Welcome to our series of blogs featuring the photos and sightings of wildlife in the garden (and outreach sites like Chattowood and the Meanwhile Garden) by our staff.
Weekly catch up with garden & propagation
POSTED 2nd April 2026
Propagation Team
with Sean
It’s April! The months are flying by and so are the birds, plenty of singing to be heard early in the morning and not just from me as I pull into work.
Our brand new starters Priya and PJ pot pelargoniums with lightning speed. So many of our plugs are growing up and need some extra space! An older photo emerges from the 1990s showing pelargoniums from one of Beth’s pot displays outside her home.
The stock beds call to me like birdsong. This week I’ve managed to tame the mighty Kniphofia caulescens (Red Hot Poker), an evergreen perennial with a ferocious flower mid to late summer. I’ve also tried a little lawn edging… minimal effort, maximum effect.
An army of succulents march toward the sales area thanks to Cathy and her immaculate attention to detail. The xerophytes (a good word for any scrabble players) receive a generous 9cm pot and a layer of gravel mulch to keep them happy.
Hertia cheirifolia (Barbary Ragwort) a bright yellow flowering subshrub is being cared for by Tina. They enjoy a nice sunny spot in the garden, although only one of them is drought tolerant.
It’s showtime! The Plant Fair Roadshow lands itself at the Horniman Museum and Gardens this Saturday the 4th. The Beth Chatto’s stall will be there selling a wonderful collection of spring plants. Please come over for a chat if you see us.
Everyone on the propagation team hopes you have a wonderful Easter and get to enjoy plenty of sweet treats, sunshine and flowers.
Stay muddy and catch you next week.
Garden Team
with Cathy
Around the Garden the Amalankier lamarkii are in flower, a favourite tree of Beth’s for its coppery young foliage in spring along with delicate white blooms. The magnolias are also covered in flower now with Magnolia soulangeana on Beth’s patio blossoming like a pink cloud.
Last week we attended the London Gardens Network Spring Seminar at Kew Gardens entitled 'Vital Ecologies, The evolving role of gardeners'. It was a great opportunity to learn from other gardeners and share best practice. It was inspiring to hear about other projects in different places and communities and the positive impact that Gardeners can make to people and environments. Thanks so much to the LGN Committee for making it happen.
We began this week back in the garden tackling the area around the Willow Room. The bamboo was thinned by choosing stems to cut to the ground opening up the view across the pond. We dug out nettles and alkanet where they had run from the wilder edge into the border. It’s nice to have wild elements incorporated into the borders which provide valuable food for insects alongside ornamental plants. We keep these plants within certain areas so ornamental plants are left space to grow.
Cleavers (Gallium aparine) are growing at a pace now, so we pulled their tiny roots up along with the sticky leaves. Scott pruned the large rose in the centre of the bed which has lovely new red foliage. Ferns with foliage from last year looking tatty were cut down in anticipation of the new croziers to come. Across areas of the garden we added in Fritillaria meleagris, a lovely spring flowering bulb with a checker board pattern.
In the Gravel Garden we put some extra Stipa barbata, a favourite silvery, whispy grass. Our trainee Mattie tackled pruning the rose on the tractor shed, an annual task for our trainees and great learning opportunity. Elsewhere we helped the nursery team prepare for visitors over Easter with a giant nest made of willow from around the garden, a fun creative team task.
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