Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2024 i Gardens Illustrated Magazine

Gardeners are generous by nature, but there are those who really go above and beyond. This issue, we have decided to celebrate extraordinary people who give their time to good causes, who campaign and advocate for change, who innovate in the face of challenges like the climate and biodiversity crises, and who dedicate themselves to caring for and developing opportunities for others. We have named these garden champions our 2024 Horticultural Heroes, and throughout this issue of the magazine, you will find interesting interviews, profiles, stories and insights into the amazing things happening across the industry. You can learn more about some of the inspiring individuals who are making a real difference in our special feature on page 38. Community gardens and public urban green spaces are becoming increasingly important,…

8 & 15 OCTOBER Bulb Planting Masterclass A masterclass on planting daffodils, over two Tuesdays. 11.30am-12.30pm. Free with garden entry (£18.35). Hever Castle, Hever, Kent TN8 7NG. hevercastle.co.uk 18 OCTOBER Nature as Nurture A talk and Q&A with Arit Anderson on why gardens are essential for health. 2.45pm4pm. £28. Sissinghurst Castle Gardens, Biddenden Road, nr Cranbrook, Kent TN17 2AB. Tel 01580 710700 nationaltrust.org.uk 26 OCTOBER Pumpkins, Tendrils and a little Chiaroscuro Join a one-day art workshop focused on drawing pumpkins, with artist Jacky Mills. 10am-4pm. £120. Caisson Gardens, Combe Hay, Bath, Somerset BA2 7EF. caissongardens.com…

Privacy in gardens can be created using trees to hide or screen out an undesirable view. Trees grown for this purpose often have a clear stem up to fence panel height around 1.8-2m with a full bushy canopy above, forming a good screen above the fence line. This type of screening is particularly useful if the garden is overlooked by neighbouring properties or to retain lower-level exposure to an attractive wall or area. Semi-mature trees can be planted to achieve effective screening from the offset with evergreens being preferred for this purpose as they screen throughout the year. However, a planting scheme that includes deciduous trees can provide rich contrast and seasonal interest. Screening Trees Practicality Brown can supply a range of top quality trees for screening, which are particularly…

GARDENING HEALTH Gardeners know it, and the research evidence is convincing: gardening is good for you in so many ways. A 2003 Dutch study showed that for every ten per cent increase in regular exposure to gardens or green space, there is a health improvement equivalent to being five years younger. I can’t think of any drug that could make such a claim, and if there were such a thing, people would be queuing up to take it. More than half the UK population are gardeners, and this figure rises as we get older, so it follows that gardening can therefore be beneficial to the health of our ageing population. But we don’t need to wait until we’re a certain age: school garden projects have shown an impact that can…

Lisa Linder Lisa photographs our cover feature, page 38. “What a privilege to photograph such an amazing group of gardeners who have given so much, in such inspiring spaces, to local communities.” Sid Hill Sid recommends the best plants to grow for good gut health, page 66. “I love sharing my passion for edible plants and the microbiome. I hope this article inspires readers to dig deeper.” Joshua Sparkes Joshua charts his journey to natural farming, page 82. “Natural farming will, I hope, be a way that we can live with nature and protect ecosystems through food growing.” CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Charlotte Harris Charlotte co-founded the values-driven landscape design practice Harris Bugg Studio with Hugo Bugg in 2017. She has won three Gold medals at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, as…

VERNONIA ARKANSANA This sturdy perennial has stiff stems and willow-like green foliage. It produces beautiful, fluffy, pink-purple flowers arranged in loose, flat-topped clusters, which are very attractive to butterflies. While this giant may appear a bit coarse, it is tough and ideal for a naturalistic planting scheme or at the back of a border. I have grown it in various climates and have not had to stake it. To propagate in spring, slice off emerging side shoots or sow in autumn to overwinter in a cold frame. Height and spread 2m × 1m. Origin Northern to central USA. Conditions Moist, well-drained, humus-rich soil; full sun to part shade. Hardiness RHS H7, USDA 5a-8b†. Season of interest September -November. CLICK HERE to watch our video, and discover wh Vernonia arkansana is Andrea’s plant of the…

DIG IN THE GARDEN CHRONICLES I am waiting in the appropriately named green room before recording a short piece for a gardening programme. A much-loved icon, hero to many, walks in and says an immediate and cheery hello. I am being greeted like an old friend, despite the fact we have never met before. Asked how my garden is doing, I witter on, tongue-tied and star-struck, about the problems of finding something that will survive under the canopy of my Robinia tree. I half expect this to be the end of the conversation, like discussing your latest ailment with a random doctor you have just bumped into at a party, but instead, I am given a wheelbarrow full of ideas, from Vinca major, the pale-purple periwinkle, to the more imaginative…

