Garden News 18 Jan

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THE UK'S FAVOURITE GARDENING WEEKLY!
JANUARY 18, 2020
carol klein
'Why pulmonarias are my
cold-weather winners!'
Get a burst of
colour!
Best hellebores to
add winter splendour
Unusual orchids for a
super indoor display
WHAT TO DO
THIS WEEK
Clear moss
from pathways
Raise canopies of
trees and shrubs
Prune flowering
currant bushes
10 smart
ways to
upcycle
plastics
Time to
kick-start the
kitchen
garden!
try new
COMPACT
RHODOS
wildflowers
to sow now for
pollinators

Your garden
GEMS!
Top gardening tips from our readers
top
tip!
MAGNIFICENT MUG!
I’ve got too many mugs in the cupboard so I made
this easy cup insect hotel and hung it on a branch.
I packed it with twigs and bamboo cane offcuts
of different sizes.
Kathryn Richards, Bury
Simon says: What a clever idea, Kathryn. I'm sure
the insects in your garden will love it!
WIN!
A Peckish package!
£21.97
Kathryn wins a Peckish Winter
Warmer bird-feeding bundle
box of suet cakes,
seed mix and easy
feeder, courtesy of
Westland. For more
details about these
products visit www.
gardenhealth.com.
MARK THE DATE
To make it really easy to remember
when I need to sow, order or buy all my
favourite plants, I write everything on
my wall calendar, which I refer to every
day. That way I’ll never forget what
I should be doing or leave it too late!
Eddie Peel, by email
PHOTOS: ALAMY, shutterstock
SUPER STACKING
I bought some heavy duty
metal planters in three
different sizes, then filled
them with compost and
stacked them up, one
inside the other. It makes
a fab feature all planted
with herbs, and can fit
more plants in this way.
Ben Eccles, Facebook
GARDENING GIFTS
To make fun gifts for friends, I like to make fairy
gardens out of alpine plants and sempervivums,
adding stepping stones and houses. I use old
pots or upcycle any old container I have. I once
used an old suitcase to make one!
Cheryl Evans, Banbury
BROLLY
BRILLIANCE
Last spring I sowed a
covering of cosmos seed
in a large pot I had outside,
as I ran out of room in the
greenhouse. To protect the
growing seedlings I had
a brainwave – I planted a
see-through umbrella in
the middle of the pot and
put it up to make a mini
greenhouse!
Jen Sorrell, by email
SAVE IT FOR THE SALES
Save buying all your gardening items until
the January sales! As they make way for
new year stock, garden centres have lots
of cheap bargains to save you money.
Keith Marron, Somerset
Got a great
idea or timesaving
tip?
Share them
with our
readers. See
page 3 for
our contact
details
#GNREAL
GARDENS
10 Garden News / January 18 2020

Look inside!
Britain’s most trusted voice in gardening
About Now
4 News from the
gardening world
5 Be The First To Grow...
compact rhodos for
shady pots and borders
6 Get Planting....
Lenten roses for
winter splendour 6
8 The Natural Gardener
Features
12 Garden of the Week
16 Grow unusual orchids
20 Ten top ways to upcycle your plastic
24 Carol Klein on why she loves cheerful
pulmonarias and cotoneaster ‘Cornubia’
50 My Favourite Place:
Howick Hall, Northumberland
What To Do This Week
29 Deal with mossy and slippery paths
30 Raise the canopy of trees and shrubs
33 Naomi Slade shares her ideas on brightening
up borders and pots with winter bloomers
34 Prune fruiting currant bushes
36 Kitchen Gardener Rob Smith plans his
potatoes, beans and soil
37 Medwyn Williams advises on preparing
perfect veg beds and sowing parsnips
The Experts
38 Stefan Buczacki and Terry Walton
answer all your gardening questions
42 You can’t beat Algerian iris for winter scent
You and Your Gardens
10 Your Garden Gems! You share your top tips
26 Readers’ gardens
43 Your letters and photos
Offers & Competitions
45 Prize-winning crossword
46 Save up to £48 when you buy a
collection of ground cover Drift® roses
Our cover star:
Carol Klein
Carol explains why the
tough little plants of
pulmonaria are surefire
winners in the winter
garden at Glebe Cottage.
