Garden News

AboutNOW
Get Planting!
Plants to get in the ground right away...
Get a flying start
with summer bulbs
Planting summer bulbs
brings the promise of
sunny days to come.
Starting bulbs off in pots
under cover helps them establish
roots and shoots in readiness for
being placed outside. In colder
gardens growing them in containers
enables them to be brought under
cover in winter to protect them from
frost. There’s such a wide range of
types to choose from too, from giant
crinums with stout candelabras of
funnel-shaped flowers, to the
diminutive, yet colourful, starry
blooms of ixia on thin, wiry stems.
Start bulbs off in a loam compost
such as John Innes No 2, with
additional grit added for drainage.
Small bulbs should be planted 5cm
(2in) apart at twice their height, while
larger bulbs, such as eucomis, should
be buried to half their depth, and
crinum only the bottom 10cm (4in)
of the bulb covered.
Harden off and plant outdoors
when any danger frost has passed
and site bulbs in well-drained soil in a
sunny, sheltered position. Once
established,
crinum and
most eucomis
will survive
outdoors with
protection if winters are
cold. In pots, grow them in
John Innes No 3 with added
grit or Perlite. Smaller bulbs such
as gladiolus and ixia should be
lifted and stored dry over winter,
with new bulbs started in spring
or replaced with fresh stock.
Gladiolus
‘Vulcano’
Dwarf variety. Vibrant
pink and white, purpleblotched
blooms in August.
H: 30cm (1ft).
From www.peter
nyssen.com;
tel: 0161 747 4000.
Success with
summer bulbs
1Plant ixia bulbs
10-15cm (4-6in) deep in
well-drained compost.
2Site gladiolus in a
sunny, sheltered spot in
well-drained soil.
Ixia ‘Yellow Emperor’
Vibrant yellow, wine-eyed
blooms on thin stems. Narrow
leaves. H: 45cm (1½ft),
S: 20cm (10in).
From www.dejager.co.uk;
tel: 01622 840229.
Crinum ‘Ellen
Bosanquet’
Huge bulb producing tall heads
of crimson, scented blooms.
H: 75cm (2½ft), S: 45cm (1½ft).
From www.farmergracy.co.uk;
tel: 0330 808 7304.
Eucomis ‘Sparkling
Burgundy’
Spires of dusky pink flowers on
purple stems and leaves.
H: 40cm (1¼ft), S: 30cm (1ft).
From www.hartsnursery.co.uk;
tel: 07855 785540.
NEXT WEEK Grow the tastiest tomatoes – indoors and out
3Start off crinum bulbs
in pots, leaving the bulb
neck exposed.
PHOTOS: ALAMY
8 Garden News / March 14 2020

Look inside!
Britain’s most trusted voice in gardening
About Now
4 News from the gardening world
5 Be The First To Grow... small shrubs for pots
and containers
7 New for the Garden
8 Get Planting.... summer bulbs
10 The Natural Gardener
Features
14 Garden of the Week
20 How to rock the alpine landscape garden!
26 Grow your own homewares
28 Plants for a Purpose: North-facing fences
and walls
32 Carol Klein on how to bridge the garden gap
with colourful camellias
66 My Favourite Place: The Scilly Isles
What To Do This Week
39 Add impact with a spring display
40 Repair sunken block paving
43 Naomi Slade begins project lawn!
44 Look after asparagus
46 Kitchen Gardener Rob Smith cares for his
winter-weary crops
47 Medwyn Williams is sowing celery seed
49 Terry Walton’s tales from his plot
The Experts
51 Up and coming dahlias
51 Protect your cacti from the cold and wet
52 Stefan Buczacki answers all
your gardening questions
You and Your Gardens
12 Your Garden Gems! You share your top tips
36 Readers’ gardens
58 Your letters and photos
Offers & Competitions
57 Prize-winning crossword
59 Save £20 on a mini orchard collection from
the Garden News Shop
61 Buy 2 alstroemeria and get 1 free
63 Great savings on super smoke bushes
Our cover star:
Lewisia
‘Little Plum’
The stunning star-shaped,
daisy-like flowers look
delightful as part of a rock
garden. Read our feature on
page 20 on how to create one.
