Indholdsfortegnelse for A Year in the English Garden 2020 i The English Garden

Gardening is inextricably linked to the seasons, with certain tasks carried out at the same times each year. Non-gardeners might think that makes for a dull and repetitive hobby, but gardeners understand that there’s something reassuring and comforting – especially during uncertain times – about knowing that snowdrops will always decorate our gardens in February, that we’ll sow flower and vegetable seeds in March and plant daffodil bulbs in October. So welcome to the fourth edition of our annual, A Year in the English Garden, in association with Bloms Bulbs, which aims to guide you through the gardening year. Admire a selection of each season’s most beautiful gardens and the best plants to ensure the garden is full of colour all year round, while keeping an eye on a handy…

Prunus x yedoensis If you can choose only one cherry and you have enough room for it, go for Prunus x yedoensis. It’s the unofficial flower of Japan and its almond-scented, blush-white flowers signify the start of hanami – the Japanese celebration of cherries flowering. It’s a graceful tree with spreading branches that are early to bloom – the first of its blossom appearing in March and lasting into April. Its green leaves turn yellow in autumn, when they contrast with its black fruits. Ultimately, this cherry will grow to around 6-10m tall. As with all cherries, it needs a well-drained, fertile soil and plenty of sunshine. It shouldn’t need much pruning, but if you need to remove the odd branch, do it in summer to avoid silver leaf disease.…

• Weed, tidy and water bare soil before applying a layer of organic matter, such as well-rotted farmyard manure or garden compost. This will help to reduce water evaporation. • Support herbaceous perennials by pushing peasticks into the soil around each clump, or use canes, stakes or mesh supports. • Prune bush and shrub roses, dogwoods and autumn-fruiting raspberries if you haven’t already. • Now is your last chance to plant bareroot trees, while leaves are yet to form. • Plant summer-flowering bulbs such as gladiolus (below) and dahlias in March and April in well-drained, sunny garden spots. Planting in succession means they will flower over a longer period.…

Euphorbia x martini Euphorbia flowers are actually tiny and insignificant; it’s the colourful bracts surrounding them that add zing to planting schemes. At around 60cm tall, Euphorbia x martini offers plenty of vibrant colour, sporting lime-green bracts with a maroon eye and red-tinged leaves. Cultivars such as ‘Blackbird’ (above) have purple-tinted foliage, while ‘Ascot Rainbow’ has variegated leaves in green and cream, flushed with coral tones. Choose a spot with well-drained soil and either sun or dappled shade for this species to thrive and it will form attractive clumps. As with all euphorbias, wear gloves to protect your skin from its milky, irritant sap. Happily, that toxic sap means euphorbias suffer from few pests. Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii For early colour and height, go for E. characias, an evergreen species,…

Geranium x cantabrigiense All hardy geraniums are easy, fuss-free dependables that just get on with growing. Most have handsome foliage, make superb groundcover, flower for ages and are generally untroubled by pests and diseases. Geranium x cantabrigiense ticks all of those boxes, providing groundcover in the form of low-growing cushions of aromatic green leaves that, in late spring and early summer, are covered in pink flowers. It will grow in most soils in sun or shade, as long as they’re neither too dry nor too wet. Different cultivars are available, all similarly obliging in terms of ease of growth, such as ‘Biokovo’, which has flowers in palest pink. Divide existing clumps in autumn if you want to make more plants. Geranium renardii This species will grow in sun or dappled…

Look out across the broad lawn from an equally spacious terrace, with the vast catslide roof of an ancient Sussex farmhouse behind you and it is easy to imagine that this rather grandly compartmentalised garden is of a similar vintage to the famous gardens at Gravetye, Sissinghurst and perhaps even Hidcote. Certainly these great gardens provided much inspiration, and you’ll spot their hallmarks everywhere: there are substantial flowery borders to your left and right, while in the distance, just visible over the top of and through a gap in a line of dark yew, stands a posh double avenue of lollipop-clipped hornbeams flanked by neat copper beech hedges. Elsewhere, the lofty tips of numerous slim ‘Skyrocket’ junipers reach heavenwards, while a huge, hollow, pot-bellied oak, believed to be 800 years…

