With 2024 bowing its Gregorian head towards its own new beginning, we look back on the year here within the production department at Beth Chatto’s, towards some special moments. It has truly been a time of great change, and with such, often arises novel challenges to overcome. Where fresh understanding, belief and unbridled passion become a vital component to achieving the successes each of us wish for. As horticulturists, we are no stranger to change, in fact, we depend upon it. We strive for change, nurture it, experiment and search for better ways to flourish. And as this is said of our plants, it can also be stated for ourselves, and by casting our view back upon the year we can take joy in our achievements and our embrace of the ever changing.
JANUARY
Is there a better place to start the year than January? Possibly, but nevertheless this is where we are bound to begin! January 2024 came with all the hallmarks of why the month isn’t always thought of the fondest, but here it can be a real time of excitement, all thanks to the much-adored genus galanthus. This year, Marc and Steve managed to find and identify an additional thirty varieties of snowdrop to add to the new records, bringing our tally up to around eighty distinct plants in the garden. Galanthus elwesii ‘Peter Gatehouse’, Galanthus ‘Richard Ayres’ and Galanthus ‘Galadriel’ are some of the varieties to have joined the Galanthus Records in 2024, with hopefully many more to follow in 2025.
FEBRUARY
Leading on from our progress with the Galanthus Records, we took a host of these heavenly blooms to Fullers Mill (an absolute wonderland of woodland and waterside plants). Marc, Steve, Hollie and Hannah, accompanied Galanthus ‘Magnet’, Galanthus nivalis f. pleniflorus ‘Blewbury Tart’, and Galanthus elwesii ‘Tuesday’s Child’, and many other varieties for a wonderful couple of days of showing our love for the genus with those with a shared passion - and shared passion always deserves a spotlight!
MARCH
We were delighted to welcome back Debbie to the propagation department. Debbie began her career at the garden in 1987 training under Beth’s guidance. With her return we gained a plethora of knowledge, skill and expertise which throughout the rest of the year we have benefited so greatly from. We also welcomed Rob to the team, who was a blank slate, or… empty stock bed… coming to the garden with no experience but with heaps of passion and energy, and a peculiar love of insects. Debbie has already made a huge difference, leading alongside Emily the cuttings and seedlings area of propagation. Whilst Rob runs the biological control measures within the department, our social media articles, and continues to train under the exceptional tutorship of Tina Daniels in plant care and stock control.
APRIL
Usually in April, we expect to start our run of events and shows at Great Dixter, but due to some adverse weather conditions and a change of date, we started our show calendar in 2024 by attending the stunning Garden Museum. The Garden Museum is a very special place for us here as it holds Beth’s archive which was deposited there in 2015, and was even the venue for a celebration for what would have been Beth’s 100th birthday in 2023. Returning to this place to talk about our plants, Beth’s innovation for ecological planting and her continuing legacy, takes the spotlight for April, deservedly so. We also held the first ever Miscanthus Championship where two teams raced to dig up the notoriously well rooted plant. Miya and Rob were the fastest to bring up Miscanthus ‘Beth Chatto’, whilst Marc and Hollie excelled in Miscanthus ‘Poseidon’, the latter taking the crown as Miscanthus Champions of 2024.
MAY
It’s a time all of us in horticulture long for, an almost divine month in the plant lovers’ calendar. Of course, we are talking of the RHS Chelsea Garden Show! May 2024 saw our first real involvement since 1987, and what an emotional return it was. Emily and Miya worked with unparalleled commitment to create plants for garden designer Emma O’Connell and conceptual artist John Waland’s The Freedom from Torture Garden A Sanctuary for Survivors. We are so immensely proud of our involvement, and particularly Emily for her sheer dedication, pulling together all her experience and brilliance to create the plants needed to tell the important story they needed to within the garden.
