GARDEN www.theenglishgarden.co.uk THE english OCTOBER 2017 For everyone who loves beautiful gardens £4.40 Autumn plants in mellow hues Discover hardy garden chrysanthemums Home-grown STYLE Kitchen garden ideas from Matthew Wilson Celebrate early autumn O WHITE BLOOMS for fresh borders O The BEST TREES for your garden O Clare Curtis’ ALLOTMENT ART O Make the HARVEST last longer
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OCTOBER 2017 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 3 I ’m convinced it was October when John Keats wrote To Autumn, his paean to the season of ripe harvest, swelling gourds and rosy light, with the famous first line almost everyone knows: ‘mists and mellow fruitfulness’. The gardens in this issue embrace autumn’s mellow hues, and, just like Keats’ poem, celebrate the new season. There is Exbury Gardens in Hampshire, beautifully landscaped to showcase fine trees and shrubs, their leaves developing autumn tints, and beds full of textural seedheads and grasses. Grasses are at the fore in the Piet Oudolf-designed garden at Bury Court, too. Created with its owner, nurseryman John Coke, it is the perfect marriage of structure and naturalistic planting with a phenomenally long season of interest. No wonder gardeners are inspired by Oudolf – at The Buildings, in Broughton, owner Gillian Pugh swapped roses and box for perennials and grasses after she fell in love with the landscape architect’s style. Meanwhile, in the kitchen garden at The Pig near Bath, the harvest continues in earnest – the ‘moss’d cottage-trees’ of Keats’ poem bowed with apples. If you seek, like Keats, ‘later flowers for the bees’, look no further than the hardy garden chrysanthemums we highlight on page 81. I hope you enjoy the issue. Clare Foggett, Editor Welcome... ON THE COVER Rudding Park Hotel’s kitchen garden, photographed by Lee Beel, features raised beds of heritage crops and herbs in a design by Matthew Wilson. Tim Richardson Tim, an author, contributes regularly to the Daily Telegraph, is the founder-director of the Chelsea Fringe Festival and sits on the National Trust’s garden advisory panel. He visits Bury Court on page 30. Fiona Cumberpatch Fiona writes about makers and traditional crafts, visiting artists all over the country. She meets gardeninspired artist and printmaker Clare Curtis on page 91. Matthew Wilson Matthew is an awardwinning garden designer, a radio and television broadcaster and an author. He describes his design for the kitchen garden at Rudding Park on page 55. DIGITAL PLATFORMS Purchase digital editions of The English Garden for phone and tablet from the App Store for iPhones, and Google Play for Android. COVER IMAGE LEE BEEL CONTRIBUTORS The-English-Garden-Magazine @TEGmagazine englishgardenuk theenglishgardenmagazine
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From planters, fountains and statues to balustrades, porticos and follies – our stonework designs look fabulous when new and grow ever-more distinguished as they age. Browse our unrivalled collection online or call to request a catalogue. haddonstone.com 01604 770711 For everyone who loves beautiful gardens Tel: 020 7349 3700 Fax: 020 7349 3701 The Chelsea Magazine Company Ltd, Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place, London SW3 3TQ Email: [email protected] EDITORIAL Editor Clare Foggett Deputy Editor Greg Loades Art Editor Jeremy Bird Production Editor Vivienne Hambly Online Editor Rachael Funnell ADVERTISING Advertisement Director Lyndal Beeton Senior Account Director Tim Hanson Tel: 020 7349 3743 [email protected] Advertisement Manager Mark Wass Tel: 020 7349 3793 [email protected] Senior Sales Executive Sachin Patel Tel: 020 7394 3733 [email protected] Group Digital and Creative Solutions Manager Ben Leek Advertising Production allpointsmedia PUBLISHING Managing Director Paul Dobson Deputy Managing Director Steve Ross Finance Director Vicki Gavin Publisher Caroline Scott Circulation Manager Daniel Webb Brand Manager Chatty Dobson ONLINE Digital Media Manager James Dobson Digital Product Manager Ben Iskander Email Marketing Manager Emma Shriwardhankar Digital Executive Jenny Choo PRODUCTION Reprographics Manager Neil Puttnam Printing William Gibbons Ltd, Willenhall, UK The English Garden (UK issue) ISSN no 1361-2840. Printed in England. © The Chelsea Magazine Company Ltd 2017. All rights reserved. Text and pictures are copyright restricted and must not be reproduced without permission of the publishers. The information in The English Garden has been published in good faith and every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy. However, where appropriate, you are advised to check prices, opening times and dates etc before making final arrangements. All liability for loss, disappointment, negligence or damage caused by reliance on the information within this publication is hereby excluded. The opinions expressed by the contributors of The English Garden are not necessarliy those of the publisher. www.chelseamagazines. com: Publishers of The English Home, Artists & Illustrators, Baby London, Baby Hampshire, Baby Surrey, Little London, Wedding Ideas, BRITAIN, Discover Britain, Cruise International, Independent School Parent and associated Guides, Racecar Engineering, Classic Boat, Sailing Today and Yachts & Yachting. SUBSCRIPTION OFFICE The English Garden, CDS Global, Sovereign Park, Market Harborough, Leicestershire LE16 9EF, UK. Tel: 01858 438854. Europe and Rest of World: +44 (0)1858 438854. SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES 01858 438854 EMAIL [email protected] SUBSCRIPTION RATES UK £72 (13 issues) Overseas £84 (13 issues) NEWS DISTRIBUTION Seymour Distribution Ltd, 2 East Poultry Avenue, London EC1A 9PT, UK. Tel: +44 (0)20 7429 3667. theenglishgarden.co.uk The Professional Publishers Association Member
6 THE ENGLISH GARDEN OCTOBER 2017 22 CONTENTS Gardens 22 THE TEST OF TIME The wooded valley gardens of Exbury, in the New Forest, are famous in spring, but have plenty to oer in autumn too. 30 A NEW DIRECTION At Bury Court in Surrey, nurseryman John Coke and Piet Oudolf kickstarted the New Perennial movement in the UK. 38 PERENNIAL PLEASURES Gillian Pugh ripped out her roses in favour of a drought-tolerant combination of grasses and perennials at The Buildings in Broughton, Hampshire. 46 BLAZE OF GLORY Late-flowering perennials and shrubs mingle with turning autumn leaves in the classic formal gardens around Bourton House in Gloucestershire. 55 HIGH & MIGHTY Garden designer Matthew Wilson explains the vision behind his design for Rudding Park Hotel and Spa’s brand new walled kitchen garden. Design 62 INTUITIVE DESIGN A creative partnership between home owner and plantsman results in a beautiful contemporary garden in Wiltshire. 69 FUTURE FUND Meet the finalists in The English Garden Future Fund bursary and cast your vote for the best design. 91 THE ART OF ALLOTMENT Print maker Clare Curtis finds plenty of inspiration on the plot. Plants 73 TOP 10 Fresh white flowers that glow in soft autumnal light. 81 ‘MUM’S THE WORD Find bold, late colour in winter-hardy garden chrysanthemums. 89 POTS OF AUTUMN COLOUR Replace tired summer containers with new displays of colourful heathers and autumn bedding. 97 TREE LOVE This tree planting season, choose the right variety with Tony Kirkham’s recommendations. Regulars 9 THIS MONTH A guide to gardens to visit, things to do and nature to note. 16 SHOPPING Gather autumn leaves and dress the garden for Halloween. 20 GARDEN PATHS Advolly Richmond champions plant and garden history. 79 PLANT PARTNERS The dark foliage of Ageratina ‘Chocolate’ makes it a super foil for autumn flowers. 81 October 2017
