Often wrongly derided as a wasteland weed, buddleja lives up to its name of ‘butterfly bush’, its colourful, scented blooms being thronged by colourful pollinators all summer long. Here, National Collection holder and breeder Peter Moore recommends his favourite varieties WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHS NICOLA STOCKEN
Buddleja davidii ‘Shire Blue’, one of the buddlejas in Peter Moore’s extensive National Collection in Hampshire. SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 71
P L A N T FO C U S
A
balmy summer’s day spent strolling through the gardens at Longstock Park Nursery vividly illustrates why buddleja is commonly known as the ‘butterfly bush’. Here, flitting to and fro among countless flowers, are scores of butterflies – painted ladies, peacocks and small tortoiseshells, ever on the wing. “What other summer-flowering shrub brings so much pleasure to children and adults alike?” asks Peter Moore, keeper of this Plant Heritage National Collection of Buddleja and breeder of some 13 new varieties. At Longstock, some 70 Buddleja davidii cultivars are displayed in long dedicated beds, alongside 30 hybrids and a handful of species. Flowering starts
72 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
Above A Painted Lady
butterfly confirms the appeal of the butterfly bush; this is Buddleja davidii ‘Windtor’.
in early summer with B. alternifolia and peaks in July and August with the B. davidii cultivars, their dense conical flowers opening in rich shades of pink, purple and gold, along with soft whites. Buddleja x weyeriana comes to the fore at the same time, and it is easily differentiated by its rounded clusters of fragrant flowers in shades of gold, pink, violet or near-blue. Originating from Asia, Africa and the Americas, there are some 100 species of buddleja, and while those such as B. davidii, B. x weyeriana and B. alternifolia are hardy, there are also many tender species that flower earlier in the year under glass. The genus was named after the Reverend Adam Buddle, a 17th-century botanist, while B. davidii immortalises the missionary and plant collector, Père David, who introduced it into Europe from Tibet in 1869. Since then, selective breeding and hybridisation have resulted in some 200 cultivars and hybrids. “And that number looks likely to increase, given the growing interest in dwarf cultivars with larger flowers,” adds Peter. Longstock’s National Collection started out in the early 1990s as a screen of buddleja planted to protect roses from deer and rabbits (they dislike the taste). Some 50 B. davidii cultivars were amassed, and soon they were overflowing into the nursery gardens. Dedicated beds were duly created, and with careful pruning and regular deadheading they now offer three months’ worth of colour. “Many people associate buddleja with weeds springing up on waste ground, but here they can experience the true beauty of these plants,” Peter explains. Peter has spent his life propagating plants, starting in 1960 at Hillier Nurseries, before joining Longstock Park Nursery in 1997 and taking over the National Collection in 2002. “Since then, as a hobby, I’ve developed many new plants that I trial extensively in my own garden,” he explains. These include B. ‘Pride of Longstock’, late-flowering ‘Longstock Autumn Delight’, and ‘Berries and Cream’, which has unusual variegated flowers. “During six years of trials, more butterflies were attracted to ‘Berries and Cream’ than any other cultivar in my garden,” he is keen to point out.
Top left ‘Marbled White’
is a compact variety, reaching 1-1.5m tall. Top right Peter’s ‘Longstock Autumn Delight’ flowers from late August into September. Below right The slender, tapering flower of redpink ‘Sugar Plum’. Below left ‘Berries and Cream’, bred by Peter Moore, has variegated pink and white flowers.
SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 73
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P L A N T FO C U S
Above left ‘White Profusion’ holds an AGM and is considered one of the best white varieties. Above right ‘Buzz Velvet’, one of a series of compact buddlejas, is ideal for containers. Below ‘Moonshine’ has distinctive golden foliage, in contrast with its rich purple flowers.
There is also the lower-growing B. davidii cultivar ‘Sugar Plum’, which produces long, tapering clusters of fragrant, pinkish-red flowers. “I tend to focus on more compact varieties because gardens are getting smaller, and if you love butterflies there’s no point having a two-metre-high plant with the butterflies right up in the gods – particularly if you have small children,” Peter observes. It is during the quiet winter months that Peter researches and plans a programme of the genera he will work on over the coming year. “In the case of buddleja, I aim to breed cultivars with sterile flowers so they are not invasive – crossing species often results in hybrids that do not set seed,” he explains. He prefers to painstakingly pollinate the flowers of chosen plants himself, rather than relying on insects. “This lets me raise more complex hybrids, and it’s far more satisfying than allowing the bees to do all the work.” At the same time, seed company Thompson & Morgan has bred the Buzz™ series, a range of different compact cultivars which, having denser habits and larger flowers, mature to about half the size of older cultivars. Meanwhile, in the USA, Peter Podaras has bred the Flutterby® series of compact mounded plants best suited to container growing. While the flowers inevitably attract attention from gardeners and insects alike, the foliage should not SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 75
P L A N T FO C U S
be overlooked. On B. davidii ‘Moonshine’, for example, the spring shoots are a deep yellow, turning golden green by summer – not dissimilar to B. davidii ‘Leela Kapila’, a cultivar reputedly happiest when grown in light shade. When Peter took over the collection, there were 12 B. x weyeriana cultivars. “But they all looked the same, so I whittled them down to just three,” he recalls. “My favourite is ‘Sungold’ – it is such a pure colour.” The other two are ‘Golden Glow’ and ‘Moonlight’, both bred by Major John Bates van de Weyer in Dorset, while on leave during World War I. There are also, Peter is keen to point out, others among the 16 hardy species in the collection that are worth growing such as B. cordata subsp. tomentella, a small tree covered in sweetly scented, creamy white flowers, or B. lindleyana which bears short, dainty purplish clusters. “Although hardy, it is best protected from winter winds,” he notes. n
Above left Less wellknown, B. lindleyana is hardy but still needs shelter from cold winds. Above right B. x weyeriana ‘Moonlight’ has clusters of rounded flowers in shades of sunset orange and violet.
Longstock Park Nursery, Longstock, Stockbridge, Hampshire SO20 6EH. For opening times see leckfordestate.co.uk. Also visit buddlejacollection. com and bredbypetermoore.co.uk 76 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
GROWING ADVICE
Brilliant Buddlejas Given plenty of sun, buddlejas are relatively easy to care for. Peter Moore offers some pointers The best time to plant buddlejas is late spring, when the soil has warmed up. Most cultivars grow and flower best when given a sunny spot – they dislike deep shade. Buddleja also dislike winter wet, so improve drainage on heavy soils prone to waterlogging. B. davidii are unfussy about soil type and like slightly alkaline conditions so adding lime can be beneficial. Deadhead regularly, cutting off a flower once 25-50 per cent of it has gone brown. Wear gloves to avoid being stung by bees!
Feed in spring with a general purpose high-potash feed such as Vitax Q4. It helps with flower development and wood maturation. As a rule of thumb, species and B. alternifolia hybrids flowering in late spring and early summer do so on the previous year’s growth, so prune these after flowering. Later-flowering B. davidii cultivars and summer hybrids flower on this year’s growth, so prune lightly in autumn, removing any dead wood. Then cut back hard in mid to late spring, once the danger of frost has passed.
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NURSERIES
Keeping the Magic Alive Graham Gough and Lucy Goffin look back over 25 years of innovation at Marchants Hardy Plants, as they prepare to pass the reins to a new team who will continue its enchanting legacy WORDS MAX CRISFIELD PHOTOGRAPHS MIMI CONNOLLY
The feathery foliage of Sanguisorba tenuifolia ‘Stand Up Comedian’ fills gaps between eryngiums, Hedychium densiflorum ‘Assam Orange’ and daylilies.
SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 79
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W
hen I embarked on my mid-life horticultural career change, I asked garden designer Jinny Blom – to whom I’m tenuously related – for advice. “Jinny,” I said, “I seem to be in danger of becoming a gardener, can you help?” “There’s only one thing for it, Max,” she replied, “you need to meet Graham at Marchants. I’ll take you.” And she did. When I set eyes for the first time on this breathtakingly beautiful nursery and garden, cradled in the lap of the Sussex Downs, I felt I had ascended to some heavenly realm. Over a decade later, and here I am helping Graham Gough and Lucy Goffin celebrate 25 years since they found the two-acre site that would become Marchants Hardy Plants. There are mixed emotions today, because the 80 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
Above Pale gold Hemerocallis ‘Lady Fermor-Hesketh’ lights up Marchants’ garden. Clockwise from opposite top left Intricate heads
of Ammi majus and euphorbia; Stipa gigantea; a tapestry of grasses, Ammi majus and Euphorbia seguieriana subsp. niciciana; indigo Agapanthus ‘Hannah’s Crosses’; Geranium ‘Foundling’s Friend’.
nursery is also marking a changing of the guard as the couple step back from its day-to-day running and contemplate ‘retirement’, whatever that might mean. Graham remembers the day he first set eyes on the plot. “It had the most amazing view, which we fell for hook, line, and sinker. And the gentle slope down to the bottom of the field; with that I just knew you could make a good garden.” Not that it was all bucolic vistas and gentle gradients. “There was nothing in it,” says Lucy. “There was a lot in it – a lot of weeds!” counters Graham. “And old rusting cars!” Lucy winces at the memory. “And, of course, the wind,” adds Graham. “That wind!” Thinking back to those early days, Graham insists that the only skills he had were his musicianship (he’d embarked on an early career as a singer in the classical music world, but it had soon begun to wear
thin) and being a plantsman, which he’d learned over 16 years at Washfield Nursery alongside celebrated nurserywoman Elizabeth Strangman. “So, you see, there really was no other option!” Graham and Elizabeth began experimenting with herbaceous plants and grasses. It was during this time that they went to stay with a relatively unknown plantsman by the name of Piet Oudolf. “This was right at the beginning, and of course Piet rose out of that whole Dutch wave because he had this formidable talent. We saw all this beginning to emerge, a great cross-fertilisation with all those European growers, and it was so exciting.” Not that Graham wanted to be tied down by this new, naturalistic, prairie-style planting. “I’ve always maintained that this climate in England is so fantastic for plants, so why limit yourself to one SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 81
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Hedges are deliberately left uncut so as not to disturb birds, while grasses such as Molinia caerulea ‘Heidebraut’ add to the wildness.
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style? I think the best thing to say about Marchants is that it has always been eclectic.” Just a year after Graham and Lucy had acquired the land, the fledgling nursery opened to the public. A year later and they also had a garden. “I literally mapped out and shaped its contours with a lawnmower,” Graham says. Trying to distil what it is that has made Marchants stand out from the crowd for the last quartercentury is a complex equation. But for Graham and Lucy it boils down to three main things. First, they have always propagated all their own plants, something that is becoming increasingly rare among nurseries. Second, the garden is ostensibly one giant stock bed from which the nursery takes cuttings, collects seed and makes divisions. Again, quite rare. Third – and to my mind most significant – Marchants is about an aesthetic, an artistic
Top left White
rosebay willowherb, Chamaenerion angustifolium ‘Album’. Top right Leafy Silphium perfoliatum and spires of Acanthus spinosus, with the early sun picking out daylily ‘American Revolution’ and white rosebay willowherb. Above right Betonica ‘Marchants Pink’. Above left Cool tones of Salvia nemorosa ‘Amethyst’, tulbaghia and Agapanthus ‘Silver Blue’, offset by vivid California poppies.
sensibility born of a singular vision. Everything is touched by it. The garden, whose painterly combinations of herbaceous perennials and ornamental grasses create layer upon layer of movement and texture, colour and contrast, builds to a late-summer crescendo as the paths close in and the plants reach skywards with vertiginous vigour. Swathes of long grass and sensitive meadow plantings. The sine-wave curves of box, beech and yew hedging that echo the contours of the Downs. The nursery itself, with its own artisan vernacular. And those views. It all adds up to something special – which is no accident: “I wanted to work at the idea that this would be a beautiful place to visit,” says Graham. “Obviously, it was also about making a living, but it was the aesthetic that motivated me.” If this all sounds rather romantic, Graham and Lucy are quick to remind me that it has also been SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 83
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a lot of hard work, beset with the challenges that have faced all nurserymen and women over the past decade, from shifting tastes to climate change and economic uncertainty. Hearing Graham and Lucy’s story, of how they shaped this nursery and garden from a wild Sussex field into a thriving business, I suggest that their recent decision to hand over the reins to a new team can’t have been easy. “We’ve been very lucky really,” says Graham, “because we’ve been able to remain in the place that we love and choose the team who will take Marchants forward.” The pandemic, which ironically gave the nursery two of its busiest years, also saw new blood arrive, including professional gardener Henry Macaulay and long-time Marchants devotee Jean Christie. Together with nursery manager Hannah Fox, who has learned her craft at Graham’s side over the past eight years, these three are the new linchpins of the Marchants management team, ably supported by a small, dedicated group of volunteers. What will it be like to have to fill such big shoes? For Henry, “It’s a bit like being given a Ming vase to hold,” – a rare privilege but also a huge
Above left Spikes of
hooded lilac flowers on Phlomis cashmeriana are held above soft mounds of velvety foliage. Above right Spiky Eryngium planum offers a metallic shimmer. Right The feathery texture of Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Overdam’ contrasts with bobbly Sanguisorba officinalis ‘Arnhem’.
Home-Grown SPECIALS Marchants is famous for its propagation of exciting new cultivars. Here are five of Graham’s favourites Agapanthus I was introduced to these wonderful plants early on, and the love affair has continued ever since. I recommend Agapanthus ‘Marchants Night Sky’ – so dark you can’t negotiate with it in a border – and the brilliant, rich blues of our ‘Fox’ series. Salvia I’m particularly proud of Salvia ‘Marchants
Chalk White’, a chance seedling with large flowers in white – actually quite a rare colour for this genus. Sanguisorba From the beginning, we led the field with these striking, clumpforming, meadow plants. Our elegant Sanguisorba ‘Burr Blanc’ is hard to beat for a white variety. Hylotelephium We’ve received three AGMs for our sedum
84 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
selections. My own Hylotelephium ‘Purple Emperor’, with its deep maroon leaves and clusters of pale pink flowers, got the whole scene going. Tulbaghia These ‘society garlic’ are loved for their small lilac, purple and white flowers, which bloom for ages. Tulbaghia ‘Fairy Star MK II’, with its pale pink, star-shaped flowers, is my pick.
responsibility. That said, they are determined to experiment and move forward. “We want to introduce new plants, to keep it fresh and exciting,” says Hannah. In the long-term they see Marchants developing as a place of learning and skill sharing. It’s also about becoming a beacon for sustainable horticulture in the era of climate change, Jean tells me: “We’ll think hard about what direction gardening takes now.” “We all talk about the magic of Marchants,” says Henry. “You expect a certain standard of how things look and feel; people come for that as much as they do the plants. It’s part of the experience, and we aim to keep the magic alive.” I imagine for Graham and Lucy, that this must be music to their ears. “It’ll be a big learning curve,” reflects Graham, “but they are continuing our legacy; the Marchants ethic and ethos remain and that’s what’s important to us and our customers.” n Marchants Hardy Plants, 2 Marchants Cottages, Mill Lane, Laughton, Lewes, East Sussex BN8 6AJ. Tel: 01323 811737; marchantshardyplants.co.uk
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G R OW YO U R OW N
Summer’s Last Hurrah Summer is fading into autumn, but a golden, late-season sun is still bringing crops to fruition at Thyme in Southrop, with apples and root vegetables at their finest, and the final waves of courgettes, tomatoes, sweetcorn and beans ready to harvest WORDS VIVIENNE HAMBLY PHOTOGRAPHS SUSSIE BELL
By the end of September, autumn settles gently on the Kitchen Garden at Thyme in Gloucestershire.
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Above Growth slows as
days shorten and nights cool, with energies directed into ripening fruit and setting seed.
