Welcome to my collection about gardens and their gardeners.
Over the following few months I will likely be including to my common #SixOnSaturday posts with Sunday spots for fellow gardeners.
Meet up with earlier posts on this collection beneath:
Fred and his backyard in Normandy, France right here.
Sarah and her Australian backyard right here.
Páraig and his Irish backyard right here.
Selwa and her Belgium backyard right here.
Amelia and her backyard in Florida right here.
Kate and her backyard in Finland right here.
TopDock and his backyard in Alabama right here.
Arwen and her backyard in Wales right here.
Let’s discover out extra about Catherine, who lots of you would possibly know as Hortus Baileyana, and her backyard.
Please inform us the place on the planet you reside and the way lengthy you may have had your present backyard.
We moved from busy central Nottingham, England to this small village outdoors of town about 12 years in the past. Our earlier gardens had all been very small, so this one, at over 2 acres, is our first massive backyard. We purchased it so our youngsters would have someplace secure to run round however now it’s become my playground.
What’s the fundamental soil sort and what advantages or challenges this and the local weather trigger.
We’re on prime agricultural land. The soil is heavy clay and really fertile, however it dries out within the Summer time making weeding very onerous work. The primary Winter we had been right here temperatures fell to -15C so I’ve learnt by no means to plant something too tender.
Have you ever made any main adjustments to your backyard or have you ever any new plans for adjustments?
Through the years the land had been a horse paddock, a parking lot and even the village cricket pitch, however apart from some mature shrubs and timber there have been no flower borders or vegetable backyard right here in any respect. Like many gardeners earlier than us we learn a number of books and visited Sissinghurst (in fact) and determined to have a go at making a backyard ourselves.
Do you may have a selected backyard model that you simply attempt to maintain to? ie natural, cottage backyard, rose backyard, conventional for the local weather and so on.
I needed to make a backyard that would have been right here within the late nineteenth century when the Arts and Crafts model was at its peak. My preferences have at all times been for some construction supplied by hedges and topiary softened with plenty of tender billowing planting.
We began with a small kitchen backyard; a lot smaller than any Victorian gardener would have discovered acceptable. Subsequent yew hedges had been planted to divide the house into backyard rooms. A Rose backyard was important, with arches and arbours, field hedges and topiary. References to Gertrude Jekyll led me to plans for the Lengthy Border at Munstead Wooden which had been in adequate element to allow them to be recreated right here. There’s plenty of garden and little or no onerous landscaping, so the backyard feels as inexperienced and pure as doable. We’re surrounded by farmland so we have now quite a lot of wildlife sharing the backyard with us.
Inform us about a few of your favorite vegetation and why you want them.
Roses are my favorite plant no doubt. I’ve over 100, and I might fortunately plant many extra if I had the time to prune all of them, however I’m making an attempt to restrict the quantity I purchase nowadays. I feel they’re so romantic with their lengthy historical past and infrequently lovely names. The fragrance is beautiful and surprisingly various. I develop many elderly roses of which I might suggest Queen of Denmark and Tuscany Very good. These flower simply the as soon as. Of the repeat flowering ones, Iceberg is difficult to beat and the David Austin ones, comparable to Sceptere’d Isle are lovely and wholesome.
My different plant obsessions are Bearded Iris. In addition they appear to love it right here and as a watercolour artist, I discover them fantastic to color too.
I actually loved your latest SoS submit which confirmed us your roses. I battle to develop and propagate roses. Do you may have any recommendations of simple rising/ take care of roses and ideas for rising others from cuttings?
I feel the correct soil is vital to rising roses and I’m fortunate as a result of they’re recognized for liking heavy clay. I feed mine with a feed designed for Roses however I’m not loyal to any explicit model. I prune them within the New Yr aiming to complete them by the tip of March. I did a rose pruning course at David Austin roses which was very informative. Prune too late and also you danger weakening the rose.
Regardless of clearing up the fallen leaves and mulching, a number of the roses do get black spot, and even spraying with fungicide won’t resolve the issue utterly. Champagne Second is among the most blackspot resistant ones I develop.
While I’ll have a go at propagating most vegetation, I’ve by no means tried to propagate roses as I’m blissful to go away that to the consultants.
Please be part of me in thanking Catherine for sharing her backyard with us as we speak.
Comply with Catherine and browse extra about her lovely gardens on her weblog right here.
Additionally discover her on Instagram @hortusbaileyana