elements to elegance +44 (0) 1235 859300 www.davidharber.com EXTERIORS | INTERIORS | BIG SPACES 73 38 107 THE REVIEWER Ambra Edwards explains why the country’s head gardeners deserve recognition. 114 LAST WORD Katherine Swift extols the virtues of quince trees and their perfect, golden fruit. Offers 87 VANILLA-SCENTED CLEMATIS Take advantage of this special oer for readers of The English Garden: up to 50% o Clematis x aromatica. 106 DISCOVER BOWOOD Join garden writer Stephen Anderton on a tour of Bowood’s historic grounds. 113 SUBSCRIBE & SAVE Save money on a subscription to our sister IMAGES magazine, Artists & Illustrators. NEIL HEPWORTH; MARIANNE MAJERUS; CAROLE DRAKE; GAP PHOTOS/PAUL DEBOIS
CREATING CAREERS 55 YEARS Creating colourful careers in interior and garden design for over 55 years At Inchbald School of Interior and Garden Design you will be taught by established designers with extensive business experience. After teaching students for over 55 years we have strong connections with the Interior and Garden design professions. Many of the world’s leading interior and garden designers are Inchbald graduates which means that we are able to place students with them when their course is completed. Full time, part time and online design courses available. A history of putting interior and garden design students on the road to success In partnership with: 020 7730 5508 | [email protected] | www.inchbald.co.uk
OCTOBER 2017 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 9 YORK MUSEUM GARDENS The York Museum Gardens (above), situated within the beautiful remains of St Mary’s Abbey, house six of the largest trees in Yorkshire, including a 24m tall smallleaved lime. Tel: 01904 687687; yorkshiremuseum.org.uk ARDKINGLAS WOODLAND GARDEN The lower woodland garden, or Pinetum, at Ardkinglas, Argyll, is home to a number of champion trees, each the tallest and widest of their species in Britain, including a European Silver Fir and Patagonian Cypress. Tel: 01499 600261; ardkinglas.com TREWITHEN The botanic gardens at Trewithen in Truro boast an astonishing 18 champion trees from all over the globe. Tel: 01726 883647; trewithengardens.co.uk TREBAH GARDEN This garden in Cornwall is home to nine UK champion trees, including a beautiful tree fern that has a huge epiphytic pale pink Rhododendron growing from its trunk and a 150-year-old Chusan palm (left). Tel: 01326 252200; trebahgarden.co.uk CROFT CASTLE Take a gentle stroll into the heart of Croft Castle’s Herefordshire parkland and see the Spanish chestnut avenue that was planted around 350 years ago and a 1,000-year-old sessile oak. Tel: 01568 780246; nationaltrust.org.uk NGS GARDEN OF THE MONTH BOUGHTON HOUSE The home of the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch is set among 150 acres of spectacular gardens and tree lined avenues. Explore Boughton’s historic walled kitchen garden and newly created sensory and wildlife gardens. There is also a tranquil rose garden, ancient lily pond, and the restored 18th century Grand Etang with an impressive fountain rising up to 20m in height. In addition, by special arrangement, Boughton’s secret garden, made by Sir David Scott and Valerie Finnis, will be open during Boughton’s National Garden Scheme open day on Sunday 22 October (11am-3pm). Admission £6; children £3. Boughton House, Geddington, Kettering, Northants NN14 1BJ. For more gardens to visit see ngs.org.uk Gardens with champion trees Marvel at stately champion trees, the largest specimens of their kind in the country according to the National Tree Register, in these gardens GARDENS TO VISIT WORDS RACHAEL FUNNELL IMAGES SHUTTERSTOCK; GAP PHOTOS/CAROLE DRAKE October
October LOOKING AHEAD: PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS Botanical discovery DARWIN THE BOTANIST LECTURE 19 October, Bristol This lecture, organised by the Friends of the University of Bristol Botanic Garden and held at the University’s Frank Theatre, will explore Darwin’s many botanical discoveries. Starting with his early years in Shrewsbury and later at Down House (above), lecturer Mark Duell will explore how Darwin’s interest in natural history developed. Find out about the weird and wonderful plants Darwin discovered around the world, how they spread their genes, distribute their ospring and even turn the table and consume animals. Entry is free to Friends, visitors are asked to donate £5. Tel: 0117 428 2041; bristol.ac.uk WORDS RACHAEL FUNNELL IMAGE ALAMY DEER PHOTOGRAPHY 27 September and 18 October, Norfolk Capture one of autumn’s greatest spectacles with professional photographer Nigel Downer, who will help you photograph Holkham’s herds of deer. £50. Tel: 01328 713111; holkham.co.uk AUTUMN MASTERCLASS 14 October, London Leading garden and flower photographer Clive Nichols takes this practical workshop, which is full of guidance on how to capture the autumn displays at RBG Kew. £150. Tel: 020 8332 5626; kew.org PRACTICAL WILDLIFE 14 October, Devon This workshop with wildlife photographer Nigel Hicks takes place within the Westcountry Wildlife Photography Centre’s enclosure, which houses roe deer, barn owls, red foxes, wild cats and otters. £120. Tel: 01225 325733; rps.org AUTUMN WORKSHOPS 24 October - 2 November, Gloucestershire Award-winning professional photographer, Alan Ranger, will provide one-on-one tuition on these half-day or daylong workshops at Batsford Arboretum. He’ll cover how to perfect macro shots as well as photographing autumnal landscapes. £99-£150. Tel: 07817 017994; alanranger.com GARDEN PHOTOGRAPHY 25 October, West Sussex Lead by Roger Bloxham, this workshop at Nymans is aimed at beginners and will cover the finer points of composition and achieving the correct exposure. £15. Tel: 01444 405250; nationaltrust.org.uk Harvest time RHS WISLEY TASTE OF AUTUMN FAIR 18-22 October, Surrey Wisley’s Taste of Autumn Event showcases the best produce of the season, with the Wisley orchard laden with fruit and the garden awash with colour. Prepare to be tempted by delicious seasonal food and drink from artisan stalls. Wisley’s fruit and vegetable team will be on hand to answer questions too. Normal garden admission applies; RHS members go free. Tel: 01483 224234; rhs.org.uk 10 THE ENGLISH GARDEN OCTOBER 2017 PLACES TO GO