S
eptember is a golden month in the vegetable garden. With crops slowing down, there isn’t the same pressure to keep up with the harvest as there is earlier in the year, nor is there urgent, constant watering to attend to. This is the month in which things tick along, allowing time to savour the last weeks of the formal growing season. Tomatoes continue to ripen; there may still be some sweetcorn to pick; courgettes slow down although, if they are fed and watered, they will still have a few weeks of life left in them; and chard and spinach may well have leaves worthy of picking before they set seed. In the Kitchen Garden at Thyme near Southrop in Gloucestershire, head gardener Victoria Bowsher is enjoying the gentler pace the month brings. She harvests fruit and root vegetables and keeps an eye on the autumn and winter seasons to come.
88 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
Bearing Fruit Apples and pears are a highlight of the season at Thyme, and this month the apple harvest begins in earnest. “We have such a variety,” Victoria observes. When the trees were planted at Thyme, the intention was to have a sequence of fruiting trees to prolong the harvest, although Victoria admits some of the labels have since gone astray. “I’m going to have to get in an apple expert to identify them,” she says. But the best of what is produced goes straight to the kitchen. “Anything that’s not quite so good we send away to be pressed for apple juice. It’s so sweet and delicious.” Medlars and pears feature at Thyme, too. “We pick the medlars as late as we possibly can. The kitchen makes jams and even cocktail syrups with them,” she explains. Fruiting trees can be as decorative as they are useful. Espaliered pears feature in the ornamental
Top left Runner beans are likely to be tougher by now. Leave the beans to fatten on the stem, then pod them. Top right Carrots, parsnips and celeriac can be left in the ground until needed. Above Apples of all kinds come into harvest at Thyme in September. Crab apples are a good food source for birds. Left Try the Japanese anemone ‘Bressingham Glow’ for bright colour.
gardens located close to the hotel. Down in the Kitchen Garden, ornamental crab apples in terracotta pots line a central path: in spring they are awash with tender blossom, but at this time of year they are laden with clusters of jewel-bright fruit. While the birds, especially thrushes, enjoy the lion’s share of these, they are also sent up to the kitchen to be turned into jelly. Clusters of the tiny apples feature in indoor arrangements, too, where they complement late-season flowers. If you are considering planting new fruit trees, now is a good time to visit an orchard to research the varieties you might like and to place an order for winter delivery – winter being the best time to plant. Pay special attention to rootstock, which will determine the size to which a tree will grow as well as its suitability for training and growing in containers. One of the best places to see fruit trees in SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 89
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Based at the Chelsea Physic Garden January – March 2016and led by Rosemary Alexander and architect Catriona Rowbotham, the course is anall overview Garden to Design, covering the elements neededsubject, to rethink anincluding average garden. Taking Covers youofneed know inallthis diverse studentsreal step bydesign step through site surveying, using CAD the grid,tuition. horizontal and features, garden in layouts and TWO projects and (3vertical days a week school, planting plans, costing and specification, plushomework) drawing tuition and homework on design and plant portfolios. Tutors 10am-3.15pm, plus 2 days are well respected in the industry and will guide students on how to succeed in this diverse profession. (2 days a week (WedMAKERS & Thur) 10.30am-3.15pm, plus 2 days homework) GARDEN DAY October 2015 GARDENING
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A stepping stone to a new career. These two correspondence courses are a step by step guide to either designing your 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.
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Garden of Medicinal Plants – Chelsea Physic Garden
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TECHNIQUE
Lavender bunches At the height of flowering, lavender is adored by bees and other pollinators, and for this reason it is a superb addition to the kitchen garden. ‘Hidcote’ is a dwarf variety that is ideal for lining paths in a vegetable patch. It grows to about 50cm tall and 50-75cm wide. For a solid hedge, space young plants about 30cm apart. With pollinators in mind, leave lavender flowers on bushes a little longer than you might usually. To make a lavender bunch, cut the flowering stems as long as possible, stripping any foliage. Gather the stems into bunches and secure with an elastic band. Using elastic is important because it will contract as the stems dry. Finally, hang the bunches upside down in a well-ventilated spot. Once dry, use them in arrangements along with dried teasels and poppy seedheads. You can also strip off the flowers to use in lavender bags for a neat Christmas stocking filler. Lavender stems also make superb, fragrant kindling.
situ is at Brogdale Collections, Kent, the home of the National Fruit Collection, brogdalecollections.org
New Roots Root vegetables are one of the great pleasures of autumn and if you sowed seed earlier in the year, a crop will just be coming to bear. Beetroot are probably the easiest root vegetables to grow, with a direct sowing period from April to July: they are quick to harvest and come in a range of shapes and sizes. Turnips make a fast crop to sow in June and July after potatoes for example, but keep in mind their slightly peppery leaves, which are enjoyable steamed. If the leaves are what you’re after, you can still sow turnips in September for a cut-and-comeagain crop in early spring. Celeriac is slower to germinate than beetroot or turnips, but its sweet, nutty, slightly sharp contribution to stews, soups and remoulade makes it one of the joys of autumn eating. From seed sown in early spring, the celeriac harvest begins this month and the roots will keep in the ground until March: consider their bed a ready-made root-store. The same goes for parsnips, which will happily stay in the ground until late winter. Although it can be exciting to pull up a long-awaited root, the best advice is to pick parsnips only after they have experienced a frost, turning their starch to sugar. “Because we don’t have large storage facilities, we also tend to leave carrots in the ground, especially if we’ve made a late sowing,” explains Victoria. To lift roots easily, she gives each plant a sharp push into the ground before pulling it up. It can also help to twist the root as you pull it out of the soil.
Above left Crab apples are mainly ornamental but they also make an excellent jelly – and a seasonal addition to indoor arrangements. Above middle Give roots a little push or twist to release them before pulling them up. Above right Tied bunches of lavender make fragrant decorations and kindling.
Seeds to Sow Now l Onion seed (not sets) l Spinach l Rocket l Lettuces
Harvesting Now l Beans l Courgettes l Globe artichokes l Kale l Leeks l Potatoes l Sweetcorn l Tomatoes
SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 91
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SEASONAL RECIPE
Chard, bean & lemon soup Preserved lemon brings a sharp note to this hearty, healthy autumnal dish that makes the most of seasonal chard and beans
SERVES 4 2 tbsp olive oil 1 onion, diced 1 clove of garlic, peeled & sliced Rind of ½ a preserved lemon, diced 4-6 leaves of chard, stalks and leaves separated, with stalks sliced on an angle and leaves roughly chopped 250g butter beans or cannellini beans
(drained weight), soaked and cooked, or jarred or tinned 800ml liquor, use the broth the beans have been cooked in, vegetable stock or water ½ a lemon, juiced Maldon salt flakes & pepper Crusty bread, to serve
METHOD Place a large pot over a medium heat, add the olive oil and sweat the onion and garlic for five minutes or until it is soft and translucent. Add the preserved lemon rind and stir. Then add the chard stalks, along with a splash of water, and cook until they soften. Next, put the chard leaves into the pot and cook for a few minutes until they are tender and any water the leaves have released has been cooked out. Add the cooked beans along with the cooking liquor, stock or water and simmer. Finally, add the lemon juice and season to taste. Serve the soup in bowls with fresh, crusty bread. n
IMAGE KIRSTIE YOUNG
Chard is one of the stalwarts of the kitchen garden, offering abundant fresh green leaves from early spring until autumn, when its growth slows. Frost-hardy, it will survive most winter conditions, and can take light picking during this time. ‘Bright Lights’ and ‘Fordhook Giant’ are straightforward varieties to grow. Chard’s prominent stems, particularly on a variety like ‘Fordhook Giant’, take longer to cook than the leaves, so cut them out and start them off first. If you’ve left homegrown beans to fatten on their stems, you could try them with chard in this hearty autumn soup. If the
podded beans are swollen but haven’t dried, they can be cooked right away. Dried beans, often bought in bulk, are cost-effective but need an overnight soak before they are cooked and may require a slightly longer cooking time in addition. Otherwise use tinned beans, which are quick and easy. “This is a simple and delicious soup, a take on something my mother, Caryn, makes,” says Thyme’s head chef Charlie Hibbert. “The addition of preserved lemon makes it feel a little different and special. It’s very quick to rustle up, plus it keeps for a day or two in the fridge.”
