Bath woodland bed [dry shade, small space] - a work in progress
It has
to be said I am not happy with my 'woodland' bed. It has been in existence
for a further 5 years since I first wrote this piece
,
and it is sort of working. The bed is only 12 ft long by 6ft at it's widest
point. It is not an enviable site, it receives no direct sunlight at
all for nearly 6 months of the year. One side is bordered by a large
Bath stone wall and it faces North. When we have frosts in this
fairly sheltered town garden, if the temperature stays low, all the plants
in the woodland bed remain clamped in their cold state for days on end
with no remission.
The soil is a mixture of scalpings and some soil from the paving slabs that were the previous occupants of the whole garden, spent compost, some fresh compost and an infrequent leafmould mulch. In Spring everything gets a dose of chicken pellet manure. I also inherited a scabby Pyracantha and an Escallonia which are semi trained up the wall and demand quite a lot from the bed in terms of moisture, light and root space. The soil dries out badly in the summer which stresses some of the juicier growers.
The original idea for the woodland bed was to have a very 'cool' planting, bringing together strong leaf shapes and different shades of green with a few highlight touches, but for the most part to use no yellow foliage or variegation. I also required favourite and 'focus' plants for seasonal flowering interest as the bed is close to the house and at the front is almost eye-level.
The plan was to have a wood-edge feel, small shrubs and dappled shade plants. I also had a collection of ferns that I wanted to find a mixed context for. Too many ferns together give a stiff and formal 'Victorian' feel and was not what I was looking for. I wanted a gentler picture starting with 'spring' woodland which had some interest rolling through the months. If this sounds arty it isn't, it's just about trying to get the 'feel' right, at least for me, gentle, subtle, cool, lush [without being exotic] and sustained interest. I picked some key 'small' shrubs and the main planting was to be ferns and Hostas
I
know ferns are sometimes regarded as boring and old fashioned, as
well as being mainly acid and moisture lovers and generally tetchy. Not
true, there really is a good selection of leaf shape, colour and deciduous
/ evergreen and alkaline philes. I 
adore
the simple Hart's Tongue Fern that grows in woods and roadsides
around here, even the name is evocative. They seem happy growing wild
in this and other parts of Somerset and look particularly effective clustered
in the old mine workings at a local Nature Reserve, Brown's Folly, a touch
of the gothic perhaps but fun not formal.
The hostas were mainly grown from seed and I have been too lazy to work out which they are, but one packet went a long way!
I also planted a Gunnera which is not the usual manicata nor is it tinctoria [not entirely sure but in my parents garden with it's feet in a pond it only ever makes about 2 - 3ft, a typical manicata could make over 6 feet in a year]. Planting the Gunnera was in adherance to a design comment that says think big in small spaces. Some of the 'tropical' style gardeners such as Miles Challis and Will Giles have shown this to work well to exuberant effect. My Gunnera is in less than ideal conditions and it hangs on producing 2 - 3 leaves a year and a flower spike. Whilst I aspire to a full-on Gunnera manicata, neither the conditions in the garden or the space available would suit it.
For late flowers I have planted Persicaria amplexicaulis Alba, Cimicifuga racemosa [2007 - hated it and disappeared] and Saxifraga fortunei, all bear white flowers and don't start to kick-in until at least September. The lovely reddish fleshy saxifrage starts flowering in October, the thin white tails of the Persicaria only stop with the first hard frost.
The shrubs
I originally planted were Sarcococca hookeriana digyna, an evergreen
with scented flowers in January, Drimys lanceolata, an evergreen
which seems fortunately to be very slow growing. An inherited Hydrangea
asperula subsp. sargentiana [no less!], a Wiegela maximowitzii
which hides most of the year, Abelia triflora, and Philadelphus [Mock
orange] Manteau 
d'Hermine,
a dwarf double. The Philadelphus and Abelia have been re-located to other
gardens as they had done their filler-in job after two years. I also found
out how big the Abelia got when I saw a large specimen at the National
Trust gardens at Hidcote. I think the balance now of evergreen and deciduous
works OK and nothing is growing particularly fast which is good. [2007
- the Weigela, and the Sarcoccoca have also been relocated and the Drimys
savagely cut back, picture to the right shows the size before it was cut
back, and it will be heavily pruned from now on].
I also decided to plant a couple of climbers up the inherited shrubs on the wall, Lonicera similis delavyi [like a refined L.halliana japonica but very vigorous, be warned! 2007 - never again!] and a Solanum jasminoides Album [2007 - it died]
Some 'bulbs' are planted in the woodland bed, but I decided early on that a spring planting which included daffodils, even the smallest, just would not work, they would 'blare out' and the shade would probably make them stringy. I have a few judicious specials such as Iris winowgradii Katherine Hodgkin. Having recently planted her I am not sure whether I shall see her rather ghostly bruised flowers again. I also have a double yellow snowdrop Galanthus nivalis Lady Elphinstone tucked into the lee of a fern. Other tubery, bulby things include a cultivar of the Common spotted orchid, a number of different varieties of our native wood anemone, Anenome nemorosa. I am trying to encourage Arisaema consanguineum and A.candidissimum, exotic relations of our common 'Cuckoo Pint' which is found wild in woods and hedgerows, but very different. Another arum-like oddity I grow is Pinellia pedatisecta. [2007 - win some, lose some in this section, survivors include a relocated elsewhere Snowdrop and Pinellia, still in situ Anenome nemorosa, Dactylhoriza fuchsii and Arisaema consanguineum].
The woodland bed is a quiet pleasure, I can appreciate the emerging shoots of various plants from inside the house on cold spring days and the last burst of back lit autumn flowers and spiders webs.
So
what is the problem?
It started
with the hostas. Slugs and snails abound in the garden with lots of snug
pockets in the crumbling walls and ivy. A woodland bed is de facto going
to be a nice moist environment for the gastropods and their offspring.
Grit, organic and 'blue' slug pellets, and nematodes [for the burrowing
slugs] have all really done little to alleviate the wholesale destruction
that they wreaked on the Hostas through the growing season. I do have
toads and a resident frog in the garden, but some of the slugs look somewhat
beyond them in terms of size, [to the point they also found a way into
my kitchen and ate their way into flour packets and anything else they
could find, perhaps the Bath slug being urban is particularly feisty?].
The garden is too enclosed for snail eaters such as thrushes to feel 'comfortable' so I see little birdlife of the mollusc eating kind. One by one I have had to remove the hostas and they are now resident in pots elsewhere in the garden [and making a splendidly lush show at their peak]. However removing the hostas took a major 'punch' out of the planting.
The dryness and the shade have also contributed towards the problems in finding suitable new candidates to go with the ferns. So now I am stuck! Certain types of Geranium are often recommended [not the brassy kind, but the wildish/cottagey types]. In growth they are generally too fey and sulk in the deeper shade. So far Geranium clarkei Kashmir White has had to be re-located, Geranium himalayense is sulking, Geranium x 'Ann Folkard' does do well but adds to the sprawl, and Geranium orientalitibeticum disappears after flowering into a mass of woodruff. [2007 - only remaining geranium is Ann Folkard]
In a
good year e.g. moist, the Dicentra formosa does well, and earlier
in the year Fringe Cups, Tellima grandiflora, makes a good big show before
retreating to a contained mound of evergreen leaves. One fern Dryopteris
erythrosora has been moved once 
already
in order to encourage it to perform better. It is evergreen and puts on
very late [for most ferns] bronzey new growth in late May, and with me
it makes about 18" high. In its current position it still adds to the
muddled effect however. [2007 - Tellima got too big and gross -
relocated]
The Woodruff, Gallium odoratum contributes to the muddle too. I grew it from seed, I planted it, and it is now so established as to be a weed by any other name. So now is the Moschatel - never mind!
The slugs and snails are also very good at razing back to ground level freshly emerging shoots on some plants, which later they largely leave alone until an Autumn feeding frenzy. The Willow gentian takes a hammering and one Epimedium, E. grandiflorum White Queen has never recovered from this continual grazing at a critical period in the spring. This is a shame as Epimediums could help to bind the planting together better. Last year I bought a plant new to me Stylophorum diphyllum which has lobed leaves and has helped to add more solidity to the bed and which so far doesn't seem attractive to the slithering types. [2007 - I have recently read that E grandiflorum is not partial to alkaline soil anyway, I have since added E x rubrum, doesn't flower a lot but is spreading well, Epimedium x omeiense Akane, Epimedium wushanense Caramel hated it and this spring Epimedium chlorandrum from Pan Global Plants]
There
are, I hasten to add, pleasures to be got from this 'failure' despite
the fact it doesn't work as a whole. There are points in late May when
it is lush and full of promise, when the Sweet Cicely is at its granny
smithest green softened further by white flowers [another cow parsley
lookalike and one I would attempt to tuck somewhere in any garden I have].
The willing Dicentras with their chicken feet leaves that uncurl
from the soil to expand into great ferny masses. Two years ago in a really
wet 
summer,
the species was almost unstoppable, drier conditions keep it within bounds.