26
How to grow your
own homewares
49
Terry’s tales from
the allotment
39
Create a spring
display for impact
14
Garden of
the Week
I’ve given in and
started sowing!
I have to confess that last
week I could contain myself
no longer and gave in to
temptation! Yes, I sowed
my first seeds of the
year – cosmos, zinnia and
echinacea, tomatoes and
three different varieties of
chilli. I know it might have
been better to wait a few
weeks, and
they’ll be
turning the kitchen windowsill
into a mini-jungle by the time it’s
safe to plant them out, but the
weather meant I wasn’t able to
get outside and I couldn’t resist
doing something! I can’t wait to
see the results later in the year.
Have a great gardening week!
Garden News
Editor
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Get in touch!
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Media House, Peterborough Business
Park, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA
March 14 2020 / Garden News 3

Grow
your own
homewares
Start off these practical plants now and
turn daily chores into fun challenges!
Words Melissa Mabbitt
Some things in life can’t be
avoided; cleaning, tidying
and washing-up – these
daily chores are a dull but
essential part of life. But you can
inject a bit of fun and make these
jobs more rewarding by growing the
Did
you know?
Soapwort is ideal for
washing wool as it won’t
strip away the lanolin (the
oil that makes wool
waterproof)
raw ingredients for some household
products at home, just as you can
grow veg for your cooking. Anything
you grow will be biodegradable and
packaging free, so it’s a sustainable
swap for synthetic products, too.
Give these useful plants a try and
they could transform the housework
from daily grind to fun challenge!
Grow your own
loofahs from
the luffa plant
Aloe vera
This easy-to-grow succulent makes
an attractive houseplant for a sunny
windowsill, and if you keep one in
your kitchen you can use it as a go-to
treatment for light cooking scalds.
Pure Aloe vera sap will instantly cool
the pain of sunburn and makes a good
moisturiser. Simply cut off one of the
outer leaves at the base and use the gellike
sap inside to smooth over your skin.
The gel of Aloe
vera is ideal for
soothing scalding
Pine needles
One way to use your old
Christmas tree is to add
trimmings to furniture polish
ready for your spring-cleaning.
The resin inside pine trees
is distilled to make turpentine,
a key ingredient in furniture
polish. You can make a simple
version with pine-infused oil;
simply pack pine needles (any
species will do) into a large jar
and cover them with olive oil.
Leave them to infuse for a couple
of weeks in a cool, dark place.
Then melt a cup of beeswax
in a bain-marie and mix in a
couple of tablespoons of the
strained pine-infused oil. Pour
the mixture into a glass jar and
once it has cooled it will add a
beautiful shine and fresh scent
to your wooden furniture.
Top tip
Try using fruity
smelling Douglas fir or
sweet juniper trimmings
for alternative scents
in your polish
Bring the scent
of fresh fir to
your home
The resin in pine trees is
also highly flammable, so you
can also use them to make
firelighters. Melt old candle
stubs in a water bath and pour
a tablespoon each into paper
or silicone cupcake molds.
While the wax is still liquid,
put a 5-10cm (2-4in) stem or a
pinecone into each one, which
will act as a wick, and let the wax
solidify around it. A few in a bag
tied with ribbon makes a pretty
home-made gift for friends!
PHOTOS: ALAMY & SHUTTERSTOCK
Soapwort
The very pretty pink and
starry blooms of Saponaria
officinalis look good in a
wildflower meadow or cottage
garden border, but as the common
name suggests, it’s also useful for
making soap. The leaves and roots
contain a foaming agent that’s ideal for
The roots of soapwort
contain a foaming agent
washing delicate fabrics like silk or wool. Boil up a full saucepan
of the leaves or roots, let the mixture cool then strain the water;
it can be bottled and used liberally as a mild detergent. Grow
this hardy, herbaceous perennial in a sunny, well-drained spot.
