Spring Gardening on Wellington (REVISED ) 5/16/23 – Tuesday – 5:00 pm

BEFORE

We are here today to complete our clients spring tidy. The Pansies made it through the winter and most everything came back except one (1) Salvia. The Shasta Daisy looks small but we are pretty certain it will fill in. Our last fall tidy took a lot of weeds out so her beds are fairly clean of weeds.  She does have some left over spring blooming daffodils and we planted tulips last fall, so we need to do some cleaning up of the beds of those two early spring bloomers. And it’s time to remove all the Pansies. They served her well from late October until now. A good run forPansies, and she loves them

So Yesterday she and I shopped for plants. This year she wanted to add all “annuals.” So we found some pretty ones. The main thing is she likes color and instant gratification and she made all the pics herself. Waiting for blooms is not particularly her ”thang.”

Here is part of her area from last year, as a comparison after we added about 8 new perennials and finished her spring  work

Sooo…. Please check back this evening to get a “birds eye view” of our progress.

IN PROGRESS

We are still planting and moving plants around. Tidying up early spring bloomers and cleaning the patio furniture and cleaning the sand from the newly created stone patio. We will be back tomorrow to first off plant the two new yellow  Rose bushes, finish planting the four new Canna Lily’s and four other annuals in the larger bed. Then we will mulch everything and take a final video.

We completed four hours today and estimate another four or five to finish. We can always move a few hours into Monday morning. Let’s see how it takes shape. One thing is for sure, the beds were full of weeds and creeping vines when we took on this project and we have come a long way. It is looking full and will definitely be pretty for our summer season.

“Contessa”

(REVISED) Friday – 5/12/23 – 5:30 pm

Four (4) Hours today. New yellow Rose bushes planted in the sloping bed. Tricky digging holes on an incline. But we think we have them positioned quite well. Both a little higher on the slope than the one in the middle at our clients request. Everything in the main bed is planted and the entire bed is cleaned up of debris. All four Canna Lily’s in pots are yet to be planted. We need one more larger pot as Canna grow rather large and we don’t want them to tip over. We will check our own supply to see if we might have one in storage, but the owner is willing to purchase a fourth if need be.

We need potting soil and we will pick it up Monday morning on our way to the site. But they were thoroughly watered and with 90% chance of rain tomorrow, Saturday, they will be fine until Monday when we return. Finally to finish this project we will spread the mulch.

We had told our client we would clean up all the patio furniture and so our “wonder cleaner” baking soda did the trick. Not only does it clean grime, but it whitens and brightens. Can’t beat it for .80 cents per box. All her chairs had mildew and the baking soda eats away at it; just a little water and soda and a soft brush really cleaned them up. A wonder cleaner. Late fall we had gathered and placed all the furniture off to side of the yard so that when the patio folks arrived last week they had clearance to complete their job. And it’s looking really very nice. Great stone and great pattern the way they laid it. Still a good amount of sand is lingering on the surface, but when we finally wrap up the gardening project, we are going to clean it up well. No additional photos this week because we prefer to give you a “final video” upon completion. But it’s looking really great already.

”Contessa” says….. a big project…. but a fun one as well! 

•••••••

(REVISED) – 5/16/23 – Tuesday- 5:00 pm

This client had no garden when we met her. Nothing but invasive creeping vines. So this is year three and we have lots of flowers now and today we finished up all the finishing touches. Planted four Canna Lily’s and a very pretty ornamental Azalea for the center of her garden table.

We are home now….. and will be invoicing her for eleven (11) hours. Five bags of mulch, two bags of potting soil, and two (2) yellow rose bushes.

FINAL VIDEO

”Contessa” says….so lovely to work in and complete this pretty little garden!

Fifth Year in a planter – Yellow Jasmine

Our Yellow Jasmine is singing today. So bright and pretty. And many blossoms yet to come…..

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One thing we have learned is that many blooming plants can be grown in containers. So if your little plot of beds outdoors your home is smallish, you can have two or three very lovely flowering plants in good sized decorative planters and locate them strategically into your garden beds. This way you can move them around without the need to dig them up for a relocation. And you can still plant around them if you’ve the garden bed space. We find that planters are non-restrictive and in fact, one year we had a beautiful Palm that grew pretty large, and we even relocated it into the house for the winter for several seasons. It made a lovely backdrop to divide our living and dining area. It fit in just like it was supposed to be there. And then in the spring we would move it back outdoors as a focal point for our outdoor chair and side table vignette. We have done this also with Hydrangeas and an Azalea Dwarf Tree. So don’t limit yourself in terms of bloomers that you think must only grow in the ground. Your only challenge might be asking a neighbor to lend a helping hand with the moving each season.

