Meadow Style Let dreamy meadows

Casual DINING

An area of soft feathery grasses makes a charming spot to position a garden table, right in among them, setting the scene for a natural dining experience

Follow the theme by styling the table with a centrepiece of gathered grasses, and use cotton cloth napkins, recycled glass tumblers and artisan ceramics for relaxed and informal place settings. Handmade Graphite Collection dinner plates, £32 each, side plates £26 each, bowls £26, Dantes Ceramics, dantesceramics.com. Vintage amber and green glass jug, £30, Etsy, etsy.com. Chambray napkins in moss, £18 for a set of four, Walton & Co, waltonshop.co.uk. Rustic clay pot, £20, Design Vintage, designvintage.co.uk. Vintage and antique furniture from a selection at Hungerford Antiques Arcade, hungerfordarcade.com

Breakfast or afternoon tea outdoors is a delight. Handmade Graphite Collection mug, £28, milk jug, £26, side plate £26, and white mug from Simple White Collection, £28, Dantes Ceramics, dantesceramics.com. Natural linen tea towel, £16.99 for set of two, Linen Me, linenme.com

Artisan ceramics will give your outdoor dining experience a stylishly relaxed feel. Handmade Graphite Collection dinner plates, £32 each, side plates £26 each, shallow bowl, £28, Dantes Ceramics, dantesceramics.com

Pack up a moveable feast to enjoy in the local park, out in the countryside or simply at home at the end of the garden. 1970s picnic basket, £50, Etsy, etsy.com. Handmade hemp bag, £39, Scandalo Al Sole, scandaloalsole.com

Create an informal lounging spot with an easy-to-carry vintage bamboo chair and a table fashioned from oak and attached to a tree stump. Vintage bamboo chair, £80, Etsy, etsy.com. French limestone chambray cushion, £14.99, Walton & Co, waltonshop.co.uk

Bring the natural theme indoors by using seagrass or hemp baskets for storage, displaying picked grasses in vases and lighting a meadow-scented candle to set the mood. Handmade large black vase, £38, Dantes Ceramics, dantesceramics.com. Black feuerhand hurricane lantern, £30, Le Petit Jardin, le-petit-jardin.com. Seagrass basket, £30, Basket Basket, basketbasket.co.uk. Beeswax candles, £24 for a pair of tall and £12 for a pair of short, The Great British Bee Company, greatbritishbeeco.com. Meadow candle, £20, Holistic London, thisisholisticlondon.com

Decorate an outbuilding with a botanical poster. Grasses and sedges poster, £4.50, Willow and Stone, willowandstone.co.uk. Glass jar vase, £60, Raj Tent Club, rajtentclub.com. Antique rattan chair, £40, Duck Decoy, £65, Hungerford Antiques Arcade, hungerfordarcade.com

Simple posies of wild meadow grasses and colourful flowers can be hung upside down to dry, adding a touch of effortless charm and beauty to a rustic wooden backdrop. For similar vintage garden sieves and old leather bags, try etsy.com

Put freshly cut grasses in a glass vase and leave for a long-lasting arrangement that will look pretty as it dries. Oak stool, £150, Design Vintage, designvintage.co.uk. Green bubble glass vase, £40, Raj Tent Club, rajtentclub.com. Vintage brown vase, for similar try etsy.com

An old cart has been transformed with cushions in natural colours. Striped tassel cushion, £65, Design Vintage, designvintage.co.uk. Black ruffle edge cushion, £40, Rectangle cushion, £40, Also Home, alsohome. com. Pom pom cushion, £29.99, Walton & Co, waltonshop.co.uk

Make a MEADOW

To grow your own beautiful picnic spot, start off with perennial wildflowers to create a low-maintenance, wildlife-friendly setting

If you’re inspired to create Turning existing lawn into meadow your own meadow, consider is trickier, but not impossible with a one planted with perennial little effort. The first task is to weaken wildflowers to begin with. the existing grasses so wildflowers Meadows filled with cornfield can establish. Do this by cutting the annuals, such as poppies mixed lawn short each week to reduce its with grasses, do look very colourful, vigour. You can also grow yellow rattle but you need to make sure they are (Rhinanthus minor), a parasitic plant managed properly and mown at the that weakens grass. Nick says it should right times so their seeds germinate always be sown between August and afresh each year. Meadows made of December, using freshly harvested grasses and perennial wildflowers on the other hand get better and better Top Ox-eye daisies and meadow clary in a perennial meadow. Above right Knautia arvensis, field scabious. seed, because it isn’t viable for long. Once you’ve made headway, you may as the flowering plants reappear each Above left Reduce grass vigour with yellow rattle. find some wildflowers naturally pop year – and they’re brilliant for wildlife. up; add to the mix with plug plants or

Starting from scratch is the easiest and most successful way to plants you’ve raised from seed, planted at five per square metre. create a wildflower meadow. You need a site that’s free of existing Habitat Aid supplies seed mixes and plug plants, while sister turf or weeds and is ploughed or rotavated to create a seedbed. company British Wildflower Seeds (britishwildflowermeadow Nick Mann of Habitat Aid (habitataid.co.uk) advises sowing in seeds.co.uk), supplies seed in smaller quantities. Or try Emorsgate late summer and autumn to mimic plants’ natural seed-setting Seeds (wildseed.co.uk). Alternatively, simply forgo lawn mowing time. This will also avoid problems with our increasingly dry over summer and let your grass grow long and flower, for a subtle spring weather hampering seed germination. display of textures and colours from the grasses’ flowerheads. n

Simply Roses

Fay Edwards debunks some common rose-care myths and explains how looking after these gorgeous floriferous shrubs can be straightforward and fear-free

The unusual burnished copper-red shades of Rosa ‘Hot Chocolate’, a bushy, robust floribunda.

What would the summer garden be without the delicate furls of roses? Yet these iconic blooms are often wrongly regarded as tricky. Methodical pruning, foliar feeding and dutiful deadheading are at the heart of many rose growers’ sworn-by practices – but are they really necessary?

“People say that when you prune a rose, you need to open up the centre and go stem by stem,” says Tony Hall, Head of Gardens at the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew. “But it has been proven that you can take a hedge trimmer to a rose without doing it any harm.” Other traditional pruning advice includes cutting at a 45-degree angle a quarter of an inch above a leaf axil that slopes away from a dormant eye – talk that can leave even the most experienced growers scratching their heads.

Yet, pruning a dormant rose in a carefree fashion is better than leaving it to grow leggy out of fear. Any pruning you carry out will keep your rose’s growth healthy and compact. So is there any value in a stem-by-stem approach? “It depends what you’re trying to achieve,” says Dr Linda Chalker-Scott, associate professor of horticulture at Washington State University. “Taking hedge clippers to your rose will produce masses of compact growth. If you want a more open shape, go stem-by-stem.”

Encourage an open growth pattern by pruning away stems in the centre and clipping outer stems to outward-facing buds. But, thankfully, you can leave your protractor out of the equation, since, according to Professor Chalker-Scott: “There is no evidence anywhere that cutting any woody plant at a 45 degree angle is a good thing.”

You’ll sometimes see hard pruning recommended for black spot prevention. The idea is to eliminate the fungal spores that may be overwintering on stems. Clearing leaf litter and picking leaves off roses at the end of the season are also considered preventative measures – very time-consuming ones too, if you have more than a handful of bushes.

However, most black spot spores originate from the soil. When spring rain hits bare soil beneath a rose, it splashes millions of spores onto the bush’s fresh new growth. Warmth and moisture then create the conditions needed for an infection to take hold. You can remove all the stems and leaves you like, but

Above Rosa ‘The Lady Gardener’, a David Austin English rose producing sumptuous apricot flowers in repeated flushes.

black spot will be hard to control if you can’t deal with the soil. Fortunately, this is straightforward: “Mulching over the top of soil and older leaves will stop spores coming back up with rain splash,” says Tony. This is by far the most important step you can take to prevent black spot. After all, if spores can’t get onto your rose, they can’t cause problems. The ideal mulch is a thick coating of wood chips.

Top left Always water at the roots, to avoid getting the foliage wet. Top right Spray aphids off plants with water. Above right Don’t use a soapy spray since it can damage the rose. Above left Pruning keeps roses healthy and bushy. Since spores also need prolonged moisture to thrive, taking steps to keep foliage dry will also help. Water directly at the roots in the morning, and plant your rose in full sun so its leaves dry quickly.

Another common rose problem is aphids. At Kew, they’re careful about spraying bushes because, as Tony explains, “we get lots of blue tits going through our roses and we don’t want to use a strong insecticide that could harm the birds.” One solution that’s often suggested is to spray aphids with soapy water or diluted washing-up liquid. “All insects have a waxy coating to stop water evaporating from their bodies. Soap breaks down the wax, so insects become dehydrated,” reports Professor ChalkerScott, “but plants also have a waxy layer, called the cuticle – when you spray soap on a plant it’s a general biocide that will damage anything it touches, including the rose.”

Instead, simply blast aphids off using pure water. Climbing from the soil back up to fresh, new shoots is, for aphids, like tackling Mount Everest and, once they’re on the ground, they get gobbled up quickly. This is especially true if you have a wood chip mulch in place, since it supports predatory insects. Just

remember to blast away the aphids on the morning of a sunny day, so foliage dries fast.

When roses are in active growth, many growers apply foliar feed. This is often marketed as being 20 times more effective than feeding at the roots, so comes with a hefty price tag to match. Yet, you’ll find no foliar feeding at Kew. According to Tony, it’s just a short-term fix: “You can turn a rose around with a single application, but roses are growing and shedding leaves all the time, so you only get a short blast before the problems start again.”

This is because food that’s applied to leaves stays in the leaves. When new shoots grow, they can’t access the food that’s locked up in other plant tissues. By contrast, food that’s taken in through the roots is drawn up through the plant’s water transport system and spreads across the entire plant. Just bear in mind that overfeeding at the roots can cause soil toxicities. When certain nutrients build up, they can prevent roots absorbing other essential nutrients. So, how do you know when to feed? The answer is to do a soil test. The Royal Horticultural Society offer these for £35 each (email soiltestpack@ rhs.org.uk). If this seems expensive, just think of the money you’ll save on unnecessary fertiliser!

Finally, if you grimace at deadheads on roses, anxious that they’re hindering further flushes of flowers, this advice is for you. A common belief is that when hips are left on roses, the plant thinks its reproductive work is done and stops flowering. By removing hips, the idea goes, you force the rose to flower again to make another attempt at creating offspring. “Actually, when it comes to deadheading, it’s completely aesthetic – we like the way it looks. It has no impact on future rose bloom,” advises Professor Chalker-Scott.

When you remove a rose hip you stop energy being put into hip production and divert that energy into other processes. However, you don’t trick the bush into re-blooming. This is because blooming is determined by genetic and environmental factors, such as temperature and daylight hours that tell the plant which season it’s in. If your rose is genetically programmed to bloom once in summer, no amount of deadheading will convince it to do otherwise. Likewise, if it’s meant to bloom in several flushes, no amount of forgotten hips will stop it from doing so.

Roses don’t have to be complicated. With a few simple rules, anyone can enjoy these sumptuous blooms gracing their garden all summer long. n

Above left Deadheading is only necessary from an aesthetic point of view, and doesn’t always encourage more flowers. Above right A granular feed applied to soil is a better option than an expensive foliar feed.

Blend & Brew

Grow and forage your own plant matter to enjoy the seasonal tastes and many health benefits of home-made tisanes

Use a glass teapot to brew your tisanes so you can appreciate their visual beauty.

There can’t be a gardener who hasn’t picked an edible leaf or two straight from the plant, nibbling on it as they work and enjoying its innate freshness. With just a little more restraint, these leaves can be used to make your own delicious herbal teas, which, whether enjoyed fresh in season or dried so as to be savoured throughout the year, will offer a realm of flavour, with various beneficial properties to boot.