■ Plants from www.hooksgreenherbs.com.
Loofah
With its complex framework
of sponge-like fibres,
you could be forgiven for
thinking loofahs are marine
creatures but they are, in fact,
a fruit from the cucurbit family,
like squash or courgette.
Once dried out, their tough,
fibrous structure makes them
ideal for scrubbing, so they could
make your synthetic scourers and
bathroom sponges redundant!
The plants grow into big trailing
vines and need plenty of heat,
so a large greenhouse or a
sunny and sheltered position
outdoors are ideal. If you do
grow indoors, remember to
pollinate the flowers by hand.
There are two species to
try; Luffa cylindrica, which is
smooth skinned, or the ridged
L. acutangula. Start the seeds off
early in late February or early
March in a warm place indoors.
Harden them off slowly and
plant them outside after the risk
of frost has passed in late May.
Allow the fruits to ripen for
as long as possible – they'll turn
yellow or brown and the skins
will separate from the inside.
Harvest, then gently peel off the
skin and wash away the flesh
and seeds from the skeleton of
fibres, then dry them in the sun.
■ Seeds of L. cylindrica from
www.chilternseeds.co.uk.
Antibacterial
herbs
Herbs containing essential oils,
such as basil, bay, rosemary, sage
or lavender, smell wonderful
to the human nose but, in fact,
are part of the plant’s personal
arsenal of protection; they have
antibacterial properties to help fend
off disease and even other plants.
Use combinations of rosemary,
lavender, thyme or oregano in a
home-made household spray to
wipe over kitchen surfaces. Pop a
few sprigs into a pan and cover with
120ml white wine vinegar, then
bring to the boil. Let it cool, then
decant into a small spray bottle. Add
a drop of washing up liquid, three
teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda,
top up the bottle with water and
you’ll be ready to tackle those bugs!
26 Garden News / March 14 2020 For perfect plants at perfect prices go to www.gardennewsshop.co.uk
March 14 2020 / Garden News 27

Garden
of the
week
Gardeners Tim and
Gillian Ingram
Location Copton Ash
Garden, 105 Ashford Road,
Faversham, Kent ME13 8XW
Size of garden 1½ acres
Soil Neutral, well-drained
loam over chalk
Been in garden 40 years
Open Regularly, especially
through spring and
late winter, and also by
appointment
More info www.coptonash.
plus.com.
Visit this garden in
spring and you'll
be dazzled with a
plethora of unusual
seasonal bulbs and
perennials, as well
as a sea of blossom
Left, diminutive
Paris thibetica, and
right, a doubleflowered
hepatica
Travel through a
world of plants
This beautiful Kent garden and nursery is a mecca for lovers of
rarities and the unusual, many grown from seed collected abroad
Words Geoff Hodge
Photos MMGI/ Bennet Smith
Copton Ash Garden has
developed thanks to
its owners' love and
fascination for plants.
It boasts brilliant diversity,
including many unusual plants
and rarities, which makes it
a mecca for plant lovers.
“You can travel the world in the
garden,” says Tim Ingram. “We've
plants from all over the world, many
grown by us from seed collected
abroad, including some I brought
back from Tasmania where I worked
for a while.”
It’s evolved slowly, created by
Tim’s family over the last 40 years,
after learning, sometimes by trial
and error, what grows well. “There
was virtually no garden when we
moved in, so it took a lot of work
to create it!”
Both Tim and Gillian work in
the garden, with Tim mainly
maintaining and developing it,
while Gillian propagates and grows
plants, including those for their
small, specialist plant nursery.
Apart from one part devoted to the
nursery and raising plants, the main
bit of the garden has evolved over
time around dominant plantings of
a huge range of trees to provide
structure, height, focal points,
shelter from wind and shade.
There are cherries, such as
prunus ‘Accolade’ and P. padus,
magnolias, Cedrus deodara,
Eucalyptus pauciflora debeuzevillei,
E. archeri and E. perriniana
– unusual species grown from seed
– Pinus patula, Ginkgo biloba, Acer
griseum, Betula jacquemontii and,
because of where the garden’s
situated, a Kentish cobnut.
The garden fulfils many roles,
as well as simply being a beautiful
place to relax and escape to. “It’s a
vocation and satisfies a philosophy
arising from many years studying
the plant world,” says Tim, who has a
doctorate in botany. Gillian has the
same qualification in chemistry.
“It’s an ongoing experiment into
garden ecology and art and crafts.
And importantly it's a resource for
collecting seeds and cuttings to
propagate plants for our nursery.”
Tim describes the gardening and
planting style as naturalistic and
botanical. “As you may have
guessed, with a science background
we've a great interest in
experimenting, growing new
species from seed and combining
plants in more natural ways.” But,
at the same time, they take full
account of the soil, environment
Continues over the page
Dainty pulmonaria
and forget-me-nots,
and below, Euphorbia
wulfenii in full flower
Pinus patula
has charming
drooping needles
14 Garden News / March 14 2020 For perfect plants at perfect prices go to www.gardennewsshop.co.uk
March 14 2020 / Garden News 15

Garden
of the
week
Fruit orchard
Originally planted in 1978 by
Tim's father, these rows of
apples, pears, a juneberry and
saskatoon are very fruitful
Woodland
wonders
Hellebores mix
with erythroniums,
corydalis, trilliums,
fritillaries and more
Tinges of blue
Forget-me-nots lie in swathes
to complement the woodland
bulbs and perennials
and are guided by the climatic
conditions within the garden – dry,
with relatively low rainfall. “Beth
Chatto and her garden in Essex
were a large influence and gave us
inspiration, including her views on
choosing and growing plants that
are suitable for your conditions.”
Tim’s first love was alpines, after
visiting Joe Elliott’s nursery in the
Cotswolds when he was in his teens,
and he has been hooked on them
ever since. This devotion continues
today, growing choice varieties
along with bulbs in raised beds and
gravel areas. He has been an active
member of the Alpine Garden
Society most of his gardening life,
and The Fritillaria Group of the AGS,
thanks to a strong growing interest
in this genus.
He appreciates ecological, natural
plant combinations that look like
they would in their natural
environment, especially spring
woodland perennial tapestries and
summer Mediterranean-climate
plants in the more open, sunnier
parts of the garden.
“Spring and winter-flowering
bulbs have become a recent
obsession, as they also look natural
Continues over the page
The perfect woodland
scene of forget-me-nots
and trilliums under a
dappled shade canopy
March 14 2020 / Garden News 17

Pink deadnettles,
ranunculus 'Brazen
Hussy' and purple double
primulas team up perfectly
Four of Tim’s favourite plants
Garden
of the
week
when planted in woodland areas
and in the grass. They’re also perfect
for our dry conditions, as they do
their thing in spring, taking
advantage of the early light and soil
moisture, and then die down in
summer. I’m fascinated by plants
from dry environments, including
the Mediterranean and Rocky
Mountains, and exploring how
these plants adapt to dry
environments,” Tim says.
He also has a strong interest in
umbellifers (Apiaceae) and has
collected lots of rare and unusual
members of this very diverse plant
family. Some of these come from
very dry areas all over the world,
so fit beautifully within the dry
planting schemes. He has written
a booklet on them for the Hardy
Plant Society.
One much-loved spot is the area
of shade lovers beneath a mini
orchard, comprising rows of mainly
dwarf apple trees. These were
originally planted in 1978 by Tim’s
father, who worked at East Malling
Research Centre and Brogdale – two
very important UK fruit institutes.
Tim and Gillian have recently added
pears and juneberry or saskatoon
(amelanchier) to this.
While the myriad of snowdrops
is coming to an end, hellebores
continue to bring lots of colour
along with woodland plants
emerging and flowering. These
include erythroniums, corydalis,
trilliums, cyclamen and primroses
and many bulbs in sunnier
positions that include narcissus,
fritillaries, especially Fritillaria
raddeana, muscari, scillas and
Anemone blanda.