We purchased Saucers on Castors and used them to protect floors and rugs and it helps to make your plant so much easier to move around, and it raises it up some from the floor giving a little more height. It’s wonderful. We love large plants indoors so think about trying this. Indoor/Outdoor plants are wonderful.

Brand: MoMoSun

4.2 out of 5 stars 27 Reviews

MoMoSun 2 Pack 13 inch Round Plant Caddy with Water Container and 4 Wheels,Transparent Plant Dolly Rolling Plant Stand for Heavy Planter with Casters,Movable Plant Stand (13 inch for 12inch Pot)

1. 

   Call us if you need assistance in choosing plants, planters, appropriate soil and the rolling Saucers.  It is so worth the look and winter can be dreary indoors without plant 🌱 life. We know….because plants are a huge part of our life and our well being.

“Contessa” says….. just go for it!

THE GARDEN MUSEUM, the U.K.

Rupert Tyler appointed the Garden Museum’s next Chair of the Board of Trustees The Garden Museum is delighted to announce the appointment of Rupert Tyler to the role of Chair of the Board of Trustees. Rupert (pictured left) will take over the position, which has been held by Mark Fane (right) for twelve years, in June 2023. In his new role, Rupert will lead the Trustees and team in the strategic development of the Museum and in fulfilling its potential as the only Museum in Britain dedicated to the art, history and design of British gardens and their place in our lives today. Rupert brings a wealth of experience spanning different sectors and a keen interest in gardens, gardening and the arts. This is supported by his strong business background and understanding of the vital importance of diversity and inclusion in all areas of society. During his 35 years in the City, Rupert has managed a diverse portfolio of private clients including Trusts, Personal Pensions, Charities and Private Charitable Trusts. Rupert is Chair of Jerwood Arts, an endowed charity which seeks out and promotes excellence in artists in all art forms throughout the UK. He was appointed as Chair of the National Garden Scheme (NGS) in 2020, a role he will continue, having been a Trustee for some years. He and his partner, architectural and garden designer Charles Rutherfoord, have created and nurtured their own garden in London over the course of 35 years, featuring in many magazines and gardening programmes and open regularly for the National Garden Scheme. Both are Liverymen of the Worshipful Company of Gardeners. Keep reading New Talk! Andrew Timothy O’Brien: Let it go and let it grow With such a wealth of gardening advice available, it can be a job of work simply to decide who we should be listening to – and yet perhaps our most qualified instructor is the garden itself. In celebration of his new book To Stand and Stare, podcaster, writer, and online garden coach Andrew Timothy O’Brien considers the stories we’ve been taught about the whole business of gardening and wonders if there’s a way to be in a relationship with the natural world on our doorstep that’s not only more sympathetic to the needs of our environment, but also to our own physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing. Join Andrew and Consultant Gardening Publisher for DK Books Chris Young as they discuss whether or not a different kind of relationship with the garden might be the answer we’re all looking for. Tues 30 May, 7pm £15 Standard £10 Friends / Young Fronds £5 Livestream Book tickets The Wild Escape: Earth Day Did you know that in the UK we have 31 species of earthworms? Earth Day 2023 at the Garden Museum offers the chance to see a creature that inhabits the soil and which has been called an ‘ecosystem engineer’. The very humble and underrated earthworm! They are important to the soil structure and fertility as they break down dead organic matter which releases nutrients into the soil which are taken up by plants. Come along and have a close look at earthworms using our digital microscopes and see if you can identify a species. We’ll also be making a collaborative three-dimensional garden using clay to depict some of the wildlife and plants that can be found in gardens and under the soil. Ceramics artist Monica Tong will be on hand to help. Sat 22 April, 10am – 3.30pm Free entry, drop-in Suitable for all ages The Wild Escape is made possible with support from Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants, with additional support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, Kusuma Trust, Foyle Foundation and a group of generous individuals and trusts. Find out more Spring Plant Fair this Sunday! Come down to the Garden Museum this weekend to treat yourself to garden plants from some of our favourite specialist nurseries and growers, from shade specialists to plants for pollinators. This year’s stalls include historic nurseries Great Dixter Nurseries and Beth Chatto Plants & Gardens: meet the growers and pick their brains on what will flourish in your garden, balcony or allotment. Sun 16 April, 10am – 4pm £5 Standard, £4 Friends Book tickets Object of the Week: 7 Wilbury Crescent, Hove by Charles Burleigh (1869-1956) Assemblages of objects lying around an artist’s studio, paint brushes, pot plants, natural history objects, fabrics, often formed the subject of still lives, though the chance arrangement of a composition was rarely as casual as it appeared. In Burleigh’s studio view an easel is visible at the edge of the composition, with objects laid out in front, ready to be painted. A view of the terraced houses of the artist’s native Hove are visible beyond, seen through half-drawn curtains. This painting is on display in our current exhibition Private & Public: Finding the Modern British Garden until 4 June. Presented in partnership with Liss Llewellyn, works are available to purchase in aid of our education and exhibitions programmes. For a price list and further details email christina@gardenmuseum.org.uk.  Book a visit Images: Rupert Tyler  and Mark Fane © Jake Darling Photography; Andrew Timothy O’Brien © Sundari Ferris; Spring Plant Fair illustration by Lizzy Stewart; 7 Wilbury Crescent, Hove by Charles Burleigh (1869-1956), image courtesy of Liss Llewellyn Garden Museum 5 Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7LB gardenmuseum.org.uk

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Garden Bed Edging

BEFORE VIDEO

In our world of gardening there are a couple ways to “edge” a bed. So what does edging do to enhance your garden beds. It provides a finished appearance, and it helps to keep your soil and mulch in the beds, and further, it helps keep weeds from crawling into your beds.

Many of our current residents use bricks or shaped brick edgers.  My clients now all use my preferred method. A tool called an “edger” allows you to slice into the earth, then lift and toss the dirt into your bed. Then you use the edger tool to break up this soil and spread around the bed. What this does is build up the level of your beds. It’s a great curb appeal enhancement. Most often we convert our clients over to this method. We refer to them as “raised beds.”

Today we used what our client preferred. We created a four inch deep trench to fit the cement edgers into. They have the appearance of Soda cans tightly aligned. The goal being to embed them flush with the sidewalk so they look tidy and most importantly very straight and not buried too deep. This prevents weeds from growing between the sidewalk and the edger.

This project completed at 4.5 hours. We started it yesterday and finished right after the Noon hour. Very dirty and hard work…. but quite satisfying. And we also completed attaching her new retractable 100 ft fiber type hose and embedded into a trench so that neighbors could not see it. As every building shares the end of the building water faucet we added a dual outlet, Brass Faucet Adapter so her neighbor can hook up easily also. It’s a win-win. And previous to this fix, our client had to drag a hose over 100 ft to her yard.  So difficult she rarely used the water source she is entitled too.  Now she’s set-up!

$10.99 at Home Depot

FINAL VIDEO 

”Contessa ” says…it’s a very good thing!

“Seasonal Spring Tidy” (REVISED) Friday – 4/28 – 8:30 am

We visited yesterday with our client of three years to complete her spring bed tidy. As she is a very organized person with zero interest in gardening or learning to garden we are her “relief factor.” As a matter of fact there is a medicinal supplement called exactly that. It is used to control pain. And it does take pain away. Well…we are her pain relief. She does love her little garden and although she is gone all day, six days a week, she tells us that when she arrives home, she is greeted by her small condominium garden space and it just totally makes her whole day. Will””This client has a contract with us for upkeep and maintenance, so no worries about picking up a sticks or a dead leaves or spent blossoms.  This is our enjoyment…..and it is our total joy and mission for this great repeat client. 

So we began by taking a before video. The bed was full of sticks and leaf debris and dead material on five bushes that we planted in the late fall last year. So we began by pruning back the five bushes. A couple are looking very exhausted. Even almost dead. Water, being an issue in the late fall. And we did advise her to water new plantings every day for one full week. Hint: this is standard watering protocol. Green stems prevailed, even if there are few leaves, so we shaped them up. Removed any dead material from in and under them and then proceeded with the same treatment for all the other plants. We are eternally hopeful the bushes will fill in.

(REVISED) WED – 04/25

We purchased all the new plants:

Four Ostrich Ferns, Two Pink Astilbe, One Bleeding Heart, a beautiful yellow Columbine, and two Huchera/Coral Bells.
It did rain on Saturday so we nestled all the plants up on her covered porch to protect them from possible heavy rain and wind. So glad we did. Yesterday we planted everything. And transplanted a fern, and removed all the sprouting Hosta. Our homeowner doesn’t really like them and she wants a full bed of perennials. It’s looking full. On Thursday we will add Hydrangea fertilizer, blood meal and three bags of shredded hardwood bark mulch. And we have a Miracle Grow liquid fertilizer Wand which we will apply to complete this fantastic job.

