Spring here in the UK has been very wet and cold although the Met Office tells us the average temperature has been slightly above normal . Enjoy a tour of the garden with me to see what is adding light to the gloomy weather.
The Crab apple tree has been spectacular this spring much visited by honey bees.
Malus Golden Hornet
One of six apple trees in the garden is Grenadier, an excellent cooking apple.
Malus Grenadier
Some Sun lovers.
Edging the sunny iris bed is ‘Lost Label’The Wall Flower Red Bedder.Geranium Sanguineum in an alpine pot.
Shade-loving plants.
Polygonatum x hybridum ‘Striatum’Polygonatum x hybridum in the White and Green garden.Athyrium niponicum f. metallicumLigularia przewalskii is a lover of damp growing conditions.As is Rheum ‘Ace of Hearts’
They are both grown in pots in the shade and well watered because our garden soil is free draining.
In the White and Green Garden.
Flowering to the left of the standard holly is Clematis ‘Miss Bateman’
Acers in the Oriental Garden and in pots are providing wonderful leaf colour.
In the Blue Border.
Lunaria annua ‘Rosemary Verey’Euphorbia ‘palustris’ with common Honesty.Geranium phaeum var. phaeum ‘Samobor’Weigela ‘Victoria’Euphorbia dulcis Chameleon RedPhiladelphus coronarius ‘Aureus with a young Physocrpus opulifolius ‘Brown Sugar’ providing a colour contrast.
Around the never-ending woodland walk.
Dicentra ‘Stuart Boothman’ among the For-get-me-nots.Lamium, Dead Nettle with Buff Tailed BumblebeeMeconopsis cambricaParthenocissus tripcuspidata (Boston Ivy)The Great Tits are busy nest building in here.
The Clematis alp. ‘Broughton Bride’ is flowering up into the Liquidamber slyraciflua ‘Stella’
After this you pass the Prunus serrula tree which is now in flower and covered with honey bees.
Time to sit on the Banana Bench and listen to the bees, relax and view the Blue Border.
The Hosta row looks very vibrant,
Especially ‘The Prince of Wales’.
Hosta ‘The Prince of Wales’
Just above is the white wisteria looking full of promise, I hope it will be in full flower for our National Garden Scheme open day on May 13th.
An opportunity to sit and enjoy the garden with some refreshments.
Whilst enjoying the afternoon sunshine in the garden I started to take photos of some of the few spring plants in flower. As I listed them I began to think of why I had planted them in the garden.
William Robinson was a great Victorian gardener. We visited his garden at Gravetye a few years ago where it is still managed in his style by a Head Gardener who previously worked at Great Dixter.
Robinson bred many plants at his garden Gravetye Manor. One he described as the most beautiful of all Anemones is Anemone nemorosa Robinsoniana. It is a beautiful lilac colour now flowering in the spring bed.
His book, The Wild Garden, is probably even more influential today due in no small measure to it being a source of inspiration for Christopher Lloyds’s mother at Great Dixer where his gardening philosophy is still practised today.
Growing next to the Anemone is Ranunculus ficaria ‘Brazen Hussy’ discovered growing in a wood at Great Dixter and named by Christopher Lloyd.
Alongside these in the spring bed is the Mahonia aquifolium ‘Apollo’ it is unusual due to it being low spreading with evergreen glossy leaves which turn a purple hue in winter. I planted it following a recommendation by the garden designer Rosemary Verey, who influenced my design of the main herbaceous border here.
One of the first gardeners to inspire me was Geoff Hamilton, I have several of his books. This rose named after him had to be in the garden, besides having beautiful flowers I do like the early red foliage it produces this time of year.
Rose Geoff Hamilton
This is Iris Crimson King and was given to me by a lady I used to help in her garden. She shared them with me when they needed dividing. She is not as well known as those above however she was special to those who knew her.
The self-sown cherry tree at the rear of the garden was in full flower. I could hear the bees working on it from the potting shed.
Yesterday was a lovely sunny day to carry out some spring work in the garden. A new rope swag for clematis and roses to clamber over.
A small area of one raised bed was cleared of celandine to plant out broad beans grown in root trainers. I grow the red flowering one for extra interest.
Last year plants in the raised bed.
Celandine, a pretty wildflower enjoyed by the bees has become an invasive problem in the garden.
Some of the more welcome spring flowers brighten my day in the garden.
Leucojum aestivumLonicera fragrantissima
As its name suggests Lonicera fragrantissima has a sweet scent on warmer days.
Magnolia stellataThe old hanging basket is squirrel protection for the tulip bulbs.Crocus tommasinianusEuphorbia Amygdalodes Robbiae
A favourite spring plant Pulmonaria Blue Mist.
Along with the Helleborus orientalis
I was not expecting to see the Clematis armandii ‘Apple Blossom’ flowering just yet, the mild weather has brought it forward, and it is lovely to see it from the house along the side of the Veranda.
John Brookes MBE has designed and built well over 1000 gardens, here and overseas, during a career spanning 50 years. Based at Denmans, his acclaimed world-famous garden in West Sussex, he is best known for his ability to create gardens that relate to their environment, designing gardens that fit into the wider landscape; that best suit the style and period of the house.
John Brookes first used the phrase “room outside” or “garden room”, he thought of a garden as an outdoor living space. His garden plans used a simple “grid system” for each site, linking it to proportions he found relating to the house. He said that this grid unified a garden and helped its designs to flow.
He has won numerous awards throughout his career including 4 gold medals at Chelsea, he was also a successful and prolific author, having written 24 best-selling books. The Clock House and stable block were both the home and studio of the late John Brookes.
Denmans is four acres in size, originally owned by Lord Denmans and then by plantswoman and author, Joyce Robinson, who initially devised the garden design we see today, she created a planted dry river bed and experimented with gardening with gravel, a planting medium later pioneered by Brookes in the early 1960s.
When he moved to Denmans he created a pond and redesigned beds, creating a contemporary garden that retained Robinson’s planting style.
Spot the Moorhen chick.
The garden layout is such that the visitor enjoys many small areas within the overall. it is punctuated with pieces of statuary,
a well-designed pot
It’s a garden full of inspiration with ideas that can be recreated in smaller spaces. The benches are painted blue to draw the eye and stand out as a focal point.
Inspired, I have painted some of our garden furniture blue thereby creating The Blue Border.
One of the most interesting features of the garden is the use of gravel. This is the dry stream bed,
this allows for more random planting in it, simulating what might grow in such a spot, for no water runs here. The gravel allows seedlings to over winter and not rot in damp soil.
Here in the walled garden, it is used both to walk on and as a growing medium so that you progress through the plantings rather than past them. It creates a casual, jungle effect, particularly here in the walled garden, whilst allowing the plants to develop naturally.
In the south garden, they cut the grass to different lengths. The rough grass around the edge has bulbs and wildflowers in it in the spring and then is cut once a month with a rotary mower. The rest is cut weekly with a cylinder mower to give an interesting contrast of texture. I think this is a good idea instead of having a whole area as a wild meadow. In July when we visited the effect was not so visible due to the hot summer, you can just see the outline, in these photos, of different mowing regimes.
The effect is a sanctuary for wildlife.
Although he travelled the world designing gardens he always said he ‘gardened’ at Denmans. I do like the hydrangea in this picture, I think it is Hydrangea villosa.
The refurbished conservatory was alive with the chatter of budgerigars. Denmans Garden reopened its doors to the public following a period of renovations by John Brookes during the winter of 2016-17.
The garden, plant centre, and gift shop are Open Monday-Saturday from 9.30-4 & Sunday 11-4 pm.
Entry is free to the plant centre, gift shop orMidpines Caf Proceeds will go to support the garden which will be part of the John Brookes-Denmans Foundation whose mission is to perpetuate John Brookes’ design legacy through education and the maintenance of Denmans.
When John Brookes MBE died in March 2018 he was working on renovating portions of the garden near the Gardener’s Cottage. The Garden continues to be under renovation and will become part of the John Brookes-Denmans Foundation so it will continue as the garden he and Joyce Robinson created.
The Blue Border in Our Garden@ourgarden19
Rose Francis E.Lester
It is useful to name different areas of the garden for when we open for the National Garden Scheme. Visitors often ask for information about plants so having some reference to where they are in the garden helps.
We visited John Brookes’s garden Denmans in July 2009.
I think we should continuously review and question the way we manage our garden.
With increasing environmental pressures including changing weather patterns, reduced use of peat and a concern for the loss of wildlife especially I think the insect population which is often an essential part of the food chain, we gardeners have to be open to change.
With this in mind, these are some of the garden management practices I have either adopted over time or am now introducing into my garden.
NO DIG – NO PRUNE.
I have never dug this garden.
When we moved in, having killed off the grass in the autumn, the plants we brought from our previous garden, were then planted, in the spring, straight into the ground with just a handful of compost, blood, fish and bonemeal and then some mulch around them. I did not lose one plant. Maintaining healthy topsoil through minimal cultivation and mulching is beneficial to the plants, wildlife and the gardener’s back!
NO PRUNE WITHOUT CHECKING FOR NESTS. It is recommended to prune spring flowering shrubs after flowering. I once found a robin sitting on a nest in such a shrub I was about to prune so I walked away from doing it. I now closely inspect the shrub for a nest before pruning, if disturbed birds, especially robins, will often desert a nest.
MULCH.
I read an article about the Millennium Garden at Pentsthorpe Natural Park in Norfolk, which we visited in 2012. This garden was designed by Piet Oudolf, the internationally famous Dutch nurseryman and garden designer, known for his prairie-style planting. Historically, the many perennials and grasses were not cut down in the garden until February, to provide winter shelter for insects, and then removed to giant compost heaps. According to the article, they now cut it all down in small bites, or pieces, leaving it on the ground as a mulch, to continue providing homes for the wildlife.
While I do not claim the blue border to be ‘prairie planting’, it does contain perennials and grasses so I decided to experiment with cutting it down in small bites, leaving it as a mulch. I did this using garden shears, I now use a hedge cutter.
I added my usual mulch of leaf mould/council-recycled compost on top of this in March. I only apply a thin layer as I do not wish to smother the desirable self-seeding plants.
I have now done this for three years, I don’t think it will suit the tidy gardener. However, it is soon hidden by the growing plants, and we are constantly being advised that as gardeners we should be a little more untidy to help the wildlife.
o Part of the Blue Border April 2023 no sign of the mulch
POTTING COMPOST.
The choice of compost can be a controversial area. Legislation regarding the use of peat is driving the move to peat-free compost here in the UK with peat being banned by 2024
I have been experimenting with peat-free composts for three years, the first one I tried was Melcourt ‘sylva grow’, a peat-free one recommended by the RHS. It is based on composted wood bark.
In 2023 I experimented with using Fertile Fibre, a Coir product. This is dehydrated making it light to carry and is easily rehydrated for use.
I did not find the results so good, with poor growth. I tried using a liquid feed with it but this caused dampening off of the seedlings. It was more successful when I added a third of peat-free John Innes Number 3 for extra nutrition.
I always use perlite or vermiculite in my mixes.
There is no doubt that peat-free compost requires more feed, which Number 3 provides, this may explain why some comparisons show poor results.
I do not throw away used compost it is stored in dustbins for either mulching or as a 50:50 mix when I repot plants with some added feed.
Fertile Fibre brick
DROUGHT.
I have for two years been working towards a more drought-tolerant planting scheme for both the south-facing front border and the Blue Border the priority here was to remove the requirement to water during the summer. One of the best drought tolerant plants here is Lychnis coronaria.
This short video shows one of the new drought tolerant planted beds in the blue border with Iris Edward of Windsor, Allium ‘Purple Sensation’, Allium Nectaroscordum siculum, Cirsium rivulare ‘Trevor’s Blue Wonder’ and the self seeding Hesperis matronalis ‘White’
The front border is south-facing, in full sun, while the blue border is partly shaded by next door’s huge copper beech tree. We have four large water butts.
I have regularly used rose fertiliser around the garden not just for the roses but for any flowering plant including the iris, I did believe that the formula would suit anything that flowers. I now understand that it contains too much nitrogen for the iris causing the leaf rot some of mine have experienced, so I have now started feeding them with a bone meal as recommended by Doddington for their iris beds.
