A great night at Chigwell Nurseries last night. At Hillier we are delighted to supply Chigwell (http://www.chigwellnursery.co.uk/) with shrubs and perennials – this nursery/garden centre is a traditional plant based business with a fantastic selection of hardy plants from small alpines and herbs, to giant specimens for instant impact. Veg and grow your own is well represented – even with the addition of chickens and bees in the near future.
Over 100 people came along to my talk about hardy plants to help kick off the gardening season. After a hard early winter I’m pleased to say that gardeners are looking forward to Spring and are raring to get going in the garden.
Jill, Pauline and the team had done a fantastic job setting up with super displays of lovely Hillier plants. They used similar colour themes to those I used at our Open Days for wholesale customers earlier this year; these tie in with the Chelsea theme: ‘Feel Good About Gardening’.
The majority’s favourite was a lovely silver and mauve blend of astelia, heuchera, hellebore, syringa and eucalyptus. Astelia ‘Westland’ looked particularly good with Heuchera ‘Plum Pudding’ – I teamed those with some trendy silver-grey shiny pots.
From the green and white theme Ribes ‘Elkington’s White’ was particularly popular. I am really pleased that this plant has been embraced by gardeners. It’s a good performer, easy to grow and a great mixed with easy, tolerant shrubs like choisya, variegated euonymus and Viburnum davidii. Plants that flower early on their bare stems are always a joy and a sign that winter is over and warmer, sunny days are on their way.
Last night was the first time I’ve had the opportunity to talk to people about Meadow anywhere – our wildflower, meadow grass mix in association with Habitataid. A £1 donation from the sale of each pack is split between Butterfly Conservation and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. Lots of customers bought it, many with the intention of growing it in patio planters – and that’s the whole idea – you can have a meadow anywhere!
It was a great evening –I hope the customers enjoyed it as much as I did. That’s the great thing about gardening – we all get just as much out of talking about it as e do doing it. I came home with a lovely big tree heather which will have pride of place in my garden. Thanks to all at Chigwell – hope to visit again soon. Now I better get on with some more Chelsea planning....................

Feel Good About Gardening

Well I would do if I could get out there and do it. Sunday - the last in February, dawned bright and springlike. The snowdrops are already fading and tulips are growing apace. Yesterday I managed to dig out a few clumps of bearded irises from a border that is now too shady for them. They are still sitting on the soil, waiting for a weed free patch in a sunnier spot. Never being one to finish one job before I start the next I dug the bindweed out of part of the veg. patch, with all good intentions of getting an early start with my spuds this afternoon - but rain stopped play - so here I am embarking on this year's Chelsea blog.

Plans for this year's exhibit have been creeping along in the background. We are ahead with the magazine, and behind with detailed plans for the exhibit. Rick and I picked out a few trees in January, and I have produced some semblance of a plant list. I know he will have everything in hand anyway. I paid a visit to organicstone a couple of weeks ago. Vicky, Gina, Sue and Brian were as enthusiastic as ever and gave me confidence in my outline plan - An encouraging day and my first ever experience of Nandos. Is it me or is it just chicken and chips? - I loved it anyway.

Timber buildings and decking all but sorted - just need to finalise exercise equipment - Did I mention that one aspect was all about using the garden as a Green Gym? No - well I think I'll come on to that later.

Meadow anywhere promises to be big news. In conjunction with Habitataid I intend to put a pocket handkerchief meadow into gardens across the country - you too can have a butterfly or a bumblebee in your back yard!

Anyway its stopped raining so I'm afraid its back to those potatoes. Sitting in front of a computer is not going to make me Feel Good About Gardening. Just imagine that healthy exercise wading through the mud, bending over and planting spuds. Must remember to do a few stretches afterwards - or maybe a large glass of red will be more effective!

Back to Basics

I’ve been having a bit of a blog-break but normal service has now been resumed. I might not have been blogging – but I’ve certainly been talking plants and gardens. A few weeks ago I was at Wisley as part of their Tree and Shrub day to rekindle interest in woody plants. I’m all for that and not sure why we’ve let gardeners, especially new ones, forget about the importance of trees and shrubs which are, after all, the backbone of any garden.