We are at four hours plus a couple more on Thursday. It’s looking fresh and like “spring.” Our homeowner is now ready for the season, and on June 1 we will begin our “maintenance” plan continuous through November 30.

Upon completion Thursday, we will post our FINAL VIDEO.

“CONTESSA” says it’s all good’

We completed our project today for a total of seven (7) hours. Our client is thrilled.

“CONTESSA” says…,, it’s all very good!

(REVISED) – Friday – 4/28 – 8:30 am

Yesterday after we completed this assignment we created an in depth posting about this project. We are running two versions through our WordPress account which frankly has become very cumbersome. A new editing version is very difficult to navigate and so that lengthy post we created simply vanished when we made attempts to create edits. So today we will recreate what we thought was going to appear once we hit the post/update key.

Our homeowner has wanted more plants in her bed. And we would like this for her. But in the beginning of a client relationship, it’s never assumed by us, the creator, that the budget set is totally made clear. We never assume anything when it comes to a clients willingness to spend more. So gradually as we planted and built a working together “trust” over these last three years, little by little, it became clear that as long as it looks nice and we are willing to be responsible for all the selection and care, then our client has no issue with the cost.

We made some nice “picks” this year and because we are working in a mostly shady area we have frankly been testing different plants to catch the perfect formula for robust and happy plant growth. Her area is on a corner of a building with an expansive “side” common ground area. Used by many other residents walking their dogs, folks playing with children and it’s an area where folks also gather in the immediate neighborhood to “hang out and meet up.”

The winter months bring lots of wind and falling debris and all of it seems to blow up and fill our clients garden bed with sticks, large branches at times, pine cones from an overhanging Hemlock Pine and you can imagine her garden bed offers winter protection for….and is a community hangout for birds and squirrels.

So our challenge has been to provide plants with some resilience. We think we finally have it. But the down side is that come fall almost everything must get trimmed back prior to winter. So this means an empty looking bed until spring. Bottom line… our homeowner wants beauty in the spring and summer. Bushes are boring at times and she wanted perennial “plants” that can mature, and even though she has a primarily shady spot, our selection, as her plants grow and mature will be just lovely. We always tell folks when you begin cultivating a garden you add new things each year. It’s a process and you perfect as you go along. It’s like buying a new house and you move in with a couch, one lamp, maybe a rug, a bed and a dresser. The process is building upon what you already have. This homeowners bed had frankly nothing but Hosta and they were poorly placed. Large and healthy but BORING.

So we have come a long way. And by the way, NO MORE HOSTA. Gone. It’s looking like some planning helped pull it together and we even have new ideas to do a few more things. Her philosophy is “fill it up,” and fortunately she loves green, as many of the plants she has are shade tolerant and very “green.”

We have planted one Lenten Rose which after two years is finally taking its own shape. This is a strong winter bloomer and so we are very hopeful that this winter it will bloom. These plants range from $29 to $49 each but once established really take off. Hers is looking healthy and very green and lush this year and we are probably going to add a second come fall. And the new additions of a yellow Columbine and the pinkish Bleeding Heart add a lovely balance to her other bloomers. Two new Astilbe should produce some feathery looking pinkish blooms as we planted them as a fusion with ones that were already there. This lovely garden now has about $750 in perennial plants. A good size investment. But …., repeat producers and a great reoccurring investment in her garden. THIS PLAN IS WORKING WELL……

“CONTESSA” says….. it’s about as good as it gets. The creation has been all the fun. We are grateful for Gods provision of satisfying and beautiful labor. Amen!

A Gardening Consultation/Planters – A Tutorial and Planting 101

One of our prospective clients went shopping today for  planter’s to place in front of her house, near her two white portico columns. Not too large, but a very good size. 14” x14”x 14”. For a first year pick, we think they are a good start; a fair price, sturdy, adequately equipped with built in drainage and made of a resin material which is not too heavy for moving them around. Ceramic planters these days are heavy, costly and they often crack near the base, if our winter is really cold. Plus, as a new gardener she wants to go at it carefully, so as to make sure her skill as a gardener and her commitment to execute a nice little garden, will stick. We think it will. She has owned her home fifteen years and this is her first attempt to learn, create and plant.

We visited to provide our 30-minute FREE gardening consultation. She has actually been reading our blog and  finally decided to give us a call for her rightful 30-minute gardening consultation. While we were together today, we covered pruning bushes, weed removal from the patio, bed cleanup and dead leaf removal, deep edging of her flower beds and size requirements for planted items, soil and mulch requirements and removing invasive repetitive weeds from her beds. When we left she had a couple of our tools to aid her with weed removal and the proper edging of her beds. She seemed to appreciate the concept and our tutorial.

She sent us a photo of the planter above, and checked in to get our “recipe” for extensive weed removal from her fairly small patio…. which she hopes to tackle this week prior to her company arriving for Easter.

The recipe follows:

1 gallon of white vinegar

1 Cup table Salt

2 Tbsp of Dawn Detergent

Pour all in a bucket, full strength, and using your kitchen broom, swish all over the patio. Do this on a full Sunny hot day. Make sure the day following will also be hot and Sunny. The hot sun combined with this homemade weed removal concoction should dry the weeds out… and you can either sweep them away, or power wash them away with your hose and a sprinkler, with the nozzle setting on high. Our homeowner is going to “give it a go.”

We are wishing her well ….and will follow up by going by to see how things are coming along one day this week. As of this posting time, she has secured recommended products and put in two hours labor pulling weeds and edging her beds with tools we left behind for her to take use of.

Such fun…. and we are pretty sure she is feeling like she accomplished some “gardening beginnings” today.

“Contessa” says……it’s a very good thing!

P. S. With her permission we may take photos of her accomplishment and revise this post later. So check back later in the week. And in May once planting can begin we will assist her with choosing plants and planting them. This activity will be a fee-based service by us, and she understands this.

THE GARDEN MUSEUM NEWS, the U. K.

The Garden Museum News 🌿

Branch Out: Free events and activities at the Garden Museum! We are delighted to announce Branch Out, our new programme of free events and activities exploring gardening, art, floristry, plant science, history, design and more! Starting in April, join us on Thursdays for free talks, tours, workshops and performances in our historic nave. Branch Out has been made possible thanks to funding from Arts Council England. From seed swaps with our gardening team, to curator-guided tours of our collection, and nature-inspired art and craft workshops, try something new every Thursday at our free Branch Out activities. The programme will take place in the Garden Museum’s Grade II* listed deconsecrated church nave, parts of which date back to the 14th century, and visitors will be able to explore one of London’s most fascinating historic buildings. No need to book, just show up! Explore our free Branch Out activities Talk | Ideas for a Greener London Inspired by the work of writer, urban theorist, and activist Jane Jacobs, this panel discussion chaired by Evan Davis will present ideas from architects, academics, landscape designers and gardeners on how they envision a brighter, greener, and better future for London. Speakers include designer of public spaces Alex Arestis on the importance of street trees; Dr Morag Rose on why we need walkable cities; geographer Oli Mould on turning golf courses into community gardens; and George Hudson on the connected thinking required between gardeners, designers and decision makers. This talk is part of our Jane Jacobs Dayprogramme.  Tues 4 May, 7pm £10 Adult, £8 Friends £5 Student / Young Fronds £5 Livestream Buy tickets Visions of Welfare Conference We are pleased to be hosting this day of discussion as part of Visions of Welfare: a three-day international conference discussing the role of women in the creation of the spaces of the post-war Welfare States. Presentations will consider the role of women in the formation of key spaces in the Welfare State, looking beyond individual achievements and professional boundaries. Across a day of talks, the conference will explore who forms a built environment and emphasise and celebrate the diversity of women’s practices. Visions of Welfare is co-hosted by the Women of the Welfare Landscape Project, the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain (SAHGB), and the Women in Danish Architecture project. Mon 15 May, 9.30am – 5.30pm £60 Standard, £45 Student £25 Livestream Book tickets Visions of Welfare Conference Talk: Greening the Desert Landscape architect Diana Armstrong Bell gained a unique perspective on her discipline whilst working in the Middle East in the 1980s. She learnt the fundamentals of greening the desert from women like Grace Kirkwood, consultant landscape architect for Kenzo Tange, and applied these ideas at the Arabian Gulf University, Bahrain – even setting up a plant nursery on site. In this talk, Armstrong Bell will share the stories and inspiration that she drew from her experiences working in the Middle East,  joined in conversation by landscape architect, historian and horticulturist Karen Fitzsimon. This talk is part of the Visions of Welfare Conference but standalone tickets can be booked below. £10 Standard £5 Friend/Student/Young Frond £5 Livestream Book tickets Plant of the Week: Corydalis By Matt Collins, Head Gardener Some botanical names, when you type them, feel as easy on the fingers as they do spoken aloud. For me, ‘corydalis’ is one of them. The letters flow in natural swirls. The word originates from the Greek ‘korydalis’, meaning ‘crested lark’, and was attributed to the flower for its similarity in shape to the head of this common Eurasian bird: the narrow, downward face of the bloom; the backwards flick of its spur. And, rather than point to one single variety, as I have done here in the past, I thought I’d group a few growing at the Museum in celebration of their all too often unsung spring efforts. As with the majority of my springtime favourites, corydalis are for the most part woodlanders, flowering around the base of trees in the short window between winter’s end and canopy leaf break; after this they vanish. There are exceptions that prefer the contrasting conditions of sun and free-draining soil (notably the feral garden escapee, C. lutea, now reclassified Pseudofumaria lutea); and, ultimately, it can be quite hard pinpointing exactly which soil type and conditions a corydalis is likely to thrive in, so often it can come down to trial and error. However, for pot displays, I find them completely charming. Their blooms coincide neatly with the spring bulbs of March and April, delivering complementary accents of eye catching colour, be it the cool pink of C. ‘Beth Evans’, the electric blue of C. ‘Pere David’ or the luminous yellow of personal favourite, C. cheilanthifolia, whose fern-like foliage is a wonder in itself. At the Museum, I keep our corydalis in their pots after flowering, allowing them to die back and dry out a little in a shady spot out of view, and then repot them in late winter for the coming display.

Explore our gardens Elsewhere… Berthe Morisot: Shaping Impressionism at Dulwich Picture Gallery This spring, Dulwich Picture Gallery will present the first major UK exhibition of Berthe Morisot since 1950. In partnership with the Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris, it will bring together 30 of the Impressionist’s masterpieces from international collections to reveal the artist as a trailblazer of the movement. A founding member of the Impressionist group, Berthe Morisot (1841-1895) was known for her swiftly painted glimpses of contemporary life and intimate domestic scenes. She featured prominently in the Impressionist exhibitions and defied social norms to become one of the movement’s most influential figures. 31 March – 10 September 2023 Find out more Images: Branch Out design by Han Valentine; South Bank roof garden photo courtesy George Hudson; Design offices of the Ministry of Metallurgy and Mechanical Engineering, Budapest (1957) (c) Martin Kurutz, Fortepan; Arabic tent illustration (c) Diana Armstrong Bell; Corydalis photos (c) Matt Collins; Berthe Morisot, At the Ball, 1875 © Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris

Garden Museum 5 Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7LB gardenmuseum.org.uk

THE GARDEN MUSEUM News, the U.K.

Joy Larkcom: The Queen of Vegetables Vegetable growing pioneer and writer Joy Larkcom is affectionately known by many as ‘The Queen of Vegetables’, as she introduced so many varieties to the UK that we know and love today. These include Lollo Rosso lettuce, Chioggia beetroot, and Perella lettuce, which she first encountered on her “Grand Vegetable Tour” around Europe in 1976. Her most well-known contribution is the introduction of the cut-and-come-again harvesting method, which provides the ‘baby leaves’ in bags which are so ubiquitous today. So if you’ve ever bought a bag of mixed baby salad leaves from the supermarket, you’ve got Joy to thank! Joy also had a fascination with Chinese vegetables, experimenting with them in her own garden for many years before visiting China, Japan, and Taiwan on research trips in the 1980s. In a new archive display, we’ve delved into Joy’s personal archives (which are held at the Garden Museum) for highlights from her Asian vegetable research, including photographs, correspondence, research notes, gardening tools and seed catalogues. Find out more Talk | Rachel Siegfried: The Cut Flower Sourcebook Flower grower Rachel Siegfried is joined in conversation by Clare Foster, editor of House & Garden, to celebrate the launch of Rachel’s new book The Cut Flower Sourcebook. Growing your own flowers for cutting brings the pleasures of the season indoors and cuts out the air miles associated with many shop-bought flowers. Founder of Green and Gorgeous, a flower farm and floral design studio in Oxfordshire, Rachel will be sharing her recommendations for the best perennials and woody plants for arranging – whether your goal is to have something to pick from your garden each week of the year or start a cut flower business! Tues 4 April, 7pm £20 Standard, £15 Friends / Young Fronds £10 Livestream Book tickets Lucian Freud Raffle Thank you to everyone who entered our fundraising Lucian Freud raffle! The raffle is now closed, and we are delighted to have raised over £6500 thanks to all your entries! This week our front of house volunteer Jenny helped us pick the random winners, with one lucky entrant winning an exclusive private tour of Lucian Freud’s art studio. Second place won a zimmerlinde cut from Freud’s own plant (pictured here with Jenny), and third place won a framed photograph taken by Howard Sooley in Freud’s studio. All funds raised from the raffle will help us continue our exhibitions, education and community programmes.  