Find out why on page 24.
16
Grow unusual
orchids
30
Raise the canopy
of trees and shrubs
8
Sow wildflowers
for pollinators
12
Garden of
the Week
One resolution
I’ll be keeping!
Dry January didn’t even last 24
hours. The big lump of Stilton
in the fridge wasn’t going to
eat itself. The kids weren’t
keen on the Double Deckers
in their selection boxes and
we can’t have food going to
waste. In short, my new year
resolutions haven’t been a
roaring success!
However,
this year I’m
vowing to use less plastic and
upcycle whatever I can. As
gardeners we’re already at the
forefront of the environmental
movement but there many
ways we can do more – and our
plastics feature on page 20 is a
great place to start.
Garden News
Editor
Subscribe now
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cost of just
£4.50!
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Get in touch!
#GNREALGARDENS
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Write to Simon Caney, Garden News,
Media House, Peterborough Business
Park, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA
January 18 2020 / Garden News 3

Garden
of the
week
Left and right,
late spring brings
an array of
rhododendrons
and azaleas in
zingy colours.
Carol made this
pergola from bits
of scrap metal
and wirework
Gardeners Geoff and
Carol Fowle
Location 10 Brook
Road, Woodhouse
Eaves, Loughborough,
Leicestershire
Size Just under an acre
Soil Red clay
Been in garden Since 1995
Open Through the NGS on
May 30 and 31, 2020,
12.30-5pm
More info www.ngs.org.uk.
The 200-year-old
house sits in the
widest part of the
triangular garden,
behind Geoff and
Carol's hand-dug, clay
and straw-lined pond,
crammed with iris,
rushes and water lilies
The creative
gardeners
This colourful, plant-packed, one-acre cottage garden in
Leicestershire is full of resourceful ideas and recycled features
Words Fiona Cumberpatch
Photos Neil Hepworth
Geoff and Carol Fowle’s
house had been
languishing on the
property market for
some time when they first viewed it.
“It was unattractive,” admits Geoff.
“The garden was full of meadow
grass and brambles, and everything
had been painted brown. But we
could see the potential in the large,
triangular-shaped plot, which
overlooks open countryside and has
a stream running through it.”
Although they were excited by
the prospect of creating a garden
from scratch, the couple were
initially dismayed to find that under
16cm (6in) of topsoil, the ground was
heavy, red clay. “It’s very difficult soil
to work and, 25 years on, we’re still
constantly improving it by digging
in home-made mulch and compost,
but we’ve found plenty of plants
that’ll thrive here,” says Geoff.
Now the plot is unrecognisable
from those early days. Wrapping
around the house, it has two lawn
areas with island beds of roses,
azaleas and rhododendrons, a
natural-looking pond full of water
lilies, yellow iris and bulrushes,
20 varieties of Japanese maples and
some 200 pots. There are six mature
oak trees, thought to be 200 years
old, and a large, productive vegetable
garden at the far end of the garden,
where the couple raise runner
beans, onions, lettuce, marrows
and courgettes.
They love colour and have
climbing and bush roses,
hydrangeas, foxgloves and swathes
of red valerian lining one of the
paths which link different areas of
the garden.
Carol and Geoff have undertaken
the work themselves, including
major projects such as digging the
pond. At 6m (20ft) wide and 1.2 m
(4ft) deep, this was no mean feat.
“It took me a whole summer,” recalls
Geoff. “Clay is tough to work with,
but I found out that you can make a
natural pond by using straw and
clay to create a watertight lining.
We saved £400 on a plastic liner,
and the pond has now been in place
for 20 years!”
Using what they already have and
spending wisely is a hallmark of
Geoff and Carol’s gardening style.
“My wife is originally from Malaysia
where recycling is a way of life.
We don’t throw things away; if a
wheelbarrow gets a hole in it, we
turn it into a planter, and the same
goes for kitchen items, such as
saucepans. Gardening doesn’t have
to be expensive.”
Continues over the page
Rock roses dazzle in
summer sunshine
Above, some of the mature tree
cover surrounding the garden is
purported to be 200 years old.
Below, Geoff and Carol have
about 200 pots, some containing
their favourite Japanese maples
12 Garden News / January 18 2020 For perfect plants at perfect prices go to www.gardennewsshop.co.uk
January 18 2020 / Garden News 13

Four plants for easy impact
Garden
of the
week
This palm tree is one of
four, and they're so well
established they don't
need protecting in winter
Plants are bought cheaply or
propagated themselves, although
they don’t have a greenhouse.
“We’ve bought most of our roses
from the market for about £1.50
each. We take cuttings and swap
with friends. We like obelisks to add
structure, but we go for inexpensive
ones from Wilkinsons. My wife
made our pergola out of bits of
metal, and we improvised a wooden
archway from offcuts of timber.”
Their one indulgence is a ride-on
lawn mower. The grass is kept green
with two applications of fertiliser
each year, in spring and late
summer. “It’s a £10 box, again from
Wilkinsons, and it’s incredible the
difference it makes,” says Geoff.
The major challenge for Geoff and
Carol is the local wildlife, as their
garden is surrounded by farmland
and open fields. “Rabbits are the
biggest problem, but we also get
squirrels digging holes in the lawn,
moles burrowing, herons taking fish
from the pond and muntjacs, which
will nibble almost anything!”
Netting the pond and protecting
vulnerable plants with chicken wire
helps. “You have to coexist with it,”
says Geoff. “But there are positives.
We've a lot of frogs in our pond, and
as a result we don’t have any
problems with slugs or snails!”
Despite the size of their plot, Geoff
and Carol aren't slaves to it. “It’s
surprisingly low maintenance now
it’s established. Even in summer we
only water twice a week. We like
travelling, so we wanted a garden
that allows us to leave it.”
When they’re at home, they
spend about two days a week
outside. “We like being busy, and
we’re always looking at it with a
critical eye. The nicest part is
when visitors come and see the
garden. Their appreciation is
our enjoyment.”
Acer palmatum 'Osakazuki'
Provides spring and autumn colour with
attractively shaped leaves. Needs partial
shade or full sun and shelter. H: 2.5-4m
(8¼-13ft), but a slow grower.
Buddleja globosa
A semi-evergreen shrub with spherical, hot
orange flowers, 2cm (¾in) across, in early
summer. Prefers a sheltered spot and moist,
well-drained soil. H: 4-8m (13-26ft).
Ferns and a sprinkling
of self-seeded valerian
makes for pretty
pathside planting
Wisteria sinensis ‘Prolific’
A vigorous climbing plant smothered in
violet-blue flowers in spring. An ideal plant
for cladding a pergola or fence, it’s pest and
disease resistant. Prune in late winter.
Climbing rose ‘Compassion’
A coral-pink rose on bushy, dark green
foliage. Has a strong, sweet scent. Will
cover a 3m (10ft) wall or fence. Prefers full
or partial sunlight. H: 2.5-4m (8¼-13ft).
Jobs for January
1We’ll still be
clearing
leaves and
composting them
to make a mulch.
We’re constantly
trying to improve
our clay soil and
digging this in
really helps.
2We like
quality tools,
as it makes
gardening so much
easier, and now’s
the time to give
them some
preventative
maintenance.
3I prune the
roses in
autumn and
winter, before the
new shoots appear.
4We cut down
perennials
ready for
the spring.
14 Garden News / January 18 2020

Naomi Slade
Notes from a small
garden
Follow Naomi’s progress as she gets to grips
with her tiny urban garden on heavy Bristol clay
SAY IT LOUD...
One of the things
I like about this
time of year is the
absolute honesty
of the garden.
You can look at the shapes of
paths and flower beds, devoid
of foliage and froth; rejoicing in
the clean lines or noting where
improvements can be made.