The Hydrangea also gives good 'oomph' at a certain point - dramatic heart
shaped furred leaves emerge from unlikely looking stems, and the large
mop heads with a blue and purple central boss and white fringing of florets
is quite dramatic. [2007 - the hydrangea was probably a mistake
should have gone for the more delicate villosa]
So what is the learning? It is still work in progress after 3 years [now 8 years], I have removed plants and moved them around, but am still waiting for that inspiration to get it to 'gel' within the original parameters I set myself. I could very easily just repeat blocks of planting to get an effect and slam in a whole load of evergreens and just use shears to cut back every so often [e.g. the municipal approach], but that is not the point!
Have I failed? yes so far. Have I learned anything? yes lots - the story begins again in the Spring. I am considering moving a few more things and also consulting my gardening books for inspiration, Beth Chatto suggests Hellebores……..and I have also found a kindred spirit in a gardener writing in 1915, E. A. Bowles whose books I am dipping in and out of at the moment.
Edward Augustus Bowles 1865 - 1954
I have to admit it, I have not read in detail any of Bowles' books, I tried 'My Garden in Spring' years ago but found it a bit 'arch'. I am currently dipping in and out of 'My Garden in Autumn and Winter' and am finding his enthusiasm more infectious now. I haven't actually grown many of the plants which either bear his name or are attributed to him. Bowles' golden grass was one of those 'must haves' of the late 1980's alongside the yellow Valerian [Valeriana phu aurea]* .
Alex Pankhurst wrote a book, 'Who Does Your Garden Grow?' because she was motivated by a curiosity to find out more about the people behind many of the 'named' plants we grow. E.A Bowles is relatively easy it has to be said, and a web search brings up many references to his books and plant descriptions. It appears that he coined the 'frog spawn' description for Euphorbia chariacas for example and the 'lunatic asylum' with it's corkscrew hazel and other oddities.
Alex Pankhurst lists 24 plants bearing his name or that of his garden at Myddelton House in North London. These include Carex stricta 'Bowles' Golden Sedge and Milium effusum aureum, 'Bowles' Golden Grass' [ I didn't know there were two golden 'grasses' to his name]; Colchicum and Crocus chrysanthus, Viola 'Bowles' Black' and Ranunculus ficaria E A Bowles [syn. Colarette]. She notes some plants attributed to him he may not have known, such as the purple Cheiranthus 'Bowles' Mauve',and other plants may have had Bowles' name appended because he was generous in sharing plants that would subsequently be referred to as' from Bowles' garden'. He also bred a series of Crocus, at least one of which, 'Snow Bunting' is still widely available in commerce, and selected an Iris reticulata which he named 'Cantab' [Cambridge University are called 'the light blues' which is the colour of this Iris].
On the web I also came across a Crocosmia E.A Bowles [syn. Eldorado] , Rhodotypos, Santolina, Hemerocallis [introduced by Perry in 1926], Hepatica and an Anenome nemorosa 'Bowles' Purple' [wood anenome].
So who
was he? To quote Alex Pankhurst, 'probably the greatest amateur gardener
of his time'. He was a life fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society
serving on a wide number of committees, and a friend to many other gardeners
and growers such as Amos Perry, [Perry's of Enfield], William Stearns,
Miss Jessopp [of the Rosemary fame] and many others.
After he died in 1954 his garden at Myddelton House fell into disrepair
but is now looked after by a trust and is being lovingly restored.
The additional information below and corrections to the above kindly supplied
by Roger Holland Chairman of the E A Bowles of Myddelton House Society
E A
Bowles was certainly one of the greatest gardeners of his day and served
on a considerable number of RHS committees for longer than anyone else
in the Society' s history. He was one of the steering group that developed
the RHS Garden at Wisley and there is in the garden a Bowles' Corner to
commemorate the man who did so much for the Society.
As well as being in touch with Amos Perry, one of his protegees was Frances
Everett, who subsequently became one of the best-known gardeners of the
next generation under her married name of Frances Perry. Incidentally,
Miss Euphemia Jessopp, (the correct spelling) was a neighbour of his.
Crocus x jessoppiae was raised by him and named after her (see p 134 of
the 1952 revision of his Handbook of Crocus and Colchicum).
His garden at Myddelton House certainly did fall into disrepair after
his death but a considerable amount of restoration has been done in recent
times and it is well worth a visit. However, it is not owned by a trust
but by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, who have their headquarters
in the house itself. The National Collection is of award-winning bearded
Irises.
Apart from his horticultural work he was also a great local benefactor.