Support the Garden Museum Plant of the Week: Sweet violet (Viola odorata) By Matt Collins, Head Gardener Next up among the garden weeds I feel compelled to pot and display alongside the more showy cultivated varieties — particularly those boasting a high tolerance of shade — is the sweet violet, Viola odorata. Who doesn’t love violets? And who would consider them undeserving of a pot, however commonplace? The foliage is surprisingly evergreen, and the flowers, when they arrive to conclusively declare spring, are true to both their common and botanical names: sweetly odorous, and also somehow intricately beautiful yet unassuming and discrete. But there is an aura of the ancient in the presence of violets that seems to endear them further and almost stop you in your tracks, whether encountered in the garden, in woodland or below the rural hedgerow. Violets have a magnetism, and have for centuries been woven into European culture and tradition, from almanacs, folklore and nursery rhymes to perfumes, cosmetics and wine. Consequently, you weed them in the garden with more reverence — or superstitious caution — than you might a bittercress or dandelion. In advance of a new garden project beginning at the Museum relating to herbal and homeopathic plants, I have been reading John Gerard again recently, the Elizabethan physician whose illustrated plants catalogue of 1597 became the most revered of all herbals, historic and modern. Gerard’s writing was essentially the root of all future garden writing, in its blending of scientific and horticultural observation with rich, near-hyperbolic description (sound familiar?). Turning to his page on violets, this winning combination can be seen in full flare: while the author touches on distribution and seasonality (‘floures for the most part appeare in March, at the farthest in Aprill’), and on the medicinal applications of the day (as an anti-inflammatory for the lungs and for treating ‘hoarsenesse of the chest’), his description really goes to town(e), praising them ‘…not only because the mind conceiveth a certain pleasure and recreation by smelling and handling those most odoriferous floures, but also … gardens themselves receive by these the greatest ornament of all, chiefest beauty, and most excellent grace…’. Getting excited, he continues: ‘…they admonish and stirre up a man to that which is comely and honest; for through their beauty and colour, and exquisit forme, do bring the remembrance of honestie and all kindes of virtues: for it would be an unseemly and filthy thing for him that doth look upon and handle faire and beautiful things to have his mind not faire, but filthy and deformed’. So perhaps I am right in registering a sense of venerability about the otherwise humble sweet violet, and right to elevate it from uninvited guest to potted display status. Naturally, ‘odoriferous’ has now entered my ‘must use’ list of garden writer’s adjectives…

About our gardens Opening soon! Private & Public: Finding the Modern British Garden Our next exhibition opens Weds 22 March! Private & Public: Finding the Modern British Garden will bring together over thirty works by Modern British artists who found inspiration in green spaces at a time when many artists were retreating to planting and painting in their gardens. Celebrating the art of both private sanctuaries and public green spaces of London, the exhibition will explore intimate depictions of gardens, greenhouses, parks and city squares by artists of the interwar era including Charles Mahoney, Evelyn Dunbar, Eric Ravilious and Ithell Colquhoun. This exhibition is presented in partnership with Liss Llewellyn, and the works will be available for purchase, in aid of the Museum’s educational and community programmes. 22 March – 4 June Friends go free Book your visit Images: Greens in a field photo courtesy Joy Larkcom, taken research trip around China, Japan and Taiwan, Joy Larkcom typing at Capo Caccia, Sardinia, Italy (24 April 1977); Cut flowers, The Cut Flower Sourcebook photo (c) Eva Nemeth; Sweet violet (c) Matt Collins; Evelyn Dunbar (1906-1960), Invitation to the Garden, c. 1938, image courtesy of Liss Llewellyn

Garden Museum 5 Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7LB gardenmuseum.org.uk

THE GARDEN MUSEUM, the U.K.

