The gardens at Hergest Croft are a little slice of heaven on earth. A mature garden packed with hundreds of rare and unusual trees, shrubs and perennials. It was a perfect time to see the structure of the garden, with the trees still only just beginning to burst into leaf and their fresh shoots showing all shades of yellow and green through to rusty tones. The underplanting of daffodils and snakes head Fritillaries, abundantly naturalising throughout the gardens and woodland area and the smell of blossom filling the air as it soaked up the warm spring sunshine was absolutely perfect and offered so much inspiration.
Snakes head Fritillaries in amongst the trees and shrubs.
They also had a great range of plants for sale, many were young cuttings of trees and shrubs and so offered at really good prices. I came away with a good haul of goodies including a very pretty lilac and white Clematis named Macropetala Wesselton, flowering now, a lovely one, though slow growing I think but which hopefully I will be able to cut for early spring floristry once it’s established. A small Daphne Mezereum, two Pittosporum- Silver Queen and Wendell Channon, although Pittosporum are small shrubs, I find that it’s foliage is really pretty and very useful in floristry, its glossy variegated leaves are nice and small and last very well out of water- great for flower crowns and button holes and useful in more delicate looking bouquets. I also got a Cornus Kousa which flowers in June with graceful simple white flowers and a bobbly looking button centre. I think it will look great with the pale roses for wedding work. I also got another Witch Hazel that I’m not sure where to plant just yet- maybe near the mound, for winter colour. I also got a good haul of ‘new to me’ herbaceous perennials to try out down at the field such as Campanula, Symphyotrichum, Dicentra (alba), Verbascum Carabean Crush, Thalictrum Flavum Glacum and a few others too!
For me the highlight of Hergest Croft on this visit had to be the spring boarder of the kitchen garden. With old fruit trees lining the boarder, beautifully pruned to frame the flowers below. Hardly a spot of soil was visible with all manner of tulips large and small. Pink, yellow and black primulas, pink and black hellebores, blue musscari, small headed yellow and pale daffodils, pink white and blue hyacinths and even dandelions looking just like they were supposed to be there! It looked like a living toy shop, all miniature flowers, in the brightest colours and simple shapes. It appeared that no colour was left off the planting list yet they all worked together absolutely perfectly creating the most playful garden planting Ive ever seen.
A view of the spring boarder in the kitchen garden at Hergest Croft.Another view of the spring boarder in the kitchen garden at Hergest Croft.What a riot of joyous colour.
In the garden here on the hill everything is waking up, the perennials such as the lupins and peonies are putting on good strong growth. Self seeded forget me nots are scattered all over the garden and look just lovely. The blackthorn blossom is providing a most magical backdrop. Achillea (the pearl) is one perennial which I sowed last year, it has bulked out really well and is looking to be really useful for my bride in June with its small white flowers in clusters on tall stems. The daffodils have been lovely to have this past few weeks and my plan is to add lots more to the collection for next year- perhaps even create some beds under the fruit trees and plant them in an ‘inspired by Hergest Croft’ style. In the green house the seedlings are coming along well despite the slow start and I think I’m pretty much done for spring sowings this year.
Tulips with forget-me-nots and honesty.The last of the daffodils making their way into gift bunches.
There is such a feeling of eager anticipation at this time of year, a feeling of not wanting to miss any of these newly emerging signs of life. I often find myself wandering around almost aimlessly just checking on things, seeing what’s new. I could easily loose many hours in my greenhouse, just watching, wondering, over thinking and worrying over seedlings, I’m grateful this time of year that I can get stuck into my glass jobs too and switch off from thoughts of flowers for a while on those workshop days. I remind myself that this is only the beginning and there is so much beauty to come.
Well, it was as useful a thing as any I suppose, in that April 2020 when we all found ourselves stuck at home. We had a lot of soil at the bottom of the garden which was hogging the space which we wanted to begin planting trees in. And so in those unbelievably warm spring days in that lockdown year I moved the soil from the bottom of the garden, and put it right, smack bang into the middle of the lawn… and until now it’s looked kind of ridiculous except in our imagination. Well, it’s still a work in progress, so please bare with me and use your imagination too on this one.
I thought I’d share it on this weeks post with a little before and after picture.
Making the mound April 2020
We have very slowly been planting it up over the last 3 years, we have planted woody shrubs and trees at the base on the west facing side; a magnolia tree, a lime green flowering quince, a tree peony, and roses in garish reds and candy stipe reds- why not go for the outrageously clashing colours if you’ve built such a mound? In the mid layer we have planted grasses and autumn flowering nerines. The east side is covered in forget me nots and tulips dotted throughout.
This weekend Simon added the steps up and two small cone shaped yew topiary, so now it’s starting to feel like its settling into its place in the garden and becoming less of a random pile of soil in the middle of the lawn and more an actual mound!
