Indholdsfortegnelse for A Year In The English Garden 2025 i The English Garden

This year’s edition of A Year in The English Garden, sponsored by Farmer Gracy, is here to help you create a garden that’s a joy to be in, every day of the year. It’s easy to enjoy your garden in summer, when there are flowers galore and the weather’s delightful. It’s a little harder on a bleak February day with grey skies and numb fingers. But even on the briefest foray outside, there’s joy to be found: a frosted seedhead, the tip of a snowdrop pushing its way above ground, tiny buds swelling imperceptibly day by day. In our annual guide we present 12 beautiful gardens that are full of inspiration for every month of the year. Our carefully selected plants of the month have been chosen for their long…

GIVE WISTERIA ITS WINTER PRUNE Rein in vigour and encourage flowering by cutting wisteria’s long summer stems back to two or three buds. This satisfying pruning results in lots of flower-bearing spurs. PLANT BAREROOT ROSES As long as the soil isn’t frozen or covered in snow, you can plant bareroots right through winter. It’s one of the most effective ways to establish new roses, and they often cost less. CUT BACK HELLEBORE LEAVES Hellebore flowers may already be appearing, so cut off last year’s foliage at ground level to let the blooms shine, and to reduce the risk of disease spreading to this year’s new leaves. FORCE AN EARLY RHUBARB CROP Cover a clump of rhubarb to exclude light, and look forward to tender candy-pink stems for the year’s first…

LIFT AND DIVIDE SNOWDROPS Once their flowers have faded, lift and divide clumps of snowdrops. Split the clump into single bulbs and replant to create drifts of these lovely early flowers across the garden. SOW FRAGRANT SWEET PEAS Start off sweet pea seed this month for lots of scented cut flowers in early summer. Sow six to eight seeds in a 12.5cm pot of compost and germinate in a coldframe or greenhouse. PRUNE GROUP 3 CLEMATIS Clematis that flower in mid or late summer, such as ‘Étoile Violette’, should be cut back to 10-30cm this month. Some remember by calling it the ‘Valentine’s Day massacre’. CHIT SEED POTATOES Six weeks before you want to plant them out, chit seed potatoes of later cropping varieties to get them started before they…

GIVE ROSES THEIR YEARLY PRUNE Try to prune rose bushes before they put on too much new growth. Prune away dead or dying stems, then shorten the rest by one third to a half, cutting just above a bud. GET TOMATOES STARTED Sow tomato seed in a heated propagator or the warmth of a bright indoor windowsill this month. Prick out the emerging seedlings individually and grow on in a frost-free spot. CUT BACK ORNAMENTAL GRASSES The old stems of deciduous grasses such as calamagrostis and miscanthus have added interest all winter, but now’s the time to cut them back and make way for new growth. SOW HARDY VEGETABLES Hardy crops such as beetroot, broad beans, carrots and peas can be sown this month. Sow directly into the soil if…

SOW HALF-HARDY ANNUALS As long as you can protect them from the cold and frost, these colourful annuals can be sown now – indoors or in the greenhouse. Try cosmos, zinnias, nicotiana and tagetes. BUY BEDDING PLUG PLANTS Save money on larger plants bought later in spring by buying ready-sown plug plants now to grow on in the greenhouse. Look for pelargoniums and begonias, perfect for pots. PRUNE SPRING-FLOWERING SHRUBS Once shrubs such as forsythia and ribes have finished flowering, it’s time to prune them if you need to. Cut one third of the stems back to the base, encouraging fresh new growth. SOW HALF-HARDY VEGETABLES This month it’s time to sow tender crops such as squashes, courgettes, French beans and sweetcorn. Sow in a greenhouse or on a bright…

EARTH UP POTATOES Pull soil around the growing stems of potatoes to encourage more tubers, and stop those that have formed turning green. In pots or bags, keep topping up the compost. KEEP ON TOP OF WEEDING Weeds will be really flying by now, so make getting rid of them a regular task. Hoe along rows in the vegetable garden and hand-weed borders before weeds get too established. DEAL WITH APHIDS Aphids (greenfly, blackfly and the like) can proliferate this month. Watch out for them on new shoots and crops such as broad beans. Squash or blast them off with a jet of water. POT ON HOUSEPLANTS Now that light levels have improved, it’s a good time to pot on any houseplants that have outgrown their containers. You can also…