You are never alone in a garden. Even in moments of solitude, you are part of something greater. Plant for wildlife, build habitats and share the garden Earliest gardening memory When I was a child, I was like a bull in a china shop. Always energetic, I never stayed still, except in one place – my mother’s friend’s flower shop. There I’d become more like Disney’s Ferdinand the Bull, relaxed and content, enjoying the scent of flowers. First plant love I thought the dock plant was magic after my first brush with stinging nettles as a child. My mother reached for a leaf to crush and rub on to the sting. What did you do before gardening? Initially, football. I left an academy at 17, and worked as a lifeguard…

• Go no dig Protecting and nourishing the soil microbiome is crucial for cultivating healthy plants that yield nutritionally dense crops. Start by laying down a thick layer of overlapping cardboard, then cover it with 10cm of compost or wood chips. This method builds soil, provides a habitat for the soil microbiome, and suppresses weeds, reducing the gardener’s workload. You can find more information on how to get started with no-dig gardening at gardensillustrated.com/no-dig-gardening • Layer your plantings In nature, plants grow in interconnected communities with multiple vertical layers. By mimicking this system, you can create diverse plant communities that require less maintenance, support increased microbial life and offer varied harvests. Begin with a few different types of plants, and gradually build diversity over a period of time, learning and…

“This is a place where you can bring every member of the family to stay,” says Mark Rogers of Hortus Collective, “and while it enables people of different mobilities, it is a space for everyone. We’ve tried to omit visual cues such as handrails wherever possible.” Well-crafted views and experiences of planting throughout the garden are critical; they invite us to come into the garden on a difficult day, or to act as rehabilitation goals Gravel is a low-cost alternative but can be hard for wheels to move on. Alternatively, consider using hoggin or self-binding gravel, which are more stable due to the higher content of finer particles. In time, however, they can rut and may need improving on a semi-regular basis. Making pathway edges more legible – for wheelchair…

THE GOOD SLUG GUIDE: HOW TO TACKLE THE SLUGS AND SNAILS IN YOUR GARDEN AND HELP SAVE THE PLANET by Jo Kirby Pimpernel Press, £12.99 ISBN 978-1914902253 The ecologist and gardener takes a fresh look at how we deal with slugs (and snails) in our gardens. It explains why the usual controls often don’t work, and highlights the seven slugs and one snail that do the most damage. Plus the 75 natural enemies of slugs and snails that can be found in UK gardens. THE GARDENS OF ULF NORDFJELL by Ulf Nordfjell, foreword by Annie Gatti, photographs by Jason Ingram Merrell, £40 ISBN 978-1858947198 Features ten new projects by renowned garden designer and landscape architect Ulf Nordfjell. Drawing on 40 years’ experience, Nordfjell reveals how each garden was designed to…

DOWNTOOLS BOOKS What is your new book about? It’s a companion to my No Dig guide (2022). There are chapters on compost in pretty much every book I’ve written, but I’ve never majored on the subject. My aim here was to set composting out in clear terms – I don’t want to give readers a recipe, I want them to understand what they’re doing so that they can find a method that works for them. What did you learn from writing it? I had to do extra research and justify the things I’ve been doing or believing. That’s what I love about my work – it’s based on what I do or what I can trial, and then I’ll share what works. What one idea would you like to share…

GARDEN GRANTS GROWING COMMUNITY The National Garden Scheme (NGS) is inviting applications for its 2025 Community Garden Grants programme. Providing funding to amateur gardeners from community groups in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands, the grants allow people to complete gardens or gardening projects that focus on benefiting the local community or a charitable group. The aim is to bring communities together through a shared space and a love of gardening. In 2024, the NGS funded 89 community projects with grants totalling £232,000 for gardens, allotments, and rehabilitation and regeneration projects. Awards are between £1,000 and £5,000, and are based on individual merit. Submissions close on 28 October at midday. ngs.org.uk Talking point THE WORST GROWING YEAR EVER? Any hopes of an autumn reprieve on summer’s wild weather…

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It’s a Saturday morning in the summer of 2000. I’m standing in a huge patch of nettles in a forgotten area in the corner of a public park, holding the ‘stupid end’ of a long measuring tape. I’m not there entirely of my own volition, but there, nonetheless. Just then, a boy, perhaps 11 years old, comes up and asks what I am doing. I can see a second boy hanging back. “I’m measuring,” I reply. He looks at me, as I stand still, holding the end of the tape. We’re both silent for a moment. “Why?” he asks, not unreasonably. “Well, we’re going to make a garden here, and before we can do that, we need a plan showing where everything is.” I can see that he’s not sure…