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VALLEY GARDENING - - - A s.is> X I ■ — i ~ :


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memorable years, writes Guy Hindley. In March Ribblesdale Park obtained planning permission for another 35 lodges. The development started


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a point of access and, more specifically, as a place to park Iheir car and site their dustbins. Ilowovor, there is much you can do with a


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front garden to make the house welcoming and increase Its value - and It doesn't have to be high maintenance if you choose the right plants. 1 his year's Chelsea oold medal-winning Upwardly Mobile Garden got people thinking ' about how people who liwest in their front ' gardei\ can take many of the plants with them if they move, either by plantino them in large containers or propagating them. John Lord, managing director of John


Woods Nurseries, which co-created the garden with Capel Manor College, said; "We waiited to show how with woody plants you can create


ront gnrclens me so often an afterthought for homeowners, who see the front of their house only as


a front garden that inspires. When you go to Holland and Germany, you see that people invest in their front gardens, but people here don't take care of them. Yet they can add value to their property." The theme of the Upwardly Mobile Garden


was to demonstrate how easy it is to create a garden - especially your first - and take components of it, such as planted containers, with you when you move home. In this way. you take your ideas and learning with you throughout life. "We've used plants that are happy in differ­


ent types of soils and situations, for example, to help inexperienced gardeners understand their options," says Lord.


Included in the garden were low mainte­


nance plants including Diervilla Cool Splash, Prunus "Kojo-no-mai", Geranium "John­ son's Blue", Sambucus "Black Beauty" and Heuchera "Midnight Rose".


Invest in the biggest pots you can afford for


permanent plantings which you intend to take with you when you move. John Woods used its own Endless Summer collection of Hydrangea macrophylla in pots, which unusually produce flowers on old and new wood and therefore are repeat flowering throughout the summer, regardless of late frosts or incorrect pruning. If you want a tree as a focal point in your


front garden, think about buying a specimen that will grow in a pot, which will be able to move with you in years to come. The Upwardly Mobile Garden featured a Cornus "Venus", a flowering dogwood with good drought tolerance and a high resistance to diseases, in a large container. It produces striking white bracts up to 15cm


in diameter each May, followed by rich red autumn colour and grows to around 3.5m in 10 years.


. When planting permanent plants in contain- Best of the bunch - Allium (Ornamental onion)


THEIR lollipop blooms always make a state­ ment In any border, rising above all else to


display mainly purple or white globes of flowers. The most majestic Is the giant A.


gigantcum, which grows to 1.2m (Aft) and produces Impressive lilac ball-shaped flow­ ers In early summer.


Valley page 14 The popular A. crlstophil has a narrow


growth habit, which means bulbs can be slotted between other plants In the garden during autumn. Growing between 30-60cm (1-2ft), they


produce round heads 20cm (Sin) across on tall stems, packed with starry purple flow­ ers, which eventually fade to green.


Alliums will thrive In any well-drained soil


in full sun. Clumps should be divided in autumn


every three years. They look great popping up through


ornamental grasses or other plants which hide the allium foliage, which starts to die off before the flowers bloom.


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in April and is a project man­ aged by ourselves. So far the weather and the team have been kind to us. The first architecturally


designed eco lodges should arrive any minute now and the first holidaymakers will arrive at the start of August. At the same time as this


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development is evolving we are also constantly perfecting Hindelinis our "cafe with a difference". By July our menu will have expanded due to a much needed kitchen exten­ sion. We are currently design­ ing a range of spectacular homemade pizzas - take out or eat in-that will be a big feature on our new menu. And


T '^ibblesdale Par<


his year, 2010 ,is turning out to be one of the estates most


we are also trying to incorpo­ rate a room service facility on Ribblesdale Park so owners and holidaymakers can be served hot food straight to their lodge. Also due to open shortly


will be a games room for families to enjoy. This will hopefully include things like ping pong, pool, ping ball, fruit machines and should be a happy place for families to enjoy time together. While this is all going on we


are thrilled as our lodge sales have started to pick up. Another family has decided


to own a home on the estate and has ordered a three- bedroomed lodge facing the sunset and views down the Ribble Valley. They decided to buy here due to the glorious historical setting, the gardens, the all year round opening times, the buzz about the place and having Hindelinis on their doorstep.


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ers, use a soil-based compost like John Innes, which has a bit more body than some of the others, and give the plant a good mulch and feed in spring. - Of course, if you want to take the fruits of your labour with you when you move, you can also plant specimens that are going to be easy to propagate or divide. Clumps of ornamental grasses can easily be lifted and divided, so you can take a portion with you. The easiest way to take a little piece of your


garden when you move is by taking hardwood cuttings of your favourite shrubs and other plants.


Plants including berberis, buddleia, cornus,


kerria, spiraea, deciduous viburnum, mock orange and salix are all suited to this method. Look for shoots which have grown during


the current season and are about pencil thick­ ness or more. Cut them off, leaving a small stub on the parent plant. Trim the bottom of the cutting just below


a leaf joint and the top just above one, so the shoot is around 20-23cm (8-9in) long, with all the.soft growth at the top removed. Dip the bottom of the cutting info hormone


rooting liquid and then place it in a pre-pre- pared slit trench part-filled with sharp sand to aid drainage, so the tops of the cuttings are around 7.5cm (3in) above ground, refilling the trench with soil and firming in the cuttings. John Lord says; "Gardening doesn't need to


be complicated- Use plants that are happy in different types of soils and situations."


Valley page 15 •y. -


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ONE of the new eco homes to be situated at


Ribblesdale Park i


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