JUNE
June brought with it a workload we had anticipated, so the stage was set! Rob and Annie had cleared space within the polytunnels, a task which with the heat was no easy feat. And then they arrived… forty thousand plugs! Over the course of three weeks, Kathy, Mel, Hollie, Hannah and Sol pushed, and potted by hand, all forty thousand plants. The fastest this has ever been achieved! A mid-year victory.
JULY
We hit the road in July with Emily, Debbie and Rob heading down south to the awe-inspiring Great Dixter. We are proud of our shared history together with Dixter and visiting the garden where Beth created so many memories with Christopher Lloyd always instils a great sense of importance in continuing the connection between both gardens. It was Rob’s first time visiting the magic of Dixter, and he had the opportunity to attend talks by many wonderful nurseries who shared propagation techniques, wisdom and passion tenfold. Energised from our super weekend away, Emily, Rob and Hannah got bulb-chipping once back at the garden!
AUGUST
Augustwas a special month, a month of firsts, as production manager Annie-Rose lead her first event and guided the Beth Chatto team on its first appearance at the BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair, hosted at the breathtaking Audley End. Annie-Rose and Emily designed and built two feature displays, showcasing not only their incredible artistic talent, but also the rich variety of plants we have in bloom at this time of year. Marc also took to the stage at Audley End where he was warmly received as he told the history of our garden.
SEPTEMBER
Septemberbelongs to Hollie who was awarded with a much-deserved distinction for the completion of her Level 2 Horticulture & Landscape Operative Apprenticeship. Hollie also completed her Level 2 RHS Certificate in the Principles and Practices of Horticulture. Beth wasn’t only a champion of design and of plants, but also of education, laying the foundation for budding horticulturists to learn and develop – a principle maintained and celebrated with achievements such as those earned by Hollie. Well done! We were also blessed this month by the return of Sean who had been travelling Australia the previous year. Sean, a trained landscape architect, and all round superhuman, came back to the fold with his enviable cool demeanour, to help organise planting on several projects, and continues to support Miya in maintaining our stock beds.
OCTOBER
It was an experimental time in October in the production department, as we trialled a period of free postage to accompany our annual October plant deals. We were delighted that so many of our patrons, and a host of new customers, took the chance to bring a piece of Beth’s Garden into theirs. We picked, pruned and packed a high quantity of plants, keeping us all exceptionally busy, but thank you all, truly, for keeping us that way! Of course, all our other October jobs still needed to be completed despite the high rate of orders, but by supporting each other, and a few late finishes, we were successful, and it is this team work we highlight this month.
NOVEMBER
Previously I spoke of our connection with Great Dixter, through the timeless friendship of Beth Chatto and Christopher Lloyd, but November was about celebrating Beth’s friendship with artist and plant enthusiast Cedric Morris. Beth and Cedric’s friendship is well documented, and inspiration from Cedric’s Garden had a monumental impact on Beth’s own style. The garden in question was Benton End, which was lost following Cedric’s passing. However, Cedric was an avid sharer of plants, and many of his incredible varieties still thrive here, due to his generosity and mentorship of Beth. Benton End is rightfully being restored, by garden champions such as James Horner, who paid us a visit in November to collect seeds for this restoration project. This is a real testament to friendship, and our spotlight for the month shines brightest upon this.
DECEMBER
Decemberarrived in a cacophony of ‘Where does the year go?’ and a few lively discussions about the acceptable time for the radio to play Christmas songs. There is only one place, or person, the spotlight this month should fall upon, and that is our manager Annie-Rose. 2024 was Annie’s first full year in management of the production department, and her influence on the team cannot be stated with enough praise. There have been many obstacles, difficulties, and trying times, but as a team we were able to overcome these moments, much in thanks to Annie’s determination, empathy and ardent dedication to each of us and the work we do. She also held an awards ceremony where each of us received a specific certificate for our work. The certificates, yet only paper, held much weight, as feeling seen, heard and appreciated by those who manage you is the epitome of brilliant leadership and is where December’s spotlight points.
A very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year from the production team!
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