92 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
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Chris Beardshaw Container Gardening Fresh from winning another gold medal at Chelsea 2022, Chris covers all aspects of container planting, from choosing containers to planting up complex designs.
IMAGES LEARNING WITH EXPERTS/ISTOCK
ore than 40,000 students from 80 countries have taken a Learning with Experts course. It’s an exclusive and affordable chance to develop a passion for gardening, while learning from home with a world-class expert. Learning with Experts’ renowned tutors include the likes of Piet Oudolf, Noel Kingsbury, Andy McIndoe, Sally Nex, Jimi Blake and Chris Beardshaw. Interactive classrooms let you chat to your tutor and classmates, with on-demand lessons you can take at your own pace and hands-on projects to practise what you’ve learnt, plus feedback on your work from your tutor. Courses cover topics from self-sufficiency in vegetables to plant photography and Piet Oudolf’s design techniques. They’re suited to all levels, from novice gardener to qualified horticulturist. Start when you’re ready and join lessons at times that suit you. See the full range of courses online at learningwithexperts.com ● Save 20% on your next Learning with Experts course. Use code TEGSEPT at the checkout. Valid for use until 31 October 2022. Not valid for use on RHS Level 2 courses or in combination with other discounts and offers.
CO U R S E S
LIVE & LEARN
WORDS CLARE FOGGETT IMAGE GAP/ROBERT MABIC/ZARA NAPIER; JAYNE LLOYD
Studying a gardening course can set you on the path of a new career, but what you learn can also have a beneficial effect on your day-to-day life
In association with
SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 95
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W
e all have different reasons for taking a course, but there’s one thing every ‘mature’ student has in common: when we retrain or decide to study a new subject by choice, rather than the ‘enforced’ learning of our school days, we appreciate it so much more. There’s a simple joy to be found just in learning more about a subject you love, whatever the end goal you have in mind. “It gives you such a sense of reward when you’re taking a walk in a park or garden and you’re able to think to yourself: ‘I know the name of that plant,’” says Bhupinder Sohanpal, who is studying for the prestigious RHS Diploma in Horticultural Practice. For Bhupinder, a former barrister, it was an unexpected illness that set her life on a different course. As she re-evaluated her career following a stroke, a chance encounter with the RHS members’ magazine in a hospital waiting room led her to join the Society’s new community allotment programme. 96 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
Above With its new
Hilltop education centre, the RHS’s Wisley garden is a hub of horticultural learning, with free talks, demonstrations and interactive sessions.
Through the programme, participants learn all about allotment growing over the course of a year, tending their own plot at RHS Wisley and receiving monthly classes from Wisley’s expert team. It was a programme manager who suggested Bhupinder apply to study the full-time diploma, which she’s now undertaking at an RHS-affiliated college. “I contacted the course director because I wanted to make sure I could do it, and they said that because I’d previously done a PhD, I’d walk through it, but it’s been really tough!” says Bhupinder. “It really is a rigorous course: the subject is brand new, there’s nothing I’ve learnt before, and I’m starting from scratch as an adult. But I’m loving the challenges of it: I got 96 per cent for the plant science module, which was the highest mark in the country. Just learning the mechanics of how a plant absorbs water – I thought it was miraculous.” Bhupinder thinks that learning the best possible gardening practices is one of the key benefits of the course. “I would say that the RHS sets the benchmark, and the course In association with
IMAGES RHS/OLIVER DIXON/HELEN YATES/KORRO FILMS; GAP/HOWARD RICE
enables you to garden to that standard. I’m not a perfectionist, but when I do something, I want to do it to the very best of my ability,” she explains. Bhupinder already knew how much gardening had helped in her recovery, but since starting the course she has become a passionate advocate for the benefits of gardening on wellbeing and health. “I want to make a career out of it,” she says. “I would love to practice horticulture with biodiversity and sustainability in mind and combine that with writing and speaking about the benefits of gardening. I want people to really, truly understand how much gardening and nature can benefit them. Life is a short and precious ride, and if you are contemplating studying horticulture whether for pleasure or as a career, then take the plunge. You have absolutely nothing to lose but so much to gain.” Patsy Stalker signed up for her first gardening course when she returned to the UK after ten years living and working abroad, and took on a new garden. “I thought: ‘I’d better go and learn In association with
“Life is a short and precious ride and if you are contemplating studying horticulture, then take the plunge. You have nothing to lose but so much to gain” Bhupinder Sohanpal Above left Bhupinder
Sohanpal, whose gardening studies started with the RHS Community Allotment Programme at Wisley. Top right A group of diploma students being taught at RHS Wisley. Above right Master any gardening technique you find tricky with a short practical course.
how to do this,’” she recalls. A practical City & Guilds course was her first choice: “It was a little bit of everything, even rotavating, with theory in the morning and practical sessions in the afternoon.” She followed this with the RHS Level 2 qualification at Sparsholt College. “I did it one day a week for a year, which was great. I loved the plant identification, there was lots of practical work, propagating – everything really – and Sparsholt was a brilliant, buzzy place to do it.” A few years later, Patsy decided to take a garden design course with the KLC School of Design, with a view to turning her new passion for gardening into a business. SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 97
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“I was gaily thinking it would be an easy part-time course, but it was full on and really hard work,” she recalls. “There was a real mix of people – some from the artistic side of things, some with a bit more plant knowledge. We had a good introduction to the digital side of garden design – SketchUp, CAD and Vectorworks – and we also had to do quite a lot of art and drawing, which was great but beyond my comfort zone.” Patsy completed her diploma in 2014 and since then has run her own business, Uplands Garden Design, in Hampshire. “The KLC course was fantastic because it gave me confidence to do real client presentations,” she says, “and we definitely had time pressure when we were getting ready for end-ofterm presentations, so that was good preparation for real-life projects.” Now Patsy usually has two to three design projects on the go at any one time, but continues to make time to take additional courses. Most recently, she’s completed The Tree Course, taught by Rosemary Campbell-Preston of The Plant School. “I felt
comfortable with plants and flowers, but I felt I wanted to spend a bit more time on trees – it’s been very interesting and fantastic people came to talk to us, like Tony Kirkham. It’s once a month looking at trees throughout the course of a year,” she explains. “I’ve been very lucky to have the time, and some of these courses aren’t cheap, but I think it’s important to give myself that time each week to carry on learning,” she adds. “There’s so much to learn in this world.” For Lottie Delamain, making the switch from textile design to garden design was the perfect way to marry the design skills of her former career with a burgeoning love of plants, nature and the great outdoors. Lottie was living in Vietnam and designing Lottie Delamain prints for homewares and fashion. “I was bowled over by the amazing tropical colour and flora,” she says. “We were living in a big city and used to go travelling at weekends to get out of the city. It’s only when you leave that you realise how much you miss certain things – the outdoors, the countryside, seasons, that natural rhythm – I
Above Most in-person gardening courses involve practical sessions outside and visits to gardens alongside classroom teaching.
“After having my first child I decided to take a part-time course, so I could dip my toe into study and work at the same time”
98 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
In association with
IMAGES ALAMY; JAYNE LLOYD; RHS/LUKE MACGREGOR
hadn’t even realised how important it was.” It was on one of those trips, trekking in the far north of the country, that Lottie came across locals growing indigo and hemp outside their homes to dye clothes. It was this experience that inspired her first Chelsea show garden earlier this year. “I was becoming more and more obsessed with plants – they were finding their way into my fabrics and prints. When we got back to the UK and I’d had my first baby, like a lot of women after having their first child I had a review – did I want to go back and do the same thing I was doing before? I’d heard about Inchbald and decided to take the part-time course, so I could dip my toe into study and work at the same time. I remember so clearly the first week at Inchbald School of Design, which is spent out and about rather than in the classroom: I felt like a window had been opened onto this whole new world – it was absolutely amazing,” Lottie recalls. The arrival of the pandemic may have slightly disrupted her studies – there was no graduation ceremony after she’d completed her course – but that was no matter, and Lottie’s now running her own thriving garden design practice and building show In association with
Above A Textile Garden for Fashion Revolution, Lottie Delamain’s garden at the Chelsea Flower Show 2022. Right Lottie, who is a recent Inchbald garden design graduate, picking up the silver-gilt award she won for the garden.
SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 99
Design your dream garden or create a whole new career as you study towards your Professional Garden Design Diploma from the National Design Academy. Suitable for absolute beginners and more experienced gardeners, this course will teach you the technical and creative skills needed to become a professional garden designer or work on your own home project. •
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gardens at Chelsea. “There’s so much crossover in terms of colour, pattern, form, repetition and rhythm that I’ve been able to apply from my previous career. The leap didn’t feel anything near as big as I thought it was going to be,” she says. The difference between her current career and new vocation couldn’t be bigger for Claire Hall, who’s a health and safety manager by day, but hopes to turn her passion for floristry into a new career. She took the Professional Business of Floristry course at the Judith Blacklock Flower School, and while she hasn’t yet changed career, she now has all the skills she’ll need when the time comes. “Judith’s so passionate about flowers. She has a wealth of knowledge and experience, and she always has the best tutors, all of whom work in the industry, so the quality of the teaching was just amazing. I came out of the two weeks buzzing with excitement, and I loved every second of it,” Claire recalls. During a sabbatical from work, she also did three months’ work experience with Judith, which confirmed how much she enjoyed floristry. “It is really hard work – you’re on your feet all day and
it’s quite a physical, manual job, but you get so much out of it, that end product you’ve created.” Claire puts her new skills to good use taking on ad-hoc jobs, most recently creating a floral archway, the bouquet, buttonholes and table decorations for a friend’s wedding. “I would never have achieved that without going to study with Judith or working with her,” Claire maintains. “I booked on the course with no real conception of what it could be and actually it far exceeded those expectations.” It was being able to study online that clinched Chicago-based Sallie Boge’s decision to take Learning with Experts’ Garden Design Diploma. Not only did it give her access to the online provider’s line-up of expert tutors, but it also meant Claire Hall she could study during the winter. “Winters are harsh here and I’m indoors a lot so it worked out perfectly for me to take the courses in the time I couldn’t be out in the garden,” she explains. A passionate gardener, Sallie wanted to take the 12-course diploma not just to improve her skills but also to give her garden design business credibility. “In America anybody can call themselves a garden designer without taking any
Above Learning the art of floristry at the Judith Blacklock Flower School, which offers both evening workshops and longer courses.
IMAGE CLIVE NICHOLS
“I booked on the course with no real conception of what it could be and actually it far exceeded those expectations”
In association with
SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 101
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Directory
City & Guilds A variety of practical horticultural qualifications. cityandguilds.com Create Academy An online provider offering courses by Dan Pearson and Arthur Parkinson, and new tutors Poppy Okotcha and The Land Gardeners. createacademy.com
courses, but because I love gardening so much, I take it a whole lot more seriously. I thought these courses would really help, but they exceeded my expectations for what I would learn and how much I would be able to apply my knowledge,” she adds. Now Sallie’s garden design business is busier than she ever expected, but her own garden has benefitted too. “The most important garden in the world is my
Above Sketches and drawings depicting a garden’s design, in the London studio of garden designer Butter Wakefield.
“I was already a passionate gardener, and I already felt like I knew quite a bit, but this has taken my knowledge to a whole different level” Sallie Boge own, especially here in Chicago where our growing seasons are so much shorter. Every minute and every bit of space has to count: it has to be wonderful. So just as a home gardener the Learning with Experts course has helped immensely.” The charity vegetable garden Sallie runs at her church, which donates produce to food banks, has also benefitted. “I was already a passionate gardener, and I already felt like I knew quite a bit, but this has taken my knowledge to a whole different level,” she enthuses. ■ 102 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
The English Gardening School Rosemary Alexander’s school covering gardening and garden design is taught at the Chelsea Physic Garden in London and also online. englishgardening school.co.uk The Horticultural Correspondence College A wide range of home-study courses for gardeners of any ability, including RHS Level 2 qualifications. Tel: 0800 0839191; hccollege.co.uk Inchbald School of Design Renowned design school for interiors and gardens, offering in-person courses and online study. Tel: 0207 730 5508; inchbald.co.uk Judith Blacklock Flower School Knightsbridge flower school run by one of the country’s leading florists, hosting short workshops as well as longer courses. Tel: 0207 235 6235; judithblacklock.com KLC School of Design KLC’s one-year Garden Design Diploma teaches theory in the winter months and practical and project work in the summer. Tel: 020 7376 3377; klc.co.uk
Learning with Experts Online courses to take at your own pace, taught by industry experts such as Piet Oudolf, Tom Stuart-Smith and Chris Beardshaw among others. learningwithexperts.com The London College of Garden Design Try a short course or the yearlong Garden Design Diploma taught by renowned designer Andrew Wilson. Tel: 01483 762955; lcgd.org.uk National Design Academy In-studio and online courses including the Professional Diploma in Garden Design. nda.ac.uk Norfolk School of Gardening This Norfolk-based school run by Ruth Darrah now offers a Diploma in Garden Design, with tutors and mentors including Tom Stuart-Smith, Tom Hoblyn and Sue Townsend. norfolkschoolofgardening.co.uk Oxford College of Garden Design Take an online garden design diploma or courses in construction or Vectorworks. Tel: 01491 628950; gardendesign-courses.co.uk Royal Horticultural Society Available online or at approved centres, RHS qualifications are widely recognised throughout the horticultural industry. rhs.org.uk Sparsholt This Hampshire college has a reputation for its horticultural courses, with excellent industry links. Tel: 01962 776441; sparsholt.ac.uk West Dean College Short courses, degrees and diplomas from a college that specialises in arts, crafts and conservation. westdean.org.uk
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IMAGE CLIVE NICHOLS
Capel Manor College London’s only dedicated specialist college for horticulture, with campuses across the capital. Tel: 0303 0031234; capel.ac.uk
Inchbald where budding garden designers flourish Many leading garden designers were at Inchbald and help our current graduates with their careers Inchbald is one of the most established garden design schools in the world. For over 50 years we have been creating successful design careers. So many of the world’s leading designers are Inchbald graduates. They have all benefited from the high standard of tutoring on which the school’s reputation is built. Now they help our current students on their pathway to success by offering advice, internships and frequently employment.
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Nature on a Plate Carolyn Dunster meets ceramicist and artist Zuleika Melluish, whose love of plants inspires an exquisite collection of pots, bowls and vases PHOTOGRAPHS NICOLA STOCKEN
Ceramicist Zuleika Melluish gathers the seedheads that will form an integral part of her pieces. SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 105
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S
itting in the north London studio of ceramicist and artist Zuleika Melluish is like being in the best kind of garden. One where nature and a cleverly thought out planting scheme are gently manipulated and combined to create a space that feels effortless and entirely at ease with itself: wild and abundant but with an underlying sense of order and calm. The room is filled with her collection of pots, platters, tiles, bowls and beakers, all at different stages of production but each imprinted with the eye-catching patterns of her favourite flowers, foliage and seedheads. Large bunches of dried flowers are suspended from the ceiling and displayed on shelving in oversized vases. Her paintings of flowers and plants adorn the walls and her love of nature is in evidence everywhere. It is not hard to imagine what her real-life garden in Wales looks like. “I am fascinated by the changing shapes of plants and that, I think, is what informs everything I do,” says Zuleika of her work.
106 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
Above Zuleika in
her London studio surrounded by botanical paintings and seedheads, with her ceramic pieces neatly lining the shelves.
