GARDENING MATTERS Jeffrey Wright Builds His Dream Garden


In the last instalment I told you about our two Catalpas and something of the tree's origins. The Catalpa, or Indian Bean Tree, comes from the southern United States. It is very late coming into leaf in this country and flowers in late July or early August, making a huge impression akin to a glamorous woman making a late and showy entrance at a party! The trees have handspread-sized, heart-shaped leaves which start purple, turning green as they mature, before suddenly large upright panicles of white flowers appear, not unlike Chestnut but with the added charm of mauve, yellow and pink markings inside each floret like the flowers of orchids. After the blossom fades the seed pods develop, hanging down like beans, from which the tree derives its name.

The French-style potagers

Elsewhere my French-style potager - raised beds 6 ft. x 6 ft. square with paths in between of brick and stone chippings - which we built this spring on the east side of the garden, are full of lush growth. They are filled with the accumulated compost, leaf mould and soil which had collected along the wall and buried a path which I discovered and dug out. Now they are planted with pillars of Runner Beans, Sweet Peas, Spinach, Lettuce, Courgettes, Swiss Chard and Tomatoes, together with companion planting of Marigolds, Nasturtiums, Dahlias, Lavender, and Rosemary and other herbs.

These beds run alongside the old garden path which is now edged with a low hedge of Lavender Hidcote and spanned by three arches which we plan to smother with Clematis, scrambling up through repeat climbing Roses which will arrive, bare-rooted, for planting in November.

Because the border on the south side was deeply shaded by two huge Thujas and one of the Catalpas I have made a new, much wider, border curving out into the lawn. The bottoms of the Thujas were crown-lifted by about five feet to let in more light and the border, although not in full sun until late afternoon, has been planted with shrubs and herbaceous plants which will thrive in dappled shade. The colour theme is blue, white and purple with different shades of green and grey leaves. This gives a restful feel to the border and acts as a background to a new, rather contemporary, water feature and rill which I plan to build this autumn.

Jeffrey's garden, looking south. One of the Catalpas

 Last winter we removed some large conifers and, with the garden opened up, I have allowed myself the indulgence of buying and planting a number of new trees. As luck would have it a nursery near here held a sale during the summer, because the new management wanted to get rid of all its old stock, and its containerised trees were being sold at half price. Among the rows of trees, many of which had lost their labels and were difficult to identify, I found a Ginkgo biloba - one of the oldest trees in the world: fossils have been found in coal seams formed 250 million years ago.

Although it can reach a height of 100 ft. or more it is a slow grower, so I hope not to have too much trouble before I go to the Great Garden in the sky! I also bought a Sorbus mitchellii - a White Beam - (which has slightly larger than standard, pale green, leaves in spring with silver undersides and white flowers, with berries in the autumn); a Robinia pseudoacacia Frisia, with golden leaves which I want to grow up and screen an ugly satellite dish on a wall of the building next door; another Robinia, this time one which I have been trying to find ever since I saw it first planted in a car park in Brittany - it is called Robinia x hillieri and it has slightly fragrant lilac pink flowers. I also bought a pretty Crabapple, Malus Red Sentinel, which has white flowers followed by deep red fruits, maintained beyond mid winter. Also on order from another nursery are three white-barked Birches, Betula jacqumontii Silver Shadow, which will be planted behind a new gazebo we have erected in the south eastern corner of the garden to serve as a delightful pre-prandial drinks station.

Although I saved money buying my new trees, the sadness is that the new owners of the nursery will probably turn it into a modern Garden Centre which will stock only middle of the road plants and trees. The know-how and foresight of the original owner will have gone for ever, making it more difficult to locate the unusual. Thank goodness for the RHS Plant Finder!