This train of thought led me to think about leaf disease in roses which in some years can be quite severe even in so-called disease-resistant varieties. While rose fertiliser is recommended by all the leading rose growers when I discovered that David Austin Roses employs all their staff to strip the leaves from their roses in February to ensure a clean start it made me wonder how disease-resistant some of their roses are if they require this to be done every spring.
Next year as an experiment I plan to feed my roses on bonemeal along with some sulphur chips to help prevent blackspot then add a good spring mulch.
Blackspot on a roseRose of the Year 2015 ‘For Your Eyes Only’
Rose of the Year 2015 ‘For Your Eyes Only’ has so far proven to be very healthy.
I use chicken pellets in the garden where nitrogen is required and liquid seaweed for pots or tonic.
EASIER MAINTENACE.
I redesigned the White and Green Garden in the winter of 2022/23 along with reviewing the planting palette for the whole garden to enable easier maintenance especially as I am not getting any younger!
I injured my right arm this spring in a fall which proved that while gardening may help keep you fit you do need to be fit to garden!
The new seating area in the W&G garden.Looking towards the ‘Metal Cow’ 2024
This time of year the colours of autumn are a joy whether viewed in the countryside as you drive or walk around or with the more up close views in the garden.
I mentioned in my previous post during wet days the bird feeders have been popular this year especially with the Blue Tit family, having raised a record number of young within our garden area.
The slide show includes the Long Tailed Tits with their autumn coloured feathers, visiting the feeders along with the blue Tits.
The annuals planted in the raised beds edging the patio have now come into their own. Rhodochiton atrosanguineum and Thunbergia, Black Eyed Susan are favourite climbers flowering this time of year.
Raised beds edging the patio.
I took the Canon camera with me around the garden to capture some close-up pictures.
The tomatoes are new to me, they were recommended as being blight-resistant with good flavour. I will be growing them again next year.
Dahlias are a favourite, I lost all mine last winter. Here in the UK they flower right up to the first frost, which can be into November. One I always grow is David Howard.
David HowardDahlia ‘Gudoshnik’Dahlia Kelsey Annie Joy
The late flowering perennials are invaluable during autumn, especially the Asters, (Symphyotrichum) I removed the ones that suffered during last year’s drought as part of my plan not to water this area of the garden. The galley below includes the survivors.
July this year has been one of the wettest on record here in some areas of the united kingdom.
Last year we were experiencing 40°C heat at this time of year.
Learning how to garden with these changing conditions, is going to prove very difficult It must be even more so for the wildlife around us.
The garden seems to be full of young birds this year, blue tits, sparrows, robin and goldfinches are all visiting the feeders along with their parents.
Whilst this weather has not suited the majority of insects, I think the aphids may have done well and helped support feeding all these young birds, along with the ready supply from our bird-feeders.
We have always had a good population of goldfinches, robins and sparrows. It is nice to see an increase in the blue tit Family.
However, this has led to the inevitable visit from the sparrow hawk, although I haven’t seen it make a catch yet, everything has to find food in the wild. Blue tits feed on aphids and sparrow hawks feed on blue tits and other small birds.
The garden has lots of trees and shrubs for the birds to hide in on the way down to the feeders, which is important in helping them to feel secure when feeding.
I feed the birds throughout the year in the garden. This gives me pleasure watching them, especially when you see whole families coming to the feeders.
We are hoping for the jetstream to move, bringing some sunnier weather here to the United Kingdom. I think the wildlife would appreciate it as well.
The slide show begins with the young robin who has yet to develop a red breast, there is also among the blue tits a young coal tit on the feeder, he has more black markings on his head. The young goldfinches are still to develop their full adult colours.
I have been reviewing Our garden@19 with an emphasis on reducing the need for watering which I wrote about here: Drought tolerant planting and secondly looking to reduce the work in maintaining the garden without losing its appeal. With this second aim in mind, I decided last winter to redesign the White and Green garden along with the seating area in front of it. I hope small steps in different areas of the garden will help to achieve this aim.
The original design and below.
I also took the opportunity to raise the height of the white wooden fence, in this picture, along the perimeter to discourage the badgers from ploughing through the hedge by adding a gravel board.
New fence completed.
This garden room is not very big it is divided in half by a path bordered with box hedging. First I removed the internal box hedging, then the plants within the W&G garden were lifted, and some were retained and replanted creating borders around the edge of the garden. A soaker hose was laid to help the moved roses fully establish during the summer.
The left half of the garden was measured to allow the seating area from just outside to be moved into this area, it is an ideal place to catch the morning sun.
The right-hand side was designed to have a brick-edged lawn covering a similar area. I was then able to turf the original seating area. Sadly the large Clematis Montana Wilsonii on this fence died last winter. (Next winters project to remove it!)
Some of the plants now in the garden.
Trained on the trellis behind the bench is Rose Climbing Iceberg.
Rose ‘William and Catherine’ edge this bed with Paeonia Lactiflora Duchesse de Nemours
Planted behind the bench.
I love Pulmonaria Sissinghurst White, I have weaved it in-between the roses.
The open garden season is now getting into its stride here in the Uk. We are opening again this year along with other gardens within the village for the Church on April 29th, 30th and May 1st and for The National Garden Scheme on the 10th and 11th of June.
This movie will take you on a short tour of the four seasons in the garden. I believe the gardening year starts in the autumn preparing for the main show in the summer. Please select full screen. When the garden is open we do endeavour to provide visitors with a good show. We try to put on the Ritz.
One of the gardening jobs that has concentrated my mind this autumn has been preparing the growing pelargonium collection for the winter. I have been following the Pelargonium Society’s Website Here. advice on reducing the size of the plants so that they will fit into the space available. They recommend to reduce the risk of botrytis infecting plants when they are cut back to a node to ensure the growing medium in the pots has dried out.
Cut back Pelargonium
Having followed this advice it is disappointing to be seeing infected plants even after treatment with yellow sulphur.
BotrytisYellow sulphur applied.
The pelargonium society has recently posted on their YouTube Channel that this is one of the worst autumns for this problem due to the extremly mild, wet weather in the UK this autumn. A gardening friend has recommended spraying with a fungicide.
Young plants growing on for next year.
September cuttingsSummer cuttings
Pictures from the greenhouse this October.