With an academic background in English and History of Art, but no formal art school training, Zuleika works instinctively and loves to explore and experiment with her craft. Self-taught some years ago as a painter and then a potter, she has always been inspired visually and aesthetically by the design and structure of plants. Initially working in different forms on paper, she later moved onto ceramics, her first pieces drawing on her Indian heritage and an interest in Persian art. She began to paint flowers in stylised form onto her clay shapes, getting into the habit of studying her chosen plants up close and really getting to know them so she could replicate the detail. Using reallife specimens for embedding came later when she acquired her garden in Wales in 2012; a latent love of growing then took hold. Zuleika had always gardened in small spaces but taking on a site of 1.5 acres allowed her imagination free rein. Situated in the Cambrian mountains, where it mainly tends to be wet and windy, the
garden contained few flowers when she inherited it. “It was mainly full of evergreen shrubs and not much else, but at that point I had a clear vision for the space.” Despite having no formal horticultural training, she spent weekends and holidays dividing the area into different and distinct spaces, although overall the structure was to remain loose and flowing. This initially allowed for the creation of a perennial flower garden, formal borders full of herbs in front of the house, a large play area for her children and a wildflower meadow. It was also important for the garden to work as a rural retreat for her whole family, providing them with a much-needed sanctuary from city life. “It had to have different purposes and over time I learnt that
Above The importance of nature in Zuleika’s work is clear from the items she displays on her studio’s shelves. Right Imprinting a cylindrical vase with the distinctive shape of an umbellifer’s seedhead. Below Beautifully shaped seedheads in a series of equally beautiful patterned vases.
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I couldn’t be too precious about it,” says Zuleika. “After a while I realised that it was too much work to maintain it to the standard I had in my head. I couldn’t spend my whole time gardening and doing nothing else only to find that on my next visit I would have to start again. Letting go and accepting nature has made it more relaxing and given me a chance to engage with plants in a different way.” Not being present all the time meant that buttercups, nettles and other so-called weeds invaded the beds. Cows from the next-door farm trampled through the garden destroying her original planting scheme, and sheep got in to eat all her 108 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
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Above Ordinary nettles become a thing of beauty, their delicate form imprinted onto a large platter.
herbs. “Initially I found it incredibly frustrating but, in allowing things to happen, the garden has changed and adapted – the plants that remain are those that want to be there. They self-seed and pop up in surprising and unexpected places. What is important to me now is that it feels truly alive and vital – full of insects and other wildlife. On each visit and in each season I never know what I am going to find. There is no plant that I don’t like but I have fallen in love with the ‘weedy’ types or those that I haven’t planted but have just appeared as if by magic.” It is this spirit of seasonal change that Zuleika captures in her work. Since 2018 she has been represented by Thrown Gallery. Thrown seeks out distinctive artists and designers and specialises in contemporary ceramics selling through a programme of online and pop-up exhibitions. With their encouragement, Zuleika began to experiment with incorporating both fresh and dried flowers, foliage and seedheads into her clay. Working with white porcelain, earthenware and stoneware she carefully selects the plants in her garden at the most striking moments in their life cycle, looking specifically at their shapes so they will create a clear imprint. Umbellifers and alliums are left until they form skeletal structures, while the invading nettles and buttercups provide beautiful patterns when they are in flower. Once she has created her form – a bowl, plate or vase – the flower stems or seedheads are carefully placed and pressed into the wet, soft clay. They are then gently peeled off a few hours later leaving a clear impression of their intrinsic patterns, delicate markings and overall outline and the clay is left to dry for four days. It is then coated with an underglaze and bisque fired. After 24 hours in the kiln each piece is glazed with a glossy food-safe glaze and fired again. Zuleika chooses not to work with colour glazes, preferring only to use an underglaze in cobalt oxide or mazarine blue as this shows the detail of the plants more graphically. “In working with clay and flowers I have found my happy place,” she says and it is easy to see how this is the case. n Zuleika is currently preparing for a solo exhibition, and her work is available from Thrown Gallery. throwncontemporary.co.uk
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Mr Fox’s Garden Handmade Garden Decor & Art
In Mr Fox’s Garden, Catherine & James design and create quality garden art which will adorn any garden. We have a lovely website with lots of unique, interesting, and beautiful handmade designs, that will create year-round interest and structure in your garden. Please visit us at
www.mrfoxsgarden.com | Tel: 01803 612370
GARDEN ART
IMAGE GAP/MARCUS HARPUR
The garden at Charleston in East Sussex was both a refuge and a source of inspiration for members of the Bloomsbury Group.
The Green Muse
Daniel Pembrey considers the inspiration gleaned from plants and gardens by great artists including Sir Cedric Morris and the Bloomsbury Group
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ardens have proved a potent source of subject matter throughout art history, and have inspired some of the most celebrated imagery of all time. Says Gabriele Finaldi, director of London’s National Gallery: “Gardens and flowers are depicted in several of our most beloved treasures, notably Monet’s paintings at Giverny and Van Gogh’s extraordinary Sunflowers.” For the National Gallery’s bicentenary celebrations in 2024, Monet’s The Water-Lily Pond will be on loan to another venue in the UK (to be announced shortly), while a “surprise announcement” will be made closer to the time regarding Sunflowers. This is, therefore, a propitious time for revisiting some of England’s more home-grown garden-related art. Two seminal gardens inspired leading English artists. Benton End in Suffolk, with its 16th-century, timber-framed house, was home to artist-plantsman Sir Cedric Morris from 1940 to 1982. Slightly earlier, at Charleston in Sussex, members of the Bloomsbury Group, including Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant and Roger Fry, were at their creative peak. A new project director is now in post at Benton End, while 112 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
Above A rural idyll,
nestled in the South Downs, the gardens at Charleston are now open to visitors, free of charge, all year round. Below Smyrnium perfoliatum with Cedric Morris’s home, Benton End, in the background.
Charleston is extending its artistic and horticultural events beyond its summer Festival of the Garden. Four decades have passed at Benton End since Morris died. “The interesting thing is that the structure of the three-acre garden is unchanged,” says new project director Jo Wiltcher, who intends to proceed carefully with plans here. “We keep discovering plants and bulbs here, which we call his ghosts. They reveal how Morris wintered in warmer climates and returned with gifts for this slice of Suffolk, which included burgundy-red fritillaria from the Pyrenees, asphodels from around the Mediterranean, and, from Portugal, white-tasselled hyacinths.” Between 1942 and 1952, Morris grew around 1,000 tall bearded irises annually. He produced at least 90 named varieties, many of which carried the prefix ‘Benton’ – for example, ‘Benton Menace’, allegedly named after his cat. Sarah Cook, who lives near Benton End, began assembling the National Plant Collection of Tall Bearded Iris (as bred by Morris) in 2004. At that time, many of the cultivars risked being lost. In 2015, she exhibited the collection at RHS Chelsea Flower Show in conjunction with Howard Nurseries and won a gold medal. One of the
IMAGES ALAMY; GETTY IMAGES; MATT COLLINS/BENTON END; SARAH COOK
attendees was broadcaster and gallery owner Philip Mould, who subsequently began to focus on Morris. “Morris was the greatest flower painter of the 20th century,” says Mould. “He combined the inside knowledge of a horticulturist with what was happening on the Continent, developing a complete armoury of honed expression: avant-garde use of colour, complementary textures, and an intimacy akin to that witnessed when artists paint family members. He had the ability to anthropomorphise plants, capturing, say, the apprehension of one that has just bloomed, or the tension of a plant’s quest to outdo its neighbours.” Morris and Benton End influenced artists and gardeners alike, including Lucian Freud and Beth Chatto, no less. At the heart of life here lay an art school, but it was just one part of a social scene that embraced writers, singers, composers, philosophers and social reformers. ‘There was always a whiff of garlic and wine in the air,’ recalled writer Ronald Blythe. ‘It was robust and coarse, and exquisite and tentative all at once. Also faintly dangerous.’ One danger to Morris and his partner Arthur LettHaines was the illegality of homosexuality prior to 1967. Benton End was always as much a haven for people as it was for Mediterranean plants, and clear parallels can be drawn with Charleston in the
Benton End was always as much a haven for people as it was for Mediterranean plants
Top left One of the
paintings in Van Gogh’s iconic Sunflowers series. Top right Claude Monet’s Water Lilies and Japanese Bridge, based on his garden at Giverny. Above Cedric Morris, plantsman, breeder of irises and painter, who lived at Benton End. Right Artist and interior designer Vanessa Bell, whose home and garden at Charleston were the beating heart of the Bloomsbury Group. SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 113
The Cotswold Sculpture Park
The Cotswold Sculpture Park is home to 10 acres of beautiful garden space which shows the work of incredible, talented artists. The park exhibits over two hundred sculptures on show and will be open Thursday to Monday every week from 1 April to 30 September for 2022 exhibition.
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www.cotswoldsculpturepark.co.uk Over six-hundred sculptures available to purchase for your garden or interior home space please see www.cotswoldsculpturepark.co.uk/art-for-sale
GARDEN ART
IMAGES ALAMY; PHILIP MOULD & COMPANY
‘A mass of flowers & as gay as possible – tobaccos & stocks smell strong in the evening. I often wander about it at odd moments for the pleasure of the sights and smells.’ Vanessa Bell South Downs – the garden ‘muse’ of the Bloomsbury Group. Virginia Woolf, who had a lengthy relationship with Vita Sackville-West (known for her own gardens at Sissinghurst), recalled Charleston’s lush, tall plants and the freshness of the foliage mixing with ‘the pink light of the giant hollyhock.’ Woolf’s sister, Vanessa Bell, described the garden’s ‘medley of apples, hollyhocks, plums and zinnias,’ during the summer months. ‘Dahlias, all mixed up together,’ she enthused: ‘a mass of flowers & as gay as possible – tobaccos & stocks smell strong in the evening. I often wander about it at odd moments for the pleasure of the sights and smells.’ The Bloomsbury Group “painted in circles and loved in triangles,” as Dorothy Parker memorably put it. Bell arrived at Charleston in 1916 with her lover Duncan Grant – and his lover David Garnett.
Top left Cedric Morris’s May Flowering Irises No. 2 captures the delicate bruised beauty of the irises he bred himself. Top right The Barn at Charleston, painted in 1930 by Duncan Grant. Above right Strawberry Nets, a watercolour by Eric Ravilious, offers a glimpse of a lost England. Above left Vanessa Bell’s oil painting, Still-life of Dahlias, Chrysanthemums and Begonias.
She and Grant had a daughter, whom Bell’s husband, Clive, raised as his own. Roger Fry redesigned the garden in 1918, creating the rectangular lawn, gravel paths and flowerbeds that Bell and Grant filled with the flowers they loved to paint, inspired as they were by post-impressionist masters such as Van Gogh. The themes of experimentation and freedom have been embraced by Charleston’s current management, which is planning a Queer Bloomsbury mini festival, celebrating their LGBTQ+ heritage via a programme of talks and performances. The garden is now open all year round with no admission charge. It is a popular stop-off for ramblers on the South Downs, who wander about it for the pleasure of the sights and smells, just as Bell once did. Another lover of the Downs was the painter and engraver Eric Ravilious, who visited Charleston SEPTEMBER 2022 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 115
GARDEN ART
Good Resources The Affordable Art Fair Held in London’s Battersea from 20-23 October this year, with thousands of original artworks exhibited. affordableartfair.com
British Art Fair Fifty leading dealers exhibit paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures at this annual fair held at London’s Saatchi gallery from 29 September to 2 October. britishartfair.co.uk
Callaghans of Shrewsbury Specialising in European oil and watercolours from the 19th and 20th century, including many still-life floral paintings. Tel: 01743 343452; callaghan-finepaintings.com
Mall Galleries
Above Two Women during the 1930s while the wildness of the in a Garden shows Eric painting the area and stayed natural landscape.” Ravilious’s wife Tirzah at a nearby cottage called Those who do buy Garwood with Charlotte Furlongs. Ravilious is the such masterpieces will Bawden in the garden subject of the acclaimed recent at Great Bardfield. face choices around how feature film Eric Ravilious to present it. “Many – Drawn to War, directed by BAFTA factors should be considered,” says Award-winner Margy Kinmonth. interior designer Emma Sims-Hilditch. The film touches on the period when These include room colour, the framing Ravilious was part of the Great Bardfield of the art, the crucial question of lighting, school of artists in Essex, inhabiting a plus viewing points: those places in Georgian brick house with his wife, artist the room from which the art can be Tirzah Garwood. There, they enjoyed comfortably appreciated. There is also the the ‘particularly nice’ garden with its issue of how the art is hung, potentially in ‘lovely big walnut tree’ (she wrote), which combination with other artwork. NewRavilious captured in his watercolours. built houses afford opportunities to adapt Works by these artists are increasingly entire room designs to the art. All of these prized by top-tier galleries and their considerations might best be regarded as collector clients. Philip Mould guides a labour of love. Sims-Hilditch concludes those seeking a Morris painting to that: “Art is a lovely way to bring the budget anywhere between £25,000 and garden into our homes to be enjoyed £500,000. Bloomsbury Group artists throughout the seasons and throughout command similar prices. “The popularity the years.” n of these home-grown masters forms part of a broader gravitational pull towards Find more information at: ng200.org.uk the art of the 1930s – a time when (National Gallery bicentenary); remnants of old England could still be bentonend.co.uk; charleston.org.uk; found, before intensive farming and philipmould.com; foxtrotfilms.com other new methods began to constrain (Eric Ravilious film); simshilditch.com
116 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
Popular gallery on London’s The Mall, with a full schedule of exhibitions and paintings by garden-inspired artists such as June Berry and Melissa Scott-Miller. Tel: 020 7930 6844; mallgalleries.org.uk
Murus Online gallery featuring artists such as Kate Mary, who paints glasshouse interiors, and Martin Grover, who makes floral screenprints. murus.art
Philip Mould Specialists in paintings by the Old Masters, as well as modern British painters and the Bloomsbury Group. Tel: 020 7499 6818; philipmould.com
Ramsay Current works on offer at this London gallery include a study of foxgloves by watercolourist Virginia Cayzer. Tel: 020 7730 6776; ramsayonline.com
Rowley Gallery Contemporary artists including Debbie George, who paints distinctive acrylics and oils of flowers and ceramics. Tel: 020 7727 6495; rowleygallery.com
St Jude’s Prints An online gallery founded by Simon and Angie Lewin to represent British printmakers, including Matt Underwood who takes his inspiration from plants. stjudesprints.co.uk
IMAGES ALAMY
“Art is a lovely way to bring the garden into our homes to be enjoyed throughout the seasons and throughout the years.” Emma Sims-Hilditch
DAVID MURPHY SCULPTURE
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SPECIAL PROMOTION
Garden Art & Sculpture These artists’ pieces will add the perfect finishing touch to your garden
Will Carr Sculpture
The Glass Garden
Border Sundials
willcarrsculpture.co.uk Tel: 07792 817950
theglassgardendesign.co.uk Tel: 07887 812346
bordersundials.co.uk Tel: 01873 840297
Watch a mesmerising sculpture dance in the wind, sketching everchanging forms across the sky. Will Carr creates fascinating, contemporary kinetic sculptures combining complex engineering and balance to produce pieces that move in the lightest of winds. These sculptures enhance the spaces they inhabit, their endless flow peacefully connecting viewers to nature.
Glass sculptures are a beautiful, sustainable way to enhance your garden, and you can find some of the most experienced sculptors working with glass at The Glass Garden. Here, Gabrielle Argent curates hand-blown and kilnformed glass pieces from a range of artists to offer a diverse selection of glass sculpture that will suit any garden. All of the glass is handmade in the UK.
Border Sundials create hand-crafted sundials that provide points of interest in every garden. Founded by Capel Tenison in the rolling hills of South Wales over 20 years ago, Border Sundials has built up an international reputation. The armillary sphere is an elegant work of art, with unique engraving to make each one a personal and thoughtful addition to the garden. Crafted in stainless steel, brass and verdigris, they start from £2,180.
Andrew Kay
Mr Fox’s Garden
Susan Long Sculpture
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mrfoxsgarden.com Tel: 07514 342766
susanlongsculpture.com Tel: 01673 828678
Based in the north of England, Andrew Kay is an award-winning sculptor whose work can be seen in gardens and landscapes across the globe. From a starting point of detailed anatomical sketches, lengths of steel are welded together in Andrew’s Cumbrian studio to produce the evocative forms of native wildlife such as hares, deer and otters.
Based in Torquay on the South Devon coast, Mr Fox’s Garden handmakes a range of garden art and plant supports. Crafted from high-quality steel, pieces include decorative flowers and seedheads to insert into your borders, crooks and spirals to help support plants, as well as cut-out panels featuring fern fronds and flowers, plus charming animal forms.
An award-winning sculptor with an international clientele, Susan creates thought-provoking bronze sculpture that makes an engaging and distinctive focal point for your garden. Most recently she launched a range of foundry bronze sculpture, limited edition castings of selected pieces, such as popular Maggie Mae, featuring a girl and a horse.
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GARDENS & NURSERIES TO INSPIRE IN LATE SUMMER WATERPERRY GARDENS
CHELSEA PHYSIC GARDEN
The magnificent herbaceous border at Waterperry Gardens bursts with late summer colour with the flowering of its Michaelmas Daisies. The plant centre, housed within the ancient walled garden offers plant connoisseurs and budding amateurs alike the chance to buy unusual varieties of shrubs and herbaceous plants whilst our friendly and knowledgeable staff are always available to provide advice, information and inspiration. Waterperry Gardens – a place to explore, relax and shop in beautiful surroundings all year round.
Tucked away beside the Thames, is London’s oldest botanic garden, home to over 4,500 different medicinal, edible and useful plants from around the world. Free guided tours and summer events including Doctor Dolittle family theatre and family activities, Supper Clubs and live music on the lawn.
OPEN: 10am to 5.30pm April – Oct, 10am to 5pm Nov – March. Please visit our website for further details.
OPEN: Sunday to Friday, 11am to 5pm.
Tel: 01844 339254 www.waterperrygardens.co.uk Waterperry, Near Wheatley, Oxfordshire OX33 1LA
Tel: 020 7352 5646 enquiries@chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk | www.chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk 66 Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, London SW3 4HS
BEETHAM NURSERIES
SPRING REACH NURSERY Beetham Nurseries is a familyowned, independent garden centre and growing nursery on the A6 in south Cumbria, just four miles from the M6 motorway. Established in 1984, we are proud to offer our customers something different and unique. The growing nursery is a traditional retail plant nursery where you will find thousands of herbaceous perennials; they will always be interesting and grown by us here at Beetham Nurseries. Plants are our passion, we invite you to see for yourself the spectacular selection that we grow and the high standards we go to in order to grow plants that are of the highest quality.
A plant fanatic’s paradise on the edge of the beautiful Surrey Hills, just 10 minutes from the A3/ M25. Brilliant home-grown trees, shrubs, climbers, grasses, perennials, roses, ferns, hedging and fruit, plus these September starlets: Hydrangea paniculata ‘Polar Bear’, Albizia ‘Summer Chocolate’, Campsis ‘Madame Galen’, Hibiscus ‘Ultramarine’, x Chitalpa ‘Summer Bells’, and Lagerstroemia indica. A really good range of mature trees from 2-5m also now ready.
Tel: 015395 63630 www.beethamnurseries.co.uk Pool Darkin Lane, Beetham, Nr Milnthorpe, Cumbria LA7 7AP
Tel: 01483 284769 info@springreachnursery.co.uk | www.springreachnursery.co.uk Long Reach, Ockham, Surrey GU23 6PG
HEDGING UK
TENDERCARE NURSERIES Hedging UK are specialist growers of quality hedging plants. Plants are available to purchase at wholesale prices across the UK through our mail order service. Buy direct from the grower, delivered direct to your door. Readers of The English Garden get a 5% discount (quote TEG2022).
Tel: 01704 827224 or 07789 922457 sales@hedginguk.com | www.hedginguk.com Boundary House Farm, Holmeswood Road, Holmeswood, Lancashire L40 1UA
Specialising in more mature and specimen plants, from acers to agapanthus, pleached trees and evergreen screens, Tendercare’s 12 acres are a joy to visit. Our popular site visit and warrantied planting services can help rejuvenate a tired garden or change the focus of the garden after building works. While our award-winning design service will create a beautiful garden for you to enjoy all year through. Book a visit with assistance from one of our horticulturists, by golf buggy, or pop into our office and we can give you a map, a route to follow, and suggestions to get you started.
Tel: 01895 837120 sales@tendercare.co.uk | www.tendercare.co.uk. Southlands Road, Denham UB9 4HD. Next to Junction 2 on the M40.
TO C O N C LU D E
The Child Within Non Morris sees Gertrude Jekyll in a different light on reading her book, Children and Gardens, which touches on the redoubtable Edwardian’s tomboyish youth
A
wonderful pile of gardening books was left to me by a friend, and it includes a 1908 edition of Gertrude Jekyll’s Children and Gardens. My image of the prodigious garden designer is of a wellupholstered Edwardian with a plumed hat and a terrifying eye for detail. I knew Jekyll had never had children, so the title itself was a surprise. I looked inside: ‘If you live in a Cowslip country you will naturally want to make Cowslip balls.’ I was intrigued. What is a Cowslip ball and what else did Jekyll have in mind for children in the garden? Have any of her ideas stood the test of over 100 years? I discover that a Cowslip ball is simply a decoration made by stringing together huge numbers of cowslip flowerheads. Jekyll once made ‘an immense Cowslip ball two feet in diameter’ for the village May Day celebrations. With a declining cowslip population, even a regular sized decorative ball feels impossible now, but the book is a fascinating window onto a different gardening era. Although many of Jekyll’s recommendations are anchored in a privileged early 20th century, there are some enduring ideas and some surprising idiosyncrasies along the way. The first surprise is Jekyll’s description of her tomboyish youth. ‘I still feel like a child in many ways… I can still – when no one is looking – climb over a fivebarred gate or jump a ditch.’ And she tells of taking ‘wasps’ nests after dark’ with her brothers and doing ‘dreadful deeds with gunpowder’. She argues – surely a timeless idea? – that a child’s patch of garden should not be hidden in an out-ofthe-way corner, suggesting that children should be
given an established plot to tend and not be asked to sow seeds in an empty bed and then sit back ‘for the best part of a year before there is anything whatever to be seen’. She offers simple ideas, such as sowing a name in mustard and cress, but goes on to suggest that her young readers ask their parents to read the book too so that they can be supplied with the right kind of playhouse. This is where things really take off. For Jekyll, a playhouse is actually a small, real house made of brick ‘with a kitchen and a parlour, a cooking stove, a stout little kitchen table with a drawer, a water supply and a sink’. Not only should children make tiny scones for their guests, but Jekyll provides a recipe for Bonne Femme soup with lettuce and sorrel and a sophisticated cheese on toast made with beer. The scale is riveting throughout. Even her recommendation for a sandpit is illustrated by diminutive children playing in what is surely a quarry! Woven through this grandeur are some cheap and imaginative ideas for learning and play. She describes making a little old woman (complete with mob cap and apron) out of the surreal skull-like seedheads of snapdragons – ‘if you shake her she weeps little black tears’ – and, in a bid to teach children how to weed, suggests pretending you belong to a ‘savage tribe who kill and eat their enemies’ by making hairy bittercress into a sandwich with bread and butter. Children and Gardens ends with an endearing, truly eccentric, chapter on her beloved cats. The very unevenness of both style and subject matter helps us begin to understand the real – once small – person behind the towering reputation. n
122 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2022
ILLUSTRATION MARIA BURNS PORTRAIT RACHEL WARNE
‘I still feel like a child in many ways… I can still – when no one is looking – climb over a five-barred gate or jump a ditch’
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