12 THE ENGLISH GARDEN OCTOBER 2017 Autumn-sown sweet peas have the opportunity to put down plentiful roots during winter, so when the weather warms up in spring, the plants are vigorous and raring to go. These resilient plants are better able to cope with dry conditions, because of their deep roots, and they flower earlier than spring sowings too. For best results, sow in 12cm pots; winter soils can often be waterlogged, resulting in losses if seed is sown direct. Use good quality, fertile compost that retains water well. Once the pot is filled with compost, sow six seeds into each pot taking care to push the seeds approximately half an inch into the soil. Sweet pea seeds are large and easy to handle making them ideal for sowing with children. Root trainer pots (below) can also be used. Their extra depth suits sweet peas’ long roots, and their hinged design makes transplanting easier too. Once sown, place the containers in a sheltered spot outside in the garden and leave until the seeds have germinated, protecting them from the worst winter weather. By January, the seedlings will need their tips pinching out to encourage bushy growth from side shoots. By March, they will be ready to plant out in the garden, at the base of a wigwam or trellis. Enrich the soil first with compost or wellrotted manure. Autumn-sown sweet pea plants can also be purchased. Try suppliers such as Sarah Raven, Mr Fothergill’s and Unwins for a wide range of both seeds and seedlings. WORDS RACHAEL FUNNELL IMAGES SHUTTERSTOCK; GAP PHOTOS Sow fragrant sweet peas Autumn-sown sweet peas make sturdy plants that bear their pretty, highly-scented flowers earlier than their spring-sown counterparts THINGS TO DO MONTHLY CHECKLIST ■Lift Begonia and Dahlia tubers and Gladiolus corms and remove dead foliage before storing in a dry place over winter. ■Autumn is the best time to plant trees and shrubs, so take advantage of the season if your garden needs new plants for height or structure. ■Plant your spring borders with primulas and wallflowers for a dazzling display in the coming year. ■Move any citrus trees indoors to prevent them suering as the weather turns colder. ■Autumn is the ideal season to lay turf for quick establishment so if you have plans for a new lawn, or need to make repairs to an existing one, order rolls of turf now. ■Harvest pumpkins before the first frosts hit and turn them into a warming soup or carve a decorative lantern. October
A Place In The Garden Planters Water Features Lighting Decorative Objects Fire Pits aplaceinthegarden.co.uk tel: 01403 864866
14 THE ENGLISH GARDEN OCTOBER 2017 The roar of red deer – the UK’s largest land mammals, according to the Forestry Commission – is a familiar chorus in autumn as their rutting season begins and males battle it out to win the a ections of a potential suitor. Observed across the UK, this autumn spectacle provides a fantastic opportunity for wildlife photographers to snap beautiful shots of the deers’ regal display taking place in the early morning mist. Female deer live in a ‘harem’ and share a single mate who must earn his position by competing against other bulls. The competing males lock antlers, grunt and stamp their hooves until the worthy winner is established. This male will go on to mate with the females who can each carry up to two calves, though twins are rare. Calves are born from late May to June and while their natural predators, such as lynx and wolves, have long been extinct in the UK, smaller individuals may occasionally be predated by foxes and eagles. Individual deer are red in autumn but this changes to a greyish brown for winter. Males are easily distinguished from females by their large antlers. The redwing’s return Plant berrying shrubs to entice these birds A plant for pollinators WORDS RACHAEL FUNNELL IMAGES SHUTTERSTOCK Clash of antlers Head to parkland and countryside to witness one of nature’s most spectacular autumn events: red deer rutting season NATURE TO NOTE Appearance Redwings are easy to identify by the distinctive cream stripe above their eye and their rusty red-coloured fl anks. Behaviour As summer’s migrant birds depart from the UK, the skies are fi lled with a fresh wave of redwings returning for autumn. Having been away for six months these small thrushes fl y back in late September and October to rural areas where they will remain until the following spring. From September through to November listen out for their characteristic soft ‘tseep-tseep’ call after sundown, because they migrate by night. What you can do In autumn, redwings will be in search of hedges and orchards to feed on their favourite fruits and berries. Attract them to your garden by planting fruiting plants such as hawthorn, rowan, guelder rose (Viburnum opulus) or holly. In winter, when supplies of fruit have run out, redwings will venture onto grassy areas and lawns in search of earthworms. Lavender-blue Aster x frikartii ‘Mönch’ is an excellent plant for pollinators, particularly butterfl ies, which seem to be irresistibly drawn to its daisylike blooms. Its long fl owering season begins in mid-summer and continues into autumn. This variety of Aster is best grown in well-drained, fertile soil in an area of your garden that sees sun or partial shade. It complements a wide range of autumnfl owering plants such as Sedum. October soil in an area of your garden that sees sun or partial shade. It complements a wide range of Sedum
DAVID AUSTIN® David C.H. Austin Plan ahead and plant this autumn Planting roses during autumn, while the soil is still warm, encourages their roots to grow before winter sets in. By the time spring arrives your roses will be truly established. Bursting into bloom around mid-June, they will flower in fragrant flushes until the first frosts. Visit: www.davidaustinroses.com Call: 01902 376300 We’re offering readers of The English Garden 10% OFF every time you order with us before 30th November 2017, quoting code EG89. The Ancient Mariner (Ausoutcry)
16 THE ENGLISH GARDEN OCTOBER 2017 Gather Leaves Collect autumn leaves as they fall, and draw inspiration for interiors from their rich, changing colours WORDS RACHAEL FUNNELL SHOPPING £17.95. Tel: 0345 548 0210; annabeljames.co.uk Compost scoop, thornbackandpeel.co.uk Pear apron, £24. £37.49. Tel: 0345 604 9049; johnlewis.com Kew gardens lawn rake, £89.99. Tel: 0845 034 6481; sheds.co.uk Beehive composter, £74.99. Tel: 0344 844 4558; flymo.com Flymo PowerVac 3000, Tel: 01830 530433; ibbidirect.co.uk Kantha cushion, £48. Tel: 01905 345 891; gtech.co.uk Gtech leaf blower, £285.99. Tel: 0114 233 8262; burgonandball.com Mid-handled rake, £15.99. £25.49. Tel: 0345 604 9049; johnlewis.com Kew gardens leaf grabber, brontebymoon.co.uk Shetland throw,£75.