It all stems from the way plants are sold today. They have to look good in a pot at the time of sale – hence the popularity of squat, compact varieties that are easy to move around, and don’t take up too much space on a lorry. Those of us in retail seem to believe that everyone buys on impulse, and few have any idea of what they are going to buy when they arrive at a garden centre or nursery. We sometimes forget about the incredible accessibility of information through newspapers, magazines, television and most of all through the internet.

The other influencing factor is the constant demand for new plants. New Plants are news – the media love them – they are stories! Those good old faithful garden basics tend to be ignored. So new gardens are stocked with pots of colour, and anything new; not necessarily always good.

I’ve been flying the flag for those good old hard working shrubs that have held gardens together for the last couple of generations. I want new gardeners to embrace these good doers and achieve success – this will encourage them to stay in love with gardening rather than having a go, failing and taking up decoupage or knitting instead.

I was delighted how well my lecture was received at Wisley and have been encouraged by the response from other groups. I reinforced the message at our autumn open day – my change to encourage our wholesale customers to stock and recommend good basic shrubs. What I have learned is that most of these old familiar favourites are new and exciting to many gardeners and we should never take them for granted.

Take Cornus alba ‘Sibirica Variegata’ for example. This is truly a plant for all seasons: It has deep red stems in winter, pretty cream and green, pink tinged variegated foliage in spring and summer. The leaves turn strawberry-rose in autumn and white berries appear in clusters. It grows on any soil, it never gets bigger than 1 metre tall, and is disease free. How many of the plants in your garden work that hard to earn their keep and are sociable enough to mix in with your treasured roses.

Is this a one off? No of course not there are lots of the: Berberis ‘Rose Glow’, Euonymus ‘Emerald Gaiety’, Viburnum davidii, Choisya ternata – I could go on and on! Whether we are growing them or selling them what we must make sure is that these good, solid subjects are available for gardeners when they want to buy them!

Turkish Delights

Sustainability is high on the agenda in every business today. Some see it as a chore and liability. To others it is a great way of adding value. Have just been to Turkey with Exclusive Escapes, an excellent independent travel company specialising in Greece and Turkey for those who want a great holiday experience where little is left to chance. This time we stayed at The Dionysos Estate, Kumbuluk near to Turunc – about 45 minutes north of Marmaris. The hotel is in a magnificent location hanging above the Kumbuluk Gorge – 250 metres above the bay below. Views out to sea where the mountains plunge steeply into the deep blue waters are magnificent. The terracotta roofs of the buildings and the azure blue of the large infinity pool are the only giveaway of the hotel’s existence as you approach up the mountain road. The rest blends sympathetically into the landscape – unlike so many of the hotel developments that scar the beauty of the Mediterranean coast.

Service and standards at the hotel are immaculate under the watchful eye of enterprising owner Ahrmet. He looks for any possible way to make a stay at the hotel even more memorable and recognises that good food and wine are high on the list of priorities of this clientele. The grounds are full of fruit trees: figs, plums, apricots, citrus and these appear daily on the breakfast table. Beneath the citrus salad crops grow, irrigated by seeper hose and grown quickly in the warm semi-shade. All meals feature fresh tasty, lettuce, purslane, rocket and leafy mustards flavoured with dill and spring onions, all picked that day.
Vines grace the terraces around the hotel – around 900 of them, and the hotel will be producing its first wine next season. Guests this year can sample ripe Merlot grapes as part of the breakfast buffet. Eggs too are from the hotel’s own chickens - fresh and delicious. Because the hotel wants to be as self sufficient as possible it has its own organic farm – not large but hugely popular with guests who visit for lunch or dinner during their stay. This is also an opportunity to learn about the production of Amos Olive Oil – The hotel’s own pressing – served every day with dinner along with freshly baked bread and drizzled over ripe tomatoes from the garden at breakfast and lunch. Staying here is like staying in a garden – on your way to the tennis court in the morning one of the Dionysos team will be watering a great patch of aubergines and sweet corn by the tennis court. Sitting at breakfast you are surrounded by citrus, olives and tonight’s salad. Yes, there’s masses of all the usual luxuriant Mediterranean bougainvillea, oleander, hibiscus and lantana but this garden is more complete and more useful. The little card in our room telling us that Exclusive Escapes had made a donation to enable the planting of two trees to offset or Carbon Footprint from the flight might be a bit cheesy – but it certainly didn’t do any harm, and maybe was part of the feel good factor of this holiday. Does sustainability add value here at Dionysos? – Yes, it’s part of the overall image and a great formula.