The perennials and shrubs show
their mettle and it’s never clearer
PHOTOS: HOLLY WLAZNIK & ALAMY
Brighten up borders and pots with
some gorgeous winter-garden bloomers
Bold yellow mahonia
'Lionel Fortescue'
brightens January
and February
Feed your
pots of bulbs
what is doing well and what
could use a bit of shaping or
would be better moved.
But good bones aside, it’s
very often a season that’s short
of colour so now's a great time
to invest in something that
will add a bit of winter-garden
bling. Many winter flowers are
small, so it’s worth considering
those that come in clusters,
or are simply larger. For
example, mahonia
is underrated, but
it doesn’t have
to sprawl: when
‘legged up’, by
removing the
lower branches,
it’s pleasingly
structural and the
scented flowers
sweetly dramatic.
In a sheltered
spot, early
flowering
camellias and
rhododendrons
can be a sight for
sore eyes, too.
Hybrid camellia
‘Yuletide’ has
Tomato food
gives a boost
to bulbs
If, like me, you planted lots of tubs
of bulbs last autumn, you’ll now
be starting to see green shoots.
But, in among the excitement of
spring impending, remember
that containers packed full of
plants run out of nutrients fast.
Dormant perennials and
quiescent shrubs should be left
well alone, but bulbs benefit from
a regular dose of high potash feed, such as tomato
fertiliser. This is essential to help them bulk up and perform again
next year, whether or not you aim to plant them out after flowering.
Choose larger flowers
for drama in winter,
such as camellias
big, red-pink, single flowers and
it comes out improbably early.
It’s also shade tolerant so good
for a north-facing spot like mine.
And while rhododendrons are
usually associated with spring,
a few, such as ‘Christmas Cheer’
and ‘Praecox’, will appear
in January and February as
long as it’s not too cold.
With alkaline subsoil in
my garden, I always fear that
these plants will disapprove
but this is easily solved by
growing them in a decent-sized
pot of ericaceous compost.
Which brings me to the second
great seasonal opportunity
– fabulous containers.
Online resources such as
Instagram and Pinterest can be
scoured for ideas and even the
glossiest and most aspirational
of magazines are a rich source
of material. Don’t be deterred by
the styling and photography, a lot
of container combinations that
are put together for photo shoots
aren't complicated and you can
do a DIY version quite easily.
I recently saw a lovely
arrangement of skimmia,
underplanted with lots of hotpink
cyclamen, which I’m going
to steal. But there’s no need to
go to town. All that you need
is an evergreen element, a few
flowers or winter berries and
something frothy or trailing.
A unifying colour theme such
as silver and pink, or red and
black, keeps things elegant and
just remember: less is often
more and simple, repeated
ideas can have bags of impact
while still being super classy!
Subscribe for just £4.50 a month! Go to www.greatmagazines.co.uk/gn
January 18 2020 / Garden News 33

Over the
FENCE
Rain's slowing
my progress
Istill haven't finished weeding
the allotment beds because of
the rain. I’ve just been
carrying on with it on the few
dry days we’ve had. I’ve ordered a
load of manure, as I do every year, to
be delivered this month. I hope I can
finish the weeding before it arrives
because I barrow it straight onto the
beds. I later spread it out and fork it
in but the job takes a few weeks.
I rotate crops on the four beds I've
got. The first houses potatoes, the
second other root crops, the third
brassicas and fourth ‘others’ (this
bed includes marrows, courgettes,
sweetcorn, broad and French
beans). Onions, leeks and shallots
have a bed of their own and so do
runner beans. All these beds are
My 2020
allotment
plan
Derek
Brooks
Prize-winning veg
from the allotment
and a smaller
garden in greater
Manchester
with impressive
summer bedding.
Turnips ready
for harvesting
manured each year except bed
two (the root crop bed). I also
manure the chrysanth, dahlia
and gladioli beds but not the
ones where I grow annuals.
I test the pH of each bed before
the manure goes in and if any
needs lime, I wait for at least a
month before I add the
manure to give the lime
time to raise the pH.