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OCTOBER 2017 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 19 SHOPPING £250. Tel: 0330 333 2123; coxandcox.co.uk Outdoor large brazier, It’s Halloween! Set the scene for a spooky evening with these Halloween themed accessories for home and garden £9.99. Tel: 01423 816040; lights4fun.co.uk 15 LED pumpkin fairy lights, £7.99. Tel: 0118 903 5210; primrose.co.uk 3 oriental solar path lights, £120. Tel: 020 7734 1234; libertylondon.com L’objet veuve noir candle, £6.99. Tel: 01278 440500; elsieandfleur.co.uk Hanging felted pumpkin, £48. Tel: 01920 413986; limesandvines.co.uk Yourte grey lantern, £95. Tel: 01572 812186; catesbys.co.uk Pumpkin tureen, lamp, £164. Tel: 0844 815 7380; oka.com Zephyr large hurricane cover, £72. Tel: 0844 815 7380; oka.com Ophelia linen cushion bracket, £85. Tel: 07949 339416; pastellane.co.uk Ornate metal lantern and
20 THE ENGLISH GARDEN OCTOBER 2017 GARDEN PATHS IMAGES PAUL RICHMOND; GAP PHOTOS/MARK BOLTON History Lessons Advolly Richmond, one of few plant historians in the country, is a champion of the field, and motivates for more education to be made available outside London Oh look at it, isn’t it wonderful,” says Advolly Richmond, standing in front of Hemerocallis ‘Chicago Sunrise’. “The shape, the colour!” When she likes something, there is no doubting her enthusiasm. A passionate gardener and plantswoman, it is, however, garden history that really gets this Shrewsbury-based freelance researcher excited. She is indeed one of a select band of people with an MA in garden history. In the 1980s and 1990s there was something of a craze for garden history and restoration, but that generation of garden historians now seems to be mostly in retirement. Advolly is one of a younger generation who is passionate about a subject that, as she puts it, “is a point of contact for everything else. Social history, architecture, botany, horticulture, politics, religion – it’s all there.” It is important, too. “We need to take garden history to a younger audience,” she says. “Councils are so squeezed, it is more important than ever that there are people who can locate and research historic landscapes to ensure that they are valued and safeguarded.” As a member of The Gardens Trust’s events committee, Advolly is in a good position to promote her passion. I suspect her fellow committee members wriggled uncomfortably in their seats at first though. “I spent the first few meetings whining about how London-centric various events were,” she says. Advolly is enthusiastic; she is also forceful and does not prevaricate. She recalls eventually persuading the Trust to hold lectures in Birmingham. Currently she is also part of a group introducing courses on garden history to the West Midlands, and as a trustee of the Welsh Historic Gardens Trust, she hopes to undertake the same in Wales in 2018. Advolly’s first memory of what became her passion was at junior school, in Somerset. “We did rural studies and we had a teacher who was so enthusiastic.” Nothing further though until she was in her late thirties. “I was a buyer in the automotive industry, but I knew I didn’t want to be doing that for the rest of my life. I had started gardening and I thought I might try it professionally.” She obtained her RHS qualifications from Reaseheath College in Cheshire. “I loved the plant-identification classes,” she recalls. “Our lecturer gave us a potted bit of history with each plant, and this really captured my imagination.” She then became a trainee with Women Returning to Amenity Gardening (WRAG, now called RAG, since men are accepted too). Working with the late Margaret Owen, a Shropshire plantswoman, on a project identifying and conserving historic daffodil varieties gave Advolly practical experience in garden-plant conservation, but her moment came with the chance to join the garden history masters course at Bristol University for the last year it was run. Born in Zimbabwe, Advolly notes that at meetings and events she is “invariably the only black face”. She adds: “It is a bit lonely sometimes, and people always seem so astounded about what I do for a living”. She is currently involved with two research projects she hopes to turn into books: one on the life of Thomas Birch Freeman, a 19th-century missionary and botanist of Anglo-African descent, and the other on 18th- and 19th-century archery, a sport intimately associated with historic designed landscapes. Garden history has itself an enthusiastic and erudite new promoter. ■ People always seem so astounded about what I do for a living “ 1 Rosa ‘Veilchenblau’ A lovely rambler bearing clusters of mauve-lilac flowers. 2Edgeworthia chrysantha A small shrub with highly scented yellow flowers on bare stems in late winter. 3Bergenia ciliata Beautiful large mid-green downy foliage for shade. 4Iris ‘Godfrey Owen’ Blousy white and yellow flowers with a lemon scent. 5Lychnis coronaria Silver-grey leaves and magenta flowers brighten any corner. MY TOP 5 PLANTS Right Advolly Richmond. Below Rosa “ ‘Veilchenblau’
From conserving wildlife habitat and biodiversity, to researching plants for food and medicine, You can help safeguard our planet – support Kew’s vital work with a gift in your Will. Get in touch to nd out how you can help 020 8332 3249 [email protected] kew.org/legacy The Foundation and Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a registered charity No. 803428. Registered in England and Wales Kew is much more than just a garden.
22 THE ENGLISH GARDEN OCTOBER 2017 Generations of the Rothschild family have influenced the beautiful landscape at Exbury, creating a multi-faceted garden with horticultural excellence at its heart WORDS CLARE FOGGETT PHOTOGRAPHS MARIANNE MAJERUS The Test OF TIME
OCTOBER 2017 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 23 OPEN HEATH WHERE PONIES GRAZE, idyllic woodland glades: the New Forest is a national park made notable by its contrasts. Nestled in its south-east corner, where the park meets the Solent, lies Exbury Gardens, the creation of Lionel de Rothschild. The contrast is the same here. After rattling over cattle grids and crossing an expanse of austere moor, the tree-lined lanes of Exbury village couldn’t feel more difierent; the gardens themselves are secluded and peaceful, their horticultural treasures watched over by age-old trees that cast a dappled green light onto the valley below. Covering some 250 acres that slope gently down to the banks of the Beaulieu River, the garden is known for its rare trees and shrubs, but in particular the collection of rhododendrons that were Lionel de Rothschild’s passion. It was the site’s acidic soil and mild climate that led Lionel to Exbury when he bought the estate in 1919. Over time, he turned overgrown woodland into landscaped planting with the help of a veritable army of 150 men and 60 trained gardeners – Exbury village had to be expanded simply to house the workforce. In spring, masses of acid-loving rhododendrons and azaleas explode into flower and attract visitors from far and wide. It is full of what Marie-Louise Agius – one of Exbury’s directors and trustees – describes as “slap-you-round-the-face colour”, but this is no one-season garden. “It’s mind-blowing on every level in the spring,” Marie-Louise says, “but it is also beautiful in summer and then, when you come into autumn, it is phenomenal.” Marie-Louise should know. She visits almost every weekend when she comes home to her cottage in Exbury from working in London, where she is an award-winning garden designer. She is also Lionel de Rothschild’s great-granddaughter. Her namesake, Lionel’s wife, Marie-Louise Beer, was the woman who battled weeds and brambles in the years immediately after the Second World War to stop her late husband’s creation falling into further disrepair. The house was requisitioned during the war and used as a naval base for planning the Normandy landings – and Lionel died in 1942, aged 60. It was Marie-Louise’s grandfather Edmund who E X B U R Y GARDENS Dahlia ‘Babylon Bronze’ with Helenium and Euphorbia in Exbury’s large, recently created herbaceous beds.