A Q&A with garden designer Sean Pritchard Ahead of his talk with fellow gardeners Jo Thompson and Steve Lannin on 14 March, we spoke with Somerset-based Sean Pritchard to find out how he got started in garden design, where he finds inspiration and his favourite garden to visit:When did you realise you wanted to pursue a career in garden design? I suppose, quite organically, I grew into a garden design career off the back of a love of plants and how they are displayed. What drives me is a sense of telling stories with plants and creating little moments of tension that elevate outdoor spaces into dramatic performances – almost like a set designer might, only I’m working with nature. I consider myself to have the best job in the world and I wake up every day feeling very lucky to be doing what I do. You’re now an RHS medal winning garden designer. What did that career journey look like to get from studying to where you are now? I studied at the Garden Design School in Bristol under the brilliant Robin Templar-Williams, which gave me a solid foundation in design principles and the construction of gardens. Of course, nothing quite compares to getting out into the world and trying it for yourself, so since then I’ve been developing my style and ways of working with clients – it’s constant learning and exploration, every day… Keep reading Talk | Instagarden: Social Media’s Impact on Gardens and Gardening Thanks to social media we can visit beautiful gardens all over the world and learn from gardening experts all from the comfort of our phones. The ways we find inspiration have changed, but is the experience of visiting a garden in-person irreplaceable? What can some of our favourite garden-insta follows tell us about social media’s power and influence? We’re exploring the online garden world in this talk with garden designer Jo Thompson, garden designer and writer Sean Pritchard, and Iford Manor Head Gardener Steve Lannin. Tues 14 March, 7pm – join us in person, or fittingly, watch online! £15 Standard, £10 Friends / Young Fronds £10 Livestream Book tickets The Wild Escape: Easter Holidays Family Workshops There’s a worm at the bottom of the garden… what else can we find outside? Join us to create paper garden flowers, plants and creatures inspired by the wildlife we find in our gardens. These will be displayed as part of a collaborative artwork for Earth Day on 22 April, and the display will be up until the end of May. Using paper, collage, paint and glue, we will explore and create flowers and animals for our collaborative artwork. What plants and flowers might grow at the bottom of the garden? Daisies, dandelions, tulips, daffodils? And from wildlife to pets, what animals live at the bottom of the garden? Foxes, squirrels, tortoises, cats? £2 per child, suitable for ages 3-10 Mon 3 April: What’s growing in the garden? (plants and flowers) Book tickets Weds 5 April: Who lives at the bottom of the garden? (animals) Book tickets These workshops are part of Art Fund’s The Wild Escape project uniting museums with schools and families in a celebration of UK wildlife and creativity. More about The Wild Escape Plant of the Week: “Ming fern” (Asparagus retrofractus) By Matt Collins, Head Gardener Without question, asparagus ferns are among the big hitters of the houseplant resurgence of this last decade — South African members of the Asparagusgenus, whose bold yet delicate fern-like foliage stretches, twines and creeps through living-rooms the country over. Chief among them is Asparagus setaceus, the common asparagus fern, which, despite its ubiquitousness remains popular for more than a few good reasons: unfussy and super easy to grow (or, hard to kill, depending on your take); excellent figure, effortlessly chic etc. A close second is probably the foxtail fern (Asparagus densiflorus) with its stouter, more compact bushy plumes. But the real gem, for me, is A. retrofractus — the ‘Ming fern’ — a less compliant yet totally captivating species with the star quality of silver-white stems and a springtime flush of acid-green foliage. I acquired our retrofractus at one of the early houseplant festivals held at the Museum, advised by the seller that the seasonal contrast between its new and old needle-like leaves is something quite spectacular, which it is. This might have been about four years ago, and since then the plant has been bumped up and up pot sizes until at last filling the largest terracotta we have to offer it. Repotting just before Christmas, I tied the stronger of its attractive though viciously thorn-clad stems to a discrete stake, and folded in the other stems to form a kind of lifted bird’s nest structure. Under the pressure of continued rapid growth, the ‘nest’ is already falling over itself, but the effect is just lovely: a tumbledown, feathery creature with a bright skeleton of questing branches.

About our gardens Object of the Week: Suttons Seeds Photographic Slides (1910) These photos showing flowers including marigolds, arctotis, begonias and snapdragons were taken to illustrate a Suttons Seeds catalogue in 1910. Suttons Seeds was founded in 1806 in Reading, and these items were one of many ‘rescued’ from disposal by an employee when the company was sold and relocated in the 1970s. They were gifted to the Garden Museum Collection in his memory. Explore our collection Images: “Ming Fern” Asparagus retrofractus (c) Matt Collins; School poster of children gardening (c.1955), Garden Museum Collection

Garden Museum 5 Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7LB gardenmuseum.org.uk

Amazing Contemporary Hydrangea Arrangement

www.instagram.com/reel/CnTF_ImIZ8R/

Check it out. Very genius…,,