Marwell Magic

A week or so ago I had the great pleasure to open the new formal garden at Marwell Wildlife Park, near Winchester. Marwell is a surprising place, more than a zoo it enables the visitor to see wild creatures from all over the planet in surroundings as similar to their native habitat as possible. A visit to Marwell is an experience and an education thanks to the dedicated and energetic team responsible for running it. In this environment everyone looks at the animals first, and plants and gardens play a support role. But this does not mean that Lance Ingram, Head of Grounds and Plants considers his role any less important. Thanks to his enthusiasm for the job he is working to increase the standards and profile of plants alongside the animals.

The ambitious project to create a new formal garden adjacent to Marwell Hall has been designed and executed by Lance and his team. It is inspired by the style of gardening and plants grown in the 16th and 17th centuries, adapted to todays plant pallette. It is entirely appropriate to the magnificent backdrop of Marwell Hall and has transformed the grounds around the hall to an attraction in the heart of the park. The planting only started last winter - formal yew and box hedges provide the backdrop surrounding roses, dianthus, iris, lilies and heritage vegetables. The formal vegetable garden is certainly going to be of great interest both to experienced gardeners and new gardeners inspired by the interest in grow-your-own. White carrots? Green tomatoes? - why not. Maybe some of these historical varieties will have a new lease of life with our constant search to find something new on our plates.

Herbs used for medicinal purposes and historical roses such as Rosa gallica 'Officinalis' - The Apothecary's Rose are a welcome reminder of the important role that plants and gardens have played in our lives through the centuries.

Personally I am particularly pleased to see the creation of a garden built to last - a new heritage garden that will be part of Marwell for years to come. So much in todays gardens is here today and gone tomorrow - this is real gardening and a great tribute to the great team that built it. I really look forward to seeing their next project.

Brideshead Revisited

Last week I embarked on a Hillier Gardening Club holiday to North Yorkshire - our first trip to that neck of the woods. We have been running Hillier holidays for over 10 years now and have many regular travelllers. There were 44 on this tour and I had previously travelled with 40 of them - so really its like going away with a group of friends. We set off early, picking up a few of our number at Newbury, thn on to Kelmarsh Hall in Northamptonshire. This was a lovely garden with an amazing walled garden surrounded by rose gardens and broad herbaceous borders. Fortified with a good lunch we headed on to our base - The Old Swan at Harrogate for our three night stay.

The following morning Parceval Hall at Wharfedale involved splitting the group onto two smaller coaches to negotiate the tortuous roads to the garden. It was noticeably cooler twhen we got off the coach - particularly as the weather had been so warm. However that only sharpened the appreciation of the wonderful air and magnificent views across the moors. We then went on to the magnificent Newby Hall for lunch and the afternoon.

Newby is a remarkable garden with so much to see. The longest mirrored herbaceous borders in Europe are worth the trip on their own. The rose garden was at its peak. The Acer griseum and other treasures in Wilson's corner were an unexpected treat. But everyones favourite was Sylvia's garden - a square sunken garden in a soft cocktail of pink, silver lilac and blue. Everyone loves a girlie garden!