Ever since tea addict Catherine de Braganza married King Charles II and introduced black tea to the British upper classes in the 17th century, black tea, and subsequently coffee, have prevailed in our society. Yet herbal teas, infusions or tisanes, have had their place in human life for millennia. The Egyptians enjoyed a brew of some kind, as did the Sumerians. Asian tradition, to which we also owe the introduction of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis, has a long history in the subject.

We have Nicholas Culpeper to thank for laying the foundations of our current herbal knowledge. He took pains to elucidate in English, rather than Latin, the medicinal benefits of botanics in The English Physician, published in 1652. While he may have been suspicious of basil – it was once associated with scorpions – he did point to foxgloves for the treatment of heart conditions, knowledge that we continue to make use of today.

What then of contemporary herbal teas? At its simplest, an infusion is a flavourful way to drink more water, which can have a profound effect on our bodies. It quenches our thirst, improves organ function, and is the first line of defence when it comes to certain diseases. While qualified herbalists will point towards specific medicinal applications, and it’s always advisable to seek professional medical opinion from a GP, most of us can appreciate a calming cup of chamomile tea at bedtime. Lemon verbena can be enlivening, while mint is a good digestif. A look at some of the better supermarket blends will offer ideas for application.

To pursue a world of infusions is to open yourself up to intensely seasonal drinking. Consider delicate rose petals in summer and robust rose hips, rich in vitamin C, in winter. Nick Moyles, co-author of Wild Tea, phrases it succinctly: “It’s nice to be seasonal about it. The more you research, the more you realise you can extract flavour from almost anything you can dunk in hot water. Spruce tips are amazing. They’re coming into season now. You can pick off the tip and eat it raw or put it in a brew.”

Above A herbal infusion made to your own taste with the likes of borage, cornflowers, thyme, mint and sage, is a good way to consume more water.

For their book, he and Richard Hood embarked on a growing and foraging spree, trying out as much plant material as they could find. Echinacea, nettles, ground ivy and blackberry leaves all went into their teapot. “It’s really hard to condition yourself not to have any expectations about this and not to compare the infusion to anything. It may take a few mugs to zone into the flavour, but when you get used to something it can be very nice,” advises Nick.

The benefits of growing your own plants for infusion are manifold. It’s helpful to know where and how what you are consuming has been produced, and there is an argument that

Top left Enjoy chamomile flowers fresh or dried. Top right Echinacea purpurea is believed to help support the immune system. Above right Experiment by blending herbs with black tea to taste. Above left Mint and fennel make for a pleasing digestif. organic plants are higher in essential oils, so any therapeutic element could be more pronounced. What is indisputable, however, is that anything you grow yourself will be fresher than almost anything bought, and freshness vastly influences flavour. Nick adds that growing herbs at home is a chance to experiment and create your own blends. Try lemon, lavender and peppermint for headaches; rosemary for concentration; thyme, bee balm and elderflower to soothe the throat, or dandelion for detoxification.

Foraging for nettles, dandelions, hips and blackberries is one way to source material. Nick advises caution however: “If you’re foraging you

Good Resources

The Herb Society

A body promoting the use and enjoyment of herbs, with members around the country. Events are held throughout the year. See herbsociety.org.uk

Hackney Herbal

Social enterprise promoting herbal health and wellbeing, offering creative events and workshops. Tel: 020 8616 0698; hackneyherbal.com

Wilder

Infusions to support overall health from naturopath Rachel Landon, with a focus on enriching the whole body system. See wilderbotanics.com

Postcard Teas

Specialist Mayfair tea shop run by Tim D’Offay, selling rare and exceptional teas and tea-making equipment. Tel: 020 7629 3654; postcardteas.com

Sarah Raven

Supplier of plants and seeds, including collections for teas, as well as tea-making equipment. Tel: 0345 0920283; sarahraven.com

Hooks Green Herbs

Specialist herb growers in Staffordshire, with vast knowledge and sound advice. Tel: 07977 883810; hooksgreenherbs.com

Jekka McVicar

Doyenne of herbs, with her own range of teas, seeds and plants available from her farm and online. Tel: 01454 418878; jekkas.com

Nutley’s Kitchen Gardens

Everything for the home grower, from netting to funnels, preserving jars and labels. Tel: 01903 233299; nutleyskitchengardens.co.uk Tonics & Teas: Traditional and Modern Remedies That Make You Feel Amazing by Rachel de Thample, £9.99, Octopus.