• Spread mulch over bare soil after watering to conserve moisture wherever possible. • Continue to mow your lawn regularly: do it once or twice a week, depending on the weather. • Plant out vegetables, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes and runner beans, once they’ve been hardened off. Water regularly. • Sow winter-flowering pansies and polyanthus now to enjoy colour in the colder months. • Sow fast-growing, hardy annuals such as clarkia, calendula and candytuft in time for late-summer-flowering. • Keep an eye on the water level of ponds and water features. Top them up if they need it. • Protect brassicas against birds by using a bird scarer or keeping them under netting.…

• Harvest seed from the garden when it’s fully ripe on a dry day. All the seed we collect is stored in paper envelopes and then kept in a north-facing room in the house. • The seed collected is sown between October and March and none of it is kept in a heated propagator or greenhouse. We sow it in small pots or trays covered with fine horticultural grit and leave it outside to face the elements. • When sowing so many different types of seed, this ‘one size fits all’ sowing technique is definitely the easiest solution. • We are both members of The Alpine Garden Society, The Hardy Plant Society, Plant Heritage and our local gardening club, so we have plenty of opportunity to swap seeds and seedlings…

‘Twyning’s Revel’ Even if you’re not the world’s number one dahlia fan, chances are you’ve heard of stalwart variety ‘Bishop of Llandaff’, the 1922 classic with ferny, almost-black foliage and vivid red flowers. ‘David Howard’, a fine butterscotch seedling from the Bishop with dark leaves was named in the 1950s, and since then, many more varieties with dark chocolate foliage have been introduced. Dark-leaved modern singles, such as ‘Twyning’s After Eight’, a single white with pinkish overtones, helped lead a dahlia revival about 20 years ago. ‘Twyning’s Revel’ is another from the range, with rose-pink flowers flushed yellow in the centre, held above typically dark, glossy leaves on compact plants. ‘Karma Choc’ Dahlias in rich shades of wine-red are always popular, creating opulent displays in both garden and vase. ‘Karma…

There’s a certain sense of responsibility that comes with being the third generation to take on a cherished family garden. “I am very much aware of how much the family has put into the garden, so we do tend to involve my parents in major decisions, even though they are perfectly happy to let us get on with it,” says Helen Picton who, with her husband Ross Barbour, has taken over The Picton Garden from her parents, Paul and Meriel. Theirs has been a gentle transition, with more early-season planting creeping into the woodland area, and inspirational new introductions to extended borders. “My father is pleased to see the garden taking on a new life,” Helen explains. “He sees it as evolving – you must keep changing a garden, otherwise…

Sorbus aucuparia With their flaming foliage and colourful berries, sorbus make for wonderfully ornamental trees at this time of year. Native mountain ash or rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) is an extremely hardy small tree that grows on most soils, although it prefers acid conditions and often colonises inhospitable sites. Its bright scarlet berries light up exposed moorland in Scotland and Wales as the heather fades and the bracken turns russet. Lovely cultivars include ‘Apricot Queen’, which produces abundant, yellow-orange berries followed by fiery foliar tints of scarlet, purple and orange. ‘Copper Kettle’ has copper-coloured fruits that persist well after the leaves have fallen, while ‘Eastern Promise’ has flame-red foliage and deep pink berries. Sorbus ‘Joseph Rock’ One of the best-known rowans, Sorbus ‘Joseph Rock’ is renowned for its fabulous autumn colour…

• Check that greenhouse heaters are fully functioning and that their thermostats are working, ready for the colder nights. • Make sure any pruning required on birches, acers and vines is done before Christmas (after which their sap rises) to avoid the wounds bleeding. • If hard frosts are forecast, dig up any crops needed for the Christmas dinner, such as parsnips or leeks, while you can still get them out of the soil. • As leaves fall from deciduous shrubs, take hardwood cuttings of any you’d like to propagate. • Insulate taps and outside pipes to prevent damage. • Turn pots of growing amaryllis regularly so their lofty flowers don’t tilt towards the light.…

• This is a good time to plant new hedges. Order bare-root hedging plants during winter’s dormant period, or for quicker results try instant mature hedging from a supplier such as Practicality Brown (pracbrown.co.uk). • Clean greenhouse glass to ensure plants can make the most of winter’s weak light. Use a garden disinfectant and remember to scour the corners, too. • Take strawberries potted up in August for forcing indoors now. If you have several plants, bring in half next month to stagger their fruiting season. • Some summer-flowering bedding plants, such as lobelia, pelargonium and snapdragons, benefit from an early sowing in January, as they need more time to grow.…