PLANT OUT TENDER VEGETABLES The risk of frost should have passed by June, making it safe to plant out the tender crops you’ve been growing on in the greenhouse, like pumpkins, beans and sweetcorn. SOW BIENNIALS If you want their pretty flowers next summer, June’s the month to sow biennials. Try foxgloves, sweet Williams and forget-me-nots, and plant them out later in autumn. PLANT UP SUMMER POTS Summer bedding plants are safe outside, now the weather’s reliably warm. Plant up containers and hanging baskets with your favourites for a vibrant summer display. TRIM BACK BOX HEDGES June’s the traditional month to prune box hedges and topiary. Choose an overcast day and disinfect blades between plants if box blight is a concern in your local area. June Checklist ■ Once your…

DEADHEAD FADED FLOWERS Snip off faded flowers from shrubs and perennials. This will encourage the plant to produce more blooms, and it stops browning petals spoiling the plant’s overall display. BRING IN THE HARVEST You’ll start to see the results of your hard work in the veg patch this month as crops come to fruition. Picking when fruits or pods are small and tender is usually the best bet. TAKE CUTTINGS This is a good month for propagating plants through cuttings, whether you take semi-ripe cuttings of shrubs, cuttings of bedding and container plants or ‘pipings’ of pinks. DIVIDE BEARDED IRIS Now’s the time to lift and divide mature clumps of bearded iris. Replant plump rhizomes, nestling them into the soil’s surface. Shorten fans of leaves and water well. July…

CUT DAHLIA FLOWERS Dahlias will be flowering now, so keep cutting blooms for the house and you’ll encourage the production of more. If you leave them to flower in the garden, deadhead regularly. COLLECT AND SAVE SEED Lots of flowers will be setting seed now, so make the most of this free bounty and collect it to sow in autumn or spring. Always store seed in a cool, dry, dark place. PROPAGATE TENDER PLANTS Take cuttings of tender ornamentals such as pelargoniums, salvias and penstemons. You can overwinter the resulting young plants for next year to insure against winter losses. GIVE LAVENDER A TRIM Once lavender’s flowers have faded, give bushes a light prune to keep them compact, but don’t cut back into the woody growth, which doesn’t readily regenerate.…

PLANT SPRING-FLOWERING BULBS The first month of autumn signals the start of the window for planting spring-flowering bulbs. Daffodils and anemones are among the earliest to root, so plant them this month. POT UP CHRISTMAS BULBS If you want forced hyacinths in full fragrant flower for Christmas, September’s the time to start them off since they take 10–12 weeks to flower after planting. HARVEST HOME-GROWN FRUIT Autumn raspberries, plums, damsons and sloes, and the first apples and pears will be ready to harvest this month. Make crumble and pie fillings and preserve them in jams. LAY NEW LAWNS This is the month to start a new lawn from rolls of turf. It’s more expensive than sowing seed, but the result is instant, and autumn showers will help the new grass…

PLANT TULIP BULBS November’s the month to get tulips in the ground. They’re best planted a little later than other spring-flowering bulbs, because colder soil discourages the disease tulip fire. START OFF A CROP OF GARLIC Plant garlic cloves this month for next summer. Good varieties include ‘Carcasonne Wight’, ‘Solent Wight’ and ‘Red Duke’. Cold weather helps bulbs split into multiple cloves. PLANT A NEW TREE You can plant trees anytime during winter, but November’s the traditional tree planting month. Good options for small gardens include crab apples and Japanese cherries. COLLECT AUTUMN’S FALLEN LEAVES Don’t waste the season’s falling leaves. Rake them up and gather them into chicken-wire enclosures or old compost bags to rot down and form lovely soil-enriching leafmould. November Checklist ■ Finish protecting any plants that…

SORT OUT THE SHED Use a crisp winter’s day to clean tools. Wash off dried-on soil, polish blades and oil their handles. Also sharpen and oil secateurs and shears so they’re ready to go next year. GATHER GARDEN GREENERY Grab your secateurs and plunder the garden for material for Christmas wreaths and decorations. Prickle-free Ilex x altaclerensis is a good choice, as are all manner of conifers. CHECK GREENHOUSE HEATERS If you heat your greenhouse, make sure your heaters are working before freezing weather hits. Sectioning off a smaller area to heat with bubble wrap can help reduce bills. PRUNE APPLES AND PEARS Winter’s the time to prune these fruit trees, but don’t remove more than 10-20% of the tree in any one year or a mass of water shoots…