Some other greenhouse Winter residents.
Gardeners are traditionally an optimistic breed so here’s looking forward to a colourful pelargonium 2023.
How do you prepare your pelargoniums for the winter?
On June the 4th and 5th six gardens in the village of Hanley Swan opened in aid of the National Garden scheme.
Thank you to all the supporters who baked cakes, helped with serving the teas and selling plants in support of Saint Richards Hospice, especially the garden owners who put a lot of work in to ensure their gardens looked wonderful and not least of all the visitors without who we would not raise any money for the two charities.
Some pictures from our garden just before opening.
We also had a group visit from Evesham U3A on Wednesday.
Despite poor weather on Sunday we raised £1619 to share between the two charities.
I guess, if you asked any gardener how to sow seeds, you would receive a different answer from each one.
I recently gave a zoom presentation to the Worcestershire Careers Association gardening group on seed sowing.
These are my thoughts.
Containers.
There is a wide range of pots and containers for seed sowing, generally, I prefer to use small pots rather than seed trays because they provide a deeper root run until you get round to pricking out the seedlings.
Large seed trays also encourage the sowing of too much at a time.
I also use root trainers. The large ones are useful for growing sweetpeas, beans and sweet corn, and they save pricking out. You can then plant them directly into the garden. You can buy smaller ones, ideal for starting vegetables such as lettuce or annual flowers.
A free alternative is used toilet rolls centres which fit nicely into the plastic containers grapes are sold in.
Compost.
The choice of compost can be a controversial area. Legislation regarding the use of peat is driving the move to peat-free compost.
I think you only need one type of compost, multipurpose. I use Melcourt ‘sylva grow’, a peat-free one recommended by the RHS. This year I am experimenting with using Fertile Fibre, a Coir product. This is dehydrated making it light to carry and is easily rehydrated for use.
This Coir brick is rehydrated with 3 litres of water.
There is no doubt peat-free compost requires more feed, which may explain why some comparisons show poor results.
I also use fine grade vermiculite for seed sowing, it is light to carry, helps prevent seedlings from damping off and benefits root development. Vermiculite is a naturally occurring mineral that is heat-treated. Traditionally horticultural sand or grit would have been used and as a gardener with recurring back problems, reducing the weight of materials is an important consideration.
Sowing.
For small seeds, I sieve multipurpose compost, to remove the larger pieces, mixing it 50/50 with vermiculite. When planting small seeds, I water from above before sowing or from below afterwards.
After sowing I lightly cover with vermiculite and label. You can cover it with a polythene bag and place it on a well-lit window sill. I use a heated propagator which negates the need to cover individual pots. You will need to remove the individual cover when the seeds have germinated, keep warm with good light to prevent them from becoming leggy.
Coir Jiffy pellets are useful for propagating seeds and cuttings, they require soaking before use.
Jiffy pellets before soakingTomatoes just starting to germinate.
Once germinated they can be planted out into pots to grow on, this also saves pricking out.
I use a mixture of compost with around 25% vermiculite for growing on.
I grow larger seeds such as sweet peas, broad or runner beans in the same 50/50 mix without sieving, planting into root trainers or toilet roll centres.
I have been thinking for some time that the wooden bridge crossing the dry river in the Japanese garden would soon need replacing. It had developed a certain amount of spring when crossing!
It gave way the other day as I was crossing to the shelter, so the decision was made for me as to when I would replace it!
The path leading to it contains slabs set at the diamond so it was an easy choice to add two more as stepping stones, through the dry river bed, along with some more small cobbles.
These should not rot!
I can now carry my coffee/wine to the shelter without fear of spilling anything!
Following my post ‘Peace and Tranquility’ I thought it would be interesting to post some pictures, as slide shows, of Japanese gardens we have visited here in the UK.
Tatton Park.
From their website:
“The Japanese Garden was almost certainly the result of Alan de Tatton’s visit to the Anglo-Japanese Exhibition at the White City in London in 1910.
Inspired by what he saw there, Alan de Tatton decided to introduce a Japanese garden to Tatton. A team of Japanese workmen arrived to put together what is now rated to be the “finest example of a Japanese Garden in Europe.”
The Shinto Shrine and artefacts contained within the garden are all reputed to have been brought from Japan especially for the construction of the garden.” More Tatton Japanese Garden.
Compton Acres.
From their website. “The Japanese Garden encompasses Thomas Simpson’s love for the unique elegance and incomparable beauty of Japanese horticulture.
He imported genuine stone and bronze artefacts to enhance the garden. The Tea House is draped with Japanese wisteria (Wisteria floribunda) and plants native to Japan have been used including the spectacular Kurume Hybrid azaleas, Japanese cherries and maples together with hostas, Hakon grass and a Ginkgo. The pool is home to large Koi carp best viewed when crossing the water on the stepping stones. The Japanese garden is still regarded as one of the finest in the country.” Website: Compton Acres Japanese Garden.
Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons.
From their website: “It would be difficult to find a poet who hasn’t opined on the changing seasons, it is equally relevant for gardeners, be they amateur or professional, who wait with eager anticipation for the first signs that the earth is thawing.
Raymond Blanc OBE is no different and along with his garden team, waits patiently for spring to arrive, taking time to remember the different destinations he has visited and how these trips during different times of the year have coloured his visions.
When East and West meet
His visit to Japan in the early nineties was one such occasion, which ignited his imagination and inspired him to create a Japanese Garden in the environs of the 15th century Belmond Le Manoir. Captivated by the Japanese tradition of Hanami, a longstanding practice of welcoming spring (held between March and May), which is also known as the ‘cherry blossom festival’, Blanc wanted to bring part of his Japanese adventure back to the UK.
The Japanese Tea Garden at Belmond Le Manoir entices guests to become more mindful as they explore, crossing the oak bridge to find sanctuary and was influenced by Taoist, Buddhist and Shinto traditions.” More details of the Japanese Garden.
National Botanic Garden of Wales.
From their website: “This Japanese garden is called ‘Sui ou tei’, which refers to the national flowers of Japan and Wales, the cherry blossom and the daffodil.
It combines three different traditional Japanese garden styles: the pond-and-hill garden, the dry garden and the tea garden. Japanese garden styles have developed over a 1400-year history, each style celebrating the changing seasons in different ways.
