Weekly catch up with garden & propagation

Propagation Team

This week in the growing department marks the end of an era. Hannah has been working here at Beth's since leaving school and during the last couple of years has achieved so much across both the garden and production teams. It is with immense pride and of course sadness we wave goodbye as Hannah sets off on her next chapter to Australia. She will be hugely missed and we all hope the skills and knowledge working at Beth's has given her will set Hannah in good stead for what we are all certain will be an incredible future.

Elsewhere, Tina has been out working on our plant stand off area, cutting back and checking plant health. Whilst, Mel and Kirsten have been out on the nursery carrying out much of the same, ensuring only our best plants are available for sale.

Kirsten also spent some time collecting the seed of Primula japonica 'Apple Blossom', a perennial with large pale green leaves. Stout stems with tiers of pale-pink flowers in late spring and early summer. Ideal for a cool damp spot in sun or part shade.

Primula japonica 'Apple Blossom'

Kathy has been potting up a host of treasures including Thymus herba barona 'Caraway-scented'. It's evergreen, fully hardy and enjoys the full sun, sporting wiry mats of tiny dark green leaves heavily scented of caraway seed. Pink and mauve flowers.

Thymus herba barona 'Caraway-scented'

The rest of us have been releasing plants for sale, and checking on our growing stock, whilst Callum and Pete have been ensuring all your orders arrive safely and only contain our very best plants.

Garden Team

We began the week working down the slope from the Scree Garden. Cutting back sisyrinchium, digging up self seeders like fennel and verbascum, and weeding as we worked. This slope offers views of plants from different angles due to the incline, so after we had worked through, we made a list of additions to plant in autumn to add extra depth and interest to the view next year. Now is a good time to plan ahead when you can see how plants have grown, and where there are gaps before they are forgotten as the season progresses. We finished with adding a layer of gravel to the steps to complete the picture. 

The next area on our list was the grassy walk on the edge of the wood. It was mown by the estates team last month before the Cyclamen hederifolium flowers emerged. The mower couldn’t get close to woody plants and ferns so we worked through cutting back the last remaining grasses so the cyclamen can be seen at their best. 

Cyclamen hederifolium

Our final task of the week was the Aster Walk on the edge of the wood. This bed is full of late summer interest with asters, bistorta, miscanthus and helianthus all in flower now. It has become a bit over run with bindweed, and the stock bed behind also had some flowering thistles about to set seed. We started by weeding through the bed, the strip at the back was strimmed to cut back weed growth and was temporarily covered with mypex to suppress weed growth. We made habitat piles here in winter when we cut back the perennials and it was nice to see them looking good and providing shelter.