How the mound is coming along now. April 2023
Mounds in gardens are an old tradition usually in formal gardens built by the very wealthy for the purpose of viewing the grounds or the surrounding landscape, often these gardens are extensive with lakes, large trees and knot gardens and topiary’s. So our mound is kind of funny in the garden of what some have once described as ‘that poor poor cottage’ and it makes us chuckle.
The cool thing about making a mound, not only for the fact it used up all the soil we wouldn’t otherwise have know what to do with, is that it also significantly increases your growing space. I’d say if the mound was flatted, it would be around double it’s foot print. It’s also a great way to add height if your garden is one level like ours… last year I planted sunflowers at the base of it and loved being able to clamber up and be looking down on the sunflowers. We also have a lovely view from the mound over the hedge and out into the landscape which we otherwise can’t see now that the hedges are mature from inside the garden- so it’s a treat to go up the mound and see the view out as well as see the garden from a different perspective. It would also be really good for planting plants which require really good drainage too if that was required.
I’d love to know what you think of the mound, do you have a mound in your garden, how did it come about and what do you grow on it?
The clocks sprang forward last Sunday meaning that Monday was the first after work evening we sat out on the patio and enjoyed a drink, when, as if in honour of this moment, the cuckoo announced his arrival. Monday 27th March- 24 days earlier than he arrived home last year!
Narcissi picked in bud to enjoy over the week ahead in our handblown twisted cane jug.
This weekend I picked the first of my narcissi still in bud, we garden at 1029 feet above sea level and so most things tend to be about 2 weeks behind that which we find off the hill. Its nice to get a heads up on what’s coming next. The Ribes sanguineum (Flowering Currant) is at its best this week, I find it’s scent lovely out in the garden when in full sun, it’s sweet and fruity, just a couple of stems in a bouquet is enough to fill a room with scent, but more than a couple of stems is sickly! The hellebores are now starting to go to seed, which is in fact the perfect time to pick them for best vase life. Grape hyacinths (Muscari) are now at their best too, we only have a little clump of them which I dug from my nans garden a couple of years ago and so I make a mental note to add more to the garden, we are on the look out for the pretty pink variety called pink sunrise. Forget-me-nots are coming into their stride, the first few little flowers have emerged and soon they will grow taller and be perfect for picking, their vase life is brilliant and they grow abundantly here in the garden, self seeding everywhere.
Hellebores in the evening sun.tête-à-tête’s catching the evening light.
In the field next door the first lambs arrived on Sunday morning; twins! Followed by another one in the afternoon, looking too small for their baggy skin but they’ll grow into it so fast! Spring is picking up momentum and there aren’t enough hours in the day to keep up with its pace.
Roberts sheep.
We created two more 6 meter no dig beds down at the field, it was great this week to find a good source of wood chip from the local tree surgeon and manure from a local horse keeper. I figured that even if these beds don’t get planted this spring it’s a good step in the right direction just to get the ground prepared for planting when I have the stock. It’s probably even beneficial to allow the cardboard layer time to decompose and the worms to get to work before planting- I might plant some chrysanthemums later in the season if I can decide on varieties!
I’ve also been reading a really great book ‘The cut flower sourcebook’ by Rachel Siegfried. Rachel is a flower farmer florist who uses perennials and woody plants as the backbone for her floristry. Part of the book includes a plant directory which Rachel has put together in such a useful way, a brief description of each plant with tips on spacing, specifically when growing for cutting, on when to harvest, on conditioning, and some potential uses, for example what is flowering at the same time as the specified plant which it would work well with in floristy. And a tip on propagation for each plant too. Really useful and enjoyable to read. In fact the whole of the book is written in such a way that the read is enjoyable and all the information is logically presented and easy to follow- all the pictures are annotated too which I really love. I would 100% recommend this book!
Anyway, that’s all for now. Happy spring! And I hope you have a lovely week.
‘I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.’
No dig is a simple way of gardening or farming which mimics what is found in the natural environment. Take a walk through a woods and notice layers upon layers of organic matter deposited year on year by the shedding of leaves onto the surface of the soil and see how the trees and the plants in the wood thrive. They are completely self sustained. The design in nature is perfect, so why no dig? Look to nature and it will teach you.
What is meant by sustainable? Quite simply, to conserve an ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources.
Soil is a living organism, full of living microbes which are beneficial to plants and to us. Digging and rotervating the soil disturbs all the wonderful microbes and destroys the structure of the soil with has developed over many many years.
Because soil is a living organism it makes so much sense that it be covered. Take every other living organism in nature. Trees – covered with bark, mammals – covered in fur, fish- covered in scales, birds covered in feathers. We cover ourselves also to protect from the elements. In the same way the soil should be covered, to protect it and to maintain it from erosion by wind and rain and depletion of its nutrients from baking it in the sun.
Covering the soil in organic matter locks in nutrients and protects the soil, it also improves the soil year on year, it’s not a one stop fix but an investment. When we garden or farm on a small scale by practicing no dig methods what we are actually doing is restoring the land and making it healthy for future generations. It’s good to do the work early on, to provide the soil with what it needs to sustain you in the future. ‘Do not despise the day of small beginnings’ I remind myself.
No dig is an investment that cannot be compared to planting straight into the soil and using quick fix short term chemical fertilisers, yes the plants might do well the first year by using these fertilisers but every year they will require more and more of these fertilisers to grow the same amount.
I’ve learnt that there are many issues facing the large scale farming industry which include soil preparation, irrigation, weed control, ph problems, pest control, crop rotation, fertilisation and much more. I believe all of theses issues can be solved by following the principles of nature, that is by adding organic matter to the surface of the soil and letting nature to the rest.
The method I have chosen for the field is the method which is credited to Charles Dowding simply called ‘no dig’. By using this method you can turn a lawn or weedy patch of your garden into an area ready to plant in just one day! Lay cardboard down onto the ground, making sure there are no gaps and overlapping the cardboard as you go. This suppresses the weeds from the light and they will slowly die, and as they do they are putting all the goodness back into the soil. Then add your organic matter straight on top of the cardboard, I used Mr mucks organic manure compost and grow-sure peat free manure compost. These products were quite expensive, but I wanted to get on with the project quickly so that I have flowers to harvest this summer, i will be looking for more cost effective ways to gather my organic matter in the future. I also used bags of wood chip for the paths in the same way, straight on top of the cardboard, should my paths ever become beds they too are getting extra nourishment now to build up healthy soil for the future.
If you are interested in no dig gardening have a look at the wealth of generous information put out on YouTube by British market gardener Charles Dowding. And Paul Gautschi in Washington has a great video also on YouTube called Back to Eden, which champions a very similar approach to feeding the soil as Charles does but with wood chip instead of compost.
And finally as promised my report as to whether or not my sweet peas survived that snow – no they didn’t. Thankfully I can replace them with my January sown ones and still enjoy a slightly later crop and another lesson in patience learnt.
Anyway, thanks for checking back. As always I’d love to know your thoughts, do you follow the practice of no dig in your garden? How’s it working for you?
It’s been a steady plod this week, through wind and rain. Its easy to feel like you’re not making much headway sometimes, especially when you’re just doing an hour here and there whenever you can squeeze it in. But in fact it’s when you just keep slowly chipping away, that things start to come together. 65 bags of compost, manure and wood chip (almost- just a few more to go) have been carried by hand a bag at a time into the field. And I’ve begun spreading it nice and thickly onto the cardboard layers covering one half of the patch.
We managed to salvage and reuse some old chicken wire fencing and now the first 10 metre by 6 metre section of the field is rabbit proof.
I need to collect more cardboard this week to cover the second half of the patch and get that finished and then hopefully by the beginning of April I can start getting it filled with plants.
First half of the patch card-boarded and composted.
The patch will consist of 4 beds 1.5 metre by 3.75 metre and 2 beds 1 metre by 3.75 metre. With 75 cm paths of wood chip all round and a wider 1 metre path down the centre so I can get a wheel barrow through.
Bed 1 will contain annuals for drying
Bed 2 a row of sweet peas and annuals for using fresh.
Bed 3 will be mainly for dahlias and sunflowers
Bed 4 is a mix of perennials.
The two narrower beds will have roses, hydrangeas and pittosporums underplanted with geraniums and primula candelabra.
In between the busy week I had the most beautiful delivery of flowers from B J Richard’s in sunny Cornwall and made up a few very special Mother’s Day bouquets- full of parrot tulips, sweet Williams, little white narcissi and hellebores. My own daffodils won’t be long now!
Have a lovely week and keep chipping away towards your goals!
As I jot down this blog entry it’s evening on Thursday 9th March, this morning we woke up to a garden full of snow, enough to keep us home, at least for the morning until the rain came in and began to turn it all into sludge on the roads and we could carry on with our busy routines.
Snow day 1. 2023
By the evening, a new book I’d ordered only last night had arrived (thanks amazon) and as the rain poured outside I jumped right into the story of another florist, flower grower and gatherer, living in the here and now, working with the seasons and creating joy with all that nature has to offer- in the moment. Beautiful, simple, childlike joy. So, I recommend this book – Flower Philosophy by Anna Potter of Swallows and Damsons.
You may remember from last weeks post that just four days ago my baby sweet peas got planted out into the beds in the garden now they are sleeping under a blanket of snow with temperatures forecast to reach as low and minus 7 tomorrow night, I’ll be sure to let you know how they hold up, or not as the case may be…..
The sweet peas in the snow. Thursday 9th March 2023
Friday 10th March, more snow had arrived overnight. I always get excited to see snow when I open the curtains in the morning, I don’t know why, but I never expect it, even if it has been forecast and the excitement I feel now, is still the same as when I was little. I rush to get ready and run out, to just be in it. So I rushed out this morning to make the first footprints in the garden and then the first foot prints down the lane and then after another cuppa, the first foot prints into the woods. Some people love being in the woods, they find comfort, almost cosiness in the woods, in the same way some people find comfort on the coast. I prefer being in open spaces and on the hills, I don’t love being in woods, I find them eerie, but in the snow, for some reason, the woods are where I love to be.
