Weekly catch up with garden & propagation

Propagation Team 

Written by Rob

It's been t-shirt weather this week! Yes, you've read that correctly. The sun has smiled favourably down on Essex, to such extent I had to apply aftersun to the back of my neck! It's a most welcomed reprieve after the wet winter we've had. And, although we've enjoyed the light and warmth sent our way, it's got our hearts racing. Alike to how the sound of an alarm clock someone has fixed with a foghorn stirring you from a deep sleep might do. It just so happens this alarm clock's radius is 109 times greater than the Earth....

We've been fortunate to have the wonderful Olivia visiting us this week from the National Trust's Hidcote. Olivia has spent the week with Emily and Debs, who've been sharing some of their propagation tips, tricks and practices. Oxalis peduncularis was one of the plants explored, a subshrub hailing from South America. As expected, it thrives in bright, but indirect light and well-drained soil. We're looking forward to seeing how they get on!

There are a few new faces to be found about the propagation building! Georgie, PJ and Jack have joined us, lending their passion and muscles to the operation. Jack arrived just in time for a 'compost drop', already finding his own style in horticultural attire.

The team has been full steam ahead potting, such as Salvia nemorosa 'Ostfriesland', Panicum virgatum 'Dallas Blues' and Achillea 'Walther Funcke', to name a few. Keep an eye out for them! The rest of the team have been releasing a host of rooted treasures for the nursery and website. Pete, as always, has been picking and packing your orders with care and diligence.

This week also marks the end of Miya's time at Beth Chatto's as she heads for pastures new. Miya has been an extraordinary member of the team. The love she brings for horticulture is unrivalled, and each of us will miss her dearly. I can confidently say, Miya has gifted sheer dedication, an enviable work ethic, and most of all, she instilled a sense of utter joy for our work. During her time running the stock beds she has been progressive and stalwart in her approach, whose legacy we will continue to benefit from. We wish her the most brightest, blossoming future.

Garden Team

Written by Malin

It’s been a beautifully warm and sunny week and plenty of plants are opening up basking in the sun. The team has had a busy week helping out our friends both at Benton End in Hadleigh and the Horniman Museum in London. The gardening community is a special one - we all share the love of plants and creating beautiful spaces, and when gardeners get together, we can’t help but chat about all things planty!

Benton End is very special to us as Cedric Morris and Arthur Lett-Haines who lived and worked there were very influential in Beth and Andrew setting up their garden here in Elmstead. Cedric gifted lots of plants to Beth and we are happy to continue that friendship and keep sharing plants to this day. The team went over on Friday last week to help out with a big planting session and we can’t wait to come back later in the year to see the plants fill up the beds.

On Tuesday me, Scott and Mattie went over to the Horniman to give a helping hand with their cutback of the Prairie Garden. It was a glorious day and the garden looked stunning! The team showed us how they make habitat posts in the beds to help hibernating wildlife get through winter and we came back with lots of inspiration to apply in our own gardening.

Back at Beth’s we have been working in the Water Garden cutting back a couple of the big island beds. We did most of the cutback here before Christmas but these two beds were very wet, so we’ve waited as long as possible for them to dry up a bit before stepping onto them. Treading on the wet soil causes a lot of compaction which we want to avoid - so we step on boards where we need to, and make sure to add all the material back onto the beds using the 'chop and drop' method to increase the level of organic matter in the soil. With the beds cut back you can now see all the bulbs, pulmonarias and anemones that were hiding under layers of brown.

A big thank you to Jemma who has been our intern this week!