This week Head Gardener Åsa shares some of the Beth Chatto team’s favourite plants.
Weekly catch up with garden and propagation
POSTED 21st May 2026
Propagation team
with Pete
It's been another varied and exciting week for the propagation team!
Emily started the week by showing around some of the lovely people responsible for looking after the Freedom From Torture Garden which was created for Chelsea in 2024 using plants from Beth Chatto Gardens. It was a great pleasure to welcome them behind the scenes!
The Freedom From Torture Garden, RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024.
Emily and Julia with designers John Warland and Emma O'Connell.
Emily with members of team that's looking after the Freedom From Torture Garden, relocated to the Freedom From Torture Centre, London.
Debs has been eagerly preparing cuttings from Helianthus giganteus (Giant sunflower), a wonderful upright perennial which displays it's bright yellow flowers from July to September.
PJ has been potting on various shrubs and cynara from their 9cm pots to more spacious accommodation in 2L pots. Cynara cardunculus should be ready for sale in just a few weeks time!
Priya and Kathy have been putting in the hours potting various beautiful grasses including Stipa tenuissima and Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Overdam'. All beautifully lined up in the poly tunnels ready to continue the next phase of their growing journey.
Emily has been expertly preparing Limonium bellidifolium, Sea lavender seedlings. A great plant for rock gardens. It's always very exciting to see the neat little rows of tiny plants beginning their lives and know that they are in the safest hands.
Elsewhere Kirsten and Tina have been working tirelessly in all weathers releasing plants for sale onto the website and keeping the nursery topped up and bursting with colour.
It's been nonstop in the pack house, too! Your orders keep coming in thick and fast and the team have been diligently ensuring your plants reach you in perfect condition and ready for their forever homes.
This week in the garden
with gardener Scott
We started the week weeding the recently planted bank at the top end of the Gravel Garden drive. This area has been planted with a Cercis canadensis var. texensis 'Oklahoma' and an understory of ground covers including Geranium macrorrhizum 'Album', Vinca minor 'Bowles's Purple' and Epimedium 'Valor'. With these being newly planted, we keep on top of the weeds, giving them time to establish, spread and knit together to form a blanket of foliage.
On Thursday we moved our nettle tea on to the next stage, straining the liquid and separating it from the disintegrating stems. We now have a large volume of tea to use as a concentrate when watering our pot displays. As the pictures suggests, it has a strong smell so we keep it tucked away!
We finished the week helping Cathy update a display in a stone trough at the end of the scree garden. First we emptied the trough of old plants, gravel and soil for a fresh start over. We replaced the crock over the drainage hole and then filled it with new soil. We wanted it to be free draining so we used a simple mix of 2 parts compost to 1 part sand, mixed thoroughly. We then added a small amount of gravel to further open up the soil.
Next Cathy picked a selection of succulents (full list below) and placed them out. My favourite is Echeveria 'Duchess of Nuremberg' a beautiful blue pink hue which is very attractive. When planting we make sure they are a little proud of the soil so when we add a layer of gravel as the final step there is room to fill in and around the plants. It's a lovely little display and something you can do at home too.
Aeonium arboreum 'Tip Top'
Aloe vera
Delosperma Desert Dancers 'Purple'
Echeveria 'Duchess of Nuremberg'
Echeveria runyonii 'Topsy Turvy'
Echeveria setosa
Enjoy your weekend!
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