Scampston Walled Garden

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Chelsea Chop, Pensthorpe, Piet Oudolf, RHS Wisley, Scampston Walled Garden, The High Line

Scampston Walled Garden

I have long been a fan of the garden designer Piet Oudolf. Dutch born Oudolf has championed a new style of planting and landscaping known variously as ‘new European’, ‘new wave’ and ‘new naturalism’. Whatever you want to call it, it has become THE design style of the early 21st century and his ideas of large blocks of perennial planting have captured the imaginations of gardeners, designers and urban landscapers alike. Grasses such as molinias and calamagrostis and rudbeckias, echinacea and heleniums are all classic Oudolf plants. But it’s not just the visual impact of his design and planting style that have made his ideas so popular. His choice of plants, often inspired by the prairies of North America, tend to flower in later summer and autumn. Whereas many of the more traditional English cottage garden plants have given up the ghost by August, gardens planted with these late flowering perennials are just coming into their own. They also leave behind stunning seed heads and skeletons as the garden descends into winter which gave structure and interest. Another attractive feature of these perennials is that they tend to need little attention. Many benefit from the ‘Chelsea chop’ in late May and need dividing every 3 or 4 years but other than that they can be left alone. The other huge plus is that the plants are loved by pollinating insects. In many ways it is a much more sustainable approach to gardening particularly for parks and country houses which used to rely heavily on intensive and expensive bedding schemes.

Piet Oudolf’s style of planting has proved to be hugely popular with urban planners. The mass planting works particularly well on a large-scale where the dramatic effect of large blocks of colour can be seen at their best. Parks and urban areas in Germany, Sweden, the UK and America have all had the Oudolf treatment. Perhaps his most famous and inspirational project to date is the High Line in New York, a public park built on an old railway line raised above the streets of Manhattan.

Painterly planting – Piet Oudolf

There is something painterly about Oudolf’s designs. The blocks of colour created by sedums, eryngiums and eupatoriums make you feel like you’re looking at a work of art. The first Oudolf planting scheme I saw was at RHS Wisley where he had created his own take on the classic English country garden double herbaceous borders. It was an impressive sight but it was his garden at Pensthorpe Wildlife Reserve in Norfolk which really blew me away.

I’ve wanted to visit Scampston Walled Garden for some time now. Scampston is the largest example in the UK of a privately commissioned Piet Oudolf garden. In 1998 the owners decided to transform the derelict 4 acre walled garden and rather than restore it in a historical way they decided to go for something modern. It’s a brave choice to try to combine the old – a late 18th century Regency house and Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown grounds – with something contemporary. For me it worked incredibly well and I loved the combination of old and new.

Katsura Grove

The Piet Oudolf area is contained within the walled garden. A path initially takes you around the edge of the garden. Known as Plantsman’s Walk, the high brick walls on one side and tall beech hedges on the other give the impression you’re walking into a maze. Deep borders are filled with hydrangeas, geraniums and the fabulously red wine coloured leaves of Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’ and the unusual berried Actaea alba. From here a path leads into a series of ‘rooms’ divided by more beech hedges. I particularly loved the Katsura Grove. I had heard of this mythical tree, whose leaves smell of cinder toffee, from my tutor at college but I have never come across them before. You know when you’ve been told something is fantastic and then when you experience it you wonder what all the fuss was about, well I’m please to report I wasn’t disappointed – they really do smell like toffee. Beds were planted with multi-stemmed Katsuras (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) and underplanted with Aster divaricatus. It was a beautiful combination and both plants have gone straight to the top of my ‘plants to buy for my next garden’ list. From here paths lead off into areas with more traditional style borders backed with beech hedging and planted with late summer flowering perennials and grasses. But it was the central perennial meadow which was the showstopper. Divided into quarters with a circular pool at the centre each section is planted with a rich palette of colours punctuated by swaying, tactile grasses. And it was teeming with bees, butterflies and hoverflies.

Drifts of Grass – Scampston Walled Garden

Currently one end of the garden is boarded off. The old glasshouse, in desperate need of restoration has been removed in sections to be repaired with the help of Lottery funding. It will be an impressive sight once completed looking out on to the hub of the garden. It’s a pity more thought isn’t given to construction work on tourist sites though. I remember as a child my dad complaining that wherever we went on holiday in Europe there would always be scaffolding or a crane spoiling the very view we had travelled so far to see. The Italians though had a very nifty idea. They used to – I don’t know if they still do – hang huge canvasses over the building which is being restored. The canvas would have an artist’s impression of the restored building which would hide the worst of the building work. It wasn’t perfect but vastly superior than a lot of plywood and a big blue lottery sign.

