The English Garden March 2022

Greg Loades Greg is a freelance writer and editor, and author of The Modern Cottage Garden, published by Timber Press. His second book is due for release in 2023. He explores Timber Hill and its camellias on page 54. Sussie Bell Photographer Sussie loves working outside, capturing gardens, nature and light. “I was very grateful to capture the Thyme vegetable garden with its wonderful richness and morning mists – it was magical,” she says. Andy McIndoe Garden consultant and designer Andy has 40 years’ experience in retail and production horticulture. A lecturer, writer and broadcaster, he was awarded the RHS Veitch Memorial Medal in 2017. He picks choice daphnes on p71.…

I’m fairly sure I’ve mentioned my love of daffodils before on this page, and I’m happy to report that as another spring rolls around, it remains undimmed. So bringing you this issue, filled with gardens featuring my favourite herald of spring, has been a joy. In Kent, Hever Castle features opulent drifts of daffodils’ glowing flowers, while in the beautiful setting of Norfolk’s Hindringham Hall, their golden blooms are reflected in the still water of its medieval moat. Meanwhile, at Perrycroft in Herefordshire, wild daffodils form wonderfully natural meadows, as do daffodils and a variety of other dainty spring bulbs at Great Dixter. Just the ticket to hasten winter on its way and welcome spring with sunny optimism. It’s funny how one plant in particular can become so firmly entrenched in…

John Massey The owner of the renowned Ashwood Nurseries on his love of hepaticas and the people who have supported and inspired him My grandfather was a keen gardener. When I was five he taught me how to double dig, and he persuaded my parents to let me have a little plot from which to grow vegetables to sell to local shops. My parents enjoyed gardening too. My dad bought Ashwood, although I quickly took over. I finished school on a Friday and started work the next day. I inherited Tony Cartwright, who is great with customers, and the business-minded Philip Baulk also joined us. Meanwhile, Kevin Belcher has put in all the work with our hellebore hybrids. People often give me credit for Ashwood’s success, but I think it’s down to the…

Stone House Cottage Garden and Nursery Worcestershire Louisa Arbuthnott does everything herself, from running the nursery to maintaining the garden. She has an incredible range of plants and a magic touch. Tel: 07817 921146; shcn.co.uk Gresgarth Hall Lancashire The situation of this Lake District garden is amazing, with the river Lune running right through it. Arabella Lennox-Boyd’s formal planting near the house gradually becomes wilder as the garden spreads into the hills. Tel: 01524 771838; arabellalennoxboyd.com…

Magnificent Magnolias at Borde Hill 29 March & 5 April, West Sussex Join Borde Hill’s new head of horticulture, Harry Baldwin, on a free, hour-long guided tour of the garden. The tour will focus primarily on the garden’s impressive collection of magnolias, some of which were collected by the great plant hunters of the 1900s and are now Champion Trees, while in Gardiner’s Grove you can admire 48 specimen magnolia trees. Planted four years ago, these new trees are now maturing beautifully. Tickets are included in garden admission (adults £10.50; children £7). Booking essential at bordehill.co.uk Orchid season Various dates across the UK Several orchid events are due to take place across the country this month. Admire eye-catching displays and purchase quality plants from specialist growers at the Cheltenham & District Orchid Society Annual Show…

Plant SUMMER BULBS Spring is the time to plant summer-flowering bulbs – not just dahlias, but a wealth of beautiful flowers including gladioli, lilies and eremurus March and April are the months to plant those bulbs (or corms, or rhizomes) that flower in summer. Starting off dahlias is already part and parcel of the gardening year for lots of us, but other summer-flowering bulbs don’t yet enjoy quite the same popularity. Perhaps gladioli are perceived as old-fashioned, their vivid spikes so familiar to us as cut flowers. They’re not the easiest of bulbs to integrate into a border, but a row or two in the kitchen garden will supply spikes for bold summer vases. There are also gladioli that really do suit being planted in a border, such as Gladiolus communis subsp. byzantinus…