24 THE ENGLISH GARDEN OCTOBER 2017 Right One of Exbury’s trustees and directors, Marie-Louise Agius. Below Upright flower spikes of Liriope muscari contrast with arching Phormium leaves. Bottom right Dahlia ‘Babylon Bronze’. Bottom left Exbury’s grand landscaping was carried out between the World Wars. subsequently took on the task of restoring the garden to its former glory when he returned from active service in 1946, and reopened it to the public in 1955. This garden is in Marie-Louise’s blood: she even drives Exbury’s famous miniature steam train. Slowly chufing its way around a one-and-ahalf mile 12¼ inch track that loops through trees and glades at the top of the garden, the train is a fine way to get a first taste of the place. It was the inspiration of Marie-Louise’s great uncle, Leopold de Rothschild, and takes in the Rock Garden – the largest constructed rock garden in Europe – and the Summer Lane garden with naturalistic swathes of perennials and grasses. But step onto the tiny platform at Exbury North and it will be the National Collection of Nyssa (tupelo) that draws the eye in autumn, a glade of vivid scarlet trees with which brilliant red sorrel tree (Oxydendrum), vermilion maples and crimson liquidambars have to vie for attention. All thrive in the site’s ericaceous soil. There are more mellow autumn colours, too. All around, mature deciduous trees develop bronzed russet tones. Liriodendron tulipifera and Tilia mongolica turn warm shades of buttery yellow while around the trunks of cherries lie leaves in every shade of orange. In the understorey, banks of mophead Hydrangea macrophylla and Hydrangea paniculata still bear a smattering of flowers, but these, too, are fading to a biscuity brown. Gunnera manicata and stands of bolt upright ferns each contribute to the sense of being in a jungle as the garden descends to the river via an absorbing series of ponds and paths.
OCTOBER 2017 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 25 Above Sedum Herbstfreude Group with artichoke and Echinops seed heads. Below right Grasses like Miscanthus add autumn interest. Below left Golden Fagus sylvatica ‘Aspleniifolia’.
26 THE ENGLISH GARDEN OCTOBER 2017 Paths take visitors down to the river, through dense planting of Gunnera, ferns and vivid stands of autumn acers.
OCTOBER 2017 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 27 There are 22 miles of path to explore, Marie-Louise says, and not only the main pathways that lead from the top of the garden down the gently sloping valley, originally designed to be wide enough for Lionel’s Armstrong Siddeley motor car. Head ofi the beaten track, and within seconds you are exploring on your own. “I love all the secret paths, but the thing that amazes me more than anything is that every single time I walk in the gardens, without fail, I see something that I’ve never seen before,” says MarieLouise. It’s just extraordinary; the depth and variety of trees and shrubs in the garden never fails to amaze.” Some of Exbury’s trees and shrubs are truly special. There are magnificent cedars of Lebanon that date from 1729, a towering Sequoiadendron giganteum and the hollow-trunked Domesday Yew, thought to be around 300 years old. The famous rhododendrons are a living collection that records both Lionel and Edmund’s passion for these shrubs and their extensive breeding work. Lionel alone created 1,210 new hybrids, many of which gained Royal Horticultural Society awards of merit. Each of the garden’s 32,000 plants is numbered and named, and carefully recorded in a database by head gardener Tom Clarke. The rhododendrons are being micro-propagated to ensure their longterm survival, by grower David Millais at nearby Millais Nursery. “We are trying to change the perception that Exbury is mainly a spring garden,” says Marie-Louise. “It is the most beautifully landscaped garden whatever the season.” A relatively new addition is a set of sinuously curved large herbaceous beds just to the east of Exbury House. By autumn, they are a textural and visual feast, rich with large beds of claret coloured Sedum Herbstfreude Group, Top Colourful acers are reflected in the lake. Above Bidens aurea ‘Hannay’s Lemon Drop’ flowers well into autumn. Right Cotoneaster berries and leaves turning to red before falling for winter.
28 THE ENGLISH GARDEN OCTOBER 2017 Autumn leaves at Exbury LIRIODENDRON TULIPIFERA The tulip tree is named for its goblet-shaped tulip-like green and orange summer flowers, but its distinctively-shaped leaves play a big part in its appeal too, turning a buttery gold before falling in autumn. One for larger gardens, Liriodendron will grow to at least 12m tall. TILIA MONGOLICA An unusual lime tree with small serrated-edged leaves, not dissimilar to ivy. Glossy green through most of the year, they turn a clear yellow in autumn before falling. At maturity, it can reach 10m tall, with a lovely rounded shape. Its fragrant summer flowers are highly attractive to bees. LIQUIDAMBAR STYRACIFLUA Sweet gums (Liquidambar) produce some of the most vibrant autumn colour around, their maple-like leaves turning shades of orange, red and purple. The cultivar ‘Slender Silhouette’ grows to 6m with a narrow, 1m-wide columnar habit, ideal for gardens with limited space. METASEQUOIA ‘GOLD RUSH’ The deciduous conifer Metasequoia glyptostroboides or dawn redwood thrives in wet, boggy sites, next to streams or ponds. ‘Gold Rush’ is a slightly slower growing cultivar, with golden green summer foliage turning bronze and orange in autumn. It will reach 8m tall. architectural seed heads of cardoons and the feather-duster plumes of Cortaderia selloana. They’re joined by lateseason heleniums and rudbeckias, anemones and dahlias for bursts of bold and exciting colour. Edmund’s son Nicholas, who is Marie-Louise’s uncle, also inherited the Rothschild passion for gardening and has reinstated a collection of autumnflowering glasshouse nerines that was originally developed by Lionel. Each October, their vibrant flowers are displayed in Five Arrows, the garden’s art gallery. Marie-Louise’s other uncle, the current Lionel de Rothschild, lives in a flat at Exbury House, and chairs the family charity that runs the gardens. “There’s a wonderfully open dialogue between the head gardener, the estate offce and the family,” Marie-Louise says. “There are several generations here at the moment – my uncles and cousins – all working on it, just as the older generations did when they were still alive. It’s fantastic watching my nieces enjoying it as I did – what a playground to have.” And it is a playground that everyone can enjoy. “We are getting more and more families,” MarieLouise says. “There are fish in the pond, trees to climb and space to run around. In summer we have lots of activities for kids to try to educate the next generation about horticulture, wildlife and being outside.” The garden is the sum of its parts, she says, not only the family but all the people who work there: “People are wonderfully loyal, they almost don’t retire, and they’re like an extended family. There’s such collective knowledge, it gives the garden a wonderful consistency, and I’m lucky to have known it all my life.” ■ The garden is open from 10am-5.30pm daily until 5 November 2017, reopening in March 2018. Exbury Gardens, Exbury, Southampton SO45 1AZ. Tel: 023 8089 1203; exbury.co.uk Above Bold Dahlia flowers contrast with a mass of late-flowering, purple-bloomed Strobilanthes wallichii.
30 THE ENGLISH GARDEN OCTOBER 2017 Piet Oudolf’s first British project, a naturalistic garden at Bury Court in Surrey that he designed together with its owner John Coke, helped put the New Perennial movement on the map WORDS TIM RICHARDSON PHOTOGRAPHS MARIANNE MAJERUS A New DIRECTION A spiral of yew provides sharp structure that perfectly contrasts with Oudolf’s trademark soft-form naturalistic planting.
BURY COURT OCTOBER 2017 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 31
32 THE ENGLISH GARDEN OCTOBER 2017 N OWADAYS I TRY TO WALK OR CYCLE to gardens to get a feel of the local topography – this provides a far more intimate and revealing introduction to a country garden than whizzing down the motorway by car and arriving in a somewhat frazzled state. An understanding of the enveloping land will always help one to comprehend a garden. The bus from Guildford deposits me in the centre of Bentley village and I walk a mile along a lane, up and over a hill clad in golden wheat fields that sway gently in the wind. My destination is Bury Court, a former farm set in rolling north Hampshire countryside, a complex topography of hills and small parcels of woodland. On a sunny afternoon it’s all quite beguiling, with the fields hemmed by high hedges of bramble, lime and hawthorn, and birdsong in the air. But the contours of the land and open skies also provide a clue to the horticultural Top Bury Court’s distinctive oast houses. Above An autumn border stalwart: Anemone hupehensis. Right Scarlet dahlias mingle with the golden flower heads of Stipa gigantea, spilling over a cobble sett path.
OCTOBER 2017 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 33 conditions here: at every season except high summer, an unforgiving chill wind blows over the undulating hills and straight into the exposed ex-farmyard of Bury Court, where owner John Coke has been cultivating a notable garden since the mid-1990s. Low rainfall is also an issue, and when I arrive John is watering the dahlias that grow in a wide border against the north wall of the former farmyard that provides the garden’s structure. A trio of red-brick and flint oast houses inspired a circular theme to the ground plan, their form echoed in a swirling hedge of clipped yew which forms the centrepiece of the garden. Around it, a cobbled pathway flows past borders and planting zones of varying sizes and shapes filled with an exuberant mix of perennial plants including bushy Eupatorium, bubbling Phlox, moody deep-purple monkshood, striking red Monarda ‘Jacob Klein’, bright yellow heleniums, thrusting sanguisorbas and rudbeckias in many hues. Other clipped forms, including a cloud-hedge area of clipped box, add a crisp sense of structure which contrasts pleasingly with the soft focus of the naturalistic plantings. This is my fourth visit to the garden, and on this occasion, as on others, I cannot resist reminiscing about my first visit to Bury Court back in 1996. I had heard about a new garden being made by Piet Oudolf in collaboration with a nurseryman in Hampshire (John used to run Green Farm Plants nursery from Bury Court). At that time the Dutch designer’s name was unfamiliar to British gardeners and Bury Court was Oudolf’s very first project in Britain. It is the garden that put his name on the map here. A few years earlier Oudolf spoke at a conference at Kew and efflectively introduced the New Perennial style of naturalistic gardening to a professional audience in Britain. He made the bold assertion that he did not think about colour at all when planning gardens: anathema to a century’s orthodoxy in Britain, which was still in thrall to the Gertude Jekyll-inspired Arts and Crafts approach to the colourthemed herbaceous border. Above Dahlia ‘Thomas A. Edison’ in vivid purple. Below, clockwise from right Mauve Phlox, towering Eupatorium and Persicaria opposite a bed of Molinia ‘Poul Petersen’; Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’; flowers of Clerodendrum bungei.
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OCTOBER 2017 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 35 This piqued my curiosity and prompted the early visit to Bury Court. The plantings looked remarkable at the time because there was no evidence of mingling plants in the traditional British manner, which tends to rely on a cottagegarden serendipity. Instead, the perennial plants in Oudolf’s borders at Bury Court are arranged in distinct masses so that they complement or contrast with each other while retaining their own formal and chromatic integrity. Colour combinations that traditional British gardeners would have thought of as clashing – pink Echinacea with yellow Helenium, for example – are essayed everywhere, the main emphasis being on formal compositions created by the contrasts between three basic shapes: spires (such as eryngiums and foxgloves), daisy forms (such as the Echinacea) and umbellifers (the cow parsley types). As John remarks, “I try to think about form and how plants look when they are juxtaposed.” These formal contrasts are knitted together by a unifying theme of grasses such as Miscanthus ‘Gracillimus’, which is still in evidence in the garden. Above Koelreuteria trees and blocks of hedging balance large swathes of ornamental grasses. Right Rounded heads of Phlox with bright red Helenium and, behind, Scutellaria incana. JOHN’S SEASONAL ADVICE OThink about structure above all when placing plants for autumn. Remember the key plant forms of spires, daisies and umbels. Consider planting trios in light of this, bolstered by grasses. ODon’t be afraid of radical change. Autumn is the time for thinking about change. This could be a complete transformation or substitution of one key species. The grass in the oval meadow was switched from Deschampsia cespitosa to Molinia ‘Poul Petersen’ in just one season. OAllow some selfseeding to create rhythm in plantings, but control it carefully. OThis month, start removing plants that have flopped indecorously. Don’t necessarily follow the mantra that you should leave dead plants in situ all winter.
