Gertrude Jekyll

Originally entitled ‘Why do white flowers smell best?’ I have revised this article.

Saturday has come around again ridiculously quickly, meaning it is time for another contribution to Jim’s weekly meme at Garden Ruminations; also coming round quickly is a new month, with an end-of-month post noticeably lacking…hey ho!

Every day I seem to spot the first rose of the year on yet another bush and, today, the first of hundreds on ‘Rambling Rector’; in the warmth and sunshine this afternoon there was even a hint of fragrance in the air. I can’t post any fragrance on this blog, but I can share the beauty of the roses along with their varied colour and form, beginning with ‘Olivia Rose Austin’, above, which grows into a neat and shapely bush.

Gardening is not an inherent knowledge that we all magically have. Simply because you have some green space, it does not mean you know what to do with it and we cannot all be Tom Stuart-Smith, Arne Maynard or Gertrude Jekyll, more's the pity. So what do you do if you have a garden but have no idea how to garden?

The herbaceous border, which is a comparative newcomer to the garden scene, is still one of its most popular features. Introduced at the turn of the century by Gertrude Jekyll as a protest against the monotonous formality of Victorian garden design, its popularity has steadily increased until today there are few gardens without some kind of perennial border to enhance their beauty throughout the months of summer and autumn.

As part of your Premium access, you can send your gardening questions to our horticultural experts each month. They will then answer a selection of the questions they receive, and share the advice at the end of the month.

As part of your Premium access, you can send your gardening questions to our horticultural experts each month. They will then answer a selection of the questions they receive, and share the advice at the end of the month.

If you’d like some garden inspiration, there are lots of gardening quotes and sayings to give you a boost.

As part of your Premium access, you can send your gardening questions to our horticultural experts each month. They will then answer a selection of the questions they receive, and share the advice at the end of the month.

Indulge in new plants for the garden and discover recently launched tools, kit and botanically influenced home accessories.

“The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies.”

This selection of top ten Roses to grow as cut flowers has been chosen for their scent and the length of the vase life. If Roses are picked as the buds are breaking they will last at least a week and if they are picked fully open it will be several days.

As part of your Premium access, you can send your gardening questions to our horticultural experts each month. They will then answer a selection of the questions they receive, and share the advice at the end of the month.

“The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies.” ~Gertrude Jekyll~

Except that I didn’t tell anybody. Not my parents (who were journalists, and would have been especially proud to share the excitement ahead of time but instead were startled to see it there on the printed pages one Sunday morning); not my non-work friends, nor my sister.I’ve always been like that: keeping things close to the vest to a fault. (We could exhume Dr. Freud for a quick consult on why, but maybe let’s not bother.)In the

Set back on an 11-acre property in Surrey is the faded-brick Arts and Crafts house that once belonged to the influential British horticulturalist, garden designer and writer, Gertrude Jekyll VMH, Munstead Wood. Gertude was the first woman to be awarded the Royal Horticultural Society's Victoria Medal of Honour – the most prominent of awards for British horticulturalists – following an illustrious career during which she “transformed horticultural practice and inspired others to become gardeners through her books and more than 1,000 articles,” says the National Trust. Designed by her frequent collaborator Sir Edward Lutyens, the house is a charming emblem of classic English Arts and Crafts design and, thanks to Gertrude's own talents in gardening and floriculture, the house's garden is a “horticultural gem.”

Although I say it myself, the garden is looking pretty glorious at the moment and there is a lot of standing and staring being done; in the overall scheme of things, however, I have but a small part to play, as the roses, the clematis, the annuals, the dahlias and all the other plants in the garden go about their business more or less independently. Despite a floriferous fortnight or so and a massive thunderstorm last Sunday, the roses are still looking wonderful and should still be on top form next Sunday, when we open the garden for the NGS. Their impact is augmented by a gradual  injection of colour from the viticella clematis, which are just coming into bloom, as in the above picture where ‘Lady Emma Hamilton’ (lower left), ‘Crimson Glory’ (pergola) and ‘Rural England’ (a mass of pink froth in the apple trees) are boosted by Clematis ‘Margot Koster’ and ‘Madame Julia Correvon’.

If there’s one thing that gets my goat, its, what’s in and what’s out in gardening. Now honestly I don’t want to alienate myself, of course everyone’s entitled to an opinion but don’t you sometimes think there is a bit of inverted snobbery going on. I have always loved gardens and gardening, I like the subtle garden with foliage of different hues and perhaps white flowers giving that relaxed feeling. I am mad about the Summer mixed perennial borders which give that great to be alive feeling. The Rose borders are charming, the Scottish Heather borders can look great. Here’s the crunch, I absolutely also love the in your face loud, brash, garish front gardens which are packed with blindingly bright Summer bedding, makes me smile, makes me laugh. Picture of our front garden, I promise it was once more packed when the flower borders were wider than this. Whats not to like.

The Perennial plant Crambe Maritima also known as Sea-kale is commonly found on shingle beaches.

The National Trust has acquired the home and gardens of pioneering horticulturist Gertrude Jekyll, “in order to secure it for public enjoyment and benefit”. The Grade I listed property, Munstead Wood, located in Godalming, Surrey, is one of the earlier designs of Sir Edwin Lutyens, who was a relatively unknown architect when Jekyll enlisted him to design the property in 1896. The house has been in private hands since Jekyll’s death in 1932, yet the gardens and the house have remained remarkably unchanged. Jekyll’s practical workroom, the pottery cellar, and a ‘shop’ area where she sold cut flowers have been beautifully preserved.

On a grey, damp February day I went to see the wonderful exhibition at The Royal Academy  ‘Painting the Modern Garden – Monet to Matisse’ and was transported into a world of  horticultural delight. There was so much to love that playing my usual game of which one I would take home  (if I could!)  remained unresolved.  Although strangely, if I really had the choice, I would choose the one non-floral painting – Gertrude Jekyll’s Boots by William Nicholson. Those worn old boots speak of the labour involved in making the gardens that inspired the painters to capture them on canvas.    Every time I looked at the painting, it would summon up the glory of this exhibition.  Do go – it’s on till the 26th of April. www.royalacademy.org.uk  

Roses have been budding up since early this month, but resolutely refusing to open; sunshine and warmer days over this last week seemed to be the trigger they needed and one or two are now showing off their rosy glory, starting with R ‘Strawberry Hill’, above, increasingly one my favourites. More than likely, ‘Madame Alfred Carrière’ was the first, her blooms appearing way above my head and easily missed. There may be a hint of colour on buds of a handful of roses, but mostly they seem content to wait until they feel the time is right, like ‘Gertrude Jekyll, below, demonstrating the benefit of training stems horizontally to encourage more side shoots and therefore more blooms: