Landscape Juice

Next step for Wentworth Castle kitchen garden

Although the Wentworth Castle Gardens trust did not win the Lottery Heritage Project award their restoration work for the kitchen garden and glass conservatory will continue.

The Wentworth castle and gardens were in the top three finalists of the 800 entered for recently judged Best Heritage project. While they did not win, Ann Irish, Commercial Manager remains stoical.

45 Commando Marines memorial gardens opens in Arbroath

"I have got immense respect for what the 45 Royal Commando Marines do.

"For me designing the memorial garden has been one of the best things I have ever done. I think you've got to support our armed forces they deserve it. It is so important to them that people in the UK show them support and I am just happy that in a small way I have been able to do that," said Toby Buckland.

Toby Buckland, British gardener, designer, TV presenter and author, has designed gardens for the poet laureate Andrew Motion, the author, Tom Sharpe, has been a BBC Gardener's World presenter, RHS Gold winner and is opening a nursery in Devon, yet he has been deeply moved by working with the 45 Commando Woodlands Garden Trust, the Memorial garden project.

Toby Buckland spoke to Carol Miers about his design for this military memorial garden, opening on 11/11/11 in Arbroath, Scotland.

Ten designers from the Society of Garden Designers hold an open day

To inspire you with ideas and plans for cultivation, make a note of the third and final Open Gardens day for the Society of Garden Designers which is Sunday 25 September from 12 to 4pm, run in association with the RHS.

The timeless design of the Beth Chatto Gardens

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I had imagined taking my pencil and sketchpad to the Beth Chatto Gardens but instead I had to make do with an umbrella, writes Carol Miers. However, the rain did not stay long, as being Elmstead Market in Essex it is one of the driest areas of the UK.

At the entrance, I walked through the gap in the hedge to the glass windows of the tearoom before continuing until I stood in front of the flat lines of the nursery plants.

The art of common sense, interview with Beth Chatto

The tearoom is the centre point of the Beth Chatto Gardens and is full of the sounds of kitchen dishes rattling away, writes Carol Miers.

On every tabletop are vases of flowers, picked from the surrounding gardens, and as Beth Chatto, now 88-years-old, explains the garden is run by a close-knit team, intimate yet open.

Beth Chatto still has a strong input into the garden, its plant lists and chosen species, just like she did in the 1970s when she displayed her 'unusual plants' at shows, people were suspicious then but they were soon convinced when her work received recognition and Beth's name headed many award ceremonies.

Beth Chatto's plant propagation manager Dave Ward in person

The garden landscaper, Beth Chatto, now 88, and her husband, Andrew, the plant association ecologist, began their garden in the 1960s.

Dave Ward, the plant propagation manager at the Beth Chatto Gardens, has been there for twenty eight years.

Here he talks to Carol Miers about their priorities and the influences when working with Beth Chatto:

Dave Ward: I came here in 1983, some of the garden was well established, the dry areas, water garden and the shady areas, although we did not have the woodland garden, we had dry shady areas with big oak trees.

Stanley Spencer's landscape paintings will transform Compton Verney

An exhibition of Stanley Spencer's garden and landscape views from the 1920s to 1940s will be showing at Compton Verney between June and October 2011.

Stanley Spencer painted many scenes between the two world wars, particularly recording events on the home front.

Technically brilliant in his craft, Spencer used art to express his philosophy of life and religious beliefs.

However his landscape paintings were those most in demand during his lifetime.

Gaining inspiration from the National Gardens Scheme

Well Chelsea may be over for another year, but there are plenty of real gardens around the country that you can visit for ideas and inspiration, writes Jenny Bloom.

Over 3,500 privately owned gardens in England and Wales are opened up to the public under the National Gardens Scheme (NGS) with donations going to charity.

In the last 10 years the NGS has raised over £25 million to support nursing and caring charities such as Macmillan Cancer Support, Crossroads Care and Help the Hospices.

Royal couple enjoy Exbury Gardens

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall planted two ornamental ash trees and enjoyed a private tour of the 200-acre Exbury Gardens in the New Forest on Thursday (26 May).

The couple met staff and Rothschild family members and unveiled a plaque to mark the 10th anniversary of the garden’s steam railway.

The Royal couple each planted an ornamental ash tree (Fraxinus Ornus) on the main lawn.

They were introduced to head gardener, John Anderson, and his deputy, Linda Runnacles, and two volunteers, Gill Mordant and David Hunter.

Elspeth Thompson's awards presentation, a moving tribute

As reported in Landscape Juice, the Gardening Against the odds awards are inspired by Elspeth Thompson the gardening writer who prematurely died last March 2010.

The Conservation Foundation together with Green and Black's and the Sunday Telegraph established the Gardening Against the Odds awards, which were presented for the first time this March.David Shreeve, Conservation foundation director said:

“For Elspeth, gardening against the odds was not just a challenge, it was making something – however small and seemingly insignificant – special.”