Every time I go to the heavenly gardens at Great Dixter, I learn something new. And I gain even more appreciation about what this fantastic garden and the ethos of its gardeners have to offer.
This visit I spent a day volunteering and a day in the company of fellow bloggers being shown around the gardens by the very welcoming Great Dixter team. Above is deputy head gardener Siew Lee Vorley, explaining how mulch is added to the long border using a tickling fork. The soil and mulch are mixed together with the long-handled fork, so that self-seeded seeds don’t get buried under the mulch and are encouraged to germinate. Just one of the practices that Great Dixter employ that make this garden so appealing.
Head gardener Fergus Garrett’s gave a great talk about successional planting in the gardens,
where layer upon layer of planting follows on in each area, providing a richness of changing plant combinations throughout the seasons. (Above is a purple Hellebore planted with the delicate Cardimine quinquefolia and with Cynara cardunculus emerging behind.) Fergus’ desire and enthusiasm for experimentation is infectious and many ideas can be taken away or scaled down to use in smaller gardens too.
Designing borders in petite London gardens that will provide year round interest can be challenging, but underplanting deciduous shrubs and trees with spring bulbs is a useful idea to take away as is choosing the right cultivar of perennials for longer flowering. If you’re planting blue Geraniums, choose ‘Russell Pritchard’ or ‘Mavis Simpson’ which will flower for 3 months rather than the gorgeous ‘Johnson’s Blue’ which will sadly only put on a show for 3 weeks.
Another idea I’ll be putting into action this year is growing late flowering, not-too vigorous clematises into shrubs to provide late summer interest. I have a client where there’s lots of spring and early summer interest in the garden, but come late summer, the garden is missing any joyous splash of colour. With not much room in the border to pop in an all singing all dancing Dahlia or two (or any other plants for that matter), viticella type Clematises growing into shrubs that have already flowered should add an extra layer of interest to the border, without smothering their host plants.
I can’t wait to see how these Clematises fare later this year, hopefully delighting both myself and the client! Michael in the Great Dixter nursery, also gave invaluable advice, letting me know that these less blousy Clematis do not need to be planted as deep as their more showy summer flowering relatives (although it won’t hurt them either) and are less susceptible to Clematis wilt too. It’s a good time to get planting Clematises and the nursery have a good range of cultivars (and offer mail order too) if you have a bare spot that needs some late summer colour. These Clematises also have an undemanding pruning regime, and can be cut back down to a foot or so (or left a bit taller if to grow into taller shrubs or trees) every spring.
Back in the gardens, and Fergus explained that at this time of year, Great Dixter is looking at its tidiest with most winter stems cut down and beds mulched (and tickled), ready for the year ahead.
And it’s now that you can really see how the Yew hedges define and structure the gardens.
Fergus explained that they give a visual barrier to each garden, so that your eyes can focus on each distinct area and the planting is not diluted. And as the gardens wrap themselves around the house, so the hedging creates more intimate spaces where the planting experimentation continues.
I’m really looking forward to going back to Great Dixter at the end of April, when hopefully the next layer of planting will be coming through (although it is still snowing today here in London!).
But here’s a quick taste of how the long border in spring,
is transformed into glorious colours and textures in summer (via Tulips and many other plant combinations in between),
(and here just to give you the scale and depth of the planting),
and how these sculptural pyramids in March,
will develop into this exotic paradise come late summer. If you fancy learning more at the gardens, there are many courses running throughout the year including successional planting, meadow planting, monthly visits around the gardens and propagation days. The gardeners at Great Dixter are so generous about sharing their knowledge, you certainly won’t be disappointed!
If you want to see more high summer drama from Great Dixter, click here and here
And here’s some wonderful posts written by other enthusiastic bloggers from the day too:
An Inspiring Talk by Fergus Garrett of Great Dixter Gardens from Real Men Sow
Through the Garden Gate Great Dixter Part 1
Through the Garden Gate Great Dixter Part 2
Great Dixter – A Pause for Thought from Veg Plotting
Great Dixter:It was just a perfect day from Urban Veg Patch
Great Dixter from Alternative Eden
A great day at Great Dixter house and gardens from Dig the Outside
A great (Dixter) reason for repeat garden visits from Weeding the Web
It was a fab day – thank you for organising! It seems hard to believe that the border will erupt into gorgeousness just a few months from now, as we watch the snow fall… x
I know, I loved the snow in January, but now I’m finding it difficult to get seed sowing etc with those artic winds around us. Next Cake Sunday postponed to 14th April-preying for warmer weather!
Hope some tulips may be out at Great Dixter by the end of the month, or is that just wishful thinking?….x
Ha – you have fully floral pics for us to drool over! Someone on the telly this morning said the season’s at least a month behind – May looks a better prospect for the next visit!
Hi Michelle, Think you might be right about putting back next visit. I’ve never seen the tulips at Great Dixter, but have been early in the year and in late summer and autumn. Mind you, there’s alwayas plenty to delight whenever you go.
I’m so jealous! But at least we had a lovely dry/warm/sunny week here in the PNW…I’m still jealous though
Hope you’re weather improves !
Hi Linda, Do you ever visit the UK now? Worth planning a visit to Great Dixter as part of your trip if you do. Jealous (back) of your lovely warm weather. Just feels like a relentless winter now with spring being a ‘no-show’!
Pathetic I know…I can’ leave my dogs ! So no visits for a while.
I ‘ve sent you an invite to the Portland garden bloggers Facebook group…no pressure ,
Hi Linda, I’m sure there are loads of gardens to visit in the PNW in the meantime! Many thank for Portland Garden bloggers invite- sounds intriguing.
I guess, ones got to have a very special phlox from Great Dixter. A real must have; a colour selected P. paniculata from specie (though it seems to me it is a maculata). Very sweet, extended bloom, light lavender blue.
I recommend to put a focus on it and ask for this very lovely gardenchild.
Greets
Cara
Hi Cara, will look out for this Phlox, although there are many temptations in the Great Dixter nursery………..
Great advice, thanks!
Hi Hannah, It’s a bit of a schlepp from Ireland, but should you be popping over from your potager, you’ll pick up loads of great ideas from Great Dixter!
I’ll put it in diary, you never know I might get the opportunity to pop over!
Am very excited to be going for the first time in early May this year, even with this late, late spring it should be lovely.
Hi Anne, Hope you have a wonderful visit. I feel that whatever time I visit, I always see great plant combinations and just being in these glorious gardens always feels heavenly.
Hi Naomi! It’s brilliant re-living the day through your post and great to see the photos of the borders in summer! Thanks so much for organising and sharing. It’s gone straight into my top favourite places list 🙂
Hi Anna, It’s such a heavenly garden isn’t it. Just wish that I lived a little nearer so I could visit more often. Lovely to meet you (finally!) and glad you enjoyed the day so much. N x
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Ooooooh it looks as if you all had a most memorable and informative day Naomi. I wish that I could have been there. I’m most taken with that glorious hellebore combination 🙂
Hi Anna, We had a great day, with Fergus and his team being most inspirational. Yes, love that Cardimine quinquefolia. Seems to look good with so many spring flowering plants. Hopefully meet up at next get-together. N x
Hi Naomi, Sounds like a great day, packed full of tips. Wish I could have been there. Comparing your photos from the day with mine from last June it is incredible the amount of growth that happens. Congratulations on your column in Garden Answers by the way 🙂
Hi Wellywoman, hope the book writing is going well. Yes, I learn so much every time I visit, whether it be great plant combinations, gardening methods and great tips for propagation and plant care in the nursery. It’s just brilliant! I think the gardens are almost a month behind from some other years, as I have pics from late Feb a couple of years ago, with similar plants to the pics above. You’re right though. The transformation is incredible.
Thanks for the congratulations! So delighted to have my own column. Really fun to come up with ideas to write about each month and great to have a couple years worth of blog pics to use too!
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Thanks for sharing another visit to Dixter! Oh, how I wish to fly over! Thanks for sharing all the tidbits that you collected, Naomi. I hope you are now having some real spring!
Hi WMG, It was another fantastic couple of days and heading back at the end of the month to see how it’s all progressed. Can’t wait! I’d say it feels like the first day of spring today-finally!! We’ve lost those bone-chilling northerly winds and the sun is out. Glorious!!
Great Dixter is stunning, such attention to detail. I absolutely love the yew, it really is fantastic. And the late summer picture is beautiful, just beautiful. Sigh.
Hi CJ, There’s always many great plant combinations at Great Dixter, but later summer is truly spectacular and always a great time to visit. Hope I can visit again in August/September.
Thanks for taking the time to organise the visit, Naomi. I’m so glad the day turned out well and you and your fellow bloggers enjoyed yourselves. It was Dixter’s pleasure to welcome you.
Hi Siew Lee, delighted to be able to invite other bloggers to visit the garden. Everyone loved the day, hence loads of great posts (above!). Look forward to seeing you all again soon. V.best Naomi