The English Garden Spring 2020

Jacqui Hurst Photographer, lecturer and keen gardener, Jacqui specialises in horticultural and still-life photography, which appears in books and magazines. Her photos of the garden at Loftus Road feature on page 29. Gareth Richards Gareth is a garden writer and editor for online, podcasts and print. He is a keen gardener, allotmenteer and keeper of bees and chickens. He visits Carrie Herbert’s Cambridge city centre garden on page 34. Geoff Stebbings Geoff is currently creating a one-acre garden around his new house in Ireland, where he is enjoying the novelty of a blank canvas and acid soil. He writes about delicate species tulips on page 91. IMAGES NEIL HEPWORTH; JACQUI HURST…

Nowadays I garden a tiny postage stamp in London, but having either owned or looked after medium and large gardens in the past, I can report that the joy of gardening is the same, whatever amount of land you have to do it in. No, there isn’t room for the greenhouse of my dreams (winged, with entrance porch, in sage green), but what my small garden has in its favour, is that there is definitely more time simply to enjoy it. So don’t fret if your garden is on the small side – there’s always room to garden it, and you’ll have plenty of time to relax and admire the results. To give you ideas, this issue is full of inspirational smaller gardens with a wealth of detail squeezed in.…

My job involves supervising all the research projects at Wales Botanic. One of our main projects is identifying the best plants for pollinators through DNA barcoding. I also teach two programmes: one provides horticultural training to a range of social groups and the other develops gardens at hospitals and clinics to improve health, wellbeing and environmental biodiversity. DNA barcoding is the process of DNA extraction from a gene to create a reference library of different species. At Wales Botanic, we have been taking samples from flowering plants and conifers since 2008 to create a reference library of plant DNA. Wales is the first nation to have a complete library of all its native plants and we’re now working on barcoding flora across the UK. DNA barcoding is important because it enables you…

April 5, Surrey This modern cottage garden has been planted for all-year interest with a tapestry of foliage and flowers. A series of connected areas flow between the old gardener’s cottage and stables, each one full of character, with paved areas, brick walls and vintage garden paraphernalia. Little Orchards, Prince Of Wales Road, Outwood, Redhill, Surrey RH1 5QU. Opens for the National Garden Scheme Sunday 5 April, 11am to 5pm (and other dates from May to September). Adults £5; children free.…

April 30, London Book in for a memorable evening at Kew’s iconic Temperate House in support of the National Garden Scheme. You’ll be welcomed by NGS President Mary Berry to enjoy a night of live music, wine and delicious food. Kew’s Scott Taylor will be on hand to provide after-hours tours of the Temperate House’s plant collection, and Nick Bonham will lead an auction with a wonderful selection of lots. All proceeds go towards the National Garden Scheme, the most significant funder of nursing charities in the UK. Tickets: £75. bit.ly/NGSKewEvent…

April – May, Staffordshire Trentham’s team of gardeners were busy planting last autumn, adding more than 130,000 extra bulbs to last year’s impressive debut spring display. Expect a range of sweet scents and hot colours, including yellows, reds and psychedelic pinks. There’ll be 10,000 tulips from the Apeldoorn series in the Upper Flower Garden along with crown imperials, plus bright new displays along the Trellis Walk, across the lake and in the woodlands, Rose Border and Italian gardens. Tickets: Normal admission fees apply. trentham.co.uk…