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.
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.
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.
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.