Garden News | May 2024

As you have noticed, spring is very early this year. The warm, wet winter has encouraged plants to literally spring into action at least 3 or 4 weeks ahead of their normal schedule. From Daffodils in February to Magnolias in March, it’s been interesting and exciting to see so much flowering here at Leonardslee over the last few months. And this means that as we enter May, much of the peak season explosion of colour is already well under way so make sure you visit here again as soon as you can to catch it all. But don’t worry, there’s still plenty more to come.

Loderi Garden

The Loderi Garden and the plants growing there are the reason why Leonardslee is World famous and why people travel for miles to come and see us, so that should be on everyone’s visiting list this month. As you walk the myriad of paths that meander toward The Dell through this part of the garden you’ll be stopped in your tracks by the sheer range of colours, the gorgeous scents and the sheer scale of the Rhododendrons and Azaleas blooming away in here during May. Some of my favourites include the deep, glossy red of Rhododendron ‘Oporto’ for instance or the unusual parma violet-coloured ‘Saint Tudy’. However, the real stars of the show here are the Loderi hybrids. Often cited as the finest Rhododendron hybrid collection ever created, these are termed as ‘glamour’ Rhododendrons, and for good reason. Back in 1901, twelve years after purchasing Leonardslee, Sir Edmund Loder started to breed his collection. He took the pollen from a R. griffithianum sourced from his friend Colonel Godman’s glasshouse across the road at South Lodge and combined that with the female flower parts of his own R. fortunei, and the rest is history. In truth, it took six years for his first cross to flower but he eventually created over 30 Loderi hybrids, some of which didn’t flower until after he sadly passed away in 1920. The griffithianum parentage provided the large flowers and attractive bark that you see on the plants today while the fortunei genes gave their delicious scent, hardiness and tree-like growth. Incidentally, the scent of a Loderi rhodie in full bloom has to be my most favourite smell in the whole World! Make sure you grab a nose-full when you’re next passing one!

Today, Leonardslee is the only place where you can find a complete collection of Loderi hybrid Rhododendrons and the original specimens truly are a sight to behold. Incidentally, Sir Giles Loder (Edmund’s Grandson) planted the Coronation Garden up on the eastern slopes from Leucothoe Pond with another collection of these hybrids, to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952. If you miss the original Loderi hybrids flowering in early May, the younger specimens in the Coronation Garden are usually slightly behind their siblings and will flower a little later.

These Loderi hybrids, together with many other Rhododendrons bred here at Leonardslee by generations of the Loder family, form part of our recently awarded Plant Heritage National Collection. Look out for signs and further information on some of the key specimens throughout the garden and see how many you can spot. Some of my favourites include ‘Leonardslee Primrose’ near Clapper Pond for example and which was introduced by Lady Loder after Sir Edmund’s passing and ‘Loderi Georgette’ which is the pinkest of all the Loderis and can be found near the wallabies.

While you’re in the Loderi Garden, make sure you try and find our Diabelia spathulata shrub along Middle Walk. Covered in drooping bell-like white flowers, it has an interesting history. Although relatively common in Southern Japan, when it was introduced to the UK in 1880 it proved difficult to keep alive and Leonardslee is now one of only two known locations of this plant in the whole of the British Isles.

Another unique and fascinating part of the garden that you really cannot afford to miss in May is of course the Rock Garden. The first part of the garden to be created by Sir Edmund Loder once he purchased the estate and constructed by Pulham & Sons (the Royal-approved Chelsea designers of their day), this area really is an oasis in May. The cloud-pruned Azaleas will be in full bloom this month and perfectly complimented by the emerging Acer foliage above and splashes of newly planted alpines, ferns and herbaceous perennials beneath. With the trickle of the waterfall and the birds and insects flitting merrily about, this is a perfect place to get lost and experience true serenity. Some particular May highlights in there include the Exochorda macrantha near the pond for example with its clusters of sweet white blooms, the acid green foliage of the British & Irish Champion Acer palmatum ‘Seiryu’ up on the Eastern ridge or the stunning orange hairy indumentum on the underside of the Rhododendron pachysanthum leaves down on the main path.

To the north of Camellia Grove lie the Bluebell Banks. Aptly named, these slopes on the west side of the lakes are covered in floral rivers of Hyacinthoides non-scripta, or Bluebells to you and me, in May. Delicately scented and a true sign of Spring, bluebells are also a key indicator species for ancient woodland areas like Leonardslee. This year has been a great one for bluebells and you can also spot them up at the north end of lakes where they congregate with wood anemones and spring primroses.

Enjoy all the gardens has to offer.

While you’re enjoying all that the garden has to offer during May, the garden team will be busying themselves away with plenty of important tasks. The likes of turf care will become more frequent as temperatures and daylight hours increase so we’ll be making good use of out lawn mowers and edging shears this month. We’ll also be continuing with key planting projects before the weather becomes too hot and dry for young plants to tolerate, so look out for new plants popping up in and around the Rock Garden and in the borders around the Mansion too. Just as our ornamental plants will be putting on a growth spurt in May, so too will the weeds so we’ll be down on our hands and knees in the formal beds and borders again this month. That also applies to pond weeds too so we’ll be manually clearing emerging duck weed from the lakes in May, first leaving it on the side of the water for any aquatic insects to safely return to the water.

There are plenty of garden tours during May too. There are bespoke Rock Garden tours on May 7th and 21st, a Rhododendron walk on the 16th and I’ll be giving a Head Gardener tour on the 22nd. One of our usual members tours is also running as normal on the 15th this month.

I hope you’re as excited as I am to experience Leonardslee in the month of May again this year. It really should be a sight to behold. Have a great month and I look forward to seeing you here in the garden again very soon.

Jamie Harris

Head Gardener