Gardener’s Cuttings


Celebrating women gardeners Women have gardened for centuries to provide food and medicines for their families. However their contribution to gardening was not widely recognised until the 20th century. This summer there’s a celebration of the substantial contribution of three Somerset gardens. The exhibition will be held at three National Trust gardens from June to October - Barrington, Tintinhull and Montacute. It will highlight the profound influence Gertrude Jekyll, Phyllis Reiss and Vita Sackville-West had on the three gardens.


"During the early 20th century, the contribution made by these great women to gardening began to gain greater acknowledgement," said the National Trust.


In 1917 74 year old Gertrude Jekyll’s planting plans for borders at Barrington Court showed the move from formality to mixed borders of shrubs, bedding and herbaceous borders.


Phyllis Reiss who designed the gardens at Tintinhull was a great unsung gardener of the 20th century. She believed in strong structure and the repetition of successful plants.


Vita Sackville-West feared her literary ambition would be thwarted if she were pigeon-holed as a gardener. Ironically it was through writing about her experiences of gardening and growing up in the Kent countryside that won her critical acclaim as a columnist.


The exhibition will include installations and sculpture to capture the sensory impact each woman brought and to illustrate their individual personalities, styles and designs. www.nationaltrust.org.uk


Honey bee numbers are affected by neonicotinoid pesticides


Reader makes Yorkshire discovery A Country Gardener reader who saw Sally Gregson’s article on fritillaries in our May issue, has discovered some surviving in Yorkshire – hundreds of miles further north than they are supposed to thrive. Ian Leighton-Boyce, of Brimscombe, near Stroud in Gloucestershire, was on a visit with his wife to see their daughter who teaches in Pontefract. She showed them some flowers in a small copse near daffodils.


Snakeshead fritillary - discovered by CG reader in Yorkshire


“There were two varieties – one a pale yellow and the other a weird chequered patterned flower, quite exotic and elegant. We did not


recognise them and thought they might be a sort of orchid,” he emailed us.


“All was revealed later when we read the article! Obviously these had been transplanted at some time but it’s interesting that they seem quite at home even that far north.”


Perhaps this might be an indication of global warming, he asked. As Sally states in her article, fritillaries (and the chequered one Mr Leighton-Boyce saw was the Snakeshead Fritillary) are only usually found in the south of England, one of the main sites to find them being at Oxford where masses of Snakeshead Fritillaries are an unforgettable sight in Magdalen Meadow.


The bee killer in your garden


An investigation by the Soil Association has revealed chemicals lethal to bees can be found in domestic gardening products on sale in UK supermarkets, hardware stores and garden centres. A group of insecticides called neonicotinoids have been linked to the dramatic decline in honey bee numbers which have been seen in the past few years. Neonicotinoids – are banned or suspended in several European countries, including France, Germany, Italy and Slovenia. As the UK Government has failed to act on this issue, the Soil Association is calling on the withdrawal of any products containing neonicotinoid pesticides.


A selection of products to avoid in your garden can be found at: www.soilassociation.org/bees.aspx


Bee decline is a worldwide phenomenon – in the UK alone beekeepers reported an average loss of 17. 7 per cent in 2009/10. Although no single reason is responsible for this dramatic decline of these crucial pollinators, one of the major causes is linked to industrial-scale farming. This has meant a sharp decrease in areas of wild flowers and other bee-friendly sites, as well as the use of insecticides such as neonicotinoids. In contrast the UK Government’s own advisors found that plant, insect and bird life is up to 50 per cent greater on organic farms.


An extra day for Apple Weekend Vita Sackville-West


Waterperry Gardens’ Apple Weekend has been extended this year to allow even more visitors to enjoy the popular event. The event on 8th, 9th and 10th October gives visitors the chance to see up to 50 varieties of apples on display – with many of them also available to taste! There’ll also be around 15 different varieties of Waterperry produced apple juice to try and experts on hand to identify mystery apples and give advice about growing apple trees. The event also provides visitors with a chance to celebrate our regional food and drink, as quality food producers from the local area will be at Waterperry throughout the long weekend. Waterperry Gardens are near Wheatley in Oxfordshire www.waterperrygardens.co.uk


Country Gardener 7


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