At home, much of the
work has been preparing for
the coming propagating
season. I last told you about
cleaning my propagating
greenhouse. I’ve now washed
all my seed trays and the
sheets of glass that go on top of
them and I’m washing all my pots,
there are hundreds! This takes me
several weeks and it's a job I can do
when I can't work outside.
I’ve put the boxes of chrysanth
stools on the warming benches
and will soon be taking the first
cuttings. I’ll be boxing up the dahlia
tubers soon and also putting
them on the warming benches.
I’ve planted the shallots into 9cm
(3½in) pots to start them into
growth in the greenhouse. Some
leeks have arrived and these have
been potted into small pots.
Real
readers'
gardens!
Chrysanths on the
warming bench
Cabbages ready
for picking
Shallots potted
up and sprouting
I’ll be sowing the first seeds
before the end of the month. These
will be the large onions and the first
flower seeds, such as salvias, lobelia,
petunias and penstemons. I also
ordered some plug plants for my
summer hanging baskets and
other containers.
My highlight
Starting propagation and
looking forward to the
coming growing season.
Pete's done
a good job
neatening
the shrubs
Our winter garden is
dense and colourful
No dinner
until I name
that plant!
Tom
Pattinson
A garden full of
unusual plants and
a big collection
of fruit and veg
in Alnwick,
Northumberland.
Home-grown produce
once again came to the
fore in our Christmas
and New Year celebrations. A
quarter-acre garden rules out total
self-sufficiency but we generally
manage to harvest something
I'm getting excited
about the year ahead
Christine
High
A Norfolk garden,
with shady
borders, wildlife
areas and a large
herbaceous bed.
There are several shrubs
around the garden which
are still giving a floral
display, Viburnum bodnantense
'Dawn' and Choisya ternata, both
with their heady perfume. Fatsia
japonica with its almost prehistoriclooking
flowers and mahonia
'Charity', whose sulphur-yellow
blooms are just beginning to open.
We've even got a few roses still
producing flowers.
A couple of chilly
nights meant the
new heating in
the greenhouse
has been used
for the first time.
I've cuttings of
penstemons,
Verbena
bonariensis,
lavender and
perennial salvias
that all need a
bit of protection,
I cut the
lawns last
month
fresh from the vegetable beds each
week throughout the year. Similarly,
the fruit supply comes from the
garden all summer, and the freezer
is packed with surplus for winter
along with some ragged robin
and nigella seedlings I’m growing
on, ready to be planted out in the
wildflower area next spring, and
some lupin seedlings – just in case
I need any replacements next year.
The wild bird feeding
stations are extremely busy at
the moment and the tits seem
to have had a very successful
breeding season, as the garden
is alive with them. They’re
particularly fond of the peanuts
we provide this time of year.
Rather than using conventional
feeders, we try to make them more
easily accessible by putting them
in open-fronted nest boxes and
the constant stream of blue tits,
coal tits and great tits, together
with magpies, jackdaws, jays
and even blackbirds means we
have to refill them every day.
The pond has had a thorough
tidying, with all the iris cut back
and old water lily leaves removed
before they begin to decay.
Pete has also tidied up the
shrubs that form our front
boundary. It's made up of a mixture
of large yew, elaeagnus, viburnum
and choisya. He uses long-reach
loppers, which make the job
much easier and saves the need
for ladders close to a busy road.
use. Trays of apples, culinary and
dessert, are currently stacked high
in the garage. Flowers and foliage for
indoor displays are ever present and
welcome during these shorter days.
Brussels sprouts, leeks, parsnips,
carrots and perpetual spinach cover
the festive period and beyond. There
are also the two leaf lettuce crops in
the greenhouse borders, one a ‘Spicy
Mix’, the other ‘Salad Bowl’. Potatoes
(‘Charlotte’), started in a large pot
mid-October, have been successful
in recent years, but you never know
until the container is tipped up.
Foliage for floral arrangements
is gathered from gold and silvervariegated
shrubs and slow-growing
conifers in various borders.