Snow day 2. Woodland wandering. Friday 10th March.
Back in the garden, the branches of the pine trees were so heavy, completely encapsulated in ice. As the sun came out by mid morning icy casings of tree branches began falling to the ground like glass. By dusk the sweet peas were still under the blanket of snow, maybe it will protect them from the now updated forecast of minus 9 overnight low for tonight? I’ve covered the seedlings in the greenhouse over with fleece just to be on the safe side. Germination is really slow this year, I don’t think it’s been quite warm enough to get everything going. I’m learning that it really wouldn’t hurt to wait a little longer.
Pine trees encased in icy snow.
Saturday 11th March, still snow on the ground, the sweet peas are still hidden under it. The yew hedging for the boarders that Simon had prepped last week arrived on Thursday and we couldn’t wait any longer to get them in the ground. So we ventured out today and in the sleet and snow we got them in. Hooray!
Snow day 3. Yew hedging in. The neighbours must think we are crazy!
Im eager to get going on the field but I’m still waiting for compost to be delivered for the new no dig beds, so there is no update on that at the moment, probably next week.So while things are a little quiet because of the weather I thought it would be a good idea to give my thoughts on sustainability in floristry- particularly about floral foam as I have been asked quite a few times – did you use flower foam to make that? And the answer is no and so I feel the need to share my thoughts…
I really strongly believe that the flowers we consume, that we gift to our loved ones and that we use to mark milestones in our lives shouldn’t contribute to the harm of the planet and needn’t. I see despair in a bunch of roses in March filling the entrances of our supermarkets, roses, which have travelled halfway across the planet, that are sprayed in pesticides and treated with silver nitrate to preserve them for their very long journey. If you’ve stuck your nose into them whilst you stood in the queue to pay you know there is no scent in them, there is no movement to their stems, and then theres the plastic wrapping, does the buyer even really see their beauty I wonder?
If you are a florist or flower grower and on social media, I’m sure you’ll resonate with me on this one- we don’t need to see another post on why we shouldn’t be using single use plastic especially floral foam, right!? And it’s true, I think the industry is preaching to itself and I also wonder is the message getting out to the customer?.. So, if your a florist or flower grower that loves working with what the seasons offer and like me, you despair at the sight of roses jabbed into a block of floral foam or wrapped in swathes of plastic in March, you really don’t need to read this post! But if you are wondering how I arrange my flowers and why I don’t use single use plastic for them (including floral foam) then this post is for you.
Thankfully, there is a huge shift in the floral industry that has been happening in Britain over the last decade, in both floral design and in flower farming. Networks such as flowers from the farm have led the way- championing, locally grown, seasonal flowers all over the country, connecting local growers with each other and their customers and sharing ideas on how to make the floral industry more sustainable and seasonal. Social media has certainly also helped, because of social media the amateur and professional can share design ideas and practical methods, information is freely available and generously shared. I don’t have any formal floristry training or horticulture qualifications, yet I, and many like me feel equipped to grow flowers for cutting and arranging in a sustainable way. The sustainable way of working with flowers is simple. In fact, I wonder if this lack of training helps the ‘florist’ feel freer in their work, where the trained florist who learnt their methods using floral foam may now find it more of a challenge to design without it? Unfortunately floral foam methods are still taught in colleges today. I believe that floristry should be available to anyone who wants to have a go, it can, of course be elaborate, and if you desire it should be – flowers are for beauty and your pleasure after all, but it should also be quite possible, for a stroll with some snips around your garden to result in the most enchanting of floral arrangements fitting for any life event!
I also think it’s really important to acknowledge at this point that so much emphasis (especially in the case of plastic floral foam) is put on what happens at the end life of a product, it’s also important to consider what are the methods that go into producing the product not just what happens to it after it’s been used. It could be that the production of floral foam for instance is less resource draining than say a reusable plastic vessel? Food for thought…
It’s also worth reminding ourselves that sustainability isn’t the only consideration in any business it’s just one small part. It’s the florists job to create something beautiful for their client and something that realises their clients vision not just their own- of course they can, and should explain why they would prefer not to use plastic foam in their work if that is their intention. However there might be an instance when the thing the client would like cannot be achieved in any other way than to use foam and even after having a discussion with the client they still want to go ahead with that particular design! So that being said, for the florist who relies on the job to pay the bills and put food on the table, it would certainly be wrong to shame them for their use of floral foam in that instance- this is sadly the kind of mantra currently on social media.
For me right now at this early stage in my business I’m in a privileged position where I don’t rely on the income from my flowers to pay my bills so I can strictly say I don’t use floral foam in any of my work, this may mean turning down some jobs in the future but for other florists this may be more tricky.
So with all that said, I want to share with you how I made this arrangement that is on my homepage; the church arch. I used flowers grown in my garden such as delphinium, corn flowers, roses and ammi. And foliage such as Himalayan nutmeg, ivy and jasmine. It was my first attempt at a large installation and so there is of course much to improve upon but I just wanted to have a little record to show it is completely possible to do without the use of single use plastics or floral foam. Of course this is just one small way of using less plastic in our designs but I think worth sharing because I don’t think anything is compromised in the overall finished result by not using foam. The whole structure can be used many many times and adapted if needed for many events. I hope you find something useful from it.
Wedding arch with foam free mechanics.
Here’s how I made it:
First I chose a branch, it needs to be pretty chunky, straight at the bottom with a nice arching shape at the top. My branch was hazel but you could use what ever you have an abundance of. I then set my branch in an old flower pot using cement.
Next I wrapped my branch in a couple of layers of chicken wire using string and cable ties, to secure it.
Next I nestled plastic grave vases into the chicken wire, these hold water for the flowers in the design that wouldn’t cope well being out of water. By using these vases in the design, it would also be possible to make the flowers that go in them as little hand tied bouquets, which guests could take home and enjoy after the event.
Then I packed moss into the chicken wire to begin to cover it over. The moss can be watered when in situ to help keep any greenery fresh.
chicken wire, moss and grave vases added. Also see how the whole thing goes into a water bucket and then the decorative basket.
Once in situ, the whole structure was put into a larger bucket of water into which flowers and greenery can be added to give the effect that the piece is growing up from the basket. The bucket of water was then put into a basket to make it pretty. You will then need to secure the structure to some thing stable or tie it down somehow-for this particular job I was able to use some sturdy wire to attach it to the wall from some hooks which were already in place.
Now the mechanics are in place you can start adding your greenery, it’s a good idea to have a helping had at this point. Someone prepping the foliage and passing it to you so you don’t have to keep hopping up and down from the hop up.
Once you’re happy that there is a good base of green and most of the mechanics are covered you can begin to add your flowers. And then finally add any smaller buckets of flowers around the main installation and soften any edges with moss to finish. Ta da!
Building up the greenery Focal flowers going in.The finished result.
If you are interested in finding out more about foam free mechanics in floral design, there are a few great books I can recommend:
The flower hunter by Lucy hunter
Flower philosophy as mentioned above, by Anna Potter
A guide to floral mechanics by Sarah Diligent
Floral evolution by Catherine Foxwell
On Instagram you could also follow @sustainablechurchflowers for foam free ideas and @greenwashtheflowers to learn more about sustainable floristry.
On podcasts Vic and Jess of The flower girl podcast, do a brilliant interview with Stephanie Gillespie of Smithers Oasis (episode 61) all about the ins and outs of floral foam and their newer more environmentally conscious alternatives.
And on YouTube and Instagram Georgie Newbury of Common Farm flowers provides all round advice on working in step with what nature has to offer and creates the most beautiful, honest floristry straight from her garden.
Thank you for checking in this week, it’s been a bit of a long rambling one in the end but please do leave your comments, I’d love to chat with you and learn what you want me to be posting about in my little corner of the web!
It’ll be a short and sweet post this week as it’s been a very busy week- I’ve been longing for a new flower plot to plant for a year or two now. This week I was caught by surprise when a neighbour offered me part of his field to spread into. I’m so excited to have a space separate from my garden that I can use for the sole purpose of producing flowers to cut! It’s a beautiful field with views onto Clee Hill and sheltered by some large yew trees with lots of snowdrops scattered about. The field has been used for horses in the past so the soil is good and rich, though much heavier than ours here on the hill- I look forward to seeing the differences. I’ve been busy this week marking up the space for the first 5 beds and getting some posts in. I’ve also been gathering chicken wire (to keep out rabbits) and cardboard to suppress the weeds. Manure Compost is on order from Mr Mucks and I’m busy sketching up plans for the first 5 no dig beds which I’m hoping to start making in the week ahead.
I’ve ordered 6 Roses , 3 hydrangeas and 4 pittosporum to start my collection of shrubs. I’m hoping to underplant these with geranium and primula candelabra. I’m also planting 1 bed of perennials, 1 bed of dahlias and 2 beds of annuals- mainly varieties that I will use for drying and 1 row of sweet peas.
The new plot- posts in.
In the garden I’ve been carrying on with seed sowing- germination so far is really slow! I’m wondering about investing in some heat mats for next year.
Also in the garden I spent a couple of evenings painting up some old aluminium surveyors poles which I’ve used today to make the frames for my sweet peas, painted in red, white and blue, they will look just the part for the coronation year! I also planted out the sweet peas this afternoon as it’s getting a bit too full in the greenhouse, I’m hoping they will be alright in the cold weather which is forecast!
Sweet pea frames up.Look at those beautiful roots!
Simon has been busy prepping the ground to get some more yew hedging in next week. This will finish off the rose garden very nicely and the backdrop of the yew provides a lovely foil for the fresh shoots on the roses.