Such changes illustrate the transience of life, and tiny details, such as leaf buds opening in springtime, play an important role by drawing attention to the passage of time.
In the last 150 years, Japanese gardens have been created all over the world, adapted to local conditions. They are appreciated for their tranquillity and sense of calm when visitors take the time to absorb the scenes presented by the garden.” Website.
Botanic Garden of Wales
Bridges Stone Mill.
Closer to home and on a more modest scale is Bridges Stone Mill, they open for the National Garden Scheme in Worcestershire.
“Once a cherry orchard adjoining the mainly C19 flour mill, this is now a 2½ acre year-round garden laid out with trees, shrubs, mixed beds and borders. The garden is bounded by a stretch of Leigh Brook (an SSSI), from which the mill’s own weir feeds a mill leat and small lake. A rose parterre and a traditional Japanese garden complete the scene.” Bridges Stone Mill NGS link
Then there is our garden with its small Japanese garden, open for the National Garden Scheme with five gardens in the village of Hanley Swan on the 4th and 5th of June. Details of all the gardens here: Hanley Swan NGS Open Gardens.
It has been said many times during the pandemic how important gardens and outdoor spaces have become to people from all walks of life. Whether walking in the city parks or exploring the countryside everyone feels a benefit. Those of us with gardens have also found them sanctuaries either to sit in enjoying a beverage of your choice or with your head down planting, weeding or sowing, when you soon forget everything else that has been going on. When gardens have been able to open to the public there has been an increase in visitors, delighted to be able to visit gardens again.
Historically, gardens have always been considered sanctuaries, from the ancient Islamic gardens to the tranquillity of Japanese gardens. Irene and I have, for some time, been attracted to Japanese style gardens, inspired by visits to Japanese gardens with the Japanese Garden Society. Most notable to Tatton Park where we meet Professor Fukuhara who helped with the restoration of their Japanese garden. He took us inside the Japanese garden at Tatton and gave us a tour explaining the restoration of this famous garden.
The Shinto Shrine at Tatton Park.
The professor lectures on Japanese garden design in Japan and designed the gold medal and best in show Japanese garden at Chelsea in 2001, now relocated to the National Botanical Gardens in Wales, which we have visited several times.
National Botanic Garden of Wales.
He also redesigned and supervised the construction of the rock garden at RHS Wisley for the bicentenary of the RHS.
The Rock Garden at RHS Wisley.
Those of you who have visited our garden will know we have a small enclosed area designed in the style of a Japanese stroll garden. Many visitors comment on the different atmosphere when they enter and sit in the shelter. With the three essential elements of a Japanese garden, rocks, water and plants, there is at the one entrance a Cherry tree.
Inside there are flowering spring trees, shrubs, bamboo and Acers, for their wonderful leaf colour, with rocks and a dry river bed leading to the Bamboo water spout.
The other gateway is covered with the stunning Japanese white Wisteria, floribunda ‘ Alba .‘
These elements can, I think, be easily incorporated into any garden or even just on a patio to help bring that sense of peace and tranquillity that many have searched for during these times.
Little did I realise when I booked this month’s speaker, for our garden club, on Japanese garden design history how important some of these elements in a garden would become to those of us who are fortunate to own a garden.
A window into our Japanese Garden.
Wishing you peace and tranquility were ever you find it.
Every January I wait for a frosty morning to pollard the Acer negundo Flamingo.
Without the cold weather, even in January, the sap will pour from the cut wounds, which could over time weaken the tree. The branches provide a lovely winter grey blue colour.
This is done to maintain the beautiful leaf colours, otherwise it can revert to green.
The first cuts.Done, now back inside for a coffee and warm up.Acer negundo Flamingo
With encouragement from the Government and countryside organisations such as the RHS and NT there is an increasing interest in planting trees and the benefits to the environment of doing so. While most of these reported on are on a large scale, if chosen correctly there are some wonderful ornamental and fruitful trees for even the smallest garden.
Our garden is approximately 125ft by 45 and within it we have 12 ornamental and 12 fruit trees.
One favourite, Acers can be grown in a pot for many years. They will grow in any reasonable soil although they do prefer soil on the acid side which can be achieved by mixing some ericaceous compost in the pot or planting hole. You can purchase simple soil test kits to find out if you have acid or alkaline soil.
Acer palmatum ‘Senkaki’’
We have several Acers in our garden, Acer griseum is a special one. It looks wonderful with the winter sun shining through its peeling cinnamon-like bark.
In the oriental garden, a favourite one is Acer Negundo Flamingo, its variegated leaves consisting of green centres splashed at the edges with salmon pink, which later turn cream. The trunk of this tree is now four foot tall, the branches above this are pollarded in January to help keep it compact along with preventing it from reverting to all green leaves.
Also in the Oriental garden is the Ginkgo biloba it’s autumn foliage turning a deep saffron yellow. It is a member of a very old genus, with some fossilised leaves found dating back 200 million years. They can grow up to 100 ft tall, I purchased a young 4 ft one which I prune in January to keep it as a column shape.
The Sorbus family is worth considering, Sorbus Eastern Promise is a lovely small tree, perfect for the small garden, its dark green leaves turn deep purple and orange before falling onto our garden during the autumn.
Sorbus Olympic Flame is one to seek out, it is a small, highly colourful Japanese Rowan tree with a columnar habit distinctive for its large foliage that starts coppery in the spring before turning green in summer and fiery red come autumn.
You cannot mention autumn colour without considering the Liquidambar we have Liquidambar slyraciflua ‘Stella’.
One in our neighbour’s garden is particularly stunning in the autumn, always turning colour before ours. This will eventually become a large tree, fortunately it is slow-growing.
Spring colour can be provided by the magnolia family, ‘Lennei’ with its pink-white flowers can grow to 20ft without pruning. A more compact variety is Magnolia stellata.
There is a wide selection of ornamental Cherry trees for the garden. This unknown one in our garden is loved by the honey bees.
Although normally associated with spring blossom, there is Prunus Autumnalis, an Autumn-Winter flowering cherry with white blossom. It is a small tree, suitable for most small gardens. Choose a variety with a single rather than a double flower for the pollinators.