So what are Tim and Gillian up
to in the garden at this time of year?
“A garden of this size means
never-ending things to do, but we
Narcissus pseudonarcissus
The wild daffodil, or Lent lily, is brilliant for
its ability to naturalise and spread in grass.
Tim loves other daffodils, too.
Cyclamen pseudibericum
Tim's particularly taken with this cyclamen,
which is a rarely grown, spring-flowering
species. He also likes C. hederifolium.
Low-growing
Hacquetia
epipactis
devote a lot of our attention to
mowing pathways, cutting and
renewing lawn edges, clearing way
dead material from herbaceous
plants and weeding the woodland
and alpine beds,” says Tim.
1Plant
primroses
and cowslips
along with
spring-flowering
bulbs in grassy
areas under trees.
Leave as a meadow,
cutting in summer
when seeds have
been shed.
2Keep a
photographic
record of
Corydalis solida
This really lights up Tim's woodland
plantings and it’s a favourite for the detail
of its flowers and form.
Fritillaria thunbergii
This is a lovely and reliable garden species
that Tim got from the Beth Chatto Gardens
more than 30 years ago.
Top gardening tips
where plants
emerge and garden
scenes as a future
aide-mémoire.
3Allow the
lawn to grow
longer later
in spring and into
summer to allow
daisies, clover,
self-heal and other
‘weeds’ to flower to
attract important
insects and wildlife.
4Visit Alpine
Garden
Society
shows for the
beauty of the
plants displayed
and especially the
stands where
less common and
specialist plants
that you won’t
find anywhere
else are available
from nurseries.
PHOTOS: ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK
March 14 2020 / Garden News 19

What to do
THIS WEEK
On your fruit & veg plot
Step by step
Look after
Asparagus
Give the veg bed a spring boost for good growing conditions
The first, freshly
picked asparagus
of the season from
the garden is always
something to look
forward to. At the moment the
plants are still totally dormant
under the soil, but as soon as
the ground warms up in a few
weeks the roots will start to
become active, and by late April
you should be cutting delicious
spears. Before then we can
carry out a little maintenance
on the asparagus bed to give
the plants the best possible
growing conditions.
Any weeds that have grown
over winter since the ferny
foliage was cut down in autumn
need carefully removing. This
is best done by hand or with a
small fork to avoid damaging
the shallow, fleshy asparagus
roots. The bed can then be
given a light rake to level
the soil and to remove any
twigs, before mulching with
5cm (2in) of garden compost
or well-rotted manure. This
annual mulch helps to keep
the soil in good condition,
and it will help with moisture
retention over summer.
When it comes to feeding,
it’s a little too early to apply
fertiliser, so best to hold back
for a while until the first signs of
growth are seen in April. You can
then apply a general granular
feed or seaweed fertiliser around
the plants to boost growth.
PHOTOS: NEIL HEPWORTH & martin fish
1Remove any weeds grown
over winter by hand or with
a hand fork to avoid
damaging shallow roots.
2Lightly rake over the bed to
level the soil and to remove
old leaves and twigs that
have blown into the bed.
3Finish off by covering with
a thick mulch of garden
compost or well-rotted
manure around 5cm (2in) thick.
4The new spears will start
to push through from late
April and can be harvested
until the longest day in June.
Sow alpine
strawberries
Alpine strawberries, or ‘wild’ strawberries, are a bit different to
their well-bred cousins, in that they like to be in shade, prefer
cooler conditions, fruit for a lengthy amount of time, and need no
special care. They’re rather a handy plant to have! They’re also
pretty easy to grow straight from seed, so why not give it a go
now? Tamp down a tray of lightly moist multi-purpose compost,
and sow thinly over the surface. Cover again with a very fine
layer of compost or sharp sand. Leave at a constant temperature
of around 16-18C (60-65F); germination may take up to 10 days,
but it could be longer, so don’t give up!
Prick out your tomatoes
Tomato seeds that were
sown a couple of weeks
ago in a warm place should
now have grown into strong
seedlings. When they’re
large enough to handle and
before they get too tall and
leggy, prick the seedlings
out individually into small
pots of compost. Always
handle the seedlings by
their leaves as the stems bruise easily and bury the
stems deeper into the pots so that the two seed leaves are just above
the surface. This encourages new roots to develop from the stem.
Grow on in a light, warm place and keep the compost just moist.
Check polytunnel soil
before sowing
Although it’s tempting to start
sowing a selection of vegetable
seeds as early as possible in a
polytunnel to get your own fresh
produce for summer, don’t be
tempted to get started until the
soil warms up. A good way to check
this is to use a soil thermometer
that’s simply pushed into the ground.
Once the soil temperature reaches 6-8C
(43-47F) you can direct sow a selection of veg, including, lettuce,
radish, spring onions, kale, carrots, beetroot and peas, but hang
back with tender vegetables such as courgettes and dwarf beans
for a few weeks until the soil is much warmer.
Make your own
plant labels
For a fun little project on a rainy spring day (let’s face it there have been a
lot of those recently), why not create some labels to brighten up your veg
container gardens or allotments? Grab a pile of cheap wooden spoons –
no plastic needed – and get painting. Nail varnish works well, or buy
some permanent markers in a variety of cheerful colours.
Uncover
forced
rhubarb
If you forced some rhubarb in January,
by covering it up to keep the light out
with a special forcer or even a bucket,
it’s time to check for some lovely sweet
stems underneath. Uncover your plant
now and it should reveal some tender,
light pink stems (they go dark pink
and sour in the light). They should be
ready about eight weeks after forcing.
Cut stalks for use now, removing
the poisonous leaves, then leave the
plant to regenerate for next year –
don’t force it again or it’ll weaken.
44 Garden News / March 14 2020 Subscribe for just £4.50 a month! Go to www.greatmagazines.co.uk/gn
March 14 2020 / Garden News 45

Over the
FENCE
Tulip pots
It’s all sowing
and growing!
Iwas delighted to see my
seeds sprouting. The lupins
came first, then poppies and
lavender. I’ve also sown
Brussels sprouts ‘Evesham Special’,
which germinated quickly, but
I’m still waiting for cucumber ‘La
Diva’ to break the soil. As seeds
were reduced in price, I also bought
broad bean ‘Bunyard's Exhibition’,
the deep red dwarf nasturtium
‘Empress of India’ and some
poached egg plant. These will all
be sown direct and I’ll continue to
use the indoor space for what really
needs it. I’ve just bought some red
geranium and begonia ‘Heaven
Delight’ mini plug plants, which I’ll
pot on inside and incorporate into
a summer display. My next job is
to sow dahlia ‘Bishop’s Children’.
Now’s the time for seed potatoes
and I’ve bought the reliable ‘Kestrel’
and ’King Edward’ varieties. But
I always look for something
Native primroses
are cheerful
and reliable
Iona
Chisholm
A developing
family garden
and allotment
in Staffordshire,
with year-round
interest.
Fresh green
hellebores
Chitting 'Salad
Blue' potatoes
Cyclamen
look great
with mini daffs
new and this time ‘Salad Blue'
caught my eye. The potatoes have
a deep blue flesh, so are high in
beneficial antioxidants and are
going to look unusual. What a great
combination this will make on the
plate with ‘Cosmic Purple’ carrots!
Storms Ciara and Dennis have
delayed us getting out to cut our
new ellipse-shaped lawn. I did use
the hose to mark the new lawn
shape and will start by cutting out
just the border in front of the patio
windows and begin to develop the
new bed there. I’ll fill it with summer
colour and then build up the shrub
structure throughout the year to
ensure there's all-season interest.
With the weather being so wet,
I’ve been out just to tidy up broken
stems, deadhead and rake the beds.
I noticed the rich pink cyclamen
and bright yellow ‘Tête-à-tête’ daffs
make really good neighbours.
Our clumps of native primroses
are uplifting and sending plenty
look like
chicks in a nest
Real
readers'
gardens!
Marking out
the new border
of flowers up, despite getting so
damp and becoming ‘Slug HQ’!
Several patches of snowdrops
are nodding next to the pink
and purple of the pulmonaria.
Griselinia littoralis and the
flowers of Helleborus viridis are a
refreshingly vibrant lime-green.
Seeing the new tulips peeking
out of the soil reminded me of a
nest of chicks with open beaks!
There's lots of pleasure from
seeing what’s growing at the
moment and I’m really looking
forward to getting outside again
and planting for spring once the
ground becomes workable.
My highlight
Checking on my sowings
and finding that my
seeds were germinating
and growing.
My new Agave
chrysantha
Left, miscanthus
and right,
my mother
and Albert
I've sown
my first
seeds...
Caroline
Broome
A plant-packed
suburban London
garden that is
accessible all year.
I’ve sown my first seeds of
the year in the greenhouse:
tomatoes ‘Orange Beauty’ and
‘Gourmandia’, white and lilac
cleome and Cerinthe major. Now the
propagators are switched on, I’ve
trimmed back the old leaves of the
rescued heucheras to encourage
new healthy growth, tender
My miscanthus is
looking magical
Geoff
Stonebanks
A seaside garden
in East Sussex
that opens for
charity, featuring
sculpture and
reclaimed objects.
Ican’t believe my bad luck over
the last eight months! I’ve
now pulled the ligaments in
my left leg and we’re scheduled to
open five times for the National
Garden Scheme this summer, in
what will be our 10th anniversary
of opening for them. Also, there
will be two dates for the Macmillan
Coastal Garden Trail at the end of
July and private and group visits
throughout June and July, so
I really need to get a move on.
Tree surgeons have been in to
trim the large conifer at the back
and I’m pleased with the result. It
was a pretty hairy job! I couldn’t
believe the garden escaped any
real harm last month during both
ferocious storms, Ciara and Dennis.
In reality, the only damage was
severe wind burning into the large
palms in the centre of the garden.
This is the first year I haven’t put
fleeces on them as they've got
Winter colour
from wallflowers
perennials, including my treasured
salvias, are sending up new shoots
and overwintered begonia tubers
were covered in pips so they've
been potted up. I’ve never been
very successful with purple liatris
too big and I doubt whether the
fleeces would have stayed put
during Storm Ciara anyway!
There are many dried plants
that still look wonderful out
in the back garden; a couple in
particular are the beautiful faded
grass stems of the miscanthus in
the gravel bed near the summer
house – they look magical with
sunlight streaming down on
them – and the other is the paperlike
flower heads of Hydrangea
paniculata ‘Limelight’, which look
dazzling in the early morning
with a touch of frost on them.
Talking of grasses, there are lots
of lovely specimens in the front
beach garden. My favourite of all
time has to be Stipa tenuissima,
which has self-seeded through
the garden. It, too, looks wonderful
with the sunlight on it. All the
rusty metalwork scattered
throughout the garden mixes
well with the grasses.
I’ve recently splashed out
on a few new plants; notably
a beautiful agave to add to my
growing collection (I've got
more than 40 to date). This
one is A. chrysantha and it's
going to look lovely potted up in
the beach garden. Another two
are Camassia leichtlinii ‘Sacajawea’
so this year I’m growing them
from bulbs instead of starting
with mature perennials. I'll plant
them out in May.
As the garden is waterlogged,
I’m holding back on border work.
The perennials I lifted last autumn
are all quite happily waking up in
their pots but I’m getting very
impatient to relocate them.
Choosing this summer’s
Thompson & Morgan trial plants
has been an exciting distraction.
As well as my usual citrus-coloured
begonias, it’s a first for grafted
cucumbers ‘Mini Stars’, and after
last year’s success with
containerised squashes, two other
new squashes, ‘Potatoes Duo’. Plus
miniature clematis ‘Little Lemons’
for hanging baskets and two
climbers, ipomoea and sollya.