Preparing for the yew hedging around the rose garden.
Anyway, that’s all for now, I can’t wait to get going on the field and bring you blog posts on its progress!
Thanks for checking in and have a lovely week, Rebecca
It’s quite exciting being out in the garden at the moment, I enjoy looking for the little signs of life. It makes me so happy to see another of my plants popping up and I tick it off in my mind- it’s made it through the winter. I make the most of being able to easily walk almost the beds remembering what it becomes in mid summer when everything overflows from its place into the paths. Euphorbia is the highlight in the garden this week, it’s zingy green lighting up even the dullest day. We have it on the patio in the boarder where It dazzles in the evening sunlight, it also self seeds into little nooks and crannies with ease.
Euphorbia in the evening sun.
When this blog post is released it will be the last day of February- tomorrow marks the start of meteorological spring though the vernal equinox is on 20th March and this is the date of the start of astronomical spring- astronomical spring is marked by the moment in the year when the Sun is exactly above the equator and day and night are of equal length.
Seed sowing in the greenhouse is now well underway and I’m beginning to harden off the autumn sown sweet peas, corncockle and daucus ready to plant out in the next couple of weeks.
My fancy daffodils which I planted last autumn will be flowing within the next couple of weeks they will be lovely just in time for Mother’s Day and the Tete-a-tetes in the lawn are already beginning to open.
Tête-à-tête and iris reticulata growing in the grass.
My biennials are now putting on some spring growth and so I should have a nice supply of wall flowers and sweet Williams to mix in with the tulips which are at the moment flagging behind, perhaps due to the past month being very dry. April is the start month for my flower subscriptions so these biennials will be filling bouquets in April and May whilst the annuals get going.
Wall flowers and sweet Williams putting on some spring growth.Daffodils and poppies both coming along nicely.
Here’s a list of seeds I’ve sown so far this February and what I plan to sow through March and April. I buy most of my seeds online from Chilterns seeds and a few from Plants of Distinction.
I’ll start with what’s new for me in 2023:
Borlotto beans- a lovely pink speckled bean pod which I though would look great in arrangements
Tagettes, Burning Embers – love the scent of these.
Celosia, Bombay Bronze – a strange furry looking ruffled creature, also good for drying, can’t wait to see this one.
Verbascum, Southern Charm – this one is a perennial and a useful spike shape for my arrangements.
Cosmos, Black Magic- a lovely deep burgundy Cosmos and a perennial too!
Amaranthus – can’t believe this will be my first year of growing this one. Inspired by all the autumn Dahlia bouquets on Instagram last year, looking forward to using it with the Dahlias.
China Asters- after picking them for Stokesay flowers last year I couldn’t not order some for myself, I’m trying King Peach.
Heliptrum humboldtianum – an umbellifer, like yarrow but in bright yellow and again another great one for drying.
What I’ve sown this month and new varieties I’m adding:
Snapdragons – Costa apricot, Potomac ivory white, Potomac orange and Orange wonder.
Cerinthe Purpersans – a filler I grew for the first time last year and now wouldn’t be without.
Panicum and Red millet – very useful annual grasses.
Strawflowers- I’m doing a whole bed of these this year as I want to have more to dry and use them fresh aswell. I’m trying the pomegranate and bright red new this year as I think they’ll be really useful for my Christmas wreaths.
Cosmos- sticking with Purity (the plain white one) as I don’t think you can beat it. Have also sown a few Xsenia, a lovely pale yellow one, but I’m not going all out with the pink ones this year as I think I’ll find the white ones more useful.
Phlox- new varieties for me this year are Ethie Salmon and Promise Peach, very excited about these.
Nigella- of course! Always a fave for me, I plant them in the Dahlia bed and they are done by the time the dahlias get going.
Statice- all the colours!
Rudbeckia- Just the Sahara variety.
Bunny tails- for drying and for fresh.
Ammi- am only growing Visnaga this year as this was my preference from last year. I’m growing Daucus aswell so I’m giving Ammi Majus a miss this year but hoping I won’t regret that decision…
Billy buttons- again for drying and fresh.
Nasturtiums- trying TipTop Rose, very excited about that one.
Calendula, Snow Princess and Canteloupe.
And finally what I’m sowing over the coming months:
Sun Flowers – I can’t be without a just a few of them in the garden as they were the first flower that got me into flower growing. Pro cut white nite, Valentine, Italian green heart, Ms mars and Soluna lemon are the ones I’m trying this year.
Phlox, Strawflower, Statice – I’ll continue sowing these in small batches through till April so I have fresh new plants through the summer.
Lavatera – a lovely delicate trumpet shape flower, a very productive plant.
Scabious
Nicotiana
Euphorbia
Sweet pea varieties I’m growing this year as I think they deserve a list of their own and I’d also love to know any favourites you may have in the comments:
Erewhon
Restormel
Royal crimson
Earl grey
America
Route 66
Henry Thomas
Albutt blue
While I am so looking forward to the spring and the warmer weather I’m clinging on for the moment to these last days of winter and the permission they give to rest, recharge and dream.
Thanks for reading my blog I hope you found some useful information within it. Much Love Rebecca.
The Laskett Garden is one of our favourite and most inspiring gardens to visit locally. It is known for being the most well renowned of formal gardens built in the last half a century, inspired by Italian renaissance gardens and Tudor and Stuart traditions. It was created upon a blank canvas beginning in 1974. What I find most striking about it is its use of sculpture, ornamentation and the feeling of drama and theatre. Its lively and emotive, enchanting and full of energy, joyous, humorous and sometimes sombre. The garden is split into ‘Rooms’ each with a story to tell, it’s a story of the life and marriage of its creators Sir Roy Strong and his late wife Julia who moved to Laskett lane after their marriage in 1971. The garden visit includes a wonderful audio guide in which Sir Roy describes the garden as “The visual expression of a very happy marriage” and that’s certainly evident throughout.
View of The Glade. A gravel garden at the front of the house, with lots of spring flowering bulbs and Daphne fragrance filling the air.
We have visited the gardens numerous times over the years in the summer months when Sir Roy still lived there, but this week we took a trip over to see the garden for a February snow drop event and what a beautiful time we had! The last time we visited, in 2021 Sir Roy Strong had just left Laskett lane and handed the gardens over to Perennial; a charity who’s mission is to help people working in horticulture through tough times. We were excited to see what Perennial had done with the garden as Sir Roy’s views on the garden were always that it should change and evolve, his belief was strong that a garden should not be ‘mummified’. In the audio guide he describes the axe as the gardeners best tool, describing cutting down 40 year old conifers which he had previously planted and later felt were making a part of the garden feel claustrophobic. The garden although completely packed with interest on all levels retains a feel of light, space and air, it has rhythm, it can be likened to a dance. He gave a substantial sum of money to Perennial that the garden should not ‘get stuck’…. After visiting today I can say it’s certainly not stuck, Perennials snowdrop event offered fresh and new surprises beginning right in the fountain court, over a hundred hellebore heads carefully gathered and placed bobbing in the fountain creating the most mesmerising display.
Hellebore heads bobbing in The Fountain Court.
I should give you a very brief background about the garden, its creators and their inspirations. Though you can, if you wish, easily find out so much from the many of Sir Roy’s books and online. Sir Roy Strong is a well known author, he also became director of the national portrait gallery at the age of just 31 and at aged 38 moved to direct the V&A. The garden is peppered with artefacts and memorials which pay tribute to this time in his life, a time in which he obviously looks back on fondly. In fact, you will find in the garden a monument to commemorate his service to the arts; the Shakespeare award, an annual award given to a person in the uk considered to have made the biggest contribution to the arts in that year. His wife, Julia Trevelyan Omen who died in 2003 was a most celebrated tv, theatre, ballet and opera set designer. Her ballet design work included Swan lake and The nutcracker. She was the keen gardener of the two in the beginning but Sir Roy soon caught on and the life work of the two of them plays into the drama of the garden in such a rhythmic and poetic way. There is a good video on YouTube (‘The laskett: The influence of Italy in a late 20th century garden’) where Sir Roy talks about the garden and shows images of how the garden has developed over the years. He talks in depth about where the inspiration from the garden comes from. He talks about layouts of Italian gardens, clipping of the evergreens and personal influences such as the garden of film director Derek Jarman, on the shingle shore near Dungeness, Kent, ‘a garden of found objects.’ And the garden of Ian Hamilton Finlay, ‘Little Sparta’ up in Scotland, ‘a garden of philosophy and ideas.’ You can really see the influences of these gardens at The Laskett yet it is so completely unique. What I love about The Laskett, is that it has been completely built from scratch over a short space of time. You could easily be mistaken in thinking it’s a very old garden, it is encouraging to see what can be achieved in a life time and because of this it makes the garden feel (somewhat) relatable. The garden includes clipped box, beech, pleached limes, clipped yew hedging, topiary avenues, an orchard, a meandering walk through the serpentine garden, grand promenades, elaborate monuments, a large mound, heart felt memorials, water fountains, fancy urns, viewing platforms, obelisks and statues not forgetting the lion from the Houses of Parliament, a nymphaeum nonetheless and oh so much more!
View from Ashton Arbour onto Covent Garden.
