Gardener's Question Time, a magical moment at Sissinghurst, and two HUGE gardening revelations
Plus: a lovely gathering of Gardening Minds, some mystery plants, and where are the bees?
The Original Gardening Community, right here on Substack
There’s something very special, something so kind and generous, about people who enjoy gardening. We’re so lucky.
As we gathered at Water Lane, it really hit home what a brilliant community The Gardening Mind has become. Because of you all, who come together to chat, to share photos and ideas, TGM has become the very best online space for garden lovers that there is. This is absolutely the truth - so many of you are saying it. So if you’ve been thinking for a while about joining, this might just help you to take that decision.
Friendships are being made, and every so often we get the chance to gather to cement those friendships in real life. Friday at Water Lane was one of those days. We chatted, we laughed, we ate, we looked at plants and we were taken on fabulous tours. We got to know each other and we all agreed that there’s something very special, something so kind and generous, about people who enjoy gardening. We’re so lucky.
There’ll be more of these meet-ups in different areas of the country (see my note regarding Tatton below) and hopefully, further afield too. And please don’t worry if you can’t make any of these meet-ups: we’ve decided we’re going to have a Zoom get-together which will be simply a catch-up, a chance to continue the many conversations that were started.
This was an event for paid subscribers - if you’re thinking this community of garden lovers sounds like something you’d like to be part of, you’d be very, very welcome here indeed. You can find out more about The Gardening Mind and what it has to offer you here.
One of our regular weekly get-togethers takes place online in the form of our regular Sunday Show Us Your Plots Chat - do come and join in if you haven’t yet. It’s a fabulous chance to share photos of your garden or a green space near you - you’ll see a post on the Chat on Sunday starting ‘It’s Sunday 30th June and it’s time to Show Us Your Plots!’ And I promise you, your photo doesn’t need to be wonderful or edited - you should see some of mine. It’s just an honest record of what’s going on in our gardens or a green spot near wherever we happen to be. I’m really, really hoping I can tempt you….
On the Chat on Wednesday we also had a Midweek Video (we need to come up with a better name for this!) where we uploaded a quick video tour of a part of our garden, or something we’ve seen that we wanted to share. You can of course do this any time, so again, do come and give it a try.
Can you believe it’s the end of June already?
When did that happen? It seems only yesterday that were talking about the new planting design course. If you’re just catching up, here’s a round-up of the month’s offerings: it’s been a bumper month for creative thinking around new planting design, and practical points such as creating privacy and what to do with a shady garden.
You can find all June’s articles here:
Lots of readers have asked where to find the Garden Design Course: all this year’s articles are collated here, and the course will be running again in the autumn.
And what’s in store for next week?
Our regular Monthly Garden To-Do and Not-To-Do feature will be back (yes I’m keeping it going!) as we shimmy into July….
Plus, the flowerbed and border design series continues. And, of course, I’ve plenty more treats up my sleeve which I’ll keep as a surprise…
What’s in store this week, then?
There have been LOTS of questions stemming from the new Border Design Course (the next instalment of this is in a couple of days), so I thought it was about time for our monthly Gardener’s Question Time, where you get the chance to ask me anything about gardens, gardening, plants, flower shows, border design course queries, careers in horticulture - ANYTHING to do with gardening.
And, as ever, to reassure you that no question is too silly. I’ve spent the last month waiting for what I thought was a hollyhock to bloom, because I’d sown hollyhock seeds in that precise spot. I was so delighted when it did come into flower that I gaily announced and shared it with you, my Gardening Mind friends, who then kindly pointed out that it wasn’t a hollyhock at all, but instead Malva sylvestris var. mauritiana, on the left below:
I’ve absolutely no idea how it got there, and I also have no idea how this other mallow on the right arrived in another bed. Two mallows, no sowing? A mystery which I’m imagining visiting birds must have had something to do with, and I’m very grateful to them, as both plants are beautiful. The Malva sylvestris has to be around 6 foot tall, and what bees are in the garden (see below) are enjoying it immensely. It’s got a good cottage-garden feel, and apparently produces these saucer-shaped, rich-purple flowers all summer. And though short-lived, it apparently will freely self-seed once established. I’m thinking it’s going to look fabulous with blue geraniums at its feet.
Another mystery plant was spotted at Water Lane this week, growing near the Verbena hastata in the new Melon Border. It looked like lythrum and on closer inspection it was indeed Lythrum salicaria, or purple loosestrife. It doesn’t form part of the planting design here, and we’re not sure whether it was a mislabelled plant or whether it has simply arrived there; whichever, it doesn’t matter as it looks perfect there and actually I’m thinking that we should add some more in the autumn.
You’ve got to love a self-sowing plant, especially when it takes the decision about its location for you.
Before we get on with Gardener’s Question Time, I need to share two revelations
This week, I have learned two really important, life-changing gardening things: