The Barn House Garden

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Anne Wareham, Kew Gardens, NGS, Noel Kingsbury, ornamental grasses, Piet Oudolf, Roger Grounds, The Barn House Garden, Wye Valley

The Barn House Garden ©Ian Curley

One of the most lovely and unexpected results of writing The Cut Flower Patch has been the people I have met as a result. I had no idea when I started out on the whole process of creating a book that people would take the time and trouble to send me lovely emails once they had read it. Last September one such email came from a lady saying she loved growing grasses too and would I like to visit her garden. It turned out that Kate didn’t live too far away from me, in the stunning Wye Valley, so a few days later Wellyman and I found ourselves discovering the most fabulous garden, tucked away in the lush countryside of Gloucestershire. We arrived and found a note on the door telling us to find her in the back garden, along with a map and sheet of paper describing the garden. We found Kate, trowel in hand, weeding. I felt a little guilty when we left three hours later that we’d taken up valuable gardening time, but Kate was a delight to talk to – passionate, knowledgeable and generous with her time. Now I’m partial to including grasses in my garden and quite a few pop up on the cut flower patch too, but I’m the first to admit my small number of grasses don’t really do the plants justice. For true drama grasses need some space and to be planted in quantity and this is what Kate has done at the Barn House Garden where a variety of grasses have been planted en masse to create a bold and dramatic impact.

The Barn House ©Ian Curley

I love grasses despite the fact that I’m allergic to their pollen. As Kate says, ‘isn’t a love of wild grasses/cornfields innate? To me, grasses sing of woodland margins and meadows.’ I’m very much with her on this. Her first experiences of growing grasses on an ornamental scale came when she lived near Kew Gardens where she was fascinated by their grassery and watched the Bamboo Grove being renovated. ‘These were lessons on how to tame the biggest grasses of all’, she says. Kate’s love of grasses grew when she spent time in the Far East. ‘The best thing about Taiwan is the hilly walking country and the miscanthus grasses. Then there’s the miscanthus which lines the rail-side of the bullet train in Tokyo and the bamboos colonising hillsides in Thailand. We grew bamboo on balcony gardens in Bangkok (several) and then London (hundreds!), to screen out unsightly views, noise, pollution’, Kate explains. After years on the move and then tending a small London plot. Kate and her husband Hitesh settled in the Wye Valley. ‘Never mind the nice house, we were looking for the right garden’, she says. They moved to the Barn House nine years ago and the house and garden have been transformed in that time. It’s been an epic undertaking. It took over five years to complete the landscaping of the main parts of the garden. Storm drainage has been installed, and to create level planting areas over 100 tonnes of red sandstone were removed. It’s incredible to think that what now looks like such an established garden is one where much of the planting is only three years old. This was one of the reasons behind Kate’s choice of grasses to create the structure and interest in the planting scheme – grasses tend to be quick to produce a mature look to a garden.

The Barn House Garden ©Ian Curley

The back garden – an area which wraps around one side of the house – was tackled first. This gave Kate the chance to work out what they wanted from the rest of the garden. It’s a space which has an exotic feel to it, inspired by Kate and her husband’s time in the Far East. Towering bamboo and lush planting thrive with shots of vibrant colour from plants such as crocosmia and cannas. I love this sort of planting which envelops you and transports you to another place.

The Barn House Garden ©Ian Curley

One of my favourite spots was the terracing which leads down to the main aspect of the house and a seating area. Using local red sandstone terraced beds were created allowing Kate to plant in what had previously been a rocky part of land with little soil depth. The grass Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ looks fabulous. Planted in clumps along the terrace beds they look like rockets or fireworks shooting up towards the sky. Kate has also used Miscanthus sinensis ‘Malepartus’ as a dramatic 70 metre long hedge and the smaller Miscanthus sinensis ‘Starlight’ to screen a seating area.