I call Prunus serrula our Champion Tree, it is grown for its wonderful mahogany bark although its delicate flowers are loved by honey bees.
Decorated as a mug tree for our open gardens.
The Silver Birch Betula jacquemontii is considered the best for white bark. With its upright habit it can be grown as a single or multi-stemmed feature. It can reach 4metres within ten years when some carful pruning will be required if you need to control its eventual height and shape.
I think the first choice of tree for any small garden should be fruit trees. The modern grafted Apple tree is well suited to any size garden. We have in our garden Malus ‘Blenheim Orange’, ‘Grenadier’, ‘Hereford Russett’, ‘Kidd’s Orange Red’, ‘Rosette’ and of course Worcester Pearmain’. We also have the Cherry ‘Sunburst’, the Pear ‘Invincible’, Plums ‘Opal’, Victoria the ‘Cambridge Greengage’ and the Crab Apple ‘Golden Hornet’ trained as a globe.
Malus Golden Hornet
The smallest of the trained fruit tree are the step-over apple trees, 18 inches to 2ft tall with a level side branch trained each side, you can literally step over them. They are very productive, often found in French Potagers and are excellent for edging a vegetable border or herb garden. Apples, pears and cherries can be decoratively trained into fan shapes, espaliers and cordons. Plums can be trained as a fan. Ensure it is grown on a ‘Pixy’ rootstock or it will be too vigorous. Plums should not be pruned during winter because silver-leaf and canker can enter through the cuts. Young trees can be trained in the spring with more established ones in the summer.
Fan trained Cherry, Prunus ‘Sunburst’
You can purchase any of these already trained, although expensive you are buying time. Alternatively, you can buy much cheaper bare-root two-year-old whips during the winter.
While many people find pruning daunting it is very rewarding to see a trained fruit tree in blossom knowing there is fruit to follow. I would recommend obtaining a copy of the RHS book Pruning and Training it covers everything from trees to shrubs, climbers, roses, soft fruit and tree fruits.
When visiting gardens and nurseries look out for some of those mentioned above and talk to garden owners. It is worth taking your time before buying a tree as it is a worthwhile, long term investment but can be an expensive mistake to rectify.
Malus Rosette in the raised bed with Malus Blenheim Orange trained as an espalier on the Oriental Garden fence.
The wildlife enjoy the trees all year as a safe landing area before visiting the bird feeders or as a source of food. You see them feeding on the insects hiding in the trees during the spring and summer or the fruits during winter.
That time of year thou mayst in me behold When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang Upon those boughs which shake against the cold, Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang …
From Shakespeare to Donovan the colour yellow inspires words.
Goldfinches feeding on sunflower hearts.Vitis ‘ Spetchley red ‘ Fuchia ‘Mrs Popple’Malus Golden Hornet and Tithonia ‘Torch’The Alpine Boxes and pots.Nerine Bowdenii
Please select Watch on YouTube then full screen for video.
What is giving you Autumn Joy in the garden or countryside?
Along with many garden owners, we originally decided not to open our garden this year due to the pandemic. However, with the improving situation, we have now held popup openings in June and September supporting the charity National garden Scheme. ngs.org.uk
During these days we have also sold plants for St Richards Hospice and at the village of Pirton church fair. These events have raised just over £1000.
We have to say a big thank you to all our visitors who purchased tickets, refreshments and plants. To the volunteers who manned the stalls and the staff at the National Garden Scheme for their support. The pictures are from the garden just before the September opening.
We are going forward with more confidence with five other gardens in the village joining us next year on the 4th and 5th June for the National Garden Scheme.
This is the first time this colourful garden visitor has been seen this year. These markings are of a juvenile, thankfully it stayed feeding long enough for me to fetch my camera.
Thalictrum flavum subsp.glaucum and Campanula lactiflora ‘Prichard’s Variety’Clematis ‘Perle d’Azur and Dianthus carthusianorumGeranium Johnson’s Blue and Lychnis chalcedonica
Who would have thought a runner bean flower could be so beautiful?
In the raised beds edging the patio Runner Bean White EmergoWith Sweet pea Air Warden.And Self-seeded Poppy.On the Patio.
The Covid-19 restrictions have inevitably prevented any meetings of our club, The Black Pear Gardening Club..blackpeargc.org.uk Our family has been using Skype for keeping in touch so I decided to try and hold a trial meeting for the club with the opportunity for members to say hello, I then presented pictures from our garden with the aim to include pictures from members gardens at the next meeting. While technology can be challenging we did manage to hold the meeting.
July has been a busy month here in Our Garden@19 with the open garden visits cancelled I had been left with a large stock of plants that I had hoped to sell. We decided, with the village of Pirton, (Worcestershire), where my brother Derek lives, to hold a plant sale in memory of his wife and our late sister in law, in aid of St Richards Hospice who cared for Diana. When the plants had been made presentable for sale, a large transit type van arrived to transport all the plants the day before, ready for setting up the sale the next morning.
The sale was well supported by the village, both helping and purchasing plants along with several members of the garden club.
The tomatoes are a bush type? ‘Maskotka’ which crop well despite their vigorous growth.
A winter tour, with the camera, around Our Garden@19 to capture some of the season’s shapes and silhouettes. This is an evergreen and topiary time of year, black and white pictures add to the wintery appearance.
Do you have a favourite winter shape in your garden?
The beginning of November saw the planting of pots with, crocus, iris, narcissus and species rock tulips.
Old hanging baskets used to keep the squirrels away.
Two large pots either side of the banana bench were planted with Tulip ‘Abu Hassan’, Siberian Wallflowers and Forget-me-Nots.
When the rain finally eased I managed to complete planting my remaining tulip bulbs.
Those of you who regularly follow my blog will know that I rotate dahlias with tulips in the raised beds edging the patio. Last year I used three bulb saucers for the tulips as an experiment to see if it was any easier, when it came to lifting them in the spring.
I was suitably impressed to use them for all the tulips in these beds this year. I purchased extra ones to have four 30cm ones for each bed. One hundred flaming spring green tulip bulbs were shared out between the eight saucers, four pots of Camassia leichtlinii ‘Blue Heaven’ saved from last year, Allium ‘Purple Sensation’ planted around the edge with Wallflower ‘Vulcan’, grow from seed planted in July, in between the bulbs. Forget-me-Not’s will be added in the spring from self-sown ones from around the garden.