I really must get to the allotment.
Last year’s blackberry hedge needs
Wind burn
on the palms
and a lovely new begonia called
‘Pink Camellia’. I can’t wait to see
how the latter two turn out.
During the course of last summer,
a friend on social media, June
Dyer, saw a picture I’d posted on
my website of my mother and our
cutting right back and the
strawberry bed needs thinning.
I haven’t been since November
so there’s work to be done.
I’m glad I made the effort to
plant more early spring-flowering
bulbs in the garden last September
– iris, puschkinia, crocus, as well
as snowdrops have really lifted the
spirits. Out front, Melianthus major
has juicy, big red flower buds,
contrasting with the stark twisted
stems of the contorted hazel.
Corsican, stinking and hybrid
My tree
peony's in bud
Coprosma 'Pacific
Sunset', rimed
with frost
beloved Albert in the garden.
She decided to have a go
at painting the scene and
generously donated it to me.
I was captivated by it; it's such
a lovely memory of Albert, who
passed away last October.
l Read more of
Geoff’s garden at
www.driftwoodbysea.co.uk.
My highlight
The gorgeous
Coprosma repens
‘Pacific Sunset’, with
its leaf edges tinted
with frost, is my
highlight feature.
Reliable
'Tête-à-tête'
hellebores are in their element
now. On the patio, the evergreen
ferns, nandinas and hebes are
providing a welcome distraction
from the withered protective top
growth of cannas.
My highlight
Being invited to join
the committee of the
London Gardens
Society, and sowing my
first seeds of 2020!
36 Garden News / March 14 2020 Subscribe for just £4.50 a month! Go to www.greatmagazines.co.uk/gn
March 14 2020 Garden News 37

My favourite
PLACE
THE SCILLY ISLES
By Sam Ovens
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK
‘I love the sand dunes that
are filled with agapanthus’
Busy perfecting
The Animal
Health Trust
Garden for the
RHS Chelsea
Flower Show,
award-winning
garden designer
Sam Ovens draws
inspiration from
the wild beauty
of the Scilly Isles
The Scilly Isles are less than 40
miles from Penzance but it’s a
different world. There are about 140
islands in the archipelago, all very low
lying and exposed. I love the rugged
wildness and the vast open vistas.
It’s a landscape where native
plants, like heather and marram
grass, are massed together in
spectacular style, but lots of exotic and
tropical plants have historically been
introduced to Tresco Abbey Gardens.
Many have escaped and colonised
other areas, so you get these really
surprising and unusual combinations
that you wouldn’t find anywhere else.
I love the sand dunes that are
filled with Agapanthus africanus.
It’s totally naturalised now, bordering
on invasive! And you get yuccas
growing wild, too. Somehow, they
don’t look out of place as they’re
plants that originated in similar
conditions, which is why they’re
doing so well. It’s unexpected, but
at the same time it just looks right.
I live in Cornwall and am a keen
gig rower. The World Championships
are held on the Isles of Scilly every
May so it’s a good excuse to go back.
I love exploring the islands; they're
small so you can walk everywhere and
I visit Tresco Abbey Gardens each year.
Some cottage gardens are even
more bonkers than the sand
dunes. There are cactus growing
out of walls and the aeoniums
here are massive flowering
shrubs, a couple of metres high!
The Scillies have provided design
inspiration. Inspired by the marram
grass I love to use single plants
en masse. In the Animal Health
Trust Garden, I’m using 2,500
Hakonechloa macra as a foil; I
then thread through flowering
plants (many quite unassuming)
and, by giving them space
and a neutral background,
one can really appreciate their
individual intricacies.
The islands are really special at
dusk. There are few people on the
smaller islands so the dark gets really
dark. I think the darkness magnifies
the sound of the wind and the smell
of the sea; it’s a peaceful, raw, wild
place. While only a few miles from
the Cornish mainland, it could be
on the other side of the world!
■ www.visitislesofscilly.com.
www.aht.org.uk
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66 Garden News / March 14 2020