Weekly catch up with gardens & propagation

Propagation Team

Luckily, we've had a bit of a cooling, overcast week, with that promise of much needed rain surely about to be fulfilled any time soon. Fingers crossed!

The team has been out in full force, with many new plants now rooted and making their way onto the nursery. Kiran was out yesterday picking the crème de la crème of our plant selection for your orders.

Agastache 'Blackadder' is proving itself to be enduringly popular, and rightly so! What magnificent spikes of violet-blue flowers this full-sun lover gifts throughout the summer. It does best in a rich and fertile soil and is a superb way of adding some vertical interest in the garden. You could also try the new edition to our repertoire of plants, Agastache rugosa 'Golden Jubilee', it enjoys the same conditions, and sports smaller flowers, but wow! When the sun hits those pale-yellow leaves, it is absolutely dazzling!

Our beloved hostas are looking gorgeous and we have a huge variety currently available. Angela, a plantswoman with over twenty years experience, has shared her passion for this genus with us. H. 'Devon Green', H. 'Gold Standard' (fortunei), H. 'Frances Williams' (sieboldiana), and H. 'Spinners' (fortunei) are some of the thirteen different hostas currently gracing the nursery and website.

Steve, our Head of Horticulture, was set up on the nursery where he was working busily on some Tulbaghia violacea which can be rather pungent, so propagating outdoors is often preferred. However, the real reason Steve was out and about on the job, was so he can share and advise with his encyclopedic knowledge of flora to our wonderful visitors. Steve is often referred to as the Sherlock Holmes or Horticulture, because when we come to him with a vague description of an unknown plant, he's the one who can solve the mystery. Unfortunately, he flat out refuses to wear a deerstalker!

Elsewhere, Emily and Hollie have been creating new displays in our revamped nursery areas, Sean has been planting pumpkins, whilst Debs remains hard at work with the cuttings. Pete, Callum and Annie have been packing orders, Miya has been down at Chelsea, Kathy and Lelia have been stalwart with the potting, where Mel's been keeping an eye on our tunnel stock. 

A very special mention to Hannah who received a distinction in her Level 2 Horticulture Operative Apprenticeship. Well done Hannah, everybody is so proud of you! It is very much deserved for the passion and dedication you bring to both the growing and garden teams every week.

Garden Team

Chelsea week is always a busy one for us in the garden, with lots of visitors from around the world coming to see the gardens at the peak of spring. I’m proud of my team and all the hard work we’ve put in to make everything look beautiful. Despite a lack of rain for two months now, the garden is jam packed full of flowers wherever you look.

On Tuesday part of the team went to Chelsea flower show to enjoy the beautiful displays and get a chance to catch up with some familiar faces. Åsa and myself were excited to welcome a TV crew from Sweden who came to film a piece for Trädgårdstider, a popular garden show back home.

In the garden we’ve focused on the Reservoir Garden this week, weeding out annual thistles that seem to be having a good year here. This part of the garden is a constant work in progress. It has a tricky clay soil that gets super dry and cracked up in the summer, and wet with big lumps of clay in the winter. The soil was excavated when the neighbouring farmer dug his reservoirs back in the seventies, and then dumped on top of the free draining sandy soil that was there originally. We’ve improved the soil with compost over the years, but in a dry spell like this we still end up with a very hard and cracked ground. We’re testing and learning what plants can cope in these conditions and I definitely think the beds look fuller this year compared to last year. Perhaps it’s a result of the chop and drop method we used when cutting back perennials this winter? Cutting plants back and leaving the material on the beds helps lock in moisture and feed the micro life in the soil.

The eremurus, irises and nepetas are looking stunning at the moment and the whole Reservoir Garden is scented of roses, the Rosa spinosissima especially, and honey from the sea kale, Crambe maritima.