Weekly catch up with garden & propagation

Garden Team

with Malin

With warmer temperatures last week, the garden reached the next level of spring loveliness!

In the Water Garden and the Woodland ferns are unfurling, trilliums are out and ground covering symphytums, epimediums and vincas are flowering their socks off.

In the warm weather we donned our waders and went in the ponds to cut back the dry foliage of Thalia dealbata. It grows with insane speed - the day after we had cut them back new growth was already emerging through the water. We also tried to reduce the Pontederia cordata, a lovely pond plant that flowers all through summer, but the size of the clump was stopping the flow of the stream that runs through the ponds.

We have been joined this week by Jessie from Greenwich park, who helped me on Monday to pick a lovely ident for the visitor's centre.

After that we spent a couple of days weeding in the Scree garden, where a seed bank of pale cream Eschscholzia californica had germinated and suddenly the whole bed looked like a lawn of poppy seedlings. As beautiful as they would’ve looked in flower, they needed thinning to give space to the other more delicate plants in there.

Towards the end of the week, we have been pulling out sticky cleavers in the woodland before they flower and set seed, as well as getting the boat sanded and varnished ready for its launch - stay tuned to it in place next week!

Propagation Team

with Rob

It's life in the fast lane down in the Growing Department!

From now, until the end of June, Debs embodies Rambo, as the amount of plants propagated by cuttings is at its highest! Both she and Kirsten have their warpaint on, wielding snips and dibbers, they set their hungry eyes upon the many hundreds of varieties they shall meet in horticultural combat!

Debs locked horns with Veronicastrum virginicum 'Erica', what many will know as Culver's Root. This tall, erect perennial has gorgeous purple tinted foliage in the spring, then sporting spikes of two-tone pink flowers from the summer through to the early autumn. It's an absolute magnet for introducing beneficial insects to your gardens, so hit the "notify me" button on the website to get your hands on it in the early summer.

Kirsten has been working on something very exciting! A new Salvia for us! The gorgeous, creamy-white flowered S. austriaca has joined our already broad selection of salvia. It hails from central Europe, found in, of course, Austria, trailing through to Romania. The adult plants have wonderfully large, textured foliage, and we think you're all going to love it!

Both Debs and Kirsten have had a lot on their plate this week, but have been helped by Alex, who is spending a week with us to pick up some tips and tricks. It's been amazing having him alongside, lending a hand to the cuttings, seedlings and stock beds! Thanks, Alex!

Kathy, Pj and Priya have been stars on the potting benches, filling up our tunnels with a host of treasures, which are putting down roots with newfound urgency thanks to the much appreciated light levels and temperature rise. One which took my eye was Chrysanthemum 'Emperor of China', whose autumn flower has a certain bewitching flamboyance. This old hybrid has beautifully quilled petals, deep crimson in the centre, but fades to a silvery-pink as the layers of petals unfurl. By the autumn the foliage is suffused and veined in red, a true sight to behold!

The team finished the week with an educational journey through the garden. It's important for us to see the established, sensational plants the garden team nurture and help thrive at Beth's. It shows each of us the promise every seed, cutting and split holds, and the legacy our plants can achieve.