Magnolia ‘Iolanthe’ Delve into the world of magnolias and it won’t be too long before you come across the names of Felix and Mark Jury. Mark is a renowned magnolia breeder, based in New Zealand, who, with his late father Felix, introduced some of the most exceptional magnolia cultivars of recent decades, including ‘Iolanthe’. With its large, cup-shaped, fragrant flowers in a soft shade of palest pink, ‘Iolanthe’ can be grown in most gardens and reaches just 6m tall. It’s hardy across most of the UK, happily withstanding -15°C, but it’s wise to avoid a position where the tree might be exposed to cold winds or frost pockets, to reduce the risk of those beautiful spring flowers turning brown. Give it well-drained, humus-rich soil. Magnolia ‘Black Tulip’ Another Jury cultivar,…

ALLIUM HOLLANDICUM ‘PURPLE SENSATION’ The variety to choose for stand-out, globe-shaped flowers in bold purple. ANTHRISCUS SYLVESTRIS ‘RAVENSWING’ Chocolate-maroon foliage is topped by sprays of white flowers in spring. NECTAROSCORDUM SICULUM This relative of the allium has heads of pendent, mother-of-pearl blooms. MAGNOLIA WILSONII This spectacular magnolia has fragrant, crimson-centred flowers on a small tree that slowly grows to around 6m tall. POLYGONATUM ORIENTALE An unusual Solomon’s seal with flared emerald-and-white hanging flowers. VIOLA ‘MYFANWY’ A floriferous variety that will scramble through bed and pots, bearing cheery flowers in mauve splashed with white. RHODODENDRON ‘HOPPY’ This semi-dwarf variety (1-1.2m tall) has ruffled flowers in sugar-mouse pink that fade to white as they mature. GERANIUM PHAEUM Dramatically dark, wine-red flowers open above mid-green…

Iris ‘Sable’ This variety’s rich hues and velvet textured petals are typical of bearded iris, held on stems just shy of 90cm during May and June. And, like all bearded iris, ‘Sable’ needs well-drained soil and full sun to thrive. It also needs good nutrition, and division every few years since crowded plants will not flower well. The foliage and flowering shoots develop from fat rhizomes that grow at the soil’s surface; it’s important that these are not shaded by other plants. Every two to three years, dig up the rhizomes between July and September, discard the oldest sections and replant the younger parts. Feeding with a high-potash, slow-release fertiliser such as bonemeal is beneficial, especially on poor soils. Avoid giving them manure or high nitrogen feeds, since this will…

• Deadhead roses carefully to make the plant neater and to encourage more flowers. Snip each flowering stem back by up to three leaves. • Plant autumn-flowering bulbs such as autumn crocus, colchicums and nerines in a warm, sunny spot in the garden. • Water vegetables regularly in the evening. An effective, time-saving method is to lay a length of perforated hose along the rows. This minimises evaporation and keeps foliage dry. • Harvest shallots, onions and garlic by lifting them from the soil and leaving them to dry out and ripen. • Take cuttings of woody herbs like rosemary and sage. They’ll root within four to six weeks when you can pot them up.…

DAHLIA ‘KARMA CHOC’ Black stems and dark foliage with velvety flowers that look as good in the vase as in borders. PERSICARIA ‘ORANGE FIELD’ Diane loves elegant persicarias. They thrive in sun or part shade from July through to October. RUDBECKIA HIRTA ‘MARMALADE’ A tough but short-lived perennial that sparkles through to autumn. The perfect partner for asters. KNIPHOFIA ‘ TAWNY KING’ A stunner for the centre of a south-facing display, with spikes of apricot and cream. EUCOMIS COMOSA ‘OAKHURST’ A dark-leaved pineapple lily with pink flowers on a fleshy stem. Does well in a hot spot. SANGUISORBA OBTUSA Fluffy, soft-pink flowers are held high on slim stems, ideal for the back of the border.…

• Prune wisteria’s whippy sideshoots to five buds from the main stems to encourage flower buds next year. • On a dry day, collect seeds from hardy annuals into paper bags and sieve away the debris. Store seed in a cool dry place. • Water and feed plants in hanging baskets and containers. • Sow salad crops such as spinach, radish, lettuce and red chicory to keep the supply of leaves coming. • Remove greenhouse shading at the end of the month as days begin to shorten. • Harvest early apples and pears if they come off easily with a gentle twist of the hand. • Harvest runner and French beans. If you have a glut, blanch and freeze them for winter.…

New England varieties can simply be planted and left to their own devices. Don’t plant too intensively – they need air circulation and moisture-retentive soil to avoid mildew attacks. Mulch asters densely to prevent water loss — dehydration stresses the plants, and also encourages powdery mildew. Don’t use nitrogen-rich fertiliser when they’re young. It encourages lush, weak growth. Scatter calcified seaweed onto the soil, to encourage stout, strong plants. Avoid using fungicide, Control mildew with a garlic-based spray and seaweed-based foliar feed.…

• Burn or bin fallen leaves from roses to stop black spot spores from overwintering. • Collect seeds by separating them from berries and storing in a cool place. You can then sow them in trays or small pots and place outside in a coldframe. • Plant herbaceous perennials while the soil is still in a good enough condition for the roots to establish. • Cut the tops of Jerusalem artichokes and asparagus down to ground level. Shred the old stems and add to the compost heap. • Take cuttings of blackcurrants, redcurrants and whitecurrants. Take pencil-thick stems and trim to just below a bud so they are 20cm long. Insert into a cuttings bed or pot of gritty, soil-based compost until spring.…

Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’ This is the dogwood to grow for richly coloured ruby stems. It’s a winter garden stalwart that’s easy to grow and straightforward to prune, which is crucial for getting the brightest bark. Every spring, just before the buds burst into leaf, prune all the stems hard back to the base to encourage a new crop of fresh, young growth that will be all the brighter. Follow up with a scattering of general fertiliser and a layer of mulch and that’s all the care that’s required. ‘Sibirica’ looks a treat underplanted with snowdrops, their pure white flowers making a crisp contrast with the blood-red stems, or early-flowering blue irises, such as ‘Katharine Hodgkin’. Also try with black-leaved ‘grass’, Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’. Cornus sericea ‘Flaviramea’ A zingy contrast to…

You can bet that if a garden is photogenic, it is going to be somewhere you want to see for yourself. A walk around nurseryman John Massey’s garden at Flatridge Cottage in the West Midlands is always a memorable experience; one perhaps especially gratifying at this time of the year when our gardening spirits need a lift. Having a garden for all seasons is often the aspiration, and sometimes the professed achievement, of gardeners with both grand and less assuming plots, but it is a rare thing that’s seldom realised in any meaningful way. Not so here. Far from relying on the obligatory winter plants, using the usual suspects, and falling into winter gardening clichés, this garden in February is full of splendid plants, the crème de la crème. The…

• Use a hoe to work organic fertiliser into the surface of your border soil for a gradual release of nutrients in spring. • Order compost, pots and seed trays so you’re ready for the busy season ahead. • Prune late-flowering shrubs such as hardy fuchsias and Buddleja davidii between now and March. Cut them right down, almost to the ground, feed with organic fertiliser and mulch around the base of the shrub. • Deadhead winter pansies and violas for continued flowering throughout spring. • If you didn’t plant lily bulbs in autumn, pot them up now to plant out later in spring. Lilies need to be planted quite deeply, so use large pots. Keep in a cool greenhouse or coldframe.…

‘ABU HASSAN’ Velvety maroon petals with a feathered golden-yellow edge help to lend these tulips an air of the exotic. ‘HOLLAND CHIC ’ Palest pink flowers are enlivened by a flare of magenta on the outside that darkens as the flowers age. ‘BURGUNDY’ Another lily-flowered tulip in a rich, jewel-like shade of purple, it also reliably comes back after the first year. ‘BALLERINA’ This elegant, lily-flowered tulip in vibrant tangerine, is gorgeous paired with limey spring greens and purples. ‘ARABIAN MYSTERY’ A crisp edge of white on this variety’s plum-red petals adds excitement to any planting scheme. ‘SPRING GREEN’ A stalwart variety for spring, with a flash of fresh, vibrant green on the outside of creamy flowers.…

• Plant summer-flowering bulbs such as gladioli and lilies in flower beds or pots. • Thin out shoots on perennials such as sedums to avoid overcrowding. Taking out one in four shoots will ensure the flowers look their best. • From mid-April onwards, sow tender vegetables such as sweetcorn, courgettes, French and runner beans and pumpkins in a heated propagator, ready to plant out in June after the frosts. • Use a soft-soap insecticide from the garden centre if early outbreaks of aphids prove troublesome. • Now’s the time to resume mowing the lawn on a weekly basis – if it’s left to grow too long, it will be much harder to cut back. Keep the blades set high to begin with.…

• Don’t put up with something you don’t want. Be bold and resolute and get rid of things. • Break the rules. If you want to grow a plant but aren’t sure it will work, have a go! We’ve lost some plants but many others have thrived. • See your garden as a stage set. Grow plants in pots so that you can plug a hole in a border with a fully grown plant that’s been waiting in the wings. • We use water that we’ve collected from the roofs to water the garden. Plants love it because it’s tepid. • Our feeding regime is important. We compost everything and spread this in late winter. In January I top dress with bonemeal all over the garden, in February I sprinkle…

• Remove insulating materials from around plants and pots after the worst of the cold weather has passed. • Clear spring-flowering bedding plants and prepare soil for summer by lightly forking over it, removing weeds and adding fertiliser. • Plant up containers with summer bedding plants using good-quality compost. Harden them off with a coldframe before placing outside once there’s no risk of frost. • Plant out hardy vegetables sown earlier, such as leeks and brassicas. Harden off tender vegetables ready to plant outside at the end of May. • Tie the shoots of climbers such as clematis, roses and vines into their supports using string or soft ties.…

‘Gwendoline’ June and July, when these easy, annual climbers are at their peak, would be poorer months without sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) filling the garden and home with their delicious fragrance. There’s a vast range to choose from, but some old sweet pea cultivars remain justifiably popular, like the pretty pink ‘Gwendoline’, which has been a top-seller for years. It’s one of a group known as Spencer sweet peas because the gardener who introduced them, Silas Cole, was working for the Spencer family at the time. In 1900, one of the older sweet pea varieties he had been growing threw up a sport with larger flowers and wavy, frilly petals. He propagated it and named it ‘Countess Spencer’ – and before long there were Spencers in every colour you could…

There aren’t many couples like Rob and Diane Cole, who can claim to be completely equal partners when it comes to decision making in the garden. They met by chance on a beach in Majorca in 1986 and realised they were a match made in horticultural heaven. A by-product of their relationship has been the creation of one of the most immaculate gardens you’ll ever have the pleasure to visit: Meadow Farm Garden in Worcestershire. The Coles’ one-acre garden, which is part of a larger three-acre site, is not the result of a series of happy accidents; it has been meticulously planned to the point where even the lawns are designed as parallel curves at a width that lets Rob create the perfect stripes with his mower. Rob, a retired…

‘Purple Prince’ Zinnias have steadily been gaining popularity for a while now, thanks to the favour they’ve found with cut-flower growers. Of course, for many gardeners, this confirmed what we already knew: of all the annual plants, nothing is quite as vibrant, cheerful or long-lasting in late summer as a gloriously colourful patch of well-grown zinnias, showcased here by the bright tones of popular ‘Purple Prince’. For decades zinnias have been lumbered with a reputation for being tricky to grow, but they are in fact straightforward as long as you follow a few rules. Sowing time is key: they hate the cold, so a late sowing, in the first or second week of May, suits them well. Then they are ready to go from greenhouse to garden in the first…

• Begin to prune climbing roses as the flowers start to fade. Remove dead-or unhealthy-looking stems by cutting them to ground level. • Plant spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils, crocuses, scillas and hyacinths in borders and pots now. • Protect ripening fruit from birds by covering with tightly stretched netting or growing trees and bushes inside a fruit cage. • Start mowing the lawn less frequently as growth slows and, towards the end of the month, remove thatch, aerate and top dress with a mix of two parts sieved soil, two parts sharp sand and one part sieved garden compost. • Plant autumn onion sets about 8cm apart in well-drained soil with the tips just visible.…

