Beth Chatto Garden 14 June

[Brian Ellis]

Well I must stop all this gallivanting about and do some gardening!  But before that, yesterday we visited friends in Shotley and had a short trip to Beth Chatto's inspiring garden at Elmstead Market.  Essex is one of the driest parts of the East of England and the sun shone on us yesterday.  When we first visited this garden many years ago the following two sets of pictures would have been full of Fords,  Vauxhalls, VWs etc as it was the car park.  Then began the experiment, amazingly you can park your car, wander round this bit and go into the nursery and tea rooms without charge!  Our friends want to make a gravel garden, but somehow I don't think it will quite turn out like this!  One thing to note Paddy, is that I was quite wrong in the Glen Chantry thread as the fifth picture is of Ornithogalum pyrenaicum, my apologies.

[Brian Ellis]

Of course when I say you can go into the nursery without charge that doesn't mean that you get out again without having spent money

More after I have done some work!!

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Great start Brian !
Looks like you're going to show us another one of British gardening marvels !!  Look forward to that !! 

[Ragged Robin]

Brian, thanks for the lovely shots of Beth Chatto's gravel gardens - I am a great admirer of hers and her books are inspirational.  One day I will visit there I hope 

[ranunculus]

More after I have done some work!!

Not TOO much w---, w---, w---, (No, I can't spit it out), Brian ... Robin, Luc and I (among many others) are eager to see more please?

[Luc Gilgemyn]

More after I have done some work!!

Not TOO much w---, w---, w---, (No, I can't spit it out), Brian ... Robin, Luc and I (among many others) are eager to see more please?

I second that Cliff !! 

[Maggi Young]

Well restrained of you, Cliff:     ...... I will take this opportunity to remind the english-speaking forumists that we frown on the gratuitous use of four letter words that might cause offence. 

[David Nicholson]

Cracking start Brian, it looks something special.

[Brian Ellis]

Right, back to business.  For those who have never visited this wonderful garden the layout is along a valley where a stream was dammed to make a series of ponds through the middle of the garden.  The entrance is from the gravel garden which you have already seen.  The land surrounding the gardens is agricultural so you do see glimpses of fields through the mature trees.  You enter at the 'right hand' end with the house to your left and the stream and ponds running down to the left.  I was amused to see the barleystraw which was in the ponds to reduce algae growth producing growth of its own.

[Brian Ellis]

I think the first picture is of roots, but then I thought perhaps it was weather worn rotten trunk, whatever it looked good. We walked round the top pond and looked back to the house, here is some of the planting in this area.

[Brian Ellis]

On the opposite side of the ponds to the house is a largely woodland area with island beds.

[Brian Ellis]

Of course Beth began to garden seriously because she was a flower arranger and was looking for unusual plant material.  Her artistic eye is obvious everywhere and her flower combinations are a joy.  Generally we walked across the pond, down the far side, back up past the island beds and across and round each pond.

[Brian Ellis]

This brought us back up to the house and here are a few things that caught my eye.

[Tony Willis]

Brian

more wonderful pictures of a  lovely garden.We too visited when the gravel garden was a car park. It has developed amazingly but I still prefer the area around the lakes which seems so calm.We always buy loads of plants which are totally unsuitable for the north west and which die gracefully the first winter after planting.

[Brian Ellis]

There is a small private area near the house but you are able to go up to the side of the house.  The first picture is up the private steps, the rest as we went up to the house where there was a collection of succulents (one in particular I liked the look of) and raised beds in the area between the garden and the nursery.  It looked as though Beth was having a glasshouse either renovated or constructed in this area.