Our next day was one of contrast. The morning in the private garden of Lady Clarissa Collin. A real garden and a real plantsman. We all loved Wytherstone and found treasures we hadn't seen before introduced by that enthusuasm and passion only demonstrated by a real plantman. Lady Clarissa joined us for lunch at the local farm shop - Beadlam Grange. They did us proud and set us up for our visit to Castle Howard. I must admit to being a real Brideshead fan - the TV series. So it was a great treat to be able to drive past the lake, catch that stunning view of the house and remember that haunting theme which played such a part in so many peoples lives a few years back. The gardens are good, but not remarkable. The landscape and scale of the whole is breathtaking and all of us quickly fell under the Brideshead spell.

Our last day in Yorkshire was spent visiting Harlow Carr - the RHS garden just outside Harrogate. The new education centre and garden has just opened and our guide proudly explained the green building and their objectives in encouraging the young to garden. Sarah was in charge of the main floral borders in the garden and I must say these are a work of art - a fusion of herbaceous border and prairie planting. The standard of horticulture was high and the garden is not too big so its possible to revisit areas that have caught your eye in passing. The presence of Betty's Tea Shop on site also made up for our lack of time to indulge in the original branch in the town centre.

After Harlow Carr - the long journey back to Hampshire. Plenty to talk about - lots of gardening chat. Some excellent geology from Prof. Peter Fookes and honorary Hillier with whom I have had the pleasure of travelling on a number of occasions. A Hillier holiday may be short - but you come back feeling that you have been away and seen a lot. We loved Yorkshire and this is a tour that we will definitely run again. Hopefully off to the Channel Islands next year - How about it?

Tales from Tateshina

I didn’t really know what to expect. It was my first visit to Japan; anyone I met just told me it was very different. I had met Miss and Mr Yamada at Chelsea, also Mr Ito from the nursery we had supplied Hillier plants to. Mr Nishimoto from the Barakura garden centre and Mr Ito had visited earlier in the year, along with others associated with the garden.
At the airport I met Andy and Dave from the Brownsover Fish Bar bound for Barakura to cook fish and chips for the Japanese visitors – Yes, it sounds unlikely, but after a few days it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. We met other members of the English party at Narita airport and we boarded the coach for the four hour drive to Tateshina under the guidance of the charming Mr Yamezaki – our host and source of all guidance for the next few days. We stopped en route for a staggeringly good meal of noodles, tempura and broth at the motorway service station. From the outset this unlikely mix of people seemed to gel. We all come from very different walks of life, different parts of the country, and even different parts of the world. But it was a bit like the Chelsea show team – We all had something in common – an objective – To bring an aspect of English life to Japan, and to enjoy and learn from the experience.
The whole Barakura experience is somewhat surreal. Each day we travel the short distance to the garden by coach – The English team arriving together, smiling and waving to the waiting queue of visitors that we meet during the day. On Sunday morning we arrive at the garden in a fleet of Morgan cars – our celebrity status rockets! Morgan Morning!


Each day starts with the morning opening ceremony where the English visitors are introduced to the waiting visitors. We stand on the steps while Mr Yamada introduces us – we bow, perhaps a little self consciously and we feel proud to be part of it all.
The opening ceremony, the commemorative tree planting, the speeches, appearance on Japanese television and the serious job of judging; there are so many aspects to every day. Those of us giving lectures all try to do our best through our wonderfully supportive and understanding interpreters. I love working with Kathy (a Barakura Master!). My biggest concern is always whether I am getting my message across to the audience, when I can’t communicate directly.
I really hope I did! Ian and Tina from Peter Beales Roses joined us on Saturday and were plunged straight into the lecture programme with three sessions on their second day. Their initial concerns were just the same as mine.
The whole trip was only a week from beginning to end – but what a rich experience. It seemed a lot longer and our arrival at Narita on that first evening seems a lifetime way. We were made so welcome and the hospitality of our Japanese hosts was overwhelming. We had a lot laughs and many memorable moments that will stay with us. It was hard to leave – just as it is at the end of every Chelsea show – a mixture of exhaustion, emotion, satisfaction, elation and deflation.
It was my first visit to Japan and Barakura – some of the others have been going for three, four, five or even eight years. Would I go back? – well I’ve been doing Chelsea for 21 years – what do you think?

And a last word from the team: