The English Garden

I took a GCSE in Latin when I was at school, struggling terribly with the grammar as I wrestled with Ovid and Pliny, and failed to translate texts about Gauls attacking ditches with arrows. I hated every minute of it. Years later, when I changed direction and arrived at horticultural college, I was suddenly immersed in Latin plant names. But this time I loved learning them and their meanings and all the clues they offer to the plants they describe. That’s the difference between studying later in life, when you’ve chosen to do it and it’s a subject you have a real interest in, as opposed to the studying we do at school when we’re too young to appreciate the joy of learning for its own sake. In this issue,…

Mimi Connolly Mimi is an award-winning photographer who uses both traditional film and digital techniques and specialises in gardens and craftspeople. For this issue she visits two Sussex gardens on pages 41 and 79. Ray Cox Ray has been a garden photographer for over 20 years and his family has run Glendoick Garden Centre in Perthshire for three generations. See his photos of Tweedhill and Tunstall Grange on pages 32 and 46. Carolyn Dunster Carolyn is a botanical stylist, award-winning planting designer and garden writer. She is also the author of two books: Urban Flowers (2017) and Cut & Dry (2021). She visits the studio of Zuleika Melluish on page 105. IMAGE JAYNE LLOYD; MIMI CONNOLLY; RAY COX; NICHOLAS HODGSON…

IN FLOWER NOW Anemone hupehensis ‘Prinz Heinrich’ When all around there are fading flowers, Japanese anemones (although this species actually comes from Hupeh in China), step into the spotlight. Try a pale pastel pink like ‘Königin Charlotte’ with soft-toned asters, the ever-reliable white ‘Honorine Jobert’, or, if you want something a bit bolder, go for one of the deep, rich pinks. Of these ‘Prinz Heinrich’ is a lovely choice, with double flowers, their petals slightly quilled, giving a relaxed, informal appearance. Plantswoman Claire Austin calls it “indispensable” and says it can be left untouched for years.…

David Lindo The author, lecturer, presenter and Urban Birder on the serendipitous pleasures of discovering wildlife where you’d least expect it and the spirituality of birdwatching When I was six, I found a library book that contained over 1,000 bird species. I took it into school to read during lessons. By the time I was eight, I knew most of the species – not just the ones in that book. I guess the “10,000 hours of practice” Malcolm Gladwell describes as the key to expertise happened before I was eight. I grew up in an area of London comprised mainly of immigrants. There was no one to teach me or take me to the countryside, so I taught myself. Though, surprised by my interest, my mum forked out for a pair of binoculars.…

Another World Than This at Sissinghurst 23 July-31 October, Kent The National Trust’s Sissinghurst Castle Garden is hosting a specially commissioned installation by Charlotte Smithson. The Manchester-based artist will bring the outdoors in by filling the Oast House with a delicate suspension of glassware containing botanical specimens from the surrounding gardens, encouraging visitors to notice exquisite details found in nature that are often overlooked. Tickets are included in standard garden admission. nationaltrust.org.uk Beautiful & Useful 17 & 18 September, West Sussex Boutique design fair Beautiful & Useful returns to the Sussex Prairie Garden this year with a lineup of top designer-makers, including Jennifer Tetlow, who makes stone bird baths and vases; Laura Baxter and her botanically inspired jewellery; and stitcher and painter Maude Smith of Maude Made, with her hand-painted tea towels. Visitors can also…

I leave my dahlias in the ground over winter because they perform better on my thin soil when left in place to develop a deeper, well-established root system. Winter wet is dahlias’ big enemy, but everyone’s conditions are different and every year is different. With a reasonably mild climate (I am in the East Midlands) and free-draining soil, it is far easier to fling a thick carpet of mulch over them before the frosts and just lift one clump for insurance. The clump sits in a crate in a frost-free place with a bit of compost around it. So often the easiest system turns out to be the superior one! Recent research has turned tree planting techniques on their head. Planting in early autumn, it transpires, is far better than doing…