Elaeagnus pungens ‘Aureovariegata’,
pittosporum ‘Garnettii’, choisya
‘Sundance’ and Chamaecyparis
pisifera ‘Filifera Aurea’ are favourites
that seem to thrive on what
Our pond after it
had been tidied
We do have a few projects
planned for the year ahead. The
gravel path is in need of a top-up;
The new border that we created at
the end of the garden a couple of
years ago has a path in front of it
which, up until now, has only ever
had a temporary surfacing with
conifer litter, which is beginning
to rot down, and now needs a
more permanent solution. In the
front garden the box parterre
is, as the years go by, becoming
more difficult to maintain and
so needs a rethink. I’ve already
decided what I’ll be growing in my
little veg garden so there’ll be lots
of seed sowing to look forward
to. That's the wonderful thing
about gardening – there's always
something new to get excited about.
amounts to winter pruning.
I love the way some plants spring
a surprise by continuing to flower
well into winter. For example, hebes
are still going strong, joining the
viburnums, jasmine, ericas and
so-called autumn cherry in bloom.
We’re picking late chrysanths
for vases, and given a few mild
December days, several other
flowers will decide to reappear
in the borders. That’s when Judy
makes a table arrangement and asks
me to give the full botanical name
of each one before food is served!
Recent frost-free periods have
encouraged us to relocate some
existing herbaceous perennials
and two birch trees, Betula pendula
and ‘Jermyns’, will soon have
their delayed annual prune.
The lawns were cut in mid-
December and transformed
the area. One lawn is rather
Our bird feeders
are very popular
My highlight
Looking out the
window on a misty,
frosty morning.
Judy picked some
welcome late
chrysanths
mossy but that's OK, the birds
collect it for nesting in spring,
and we line our hanging
baskets with it in summer.
My highlight
Bringing bowls of
forced bulbs in from the
cold garage, topping
them with moss and
observing the fragrant
hyacinths and narcissi
shaping up to bloom.
26 Garden News / January 18 2020 Subscribe for just £4.50 a month! Go to www.greatmagazines.co.uk/gn
January 18 2020 / Garden News 27

What to do
THIS WEEK
On your fruit & veg plot
Top TIPS
1With all currant bushes,
firstly cut out any dead,
damaged or diseased stems
back to healthy wood.
Prune fruiting
currant bushes
A thorough chop will keep them healthy and cropping
Fruiting currant bushes
can be pruned twice
a year. The summer
prune, which is done
immediately after
fruiting, is to remove old growth
on blackcurrants and to reduce
the long new shoots on white and
redcurrant bushes. During the
dormant winter months you can
carry out a more thorough prune
to help keep your bushes healthy
and fruiting. In winter, when
branches are bare of leaves,
it’s easier to see what you’re
cutting and to get a good even
shape that isn’t too crowded.
For blackcurrants you want
to develop new growth from
the base of the plant. The
long new growth made last
season will fruit this summer,
so leave as much on the plant
as possible. However, remove
some of the older, woody stems
at ground level. By removing
just two or three old branches
each winter, it encourages
new shoots from ground level
and prevents overcrowding.
With red and white currant
bushes you want a bushy plant
with older wood in it to form a
permanent framework. Fruit
is produced on older wood, so
to contain the size of the bush
and to promote fruiting spurs,
prune back last summer’s
growth by two thirds.
PHOTOS: NEIL HEPWORTH, martin fish
2With blackcurrants, the
aim is to leave as many of
last summer's shoots in
the bush to fruit this season.
3To prevent over-crowding
and to encourage new
growth, remove a couple
of old, woody stems each year
at ground level.
4With red and white
currants last summer's
new growth can be cut
back by two thirds to create
fruiting spurs.
Cover rhubarb
to force iT
Early forced rhubarb is so sweet and delicious to eat in March
and April. It’s also very easy to grow if you already have rhubarb
growing in your garden. To force the plant into early growth we
need to exclude light to create total darkness and we do this by
covering the dormant clump with a rhubarb forcing pot, or a
large container. Only ever force an established root that's at least
two years old to prevent weakening it and, once forced, don’t
force the same clump again for three years to give it time to build
up a strong root.
