Kate's Cuttings

Despite the appalling wet weather a walk round 'Charnwood'; this morning showed there is always something good to see in a garden if you look hard enough. Photos from left to right: Mahonia looking and smelling lovely, a real ray of sunshine in a dark corner; Ferns close by the mahonia still fresh and green; Rosemary in flower, some of that will end up in the Christmas dinner roast spuds; Winter flowering jasmine, so easy and pretty, prune after flowering; Bright stems of a dogwood hard pruned last March. Happy Christmas! Read more…

Garden open Sundays 23 and 30 June 2013. At other times by arrangement. Read more…

Stuck for Christmas presents? How about these: A book, the best present ever. ‘Ten Poems and Gardens’, introduced very eloquently by Monty Don, is a lovely small gift. I got given it for my birthday by my mate Liz and it is a lovely read. From 'Vespers'; 'This is how he gardens: fifteen minutes of intense effort, fifteen minutes of ecstatic contemplation..' Remind you of anyone? ‘1001 Gardens You Must See Before You Die’ is bigger, with some great pictures and a fair bit of background for each garden. Although it is expensive it is great value. My kind son bought me 'Mushrooms' by Ro... Read more…

We've some lovely Autumn colour here at Charnwood. The dwarf Japanese Cherry Prunus incisca 'Kojo-no'mai' is currently gorgeous shades of red and yellow and the Euonymous alatus a stunning ruby colour. Both are little, slow growing trees, so ideal for smaller gardens. Acers are also performing well here and will thrive in a spot sheltered from winds and, depending a bit on the variety, in fairly acid soil. We also have a medlar, a really trouble free and compact tree with beautiful, simple white flowers in spring and clear yellow leaves in Autumn. They are self fertile, so you don't ne... Read more…

Time to put the garden to bed for the winter with next year in mind. Planning ahead is not something we all do well or have time for, but with plants as in most things it really does pay off. Lift and divide your asters, early this month is better for this group of plants than in the spring. You can see where there are gaps and they will be established and flower well for you next year. This does not apply to everything; for example grasses should be divided in spring or they tend to sulk and die over winter; Prune climbing roses and tie in stems to prevent them being hit by winter gale... Read more…

The garden is still looking pretty good here despite the lateness of the season. The wet summer did have some benefits, a really good soak over a long period has perked up some of our more recent plantings, especially trees. Some plants though have gone completely over the top - we have cosmos 2 metres high and not flowering that well, but roses are coming back well now and late perennials and tender plants such as dahlias are still very happy and floriferous! Many grasses are at their best now too. Photos left to right: Climbing rose 'Galway Bay', Penstemon 'Blackbird', Miscanthus 'S... Read more…

Olympics? Huh! Paralympics? No comparison. The most important opening ceremony of late is surely that of the wonderful Jungle Hut at Charnwood. Lovingly and painstaking built by master craftsman Alan Hopcraft from a beautiful design by partner Lauraine Baxendale, it is a truly great addition to the garden, bringing real style and interest to a previously boring part of our garden. Photos left to right: the newly finished and planted Jungle Hut, Alan cutting the ribbon with the help of Liz and all of us joining together and raising a glass in celebration. Cheers! www.mad-hutter.co.u... Read more…

I'm talking about clumps of tuberous Iris with the lovely big, blousy flowers early on in the Summer. They often come in blue or purple, but if you go to the website at the wonderful Woottens nursery near Southwold in Suffolk www.woottensplants.co.uk you will see a huge range of gorgeous colours to suit every taste. There is talk of repeat flowering varieties, too. Now is the best time to tackle clumps of iris that have become congested and so stopped flowering generously. That happens here about every 3 or 4 years, but it does depend a bit on the variety, soil and situation.The idea i... Read more…

Penstemons are a real favourite of mine. They mix really well with most plants and flower and flower, some from June until the frosts if you deadhead regularly and give them a feed. They are really easy from cuttings and late August is a good time to take them. Take a non flowering shoot if you can about 10/15 cm, strip off the bottom leaves and put them into a pot of gritty compost. Keep them really damp for a couple of weeks, then water them often and you will get little plants well able to overwinter in a frost free or sheltered place. They should then flower next year. Its often sai... Read more…

It has been an interesting week at Charnwood. A few weeks ago we got a telephone call from the BBC asking us if they could come and film the garden for East Midlands Today. Fortunately Peter took the call, I would probably have assumed it was a mate taking the mick. Anyway, they came one morning in mid July, three of them; a producer, cameraman and Ady Dayman, their gardening correspondent. All three were absolutely charming, very professional and great fun. They spent almost four hours here filming – by now you may have seen my 30 seconds of fame! It was a really interesting experience... Read more…