Garden News | July
There’s no better place to spend a balmy Summer’s day than in a beautiful garden.
After a soggy May, as I sit writing this at the end of June it feels as if we almost skipped Spring and jumped straight into Summer! June has been a proverbial scorcher which hopefully bodes well as we skip merrily into the Summer month of July. There’s no better place to spend a balmy Summer’s day than in a beautiful garden, and they don’t come much better than our 240 acres of Grade I listed gardens here at Leonardslee. We’re often lauded for our Spring displays, and rightly so, but the Summer months can be just as enjoyable here too. Whether it’s taking a shady stroll through our woodland paths, marvelling at some of our historic trees and beautiful wildlife, listening to the bird song or taking pictures of our fascinating flowering plants and stunning views, there’s something for everyone. If you’re a nature lover for instance, there is no better place for a stroll in July than down by the lakes where you’ll be able to catch the likes of dragonflies, damselflies and butterflies becoming more active as we shift into Summer gear.
July is also the month when one or two of Leonardslee’s other feature plants stake a claim for ‘star attraction’. Although the Magnolias, Rhododendrons, Azaleas and Camellias have mostly had their moments in the spotlight for this year, now it’s the turn of the Cornus and Hydrangea. The Cornus, or Flowering Dogwoods if you prefer, started their floral explosion in June but should continue their display well into July too. It’s been one of the best years I’ve ever seen for flowering trees – from the Tulip Tree on the house lawn to the Davidia trees on Daffodil Lawn and at the bottom of Camellia Grove for instance, as well of course as the myriad of flowering dogwoods. We have well over 100 specimens of Cornus and over 40 different species and cultivars. Cornus kousa ‘Miss Satomi’ at the bottom of the main path from the entrance building is always a firm favourite for our visitors, but I also have a soft spot for ‘Eddie’s White Wonder’ as it was the first Dogwood I’d ever seen when I began my gardening apprenticeship at Sir Winston Churchill’s home in Kent many years ago. Here at Leonardslee, you’ll find it in various spots around the garden including at the Memorial Table. We’re considering applying for National Collection status for our Cornus trees in the near future so will continue to add more interesting types over the coming years.
Tulip Tree
As for the Hydrangeas, this year also looks like being the best year for their floral bounty since I’ve been here at Leonardslee. Some of that might be due to the weather – last Summer’s high temperatures followed by a very cold spell in Winter and sandwiched by a wet Autumn and early Spring seems to have helped many of the hardy plants here. However, we also pruned them all slightly differently too this year. We strayed from the advised RHS method as well as our own previous experience with working with Hydrangeas, and instead only pruned them back to the top fat buds rather than down to the lowest double set as is usual. This was done back in March and April and was swiftly followed by a good organic feed and mulch. Either way, it seems to have worked and I can’t wait for them all to flower this year. You’ll find our Hydrangeas in many shades of pink, purple and white near the Crystal Palace entrance building, around the Rock Garden and below the Clocktower Courtyard for example. However, we have plans afoot to plant a lot more Hydrangeas over the coming years in some of the further areas around the lakes to really boost the Summer interest there, so watch this space for more details.
Hydrangeas
Talking of new plants and planting schemes, as you wander around the top areas of the garden at the moment you’ll spot plenty of interesting new flowers and foliage to admire. Our displays around the house and in the Herbaceous Beds opposite are into their second year now so should be really filling out as Summer develops. We lost a few choice specimens in the aforementioned harsh Winter spell (such as all of our treasured Echium pininana plants for instance) but some of the highlights to look out for will include the purple and orange exotic scheme around the south and east sides of the mansion where the likes of Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’ (Abyssinian Banana) and Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Amber Jubilee’ (Ninebark Shrub) will be drawing attention. Around the outskirts of the Rock Garden opposite the house look out for the likes of some interesting Amicia zygomeris, a non-invasive Acanthus mollis called ‘Rue Leden’, delicate yellow-flowered Innula oreintalis and Hedychium gardnerianum, also known as the Kahili Ginger plant to name but a few. One of my garden team, Dan, has also been creating some fantastic container displays around the cafes and welcome areas this year and they will be a riot of colour throughout the whole Summer so make sure you check those out too.
As lovely as a British Summer can be, the hot weather isn’t without it’s challenges for the garden team however, as watering some of our plants becomes a priority. Some plants start to wilt when the amount of water they lose through their leaves (known as transpiration) is greater than the amount they can draw in from the soil through their roots. Established trees and shrubs and long-standing perennials should have an extensive root system to tap deeper water, but any newly planted specimens, such as those mentioned earlier, will need keeping an eye on. Dan’s pots and containers will also need regular watering as the volume of compost in them can only hold a limited amount of water.
So, as always, lots to see and do in the garden here at Leonardslee. There is something new to stumble upon somewhere every day so get out there and explore!
Elliot from my team will be leading a Tree Walk on July 19th and a Wildflower Walk on the 21st for instance. I look forward to seeing you here during July…
Jamie Harris, Head Gardener