Piet Oudolf planting at Scampston Walled Garden

In contrast to the colour of the perennial meadow the adjoining area consisted of blocks of one type of grass, Molinia caerula ssp caerula ‘Poul Peterson’. It was simple, striking and hugely effective. It was impossible to walk through without stroking the grasses. There are other areas too, a small orchard and kitchen garden and the landscaped grounds which, on this occasion, we didn’t have time to see, but these really are the sideshows to the spectacular centrepiece. Designs, styles and plants come and go in gardening just as they do in fashion and interiors but I think the influence of Oudolf will be around for some time to come. If you can, try to visit one of Piet Oudolf’s gardens or parks – I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

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Perfection and Plant Theft

Tags

daphne, Highgrove, Prince Charles' garden, RHS Wisley, witch hazel

I love the gardens at RHS Wisley in winter. It’s such a boost at this time of year to see winter flowering shrubs and the early spring blooms. Last year we made the mistake of visiting on a Saturday during half-term when there butterflies in the glasshouse. We had no idea it was school holidays, that there was a special event on or that this combination would prove so popular with visitors. Blissfully unaware we turned into the car park and immediately our naive thoughts that it would be quiet at Wisley in February were dispelled as a sea of sparkling metal greeted us. We had never seen the gardens so busy.

This time though we were prepared. The butterflies were back so we were going to go during the week. I didn’t, however factor in the fact that Wisley seems to be the hub for every mother and toddler group in Surrey. Fortunately though, it was the cafe and coffee and cake that they had come for, and once we were in the gardens it was blissfully quiet.

For me, Wisley is the plant equivalent of wandering around an amazing deli where everything is so temptingly delicious and, greedily, I want to eat it all . . . well maybe not the patés. Here at Wisley it wasn’t long before I’d said to Wellyman, “I’d love a daphne”, followed by, “it would be amazing to have a witch hazel”, and “I wonder if we’ve got space for another hydrangea?” Of course, the answer to the latter is no. I’ll often get a raised eyebrow from Wellyman or notice a slightly worried expression on his face as he works out how to point out that we’ve got no room for those sorts of plants. Seeing such a rich diversity of planting does make me want to grow it all, even if reality is a smaller than average garden and not vast acres.

Everything is so well done at Wisley; plants are properly staked, beautifully pruned and mulched. It all looks so perfect but then I suppose I shouldn’t expect anything less from the showcase of horticultural expertise. It does however make me feel quite inadequate when it comes to my own attempts at gardening. And, as the photo shows, even the sheds are temples to organisation.

Daphnes and witch hazels were the stars of the show on this visit. We could smell the daphnes before we saw them, walking around a corner to be greeted by evergreen bushes pumping out a sublime and potent perfume.

It was a pity to see a sign that said they were suffering from plant theft in particular parts of the garden. I’m not sure why I was so surprised, I suppose I think of gardeners as being more respectful but I realise this is a rose-tinted view. I’ve heard plenty of stories of people helping themselves to plants when visiting gardens. Several years ago I was lucky enough to visit Highgrove, the garden of Prince Charles, with a group from college. One of my fellow horticultural students was very keen on coming away with a plant souvenir. It was only when we were given a security briefing on the coach and told about the security cameras dotted about the gardens and he realised he may be manhandled from the gardens by Special Branch that he left his carrier bags and secateurs behind on the coach. I suppose all gardeners like to get plants for free but most of us know when this is appropriate and when it’s not.

I did come away with some plants but these were legitimate purchases from the incredible plant shop. I had planned to while away some time in the bookshop but we never even got there. The budget wouldn’t stretch to the temptation of books as well. I have got some plans for a bit of a garden redesign and I came armed with a list of potential purchases. Face with all that choice it wasn’t long before I had dispensed with the list though . Wild carrot, apricot coloured foxgloves, some euphorbia and primulas all came home with us and will hopefully add to the naturalistic feeling I want from the garden this year.

What a difference a week makes

Tags

allotments, emptying compost bin, RHS Wisley, spring clean

The first daffodils in my garden

Who’d have thought it, such a beautiful weekend of weather with warm spring sunshine and still only February. Last weekend I was wearing snow boots and several layers for our visit to a frosty Wisley and it felt we were still in the grip of winter. A week later and it was warm enough for just a t-shirt. Of course the vagaries of the British weather mean it could be snowing again by next week but the recent dose of sunshine has put a spring in my step and I’m feeling positive that we’ve turned a corner now.

Such great weather coinciding with a weekend and at this time of year is a rare thing so I jumped at the opportunity to get Wellyman’s help to cross some jobs off my ‘to do’ list. Of course things never run completely smoothly and on Thursday afternoon it felt like it was going to end up being one of those frustrating weekends where no matter how much you try you never actually get anywhere.

The newly edged garden path

A path in our front garden is edged with those half log rolls you can get from most garden centres. This was the most aesthetically pleasing option we could afford when we first moved here and seemed to fit with the idea of the cottagey style garden I wanted to create. Unfortunately, even though the logs are treated with a preservative they have only lasted 4 years before starting to rot. They were looking scruffy and they needed replacing before the plants start to grow so I knew I needed to do it soon. Last weekend we had measured up and purchased replacements and then on Thursday I discovered we’d bought the wrong size. This was, of course, after I’d started pulling the old ones out and generally created a bit of a mess. Fortunately, our local garden centre said that we could just pay the difference and get the other size but I was rather frustrated that I couldn’t see any progress for my effort and concerned that the sore elbow I’d had for a couple of days was now very painful.

Scroll forward 4 days and not only is our path now all neatly edged and looking tidy but we now have a new path at the allotment, where Wellyman removed the turf. We laid down some membrane and even found some piles of chipped bark by the side of a local road which we bagged up and then used to cover the path. On a roll, the compost bin was emptied and spread on the beds at the allotment. The fruit bushes were mulched with manure and the final patches of green manure were dug in. I even planted up some shallots.

Pulmonaria 'Blue Ensign' now flowering in my garden

Back at home I cleaned out my shed. All those bits and pieces I had moved into the shed last autumn for protection over winter, such as my hosepipes and garden table and chairs were brought outside. We’ve used all the wood now so that has freed up some space, so that I can now actually walk into the shed. It had got to the point where I couldn’t get any further than the door. We even made a trip to the tip to get rid of some detritus that was lurking behind the shed.

I do have to say that I couldn’t have done half of this without Wellyman’s help this weekend. All this and he still managed to put in a great performance at his piano teacher’s soiree for her adult students, despite being worried his hands were too sore and blistered to play. My elbow was painful all weekend and after all the exertions we are both making groans and grunts when we get up off the sofa, well to be honest whenever we move. It was a very satisfying weekend despite the aches and pains and both the garden and plot look good for their early spring cleans.

Late Winter at RHS Wisley

Tags

Alpine house, RHS Wisley, winter scented plants, winter sweet, Wisley Glasshouse, witch hazel

Winter Sweet (copyright Ian Curley)

The last time I visited a garden was back in September, so feeling a little deprived of new inspiration coupled with a touch of cabin fever and frankly just needing a change of scene, we decided to visit RHS Wisley, in Surrey. Unfortunately, the combination of good weather, half term and some children’s events meant that we weren’t the only ones with that idea. To say it was busy was understatement, heaving more like.

The RHS has 3 other gardens in North Yorkshire, Essex and Devon but Wisley is the largest and it’s flagship garden. Covering 240 acres it combines being a training establishment for it’s students and it’s educational role informing the public about horticulture with providing a day out in beautiful surroundings. We used to live close by so have been lucky enough to see the gardens throughout the seasons. High summer is in my opinion the best time to visit but there is still plenty to see even in winter.

Intoxicating Scent of Daphne (copyright Ian Curley)

Winter scent is easy to find at Wisley with Daphnes, winter-flowering Honeysuckle and the incredible Chimonanthes or winter sweet.

Witch hazel (copyright Ian Curley)

There were some beautiful specimens of witch hazel with it’s lemon peel-like flowers. The overnight frost had not had too much of impact on the carpets of crocus and snowdrops and there were hellebores scattered all over the gardens.

Alpine house at Wisley (copyright Ian Curley)

A great treat at this time of year is the Alpine House which was bursting with colour. A stunning collection of Hepaticas, Crocus and Narcissi were all in bloom protected from the elements. Later in the year the green tussocks of Saxifrages will be covered in tiny little flowers.

Glasshouse at Wisley (copyright Ian Curley)

One of main reasons for our visit was to see the glasshouse which was opened in 2007. We had seen the construction work going on but had moved away from the area before it was completed and opened. The structure is very impressive especially with the lake in front of it, providing beautiful reflections. It covers an area of 10 tennis courts and has different climates – dry temperate, moist temperate and tropical. As part of the half term activities was a ‘Come and See Butterflies’ event in the glasshouse which was proving incredibly popular with families, so popular there were long queues. We weren’t so bothered about seeing the butterflies and were more interested in the plants, so thinking we could bypass the 40 minute queue to see the butterflies, we left the queue to have a look at the plants only to realise half way round that you could only see the rest of the glasshouse if you were in the queue for the butterflies. We didn’t have the time or stamina to queue again. What we saw was good and I particularly liked the display about roots but it was quite frustrating not to get to see the rest of the glasshouse especially as we seemed to be the only people interested in seeing the plants.

Inside the glasshouse

The plant centre is amazing and could do serious damage to your bank account. The nursery has a wide selection of herbs, shrubs, trees, alpines, herbaceous plants and fruit bushes and trees. It is horticultural heaven. The staff, as you would expect, have a wealth of knowledge and are very helpful. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, I was so tired after 4 hours of walking around I didn’t have enough energy for the shop. I was very tempted by the trained fruit trees but all I could manage was a pot of blue wood anemone. If you really want to do the plant centre justice I suggest you start here first. It has the added advantage that you don’t have to pay to get into the plant centre so if you didn’t have time to visit the gardens you could just pop into the shop.

I can highly recommend Wisley and realise how lucky we were to live so close by. The gardens cover such a large area that even on a very busy day you can find quiet spots. Visitor facilities are good with a selection of places to eat. It is always worth checking what events are on, they offer a full programmes throughout the year ranging from courses and talks for adults to childrens craft making days.

For more information visit the RHS website