Among other things, several generations of local boys were allowed to
use the garden and he took a great interest in their education, setting
up a night school nearby. My father-in-law was one of the 'Bowles Boys'
as they were known and like so many others held him in high regard and
respect. When our Society launched an appeal to raise the capital sum
to fund an award for horticultural students we received several from people
whose fathers had been 'Bowles Boys'. They wanted to contribute in recognition
of the assistance their fathers had received from him.
Our society was set up mainly by local people who wanted to preserve his
memory in the area, though we are of course also interested in his horticultural
legacy. Currently we are putting together a collection of Crocus chrysanthus
cultivars. This is a species he did a lot of work on and the 'Snow Bunting'
you mention is one if its progeny. Our hope is that we shall shortly be
in a position to apply for National Collection status. Incidentally, the
Crocus 'E A Bowles' you mention appears no longer to be in existence.
All I have so far seen masquerading under this name are 'E P Bowles' which
is similar but distinct. If anyone reading this can point me at the real
thing you will earn my and the Society's undying gratitude.
Roger Holland, Chairman, E A Bowles of Myddelton House Society
(Registered charity, no 1020908)
Link to the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority who own Myddelton House
References: Who Does Your Garden Grow? Alex Pankhurst [1992] Earl's Eye Publishing
My Garden in Spring, My Garden in Summer, My Garden in Autumn and Winter E A Bowles [available secondhand and reprints - Timber Press]
[* I once took some yellow valerian as my contribution to a plant sale only to have one of the more senior gardening members snort 'VIRUS!' at me and stomp off - nearly put me off gardening for good!]
Not strictly a nursery but a seed catalogue stuffed full of desirables, hardy and tender, exotic and British native plants. It is very spartan in style compared to it's nearest comparison Thompson & Morgan, the catalogue has no pictures at all. I guess there is a bit of plant upmanship in choosing one over the other. Some years I go purely on the descriptions, other years I plough assiduously through reference books for pictures. The plants are listed by their Latin names, but don't be put off, it is really a very friendly catalogue. Chiltern and T&M don't have identical stock so both are worth checking out, and the T&M catalogue and web site do have a lot of pictures, then it comes down to value for money.
I have been buying seeds on and off from Chiltern for years. In the early days my enthusiasm got the better of my growing skills [and still does]. I had some early successes, even if shortlived, with some of the seed from Australia and South Africa, Pelargonium triste, [small greeney brown scented flowers, tender], Acacia retinodes and Melasphaerula ramosa, [a tender grassy looking thing with small yellowish scented flowers] spring to mind. I also have a Clerodendrum trichotomum now 10 feet high and a Catalpa bignonioides at 20 feet high, both grown from seed. One year I grew a banana, Musa ensete, which was quite exciting, but I have never succeeded again.
There is something satisfying about growing plants from seed. This year has been a non-scholarly one, I have gone mainly on descriptions, and so far none of my choices is showing in the propagator on the windowsill as a lot of them seem to need warm/cold treatment to kick the seeds into life, patience!
Two of my choices made from the catalogue description........
"Cimicifuga simplex 'Blackthorn Strain'
This is a most splendid two-for-the price-of-one variety. With highly ornamental dark purple foliage, outstanding most of the gardening year, it bears long dense spikes of white flowers with foliage-matching hint of cream and pink in the blooms giving considerable added interest in autumn. 6 - 7 ft
Athamanta cretensis - Candy Carrot
From rocky places and screes in the mountains of southern Europe comes this rather delightful plant - calling it "carrot-like" does it no favours............ "
No not a clue what this one looks like, so wish me luck!
Very slow-growing evergreen shrub, it's dark green leathery leaves contrast with the fantastic ruddy stems. The leaves are very formally arranged in whorls, the whole shrub has a gnarly open growth. I originally bought this shrub because it was supposed to have scented flowers, I can't really detect much of a scent though from the off-white puffs. It apparently comes from Australia and grows quite high up into the mountains making up to 10m in ideal conditions.
If I had the space and conditions, as it is not absolutely hardy e.g. down to -10° C, I would grow Drimys winteri, an evergreen tree with large icy offwhite heavily scented flowers in spring. There are some fantastic specimens at Greenway gardens in Devon.*
* It is Agatha Christie's old home recently acquired by The National Trust. There used to be a great nursery specialising in rarer trees and shrubs mainly from Australasia and South America [that is where my Drimys lanceolata came from]. I understand that the Trust closed the nursery down when they took over - shame!
For more information about these and many other plants please go to my plant index pages
@Kari's Garden 2002 - 2007 partial update 2005 and April 2007