November/December 2000 Issue

AHS Travel Study Program in Focus

A Peek Behind the Hedges in Southern England
by Rita Pelczar

When viewed from the sky, the landscape of southern England resembles a patchwork quilt: tall hedges enclose neatly tended gardens, country homes, and historic castles and separate them from the rolling countryside spotted with grazing sheep.

This past summer, a group of travelers led by award-winning tour guide Jeanie Carmichael and H. Marc Cathey, president emeritus of the American Horticultural Society (AHS), were treated to an intimate view of the gardens that lie behind those hedges. Beginning in London on June 25, participants in the AHS- sponsored travel study program, "Great Gardens of Southern England and the Hampton Court Flower Show," visited 18 private and public gardens in 12 exciting days, as well as the famous flower show at Hampton Court Palace.

The mild climate in southern England is ideal for growing an astounding variety of plants. With a USDA Hardiness Zone of 8 to 9 and an AHS Heat Zone of 1 to 2, it is never very hot or very cold. And though rainfall averages only 18 to 24 inches per year, the near-constant mist provides plants with ample moisture.

Because space is at such a premium in southern England, gardeners in this region have become masters of getting the most out of limited areas. Many of the gardens on the tour provided visitors with examples of techniques that could be easily adapted to their home gardens in the United States.

Definition is frequently achieved by the use of precisely clipped hedges that divide a garden into distinct segments or rooms-each featuring a different combination of plants. This technique offers gardeners an orderly way to include a wide variety of plants in a small space and has the added benefit of sheltering plants from wind.

In contrast to the regimented forms and primly maintained lines of many of the gardens visited, color was observed in combinations that were anything but conservative. A vivid color scheme repeated in several gardens featured red, purple, and blue flowers growing in close proximity.

Another approach displayed at several of the small gardens and in small spaces of larger gardens was the use of a single, bold accent plant-especially a tropical species-to create a dramatic affect. "The British are berserk about hardy tropicals!" says Cathey. "Their palette [of plants] is infinitely larger than ours, and novelty is very much a part of what they do." Particularly popular are such plants as bananas, Peruvian lilies (Alstroemeria spp.), and New Zealand flax (Phormium spp.), which give the gardens an exotic look-and which successfully overwinter in this mild climate.

Tour participants also noted that every window and wall in the small towns they visited was dripping with hanging baskets. And the British seem to favor colorful mixtures of plants in their suspended containers, unlike in the United States, where hanging baskets commonly contain only a single species.

Highlights of the trip included the Secret Garden and Tudor Knot Garden at Sudeley Castle, the exotic trees and shrubs of Stourhead's walled gardens, the wildflower-lined woodland walks of Sissinghurst Garden, and the fragrant roses at Exbury Gardens. The 2,000-year-old English yew at the entrance to the Manor House Garden in Hampshire, originally created by renowned landscape designer Gertrude Jekyll, was but the first of many inspiring visions at that location, with its neatly mowed grass paths winding through the only surviving and restored example of a Jekyll wild garden.

But perhaps the best parts of the trip were the many exclusive opportunities to tour private gardens and speak with those who nurture them. At Rosemary Verey's Barnsley House garden, visitors were delighted by Gallica roses, bellflowers (Campanula spp.), water lilies, and the bold apricot-orange inflorescences of foxtail lilies (Eremurus spp.); but most inspiring was the chance to chat with Verey herself.

Each garden visit was enhanced by Carmichael's background information and fascinating historical tidbits. "She had the most delightful anecdotes about the places we visited and the persons who did or do now live there," says tour participant John Coleman.

While most of us garden in climates far more limiting than those of southern England, we share many of the same challenges: how to use space and resources efficiently, how to combine colors and textures effectively, and how to continue to expand our gardening experiences and knowledge. The AHS "Great Gardens of Southern England" tour provided participants with inspiration on all counts. m

Rita Pelczar is Associate Editor of The American Gardener