Oudolf’s style has developed considerably since that time, but John is candid about the fact that he still follows the basic prescription set by the Dutch designer. “Back then, people didn’t put grasses in their borders,” he observes. “I share Piet’s view that shrubs in a border always leave a rather blank space after they have flowered. I think lots of younger people try to ape Piet’s style and they often seem to miss it.” The key ingredient is a strong sense of control; despite their naturalistic appearance, plants are carefully organised. The internal structure and rhythm has to be carefully engineered and every plant is considered in relation to its neighbours – if it doesn’t work, it comes out. Walking the garden with John, it feels as if this is certainly more his garden now than it was when Oudolf first planted it. He remains faithful to the New Perennial ethos but allows a certain amount of self-seeding and encroachment of plantings on to pathways, especially in the wilder, eastern section of the garden. “I think that what makes a garden is atmosphere,” John says, as we push our way through the flowers. It is as if he has added a heavy dose of English romanticism to a technical formula inherited from the continent. ■ Open by appointment. Bury Court, Bentley, near Farnham, Surrey GU10 5LY. Tel: 07771 663437; burycourtbarn.co.uk Above The wand-like flowers of Persicaria amplexicaulis make a slender contrast to Eupatorium maculatum Atropurpureum Group. BURY COURT NOTEBOOK A nurseryman’s flair for plants combines with the New Perennial ethos in this atmospheric garden LATE BLOOMERS John’s favourite plant at this time of year is Vernonia noveboracensis, or ironweed. “This is a fantastic lateflowering plant with small purple flower heads and then these fantastic bushy, foxy redbrown seed heads which stand well into winter,” John says. DISRUPTIVE TREES John insisted, against Oudolf’s wishes, on adding a number of Koelreuteria paniculata trees for height, shade and their vivid yellow autumn colour. They create ‘zones of influence’ which fruitfully disrupt the rigour of the groundplan. FESTIVE PEARS A roundel of clipped weeping pear, Pyrus salicifolia ‘Pendula’, on an ironwork structure adds a completely dierent colour tone and a festive note in the north-west corner of the garden. Bury Court is a wedding venue and this is a popular spot for photographs. CENTRAL MEADOW The oval meadow at the centre consists of Molinia caerulea ‘Poul Petersen’ with the foxglove Digitalis ferruginea and deep pink-red Dianthus carthusianorum. It relieves the complexity of surrounding plantings and John loves it. 36 THE ENGLISH GARDEN OCTOBER 2017
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Inspired by Piet Oudolf and the New Perennial movement, and Beth Chatto’s famous dry garden, Gillian Pugh set out to create her own show-stopping plot at The Buildings, Hampshire WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS CAROLE DRAKE PERENNIAL PLEASURES Grasses such as Calamagrostis, Miscanthus and Stipa gigantea stand tall at The Buildings. 38 THE ENGLISH GARDEN OCTOBER 2017
THE BUILDINGS
40 THE ENGLISH GARDEN OCTOBER 2017 S ET HIGH ON CHALK DOWNS ABOVE THE village of Broughton in Hampshire, The Buildings seems an island afloat in a sea of farmland, a huddle of house, barn, garden and copse surrounded by fields of arable crops on one side and placidly grazing water bufflalo on the other. Gillian Pugh moved here in 1972 when the walled garden was little more than a grassy courtyard with a single apple tree, a place for her step-father’s sheep to lamb in safety. Nowadays, framed by the soft apricot walls of the house and the show-stopping sweep of red oxide iron sheet roofing the timber barn, the garden is a canvas of creative planting, bursting with vibrant colour, texture and variety, designed to withstand climate change as well as please the eye. But it was not always so: “The first garden I made here was inspired by formal gardens like the one at Villandry in France,” Gillian recalls. “It was planted with box hedges, tall Italian cypresses and old fashioned roses which were prone to black spot and lots of pests. I started to worry about whether the roses would cope with rising temperatures and low rainfall so I began looking around for new ideas.” A growing interest in drought tolerant plants led Gillian to local nursery Green Farm Plants that specialised in herbaceous perennials and grasses until it closed in 2003. Run by John Coke and Marina Christopher, the nursery was Gillian’s introduction to the New Perennial movement pioneered by Piet Oudolf. The final piece in the puzzle fell into place in 2001 with a trip Gillian and her husband Dick made to Beth Chatto’s garden near Colchester in Essex. “On the way home in the car the realisation that we should make a dry garden hit me like a thunderbolt,” says Gillian. Following her Damascene conversion, Gillian removed the roses, box and cypresses and 17 tonnes of top soil that had been enriched over the years. This lowered fertility and better suited her new planting plan – a mix of perennials, grasses and carefully selected shrubs that would thrive on low rainfall and poor soil. “In a dry garden Sedum Above The central circular bed of grasses and perennials thrives in dry conditions. Left Gillian Pugh was inspired by Piet Oudolf’s New Perennial style, and Beth Chatto.
Clockwise from above A roomy seating area, surrounded by plants; furry flowers of Salvia confertiflora; delicate blooms of Rudbeckia subtomentosa ‘Henry Eilers’; Pennisetum ‘Cassian’s Choice’; Vernonia arkansana ‘Mammuth’.
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‘Matrona’ is low and stocky, whereas in improved soil it becomes twice the size and needs support. I didn’t want to do lots of staking,” explains Gillian. By 2005 the garden had been transformed from safely traditional to excitingly contemporary. The original plan of a circle within the square of the walled garden remains, but now tall vertical accents are created with grasses such as pale Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light’ and glittering golden oat grass, Stipa gigantea, along with soaring herbaceous perennials like purple flowered Vernonia arkansana ‘Mammuth’ and pretty sunflower Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’. At ground level, clipped box and hummocky Mediterranean shrubs including silvery Helichrysum and Lotus hirsutus, a hairy clover, dark waxy leaved Bupleurum fruticosum, felty Ballota pseudodictamnus, and purple sage anchor the composition. In between are mid-height grasses including greyish plumed Calamagrostis brachytricha, intensely coloured achilleas and salvias, and fleshy sedums like beetroot coloured ‘Purple Emperor’ and creamy ‘Gooseberry Fool’. All is stitched together by delicate self-seeders such as mauve Allium carinatum subsp. pulchellum, cheerful Mexican daisy (Erigeron karvinskianus), a rusty foxglove in Digitalis ferruginea, and the silky blonde tresses of Stipa tenuissima. Three curving paths dissect the large circular bed leading down to a sunken circle of brick at its centre. All sorts of plants seed themselves in the cracks: whiteTHE BUILDINGS NOTEBOOK Gillian puts her keen eye for plants to use PELARGONIUMS Gillian loves pelargoniums, particularly small-flowered species like Pelargonium australe, which produces clouds of tiny white flowers marked with cerise veins over a long period. “I prefer the tiny flowered, delicate ones that you have to get really close up to see properly,” Gillian says. CLEMATIS The walls of Gillian’s garden support many cultivars of Clematis viticella and C. tangutica. Some flower well into autumn, including ‘Sundance’ with pale yellow star-like flowers, and unusual ‘Vince Denny’ (above) whose reddish purple and mustard yellow petals surround a boss of dark maroon anthers. SEEDHEADS Several of Gillian’s favourite perennials are prized as much for their seedheads as their flowers. They include lilacflowered Phlomis tuberosa ‘Amazone’, rusty Digitalis ferruginea, and the delicate silvered pods of Catananche caerulea (above). Their papery forms add interest long after the flowers have faded. PROPAGATION Gillian propagates many salvias each year. Since Dick gave her a heater and fan to circulate air in the greenhouse, and a daylight bulb to extend day length during winter, Gillian’s success rate with Salvia cuttings is 100%. Good air circulation deters botrytis, a fungus that can devastate cuttings. Above The use of grasses continues in containers, in this instance Pennisetum ‘Cassian’s Choice’. OCTOBER 2017 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 43
44 THE ENGLISH GARDEN OCTOBER 2017 flowered Lysimachia ephemerum, wild orange hawkweed and even a Geum that appeared years after absenting itself from the borders. Gillian lived in Pakistan as a child, and letters that she wrote to her grandparents are sprinkled with observations about the flowers she saw there, showing that Gillian’s love of plants began early. And though, decades later, the replanting of her garden was inspired by practical concerns, the task opened up a whole new world of plants and perennial salvias quickly became Gillian’s passion. “Salvias grabbed my fancy and haven’t let go. I still wake up and think that I must go and see whether a particular one is flowering. Most recently it was ‘Celeste’, a gorgeous violet form that I found at a Great Dixter plant fair.” Gillian uses salvias throughout her borders and in pots, too. They range from tall Salvia confertiflora, with its furry orange flowers emerging from brickred bracts, to bushy hybrids of Salvia greggii and S. microphylla, including deep plum ‘Nachtvlinder’ and the luminous S. x jamensis ‘Dysons’ Orangy Pink’. The plants can flower from late spring until autumn and many have deliciously scented foliage. No wonder they continue to exert their spell. ■ Top Stipa gigantea waves graceful flower heads above Salvia ‘Hot Lips’ and Hakonechloa. Middle Vibrant Salvia cacaliifolia in deep blue. Bottom Sphaeralcea incana ‘Sourup’ is an unusual shrub with silvery green leaves. GILLIAN’S GARDENING THOUGHTS O When you see something that isn’t working, write it down so it can be recalled. O Clear leaves from borders before winter sets in or they will turn into a soggy mulch and may damage plants. Scoop them up when they are dry and either rot them down as leaf mould or simply incorporate them in the compost heap. O In November, cut down late-flowering Clematis to chest height and tie it in so it looks bearable over winter. In February, cut it down to 30cm above ground, feed and mulch. O Bring tender salvias and pelargoniums into a frost-free greenhouse for winter. O Limit the pots you have. They are terribly hard work and need watering when you go away. Plants do prefer, wherever possible, to be in the ground.
