Welcome to the second of our new series of blogs featuring the photos and sightings of wildlife in the garden (and our outreach sites like Chattowood) by our staff.
Weekly catch up with gardens & propagation
POSTED 28th March 2025
Garden Team
Garden intern Olivia reflects on her month at Beth Chatto’s
What a varied month it’s been. Four weeks ago, morning frost dusted the garden’s chocolatey architecture and now the sun beats down on colour and green shoots bursting with life. There’s something new to marvel at every day.
I came here to boost my plant knowledge and study Beth’s motto of ‘right plant, right place’. Thanks to generous sponsorship from bursaries, I’m also here to observe how alpine and steppe plants grow here and at Klinta Tradgard versus their endemic relatives in the Caucasus.
My month began mulching the gravel garden. Beth’s famous Scree and Gravel Gardens was inspired by holidays hiking the Alps. Featuring plants from around the world - all lovingly researched by her husband Andrew - they’re about that moment of discovery: scrabbling across a rocky escarpment and noticing a flock of Scilla sardensis or Sedum obtusifolium tenaciously pushing through the cracks in sun bleached crag. Tucked up in their mulch, Tulipa cretica are finally out as are the bergenia. Their colours dazzle against the pale stones. How incredible to think the Gravel Garden was a car park 35 years ago.
The mysterious Reservoir Garden has fascinated me. Planted in 2015-17, this steep and exposed area has confounded this team of experts. Why has the panicum and Achillea ‘Lansdorferglut’ failed? Åsa and Steve think the answer could be the steppe-like conditions. Steppes are the prairies grasslands of west and central Eurasia, similar to North American prairies and African Savannahs. Soil texture varies metre to metre, so plant selections are hyper local. Yesterday we planted Verbena macdouglii ‘Lavender Spires’ in the centre, Parthenium integrifolium in the top clay section and Salvia austriaca in the sandy steepest bit.
Stints at Chattowood and Colchester’s Meanwhile Garden took Beth’s teaching ‘into the wild’. With no soil to retain moisture, the plants selected are for their drought tolerance as much as their floral allure. I’d like to revisit to see how the Spartium junceum I planted at Chattowood gets on at the top of a windy steep bank. It grows well in similar conditions in the Caucasus. Twinned with a visit to John Little’s Hilldrop, the Meanwhile Garden got me thinking about who a garden is for. Creating spaces for ground nesting bees and cutting back in increments creates prime habitats for butterflies. This is mindful gardening, where every decision must be justified. It’s an excellent discipline whatever you grow.
It’s been an expansive month. I’ve learned over 80 new plants. It’s taught me to think why and how to garden by condition. The team have been generous with their time and knowledge. What a privilege! Thank you for having me!
Thanks also to the Hardy Plant Society, the RHS, Scottish Rock Garden Club and Merlin Trust for their generous bursary sponsorship.
Propagation Team
The warmer weather has arrived, just as promised and cries of 'IT'S AAALLIIIIVVEE!' are echoing around the tunnels, as seemingly everything is shooting up at once!
Propagation Manager Annie-Rose is practically vibrating with excitement for the emergence of our veratrums. Annie headed down to our stockbeds to see how our veratrum stock were coming along. Our potted V. californicum and V. album aren't as fancy on top just yet, but are well established beneath and are now available through our website.
Mel and Rob have been busy releasing lots of new plants which are ready for sale. You can see Mel pictured with the stunning Libertia peregrinans, which many have been waiting for! Bringing these orange spikes into your garden, which in time through its running stolons, will add little bursts of Libertia flame throughout your beds. Get them in now and enjoy the warmth they will add in the winter months.
Katie is currently visiting us from Chatsworth and is spending time with Emily and Debs, learning new propagation skills. It's been an absolute pleasure to have Katie here this week and we all look forward to seeing her again soon.
As always, the stockbed team of Miya and Sean have been weeding, mulching and lifting. Whilst Kathy and Hollie have been potting furiously many future treasures. Of course, we have been picking and packing your orders, which we are so thankful for. Spring is here! The perfect time to bring a piece of Beth's garden into yours.
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