Malus ‘John Downie’ The main virtue of crab apples is their manageable size. Most of them won’t grow any bigger than 7-8m tall and many species and cultivars are even smaller, making them superb trees for gardens that are tight on space or areas where ultimate growth must fall within certain bounds. They also offer multiple seasons of interest – an important quality in small gardens where everything must work hard to justify its space. ‘John Downie’ has clouds of pretty white blossom in spring, and its leaves turn golden-brown in autumn too. But, of course, it’s the crabs that are the star attraction, and this variety’s elongated, oval-shaped, orange-and-red fruits don’t disappoint. It’s also one of the best varieties for crab apple jelly. Malus x zumi ‘Golden Hornet’ If…

By late autumn, many gardens are a little lacklustre as herbaceous perennial displays fade and deciduous trees are stripped back to bare bones. Not so at Renata and Colin Hume’s cottage garden, where variegated evergreen foliage, grasses and seedheads, clusters of berries and heritage apple trees infuse the borders with seasonal glory. The couple bought the property 20 years ago attracted by the history and potential of the cottage and garden, situated on land believed to have originally been part of a large orchard. Renata and Colin’s cottage was one of the first to be built in the newly established Letchworth Garden City as part of a group of 131 dwellings created for the Cheap Cottages Competition. This project, which focused on the Arts and Crafts principles of practical design…

• Lift hardwood cuttings from last autumn, which will by now have rooted, and plant them in permanent positions. • Move bulbs that are being forced for early flowers to a cool greenhouse, windowsill or coldframe once they are about 5cm tall. • Sow overwintering broad beans and peas outside, with cloches to hand in case of severe winter weather. • Net all brassicas, if you’ve not done so already, to keep the birds away. • Pot up amaryllis bulbs so they flower in time for Christmas. • Plant bare-root trees and shrubs by digging a generous hole in the ground, placing the tree or shrub with a low stake on its windward side, re-filling and gently firming.…

The Arts & Crafts Movement, which was inspired by William Morris, gave gardens a new definition as a harmonious component of the house rather than a separate entity. Gardens were often designed in collaboration with architects such as Sir Edwin Lutyens and garden designers like Gertrude Jekyll. They are not meant as an end in themselves but were conceived as outdoor rooms married to the house. Key characteristics include simple structuring and romantic, medieval-inspired imagery derived from old English manor house gardens. Nothing about them is ostentatious, contrived or foreign. Designers used local materials and traditions, hedged enclosures, artistic flower borders, whimsical topiary trees, small hand-built structures, sundials, armillary spheres, and other traditional ornaments. Some of the key designers are Gertrude Jekyll, Edwin Lutyens, Baillie Scott, Robert Lorimer, Thomas Mawson,…

Snowshill Manor A remarkable Cotswold property by Charles Wade, with a stone summerhouse named ‘The Jolly Roger’. nationaltrust.org.uk Hestercombe Gardens Sir Edwin Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll both worked on this 50-acre garden near Taunton. hestercombe.com Hidcote Inimitable garden created by American Lawrence Johnston, near Chipping Camden. nationaltrust.org.uk Great Fosters A historic Surrey hotel garden with contemporary influence from Kim Wilkie. alexanderhotels.co.uk Munstead Wood Erstwhile Surrey home of Gertrude Jekyll. The private garden is open by appointment. munsteadwood.org.uk Bryans Ground Three-acre Herefordshire garden developed in 1913, now owned by David Wheeler and Simon Dorrell. bryansground.co.uk…

Hedera helix ‘Glacier’ Myths about ivy abound, particularly in regard to the supposed threat it presents to trees and buildings. Ivy is not parasitic: when it climbs trees the rootlets do not penetrate the bark, although when the plant reaches the top of a tree it may become dense and act like a sail in high winds. Dead or diseased trees may break or fall as a result, which is perhaps nature’s way of culling the old to make way for the new. On damaged buildings, ivy makes things worse, but is otherwise beneficial: research shows that it keeps walls 15 per cent warmer in winter and 36 per cent cooler in summer, protecting masonry from frost and pollution. Of the myriad cultivars of H. helix, variegated ‘Glacier’ is one…