Chit potatoes
You can start ‘chitting’
potatoes from now – that
is, breaking their dormancy
and encouraging shoots to
grow before planting out.
Place seed potatoes in egg
boxes with the end with the
most eyes facing upwards.
Put them in a cool room
between 7-12C (44-53F).
Too many shoots can mean
lots of small potatoes so,
once sprouting, rub out
any more than three or
four on each tuber.
Sow summer
caulis and
cabbages
It’s time to look forward to
summer! With a little heat
indoors – up to around 16C
(61F) – you can be sowing
some tasty caulis and
cabbages ready for planting
out in March, with a summer
harvest. Try the cauli variety
‘Maybach’ and the cabbage variety
‘Kilaxy’, as they’re known to be excellent
for flavour and with good disease resistance.
Grow some
detox salads!
With the over indulgent festive season well and truly behind us, you'll
likely be now craving some healthy fresh veg to remedy eating all
those mince pies and drinking that champers! Sow some trays of salad
leaves, spring onions, spinach and radish now and place on a bright
windowsill indoors or a greenhouse shelf. They’ll soon sprout and be
fresh for picking as a healthy start to 2020 in just a few weeks.
Keep winter wildlife
off your veg
There are one or two
ways you can keep
nibbling animals off
your crops this winter
– sturdy nets and
fleeces do the job, as
do scarecrows and tree
guards. Another way
to scare off a few more
critters is to string up
rows of old CDs along
your fence posts
and net posts – the
glinting light from the
sun will deter them.
34 Garden News / January 18 2020 Subscribe for just £4.50 a month! Go to www.greatmagazines.co.uk/gn
January 18 2020 / Garden News 35

My favourite
PLACE
Howick Hall, Northumberland
By Susie White
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK
‘The place has a beguiling
informality about it’
Garden writer,
photographer
and author Susie
White enjoys
visiting Howick
Hall Gardens &
Arboretum near
Alnwick, which
features in her
book, Gardens of
Northumberland
and the Borders
Howick Hall is the ancestral
home of the Grey family, of Earl
Grey tea fame. Apparently, the
tea was blended specifically for
the hard water in the area and the
addition of bergamot was to hide
the taste of lime!
The garden is set around a
large 18th century house and
it’s quite uncommercialised,
which is rare. There's a big car park
now, but for ages it was tiny, and
there's a timeless air to the place.
Even when there are lots of people,
they disappear into the woods and
gardens, so you can wander around
and feel at peace.
Despite formal elements, the
place has a beguiling informality
about it. The plants self-seed in the
stones of the terrace and there are
swathes of snake’s head fritillaries
in the meadows. These are followed
by masses of naturalised tulips,
there's a real vibrancy to them, rich,
deep red and purple; in among the
wildflowers they're totally beautiful.
I've been going there for 40 years
and I have seen it develop. It
hasn't ever lost its charm and there’s
a lovely tearoom where you can
watch red squirrels feeding outside.
In autumn there are wonderful
colchicums underneath the katsura
trees, with their sharp yellow leaves
and sweeping branches. There
are acres of snowdrops, too, and a
Snowdrop Festival in February.
My own style is rather similar
to the planting around the bog
garden. It's free-flowing, with the
wild and cultivated together. I love
the combination of plants from
all over the world mixed in with
natives, such as purple loosestrife
and hogweed.
The arboretum at Howick Hall
is vast. Many of the trees came
from wild-collected seed from
plant-hunting expeditions. I was
there when Roy Lancaster planted a
Chinese wingnut and it’s beautiful,
with great tresses of flowers in
spring. And if you go from the
formal gardens, along the Long Walk
through the arboretum, you get to
a quiet little cove at the edge of the
North Sea. It’s a wonderful end point.
■ Howick Hall Gardens and
Arboretum, Alnwick,
Northumberland, England,
NE66 3LB; www.howickhall
gardens.com.
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50 Garden News / January 18 2020