Hopefully they will all be putting on a show for our opening on the 2nd and 3rd of May, in aid of the village church, when we will have a plant stall to raise funds for St Richards Hospice, based in Worcester.
This year I noticed that the Parthenocissus Tri. Veitch, Boston Ivy, behind the banana bench, had been almost completely replaced with wild Ivy. Now while I like Ivy in the garden for its benefit to wildlife, here I would prefer to see a more colourful plant. I decided that it was necessary to remove the ivy.
This revealed that the Ivy was holding up the trellis, with most of it rotten along with two of the posts at ground level. I was left with no other option than to replace it all.
Picture from behind where trellis would have been.From the front, with two posts waiting for sanding and staining.
I have, in previous blogs mentioned my inclination to watch TV gardening programmes for inspiration. On several occasions concrete reinforcing steel grid has been used to support climbing plants instead of wood trellis. With the advantages of not going rotten, not requiring painting (the rust look is on trend, so I’m told) and at 3.6m x 2m for just under £20 is cheaper than trellis. Two repair spikes were required with some rapid set postcrete to repair the two rotten posts, then a coat of wood preservative applied. Next grid was cut to size with a steel cutting angle grinder. The grid was fixed to the posts with 2×1” treated and stained timber screwed through to the posts.
I have long held the view that autumn is the beginning of the gardening year, preparing the garden and the plants for their winter rest before the explosion of spring and summer glory.
The main autumn project, this year, has been to move plants into their correct positions!
I am sure many of you can relate to the gardener’s curse of initially positioning plants in the wrong place.
Two of the first candidates for moving were the Cytisus, ‘Golden Cascade’ and Albus. While they produced wonderful spring colours and scent, they had become far too tall, even with some pruning.
I did not want to completely lose them, following a hard prune, I have moved them to the rear of the borders and hope with generous watering they will successfully establish. This has freed an area, which has been planted with Lupins and Foxgloves to flower in June for the open gardens. The lupins will be treated as annuals, in the Great Dixter way. Colourful exotics such as Dahlias and Cannas will follow.
I have for some time had a yearning for a Cornus Kousa ‘Miss Satomi’. After ordering one two years ago, I planted it in the garden. Sadly it died during the winter. The nursery that supplied it kept promising to replace it. When visiting Pershore College plant centre, they had some very reasonably priced Cornus Kousa ‘China Girl’. One was purchased, then planted in ‘Miss Satomi’s allocated position. Soon afterwards the nursery rang to say they had a replacement for me, although they could only obtain ‘Milky Way’. I decided this would have to live in a large pot, on the patio by the entrance to the oriental garden, while I decided where it was going to live permanently.
This turned out to be an ideal position, we could see it from the dining room windows. Three slabs were consequently lifted from the edge of the patio to provide a permanent home. Ironically the flower colours are more like ‘Miss Satomi’ than ‘Milky Way’, The nursery has not returned my email asking if there could have been an identification error!
Several years ago I was given a Rhus hirta Staghorn sumac. Because of its reputation for suckering, it has been residing in a pot on the patio where we could enjoy its beautiful autumn colour.
Last year we inexplicably lost a five year old Snake-bark Acer from the middle of the blue border. This completely unbalanced the border, there is an Acer griseum on the opposite side. Not wishing to risk another reasonably sized, quite expensive tree, I decided to plant the Rhus there, after seeing one looking stunning with it’s autumn colours, in a Piet Oldoulf garden.
I may pot up any suckers to sell on our open days. I think it looks very colourful in its new home among the Asters and grasses.
Moving the plant theatre in project one, freed up an area. This provided a space to plant a Greengage tree that I had purchased as a young bare root tree two years ago. It had been growing on in a pot, now it is planted along with the rhubarb, emptying more large pots.
Having admired large pots packed full of colourful exotics and annuals in other gardens, all these freed up pots will provide an opportunity to do the same.
Asters, Michaelmas Daisies or Symphyotrichum, as some of them have now been renamed, are one of the autumn garden flowers I have always loved to see. This is probably because of the wonderful stand that grew in my parents and grandparents gardens.
There are many to choose from, for October’s plant of the month, in Our Garden@19.
I have selected Symphyotrichum ‘Little Carlow’, it has RHS AGM status and is generally disease-free. With its masses of small blue flowers and yellow centres, I think, it is a good companion with Solidago Fireworks.
It will self seed around the garden, although it will not come true, it can however be propagated by division, preferably in the spring.
With it being a simple flower it is popular with the pollinators.
I have to confess to watching many of the gardening programs on television along with reading gardening magazines, books and of course blogs, for inspiration in planting and design.
One programme featured, what I thought was a good structural design for supporting climbing plants.
When I had finished building my version, I thought it looked too much like railway signals. The original one had used wider timber.
My design consultant (Irene) convinced me it was okay and would soon be covered by the Rose.
I have either been brave or stupid (you will, I am sure, have your own opinion) planted a Rosa banksiae ‘Lutea’, which I have grown from a cutting, to help screen one side of a shed. This is the one I have built the support for.
This is the rose the cutting came from! It has never been pruned.
Visiting RHS Chatsworth Show in June this year, one of the bulb stands had Zantedeschia Contor on display, and in flower. Talking to the owner he reassured me the tubers would flower this summer.
He was right!
I am linking with Noelle who has posted her plant of the month.
Fig leaf Holly Hocks are my choice, in August, for plant of the month in our garden@19.
I love the delicate colours of this one. The seed was sent to me probably two years ago by Gill Heavens after admiring pictures of them on her blog. This is their first flowering.
Choosing a plant of the month at this time of year is a little like choosing your favourite child. Daucus carota, the wild annual carrot, flowering in the blue border mainly from self sown plants is my choice. I grew it two years ago from seed, there was none in the garden last year, now this year…
Scarlet Tiger Moth, you see the red underneath when it opens its wings.
A simple drought tolerant plant, easy and cheap to grow, used by herbalists, loved by the pollinators and ideal for wildlife friendly gardening.
The plant family, Ranunculus, includes buttercups and lesser celandine, plants that most gardeners would not welcome into their garden. However with these looks and the name of ‘Brazen Hussy’, I have made an exception.
Ranunculus ‘Brazen Hussy’
It was discovered and named by Christopher Lloyd growing in the woods at Great Dixter.
Here, enjoying the sunshine, it has brazenly self seeded into some cracks in the path. What is being ‘Brazen’ in your garden?
Christmas and New Year are often a time for remembering lost loved ones. Imagine my surprise at seeing the rosemary in flower in our garden@19 this morning following a night of -2* frost.
These winter months are the time of year I try to carry out any ‘estate’ maintenance along with completing the pruning of the climbing/rambling roses, wisteria, vines, the apples and pear trees.
These all require the use of a ladder, which in the past has involved balancing on the top of a rather unsteady step ladder. Having some time ago reached the age where I don’t bounce so well and not wishing to add to the queues at the local hospital A&E department I have invested in a Henchman ladder. This is one of the best investments I have made in garden equipment. The ladder is similar to the Japanese tripod ladders, with adjustable leg heights to accommodate different ground levels and a bar at the top that you can safely lean into, so long as you don’t go any higher than recommended. This feature doesn’t seem to appear on the Japanese ladders which was the deciding factor for me when making my choice. They are made in the UK from aluminium and therefore very light to carry and come in different sizes. I did feel very safe using it this year, it can also serve as a coffee table!
Two jobs required the help of a local builder, one has been the replacement of the walls to the raised herb bed. I originally built it, in 2004, with treated timber planks, as these have rotted away in places, I decided to replace them with new sleeper timbers.
This bed is also home to a climbing ‘Albertine’ rose, on the trellis, a red currant fan trained along the side fence and a standard red gooseberry in the centre. The new bed is not as big, therefore more of the herbs will be in either terracotta pots or the old galvanised bath and buckets.
The lawn just off the patio always looks a mess, especially at this time of year, it is not very wide and all the foot traffic passes through here ( human and animal ). I have had it edged with porous black pavers, to match the ones incorporated into the patio design. Wether the grass remains, in this small area, or is replaced with gravel, is yet to be decided. Another option is artificial grass, I am following Cathy at Rambling in the Garden’s progress, with interest, to see how she gets on with her small installation.
I have also edged the fence along the Green and White garden with the pavers to save having to strim the grass.
Our neighbour has a willow (Salix) tree right against the boundary fence by the Oriental garden. We have dropped several, so far unsuccessful, hints regarding keeping it pollarded to prevent it becoming to dominant.
I decided to remove the worst offending boughs, the main branches will be placed, in a corner of the garden, to become a wildlife sanctuary, with the whips along with some Cornus trimmings, being woven into a small natural edge to the bed behind the banana bench. The remainder will be chipped for mulching around the shrubs in the Oriental garden.
My compost bins are in a poor state of repair and need replacing. I have for two years, had one of the local authority garden waste recycling bins. This has reduced the need for so many bins here. I have replaced one with an extra leaf bin, this is such a useful garden by-product, either for mulching or adding to potting compost that I don’t send it away from the garden.
Shadows in the sunshine!
We have recently taken delivery of 400 NGS Worcestershire County booklets this month to distribute around local shops, libraries and any garden clubs we visit. We also have our county AGM and lunch this month, where we garden openers collect all the publicity material for our open days. It reminds us the clock is ticking ( I think I have heard that before with a french accent!)
We have been fortunate to have recently enjoyed some winter sun, thus enabling me to make some progress on the maintenance list, while enjoying the winter sunshine, entertained by bird song.
What winter maintenance projects do you have for your garden?
One problem for a gardener who chooses to go away on holiday in May is the work preparing to go away and then to catch up on your return. This is especially so when you have an open garden date looming in June. This also applies to catching up on reading and writing blogs.
Here is a quick tour of our garden@19 to see what is currently performing following the absences of the gardener.
The copper barrier has so far protected the Hostas, although we have not yet had any challenging slug weather. (warm rain).
Leading off the patio the white wisteria has survived the late frost and is now in full bloom.
The White and Green garden is home to Hosta Patriot, the white Hesperis matronalis…
…and Allium Mount Everest.
The Iris are at their peak, here in the front garden…
Iris ‘ Ola Kala ‘
Iris Gudrun
Iris pallida subsp. pallida
Also in the Blue Border along with Allium Purple Sensation and Euphorbia ‘palustris’ is…
Iris Alcazar
The Iris sibirica are just stating to open, this is such an easy, beautiful plant to grow.
Iris Sibirica
The Welsh Poppy cheerfully seeds itself around every where.
Meconopsis cambrica
The last of the Rhodo’s to flower.
Rhododendron Yak flava
The Clematis are beginning to do their thing..
Clematis The President
Clematis Rebecca
Clematis Niobe
…along with a new Climbing Rose, which true to its name, it is the first to flower this year.
Rose May Queen
Whether Home or Away, take a seat for a moment and enjoy a garden. This weekend is the NGS Anniversary Weekend Open Gardens. May 27th to 29th is their 90th Anniversary weekend and will see over 370 gardens opening for a weekend of horticultural delight.
For information about the open gardens, where to find one near you and the charities they support please visit NGS
What is ‘Performing’ for you in your garden in May?
While enjoying the early signs of spring the head gardener has been preparing for the summer drought. The garden benefits from the borrowed landscape of the neighbours trees in the autumn, the downside is the amount of water required by such large trees.
Partial soaker hose irrigation was installed when we originally laid out the garden, it has now been installed into the rest of the garden.
Laying out a coiled roll of soaker hose without stepping on emerging bulbs and perennials was reminiscent of playing Twister. (You have to be of a certain age to know the game Twister!)
What has been causing you to perform a jig in the garden?
Do you have any autumn projects?
He was right!
What is giving you joy in your gardening world?
Happy Memories and New Year.
The White and Green garden is home to Hosta Patriot, the white Hesperis matronalis…
…and Allium Mount Everest.
The Iris are at their peak, here in the front garden…
What is ‘Performing’ for you in your garden in May?
Laying out a coiled roll of soaker hose without stepping on emerging bulbs and perennials was reminiscent of playing Twister. (You have to be of a certain age to know the game Twister!)
brimfields.com 