Even on the shortest and darkest days of the year, the garden surrounding Ivy Croft, a small timber-framed former cider house west of Leominster in Herefordshire, is threaded with colour, texture and scent. Trees are wrapped in bark as tactile as satin and shrubs bear tiny scented flowers that sparkle like sugarcraft. The cider apple trees that once surrounded the cottage were grubbed up long ago, and in their place is a lucidly designed garden made by Roger Norman and his late wife, Sue, over 28 years, filled with a collection of choice plants. From the beginning their aim was to have something of interest in the garden all year round. Roger and Sue gave up well-paid jobs in suburban Surrey to move to Herefordshire in 1982 and live the…

Tucked away down narrow lanes that slice between tall hedges, Mothecombe House, a pretty Queen Anne jewel in South Devon, and the family hub of the Flete Estate, shines brightly with the brushstrokes of early spring. Its sash windows overlook a wooded valley carpeted with wildflowers and waxen pink camellia blooms, rhododendrons and azaleas, which slopes down through gnarled oaks and enormous clumps of narcissus towards the sea. “Spring is a bountiful time of year here with something new to see every time you walk through the garden,” says Lily Mildmay-White, who runs the garden with her husband John. “Snowdrops on the banks of the path, the orchard underplanted with daffodils, and then bluebells and hellebores. I love scent, so the daphne thriving under the Judas tree is a particular…

If trees could talk, the specimens standing in the grounds of Chenies Manor in Buckinghamshire would have some fascinating tales to tell. Set amid 400 acres of peaceful countryside overlooking the Chess Valley, the fortified brick house was built in 1460 by Sir John Cheyne as a family home. In 1526, the house passed by marriage to John Russell, a rising star in the royal court, who in 1550 was bestowed with the title of Earl of Bedford. Russell extensively developed the property, and by 1560 it was known as Chenies Palace. For a hundred years Chenies Palace was the seat of the Dukes of Bedford, during which time it played host to royal visitors Henry VIII and Elizabeth I on numerous occasions. Elizabeth I famously lost a piece of…

Occasionally, you come across a garden whose custodians are so attuned to its rhythms that it feels like an actual dialogue is taking place between the gardeners and the land under their stewardship. Highlands, a truly glorious eight-acre site set on the High Weald of East Sussex, is one such place. Perched on a west-facing slope and surrounded by acres of ancient woodland, wildflower meadow and heathland, its position could hardly be more idyllic. Not that the site is without its challenges. The upper terraces sit on a ridge of pure sand, while at the bottom of the slope is a seam of heavy Wealden clay. In summer the higher ground bakes. In winter, ephemeral streams appear as water flows and rises through the sandstone bedrock. Such complex hydrology might…

Each day, it is from indoors that Julia Hickman catches the first glimpse of her garden at Elmbridge Lodge: a delightful picture that never fails to halt her in her tracks, no matter what the season. In the foreground a rose pergola frames a tiered view of flowers and foliage filling terraces that tame a gentle slope. “Looking out, I don’t see any sky, just the planting as it rises in layers, and it feels as if there are no other houses nearby,” says Julia. It takes considerable imagination to envisage the outlook as it was just nine years ago, when Julia and her late husband, Peter, bought the Surrey townhouse off-plan with only boundary walls delineating the 21m long and 10.5m wide garden. “The plot was a long, nondescript…

“I’ve been growing vegetables and painting since I was 14 years old,” muses Matthew Rice. His parents were both designers: his father in theatre and his mother in textiles. “So I’ve been trained to make things look really, really nice,” he adds, as if his talent were, accordingly, a mere inevitability. He applies it assiduously to his Oxfordshire garden at Ham Court, which approaches its visual and productive zenith in September. The entire one-third-of-an-acre walled kitchen garden is a riot of colour that’s bursting with ripened produce and flowers for picking. Famously, Matthew depicts the garden’s contents and its farmyard menagerie on Emma Bridgewater pottery, the business he developed with his ex-wife Emma and for which he still designs. There’s a veritable dolly mixture of long-lasting zinnias tucked between thick…

PRUNE AND TRAIN CLIMBING ROSES Tidy up climbing roses from this month: shorten long stems or tie them into their supports to avoid damage in winter gales. Then shorten side shoots by two thirds. CLEAR THE GREENHOUSE Finish harvesting summer crops such as tomatoes and peppers, and clear space to bring in overwintering plants. Ripen the last green tomatoes on a sunny windowsill. PROTECT TENDER PLANTS If you grow tender exotics outdoors, now’s the time to lift them and bring them indoors, or protect them in situ. Container plants are particularly vulnerable, so bring them in now. ORDER BAREROOTS Bareroot season starts this month once leaves fall. It’s the best way to add new roses, hedging plants, fruit and ornamental trees so place an order for winter delivery. October Checklist…