Mitton Manor is a 7-acre country garden that was started in 2001 and has been developed from an overgrown wilderness. The garden surrounds a Victorian manor house and contains a range of different styles; formal box and topiary, prairie planting and natural woodland bordered by a stream. Stunning water features and sculptures just add to the magic. September Events 24th - The Magic of Topiary - £8 with James Crebbin-Bailey of Topiary Arts 11.30am - 4.30pm 30th - Mitton Manor in Concert - £TBC* *Check out our website for more information MITTON MANOR GARDENS Refreshments: Enjoy Tea, Coffee, Cakes or a Champagne Afternoon Tea whilst listening to live music! General Admission: £5. No charge for children under 12 Additional charges apply for special events Check out our website for additional open days and more information: www.mittonmanor.co.uk Email: [email protected] Location: ST19 5QW (2 miles west of Penkridge) At the Texaco island on the A449 in Penkridge turn west into Bungham Lane. Turn right at the end of Bungham Lane and then immediately left. Keep right at the fork after the single file bridge. The house is 1½ miles from the bridge on the right. Car park in field before house Mitton, Near Penkridge, Staffordshire ST19 5QW
Bourton House, flanked by Parrotia persica; Fuchsia magellanica grows in the foreground. 46 THE ENGLISH GARDEN OCTOBER 2017
B O U R T O N HOUSE Late-flowering perennials and shrubs combine with turning autumn leaves to create a garden of rich seasonal colour at Bourton House in Gloucestershire WORDS VANESSA BERRIDGE PHOTOGRAPHS MARK BOLTON Blaze of GLORY
48 THE ENGLISH GARDEN OCTOBER 2017 I T IS NOT DIFFICULT TO HAVE A GOOD GARDEN in June with a bit of efiort, but the real test comes when summer is drawing to a close. Bourton House passes with flying colours, its borders packed with late-flowering salvias, asters, cannas, dahlias and penstemons, all at their peak. Visitors later in the year will be bowled over by the garden’s autumnal charms. The three-acre garden has natural advantages: it looks down to the south over fields and up towards tree-covered hills, at their best as the beech leaves turn a glorious shade of burnt umber. The garden’s own fine trees – more beech, yews, pillars of Populus tremula ‘Erecta’ and an exedra of Malus x floribunda – are around the periphery, Above An arbour covered with Quercus ilex in the Lovers’ Lane border, with weeping mulberries either side. Right Lemon yellow Salvia madrensis.
OCTOBER 2017 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 49 giving the garden a sunny, open aspect. The elegant 18th-century house is clad in clipped lines of orangeberried Pyracantha ‘Mohave’, and sits comfortably in a garden structured by yew hedging and Cotswold stone walls. Bourton House has been owned by Roelof Quintus since 2010, but for the previous 27 years, it was the home of the Paices. Monique Paice, working with then head gardener Paul Williams, was responsible for creating the bones and planning the planting of the garden that is open to the public from April to October. Head gardener is now Paul Nicholls, in his 19th year at Bourton House, and ably assisted by Jacky Rae and Gareth Grifiths, all of whom take a proprietorial interest in the garden. Just keeping the extensive yew hedging and box topiary neat is a task in itself. The curtain-raiser is the front parterre, with spirals, twists, roundels, cones, and sweeps of box like quiche slices, plus yew pillars, and mophead Prunus lusitanica ‘Myrtifolia’ in pots. The cultivar was chosen because its small leaves look less ragged when they are newly clipped than the larger leaves of the species. Another feast of box in the Knot Garden has at its centre a large basketwork pond, planted with wands of Scirpus; water bubbles up from a spring on the hill. Pyramids of variegated box punctuate lines of box latticework, chosen from a book of Chinese designs discovered by the Paices. Running along one side of the Knot Garden is a line of yews, underplanted with echiums, Hydrangea aspera subsp. sargentiana and Gunnera. A Paulownia tomentosa is cut hard back in spring, suppressing its flowers, but allowing its leaves to grow as large as platters by late summer. Steps drop down through yew hedging to the main lawn on which stand two goblet-shaped Clockwise from top A family of box chickens cluster on the gravel path in front of Abutilon ‘Boule de Neige’; the pink flowers of Fuchsia arborescens; the Knot Garden with its central basketwork pond; shrubby Ceratostigma willmottianum produces blue flowers in autumn. Pyramids of variegated box punctuate lines of latticework, chosen from a book of Chinese designs
BOURTON HOUSE GARDEN Award-winning Cotswold gem with magnificent late season herbaceous borders. Also imaginative topiary, water features and unique Shade House. Open April to October Tuesday to Friday 10am – 5pm • Groups welcome Mon to Fri by arrangement Light refreshments in 16th Century Tithe Barn (May – Sept) Bourton House, Bourton on the Hill, Gloucestershire GL56 9AE | Tel 01386 700754 | Email [email protected] www.bourtonhouse.com