The Barn House Garden (image courtesy of Kate Patel)

Kate uses grasses in the way many of us use shrubs as a foil to other plants, most notably herbaceous perennials like rudbeckias, persicarias and veronicastrums. Most of us imagine a garden planted with grasses only has a short season of interest and that a garden based around grasses would be at its peak in September but these photos show how stunning Kate’s garden looked for her midsummer NGS open day last weekend.

The Barn House Garden (image courtesy of Kate Patel)

The Barn House Garden (image courtesy of Kate Patel)

Kate has discovered that there are grasses which come into their own early in the year and has cleverly planted bulbs, evergreen grasses, multi-coloured cornus and beautiful specimen trees to provide year-round interest.

The Barn House Garden in winter (image courtesy of Kate Patel)

It’s not a surprise to discover Piet Oudolf has inspired Kate. Noel Kingsbury, Anne Wareham’s garden Veddw, just down the valley and Roger Grounds, an early pioneer of using ornamental grasses, have influenced Kate’s ideas too. One of the joys of growing grasses is discovering how easy they are to propagate. Kate grows many of her own plants from seed. And her next project – a stylised meadow – has been planted with home-grown deschampsia and molinia interplanted with perennial flowers. I can’t wait to see this come to fruition. If you’d like to see Kate’s garden the Barn House Garden is open by appointment from June to September with money from the openings going to the NGS. There’s no minimum group size and teas and plants are available to buy. It’s a stunning part of Britain if you fancy combining a visit with a weekend away. (I’m not on commission from the tourist board!! I just feel very lucky to live in this beautiful, somewhat undiscovered part of the world.) For more details you can visit Kate’s website. I can heartily recommend a visit to her website anyway as Kate is writing an online journal about growing and the changes to the garden, which makes a fascinating read and there are some gorgeous photos to drool over. Her next post, I’m reliably informed, is to be about the bamboos she saw growing alongside the Thai – Burma railway’s notorious Hellfire Pass & the incredible Australian Museum. And whilst you’re on her site have a look at the page about the history of the Barn House to discover more about this intriguing place.  

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Under Cover

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Herefordshire, Jean de Florette, polytunnels, unheated greenhouse, Wye Valley

My crab apple in bloom at last

So it appears that pesky old jet stream is playing havoc with our weather again. Chilly nights, possible frosts and even the ‘s’ word has been mentioned for some parts of the country and yet it’s nearly the middle of May. I can empathise with the central character from the film Jean de Florette at the moment when he’s down on his knees looking up to the sky hoping that his prayers will be answered for the torrential, seemingly never-ending rain to stop. For me, and I’m sure all gardeners out there we’re hoping for some warmth to return.

My crab apple finally came into blossom last week, a whole five weeks later than last year. My dicentra, a plant that is normally one of the first herbaceous perennials to flower in late March is only just sending out its pendant-like blooms. But, more importantly, I have a serious blockage. Windowsills are now groaning under the volume of pots, the greenhouse is so full I can’t even stand in it and there’s no more space left in the cold frames. Plants should, at this point, be moving through – some going into the ground at the plot, some being hardened off and second batches being sown of others. The plants are growing at a pace in the more clement conditions of my greenhouse and home but knowing they will either sulk or die if planted out I’ve had to embark on some serious potting on. I would normally only pot on into 9cm pots and then once those had been filled it would be time to plant out. This year I’ve got plants in 1 litre pots and some in 2 litre pots. The logistics of it all are proving somewhat trying.

Too many plants

I’ve noticed recently on twitter the difference having a polytunnel seems to make. I read with envy the tweets about the crops that are already producing under cover and wonder whether climate change means that the  only real way to grow in Britain in the future will be in polytunnels. I live in a part of the country where there has been quite considerable debate about the merits of covering vast swathes of land in plastic. There are parts of the Wye Valley and Herefordshire where field after field is under cover. Whether it’s to grow strawberries or asparagus, to produce early crops or simply to protect them from the weather, many argue they are a terrible blot on the landscape. The rolling hills and patchwork of fields are beautiful and it would be sad to see them swallowed up under polytunnels but the reality of what it must be like to earn your living from growing has really hit home since I took on my own allotment. For me it doesn’t matter if a crop fails. Don’t get me wrong it’s annoying, frustrating and disappointing but we won’t starve, I can simply pop along to the supermarket or farmers’ market and pick up something for dinner. But if your living depends on the crops you grow being a success then the British climate can be your downfall. And, how agriculture and horticulture deal with the weather should matter to us too if as consumers we want a ready supply of food. The idea that we could have another year like the last one makes me wonder how many businesses could cope and how many of us gardeners would lose the enthusiasm for growing our own.

Polytunnels, particularly when used on a large-scale bring their problems. Where does all that rainwater go that runs off the plastic? Some argue it causes flooding. Then there’s the glare created from sunlight, if we ever get any, bouncing off the plastic covering. There’s the manufacture of all that plastic, although a lot of it is now recycled once finished with. On the other hand growers say they use fewer fungicides and they have almost eliminated problems caused by wet weather on soft fruit crops. I know how many strawberries I lost last year to mould caused by too much rain. Whether you believe in man-made climate change or not it is hard to deny that our weather is becoming more unpredictable. In the nineties we were told a warmer climate would be of benefit to growers in the UK. We’d be basking in Mediterranean temperatures growing olives and all manner of exotics. It’s a complicated business predicting the weather let alone our future climate and so it seems those initial suggestions are fading away. Instead, the seasons are becoming quite muddled and when it rains it doesn’t seem to know when to stop. Parts of Wales had a month’s worth of rain yesterday. Growing under cover certainly seems to be one way of coping with whatever the weather may bring.

My small, unheated greenhouse even on a cold wet day feels quite warm, and protected from the wind and rain it’s no wonder my plants inside are growing quickly. The reality outside is somewhat different. Our growing season is short enough so at the moment I’m weighing up my options. Emigrating sounds appealing but for the time being unrealistic, putting up a walk-in polytunnel on my allotment is prohibited and getting a larger garden where I could erect said tunnel isn’t the cheapest of ideas. For the moment I think some cobbled together mini tunnels with the help of Wellyman this weekend is the only solution. Oh, and making an offering to the sun gods in the hope that Mother Nature will be kinder to us this year.

The same but different

Tags

King Alfred's Cake fungus, Offa's Dyke, wild garlic, wood anemone, Wye Valley

Wood Anemone

I’m all for trying something new. Seeing and doing something different is not only fun but, as the saying goes, stretches the mind, makes us view people and places in a different light and challenges us and our opinions. But as with most things businesses and the media latch on to this and now we’re bombarded with the notion that life is a series of experiences to cross off a list. There was a time in the pre-economic doom years when travel programmes showed us the places we should be going to if we wanted somewhere interesting to show off about at a dinner party. There was the ever-increasing quest by the producers of said programmes to find more and more extravagant holidays or far-flung destinations. If you hadn’t yak herded in Mongolia or eaten mongoose with some impossibly remote tribe with an unpronounceable name then you hadn’t lived. Maybe these programmes had run their course or perhaps it was increasingly hard to justify holidays which cost more than a new car once recession had started to bite.

Then that dreadful word ‘staycation’ appeared everywhere, but I can forgive all those who used it, if it made people look at what was on their own doorstep in a different way. I have a friend who has been to every continent including Antarctica but has never visited Cornwall. *incredulous look at computer screen* I must admit to being rather jealous of her seeing penguins in their true habitat and not just in a rather dubious looking pool construction at a zoo but you don’t have to spend lots of money or travel long distances to come across the new and interesting.

This weekend we walked a stretch of Offa’s Dyke that we know well. One of our favourite places, the paths take us through ancient woodland clinging to the side of the Wye Valley. On one hand there is a comfortable feeling of familiarity, knowing the terrain, the sections that will be muddy because of the underground spring or the steep part that we need to descend to return to the car. On the other is the feeling of discovery whenever we visit. It might well be the same walk, through the same trees but it’s always different.

Seeing how the seasons and the weather affect the woods is the most noticeable difference. Last year we visited in mid- March,and in the warmth of the early spring bluebells had created a spectacular show and were joined by wild garlic and wood anemones. These bluebells were out about a month earlier than the previous year but this time around, unsurprisingly, there were none to be seen. The foliage was there but the first flowers may well not appear until May. The buds of the first wood anemones had appeared but only a few had opened; they, like us craving some sunshine. A carpet of wild garlic had formed though and we picked a few leaves to take home to make a pesto.

The winter storms had taken their toll. A huge tree had split with two sections now lying at right angles to the trunk. As these had fallen they had taken out other trees in their path. It looked like a scene of destruction but as the wood starts to rot it will become the perfect home to so many creatures.

King Alfred’s Cake Fungus

Wellyman spotted these fascinating fungi which we’d never seen before. Whilst I was waffling on about them looking like those men, often with no teeth, who take part in the gurning competition in Cumbria he was off looking for a stick to poke one that had fallen on to the ground. Apparently he was looking to see if the inside was full of rings rather like the trunk of a tree and thought they were called King Alfred’s cakes. The fungus did have the said rings running through its inside and checking when we got home it turns out Wellyman’s fungi identification skills, on this occasion, were correct. Their name derives from the fact that the black varieties look burnt just like the cakes King Alfred is said to have overcooked. Apparently they can be used as kindling for those who like the idea of bushcraft.

The inner rings of a King Alfred’s Cake Fungus

Of course, even in such a beautiful spot as this there are always some who just don’t seem to appreciate what’s there. I really dislike seeing trees that have been vandalised. On this occasion it was initials and dates carved into the trunk of a tree. Some were obviously more recent than others as the bark hadn’t had a chance to fully heal. Banging nails into a tree in order to hang up a poster annoys me too. I know the tree doesn’t feel pain but it’s the lack of respect that frustrates me. Trees really are incredible and deserve more than being treated as a convenient spot to advertise some nightclub, a missing pet or as a place for RR to declare their ‘love’ for LT.

Humble by Nature – Rural Skills Centre

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dry-stone waling, hedge-laying, Humble by Nature, Kate Humble, Monmouthshire, planting an orchard, rural skills centre, Wye Valley

Kate Humble with Myfanwy the Berkshire sow

Kate Humble, TV presenter and wildlife champion, the face of Springwatch and Lambing Live is known for her enthusiasm and passion for the natural world and it is this love for the countryside that has made her and her husband, Ludo embark on a big project. They have bought a farm in Monmouthshire, a beautiful, unspoilt county of rolling hills and river valleys where they plan to run a rural skills centre. I’ve lived here in Monmouthshire for 6 years now and know how difficult it is for rural economies to adapt, create jobs and thrive whilst preserving the ways of life that make them such great places to live and visit. Kate kindly agreed to tell me a little bit about her new venture, Humble by Nature.

What made you embark on this project? We heard that a council farm near our home in the Wye Valley was about to be broken up and sold off, probably never to be an intact farm again and we decided that was wrong. So we talked to the council and took it on in partnership with them, to try to keep it as a working farm whilst diversifying enough to make it pay its way. That’s why we’ve started a small business to run courses in rural skills and animal husbandry, all set in the middle of a beautiful working farm.

Will the farm be run organically? Whilst we are broadly in favour of organic farming practices we have chosen not to farm organically but are aiming to do conservation farming, which means farming to encourage wildlife as much as possible.

Who are the courses aimed at? The courses are aimed at anyone who has ever thought about where their food comes from or who want to reconnect with the countryside in some way. So we welcome people who are moving out of the city in order to have a bit more space, perhaps with a bit of land to keep chickens, sheep or even a pig or maybe they fancy trying their hands at bee-keeping. Also people who want to learn a new skill such as dry-stone walling or hedge-laying. Hopefully, we’ll also appeal to those already living in the countryside who have a bit of land that they would like to use more productively, or those that just fancy trying something new, just for fun or as a new hobby.

You’ve already run a hedge-laying course and a ‘how to plant an orchard’ day, what other courses do you plan to offer? We will soon be offering courses in how to keep poultry, pigs, sheep and bees, as well as some specialist food preparation courses like how to cure and salt your own meat and making sausages. There’ll be food foraging and …. well the list is almost endless!

Who will be teaching the courses? All our courses are run by local experts in their field. Our pig course, for example, is run by a very experienced local vet with many years of hands-on knowledge of looking after pigs. Our small holding teacher has just written one of the definitive guides to starting a smallholding and our bee-keepers have worked with people keeping bees across the world. So all our teachers are truly local and proper experts.

Will all the courses be practical and hands-on? Yes. The huge majority of the courses will be outside on the land as much as in the classroom and there are amazing (indoor) lunches to go with them!

How important will it be to encourage wildlife onto the farm? We are working very closely with local wildlife organisations such as Gwent Wildlife Trust and the Woodland Trust to make sure we encourage as much wildlife as we can.

With the massive decline in farmland bird populations over the last 40 years do you think it’s possible to farm profitably and also manage the countryside for the benefit of wildlife? Absolutely. We can all do something for wildlife, whether it’s just planting the right sort of plants for bees, leaving borders uncut or not removing that old bit of rotting tree trunk to encourage insects or if you have the space, planting trees and hedges and putting up nest boxes for birds. We’ll be doing all of these and more on the farm.

With this project, your TV work and your own smallholding do you find any time for a spot of gardening? I’m a very keen gardener and we have a small but productive vegetable and fruit patch at home. A lot of my filming commitments are in the summer when the very best of the fruit and vegetables are ready but I never miss an opportunity to enjoy the fruit (and veg) of my own hands!

And finally, wellies or boots? Wellies for the farm (always) but definitely boots for walking with the dogs in the Welsh hills.

To find out more about Kate’s farm you can follow her on facebook and find out more details at Humble by Nature.

Wonderful Woodland Walk

Tags

autumn colours, Offa's Dyke, river Wye, Woodland walk, Wye Valley

After a week of heavy rain and cabin fever I woke to beautiful blue skies and sunshine. So to make the most of the lovely weather we went for a walk in my favourite woods. The walk is along part of Offa’s Dyke in the Wye Valley. With the sun glinting through the trees, the beautiful autumn colours and lovely fresh air, it’s on days like this I feel very lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the country.

Autumn trees

These are ancient woods which have been growing here since the last iceage. They are full of broadleaved trees such as ash, oak, beech and birch. We discovered the walk and the woods about 3 years ago and walk here often, now. We follow the changing seasons and how this affects the woods. In spring the woodland floor is lit up by a carpet of wood anemone, their white flowers like stars twinkling in the undergrowth.

Starry wood anemones

This is followed by the pungent aroma of wild garlic and the most amazing display of bluebells I have seen.

Glorious bluebells

As spring moves into summer and the canopy of leaves unfurls the woods become a tranquil place to escape the heat of the sun. Then autumn arrives and the woods once again light up this time with oranges and yellows as the leaves turn colour.

Autumn leaves

Even in winter these woods are magical. We spent one winter’s day following the tracks of animals, left in the snow. With no leaves on the trees you can see down into the valley below and the river Wye.

Wildlife love this habitat. We spotted a woodpecker and a treecreeper today and there were numerous other birds flying around and tweeting in the background. My identification skills are unfortunately somewhat lacking. On other occasions we have seen the resident fallow deer, signs of badgers and a large flock of one of my favourite birds, the long-tailed tit.

The rich leaf litter, decomposing wood and ancient trees makes this a great place to spot fungi.

These woods mean a lot to me. A place that is good for the soul, that lifts my spirits and puts a spring in my step. A wonderful woodland walk – the best things in life really are free.