It’s scatted with pet memorials and even entire ‘rooms’ dedicated to the memory of beloved pets such as Sir Muffs Parade. The Reverend wenceslas muff so called as he apparently resembled the engravings by artist Wenceslas Holler of the lady’s muff. In Sir Muffs parade, a large mound of earth known runs down one side of the room with Birch trees and spring bulbs on the left of the mound and a lawn and large boarder on the right. You can walk along the mound to view the garden from a different height. In Italian renaissance the mound or upper walk is called the Parnassus. There is a painting by Nicholas Poussin called Apollo and the Muses on Mount Parnassus in which The nine Muses, goddesses of poetic inspiration and the creative arts, surround the god Apollo. If you sit on the bench opposite you can image the Parnassus as a stage and Sir Muff as star of the show entertaining any onlookers of his parade. At the top of this room is a very large clipped yew behind which sits the urn of Sir Muff himself. Again catching you by surprise after the excitement and drama of the Parnassus come the sobriety of this urn and its heartfelt inscriptions. The garden is truly a story of life and in it there is a time for every thing.
Looking back toward Sir Muffs Parade in the shadow of the clipped yew that screens Sir Muffs memorial.
I can’t possibly begin to talk about all the rooms in the garden, and I definitely recommend you go. There are many rooms each with a different character. There is The Rose Garden, The Topiary Garden, an orchard with a Belvedere and a stately walk with pleached limes apparently twice the length of the long walk at Sittinghurst! Running alongside the long walk- named the Elizabeth Tudor avenue you catch glimpses through clipped hedging of a series of mature Witch Hazel trees in yellow. As you find your way over to them they are under planted with lilac and yellow crocuses and snowdrops, the yellow of the trees singing in perfect harmony with the lilac crocuses and snow drops densely planted under them.
Witch Hazel underplanted with Crocuses and Snowdrops.
But we really did save the best till last on this visit. As we approached The Colonnade I was almost moved to tears. Perennial had really made The Colonnade Court shine on this wonderful February day. The entablature of the Colonnade festooned with little glass vases very carefully strung up with three Snowdrops in each little vase all lovingly curated with individual species all labelled with handwritten parcel tags tied around the necks of the vases. It was a joy to be able to walk between them and enjoy the intricacies of the blooms from this new perspective. As if that wasn’t enough the bases of The Colonnade had been skilfully adorned with displays of hellebores. If there was a wedding to be held there it would have been picture perfect. What a testament to what can be achieved with British flowers in February!
The Colonnade adorned with Hellebores and Snowdrops for the February Snowdrop day.
Hello, thank you for checking back for my 3rd blog post! I love February, the sunrises and sunsets have been spectacular and you don’t have to be up at the crack of dawn to see them either which is rather lovely. We have also had some milder weather here the past week, it’s tempting to go in all guns blazing with the seed sowing when the weathers nice but it’s still early so I have just made a little start and I’ll keep inside on the windowsill until they’ve germinated and then kick them out into the green house in a few weeks time. My first batch of Cerinthe, Celosia, Helichrysum and Limonium.
We have been adding to our stock of hellebores so that we can build a good supply of hellebores for years to come. I’ve underplanted the roses with them this week it seemed like a good use of space that while the roses are bare there will be something in their place. I purchased a good haul of them from Twelve Nuns nurseries who do online orders and I was really impressed with them. They looked great quality and came perfectly packed with no plastic packaging either. What a joy! They do take a little while to get established and I chose to go for smaller 9cm pot plants in the end because I’m in no rush and the price difference was significant compared to the larger plants elsewhere, so it’s worth while checking them out if you want to get some winter colour into the garden and if your not in a rush either it may be a good option for you too! To plant them, I dug in plenty of good quality well rotted horse manure compost into the hole and sprinkled some mycorrhizal fungi onto the roots which helps get the root system established quicker. Don’t forget to give them a good water in too.
Hellebores from Twelve Nuns Nurseries and Mycorrhizal Fungi.
We thought it would be a lovely idea to be able to offer ‘Floating Hellebores’ next year in February and April! And hopefully some small bunches of hellebores too. They will mark the start of the cut flower season for us here on Clee Hill. Simon has been busy in the Hot glass workshop producing samples for a range of hand blown Hellebore bowls. Inspired by the colour palette of hellebores at Ashwood nurseries that we saw last week. We have chosen 3 shades which we think are most beautiful and we hope you love them too!
floating hellebore hand blown glass bowls.
We are launching this product by doing a giveaway on our Instagram page. 🥳 Please do check out the Instagram page and be in with a chance of winning one of our handmade Hellebore bowls and a bunch of hellebores to float in it!
Floating Hellebores Instagram giveaway.
The other star of the show at the moment has to be the snow drops doesn’t it !? We don’t have many of them here in our garden, they don’t make good cut flowers but it’s always nice to venture out and see them en masse as they herald in the spring! They only last a few fleeting weeks but they are worth stopping to enjoy. If you don’t live too far from Ludlow then you should certainly plan a visit to St Peter’s at Stanton Lacy, don’t forget to take your flask. The whole church yard is carpeted in snowdrops for the first couple of weeks of February it’s truly something special to see!
Stanton Lacy Snowdrops.Stanton Lacy Snowdrops
Thank you for reading my 3rd blog post. Please, as ever do drop me any comments with your thoughts and ideas of what you’d like me to share here. Check out the give away on Instagram and enjoy the week ahead! With Love Rebecca