Left Rosemary is thought to aid concentration and a teaspoon of honey softens its bitter taste. Below right Lavender is well known for its soothing properties. Enjoy it at bedtime. Below left Lemon verbena’s mellow citrus flavour is good on its own or used in a blend.

need to know exactly what you’re picking. Don’t mistake spruce for yew. Don’t take too much. This is the sort of stuff that used to be known as common sense.” You should also be mindful of busy verges, which may have been polluted by passing traffic and animals, and you must always wash what you pick.

Once you’ve grown or foraged your ingredients it’s an idea to dry them for use throughout the year. For successful drying, heat and air are essential. Heat extracts the water, while circulating air dries ingredients evenly and will “disperse any moisture”, according to Nick. He recommends acquiring a dehydrator for this, but if you choose not to, you should place your ingredients somewhere warm and airy, such as a greenhouse or conservatory – even a windowsill will suffice. Lighter additions, such as petals, will take well to this treatment. Chunkier ingredients such as fruit or zest might require an oven set to a low temperature. Broadly, you should be guided by the density and moisture content of the subject. Once your ingredients are completely dry, they are ready to be stored in clean glass jars, although you may choose to grind them with a pestle and mortar first to intensify the flavour.

Finally, invest in an attractive glass teapot intended for tisanes so that the beauty of the tea can be enjoyed as much as the flavour. Try specialist tea shops such as Postcard Teas, or suppliers like Sarah Raven. Another option is to use a drawstring muslin tea bag, which can be filled with your ingredients and then placed directly into a cup of hot water. You can sew your own or source from an outfit such as Nutley’s Kitchen Gardens. n

Wild Tea: Brew Your Own Infusions from Home-Grown and Foraged Ingredients, by Nick Moyle and Richard Hood. £16.99, Welbeck Publishing.

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The Nation’s Favourite Gardens

Nominate gardens you love that open for the National Garden Scheme, whether they’re big or small, grand or informal, to help us identify the nation’s favourite gardens

When the National Garden Scheme launched in 1927, the gardens the public could pay a shilling to see were all very grand: large stately homes and country houses. Six hundred gardens opened in that fi rst year, raising £8,000. Now more than 3,600 gardens take part, and the Scheme raises millions for the nursing and health charities it supports: it is Macmillan Cancer Support’s biggest donor.

Not only has the National Garden Scheme grown in scale, the gardens that open today are so much more diverse. There are still stately homes and country houses, but also urban gardens, allotments, community gardens, school gardens and hospices – even gardens on boats on the River Thames.

When our Nation’s Favourite Gardens competition ran in 2019, the shortlist of gardens that you nominated and those that subsequently won your votes to become each region’s champion, brilliantly refl ected that diversity. In the South West, there was the wonderfully therapeutic Horatio’s Garden at Salisbury Hospital’s Spinal Treatment Centre, where head gardener Stephen Hackett cares for a garden that’s loved by patients, visitors and sta alike. In the South East, fi ve neighbouring urban gardens on Kew Green in London, who open their gardens as a group each year, won the top spot.

In the North, the winning garden at Larch Cottage Nurseries makes a trip to Peter and Jo Stott’s wellstocked nursery more than just a chance to cram the boot with choice plants. For the Eastern region, Kathy and Simon Brown’s Bedfordshire garden, The Manor House, took the top prize, with its fantastic combination of creative art-inspired features and beautiful planting.

The timeless gardens around Wollerton Old Hall became our winner in Wales & The Marches, while

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