Away from the main tourist area of Amsterdam, in the east of the city, is the tranquil oasis of the Hortus Botanicus (Botanical Garden). It is open daily from 10am – 5pm and tickets can be bought in advance online, although this is not essential.
The garden was established in 1638 and is one of the oldest in the world. It was originally a herbal garden for doctors and apothecaries. There are now about 4,000 species of plants at the Hortus.
I first visited Kiftsgate Court Gardens near Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire in 2018 and always vowed to visit again, which we did at the end of August. This magnificent Manor House is located opposite Hidcote Manor (owned by the National Trust), so in a day you can visit both beautiful gardens.
Kiftsgate was originally bought by Heather Muir and her husband in 1920. She designed the garden, advised and influenced by her friend Lawrence Johnson who designed the famous Hidcote. Heather Muir’s daughter Diany Binny became the next custodian, and it is now run by her daughter Ann Chambers and husband Johnny who are very hands on and always present in the garden.
Continue reading A visit to KiftsgateHidcote Manor has existed in one form or another for centuries, but the present garden was only established in the early twentieth century when Lawrence Johnston bought the property at auction on behalf of his mother and the two moved in in 1908, adapting the house to suit their requirements. Having been farmland for much of its history, Johnston had a blank canvas on which to begin work. He was a keen plantsman and went on plant-hunting expeditions himself – today Hidcote’s plant collection still contains many species regarded as of national importance, and many gardeners will be familiar with Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’ and Rosa ‘Lawrence Johnston’.
A group of enthusiastic members visited the Old English Garden in Battersea Park last weekend, led by Ruth, who worked there for Thrive, during the period during which it was transformed from a rather overgrown historic site to an award winning and inspirational garden reimagined by a well-known designer.
The original garden was designed by JJ Sexby in the early 1900s and renovated a couple of times in the 1960s and 1980s, during which the lily pond was drained and filled with bedding schemes, the hard landscaping changed to crazy paving and then to the current brick pavers, and the splendid Wisteria pergola deteriorated.
I visited the ‘Unearthed: The Power of Gardening‘ exhibition (on until Sunday 10 August 2025) at the British Library recently, the third gardening-related exhibition at a non-garden-related institution that I’ve seen in the past few years (I’m sure there have been others!). The first two were ‘Rooted Beings’ at the Wellcome Collection in 2022 and ‘Soil’ at Somerset House earlier this year.
This exhibition, as the title suggests, was more about the actual act of gardening than the other two, and as such had quite a lot in common with the permanent display at the Garden Museum. The British Library’s advantage was its access to phenomenal (and in some cases phenomenally old) examples of historical books, and its focus on gardening and gardeners, rather than the gardens.
Continue reading ‘Unearthed: the Power of Gardening’
Fresh off a flight from America, Fergus Garrett addressed approximately 300 people seated on hay bales in the Plant Fair Field, in one of the regular Friends events held at Great Dixter. He had returned that morning from a 20 day stay, lecturing and touring, with some of the stay devoted to Chanticleer. Fergus drew comparisons between the gardening practice there and at Great Dixter. At Chanticleer they artificially oxygenate their compost heaps to accelerate the process, whereas at Dixter these are left to decompose naturally. He also drew attention to how little water is used at Dixter – at most, the Long Border has been watered three times this year – but at Chanticleer watering is a regular feature of garden maintenance.
Continue reading A visit to Great Dixter, July 2025On a very hot Friday in July we set off on a CABAHS coach trip to Saffron Waldon in Essex, to visit Audley End House and Gardens.
The Audley End site was originally a Benedictine monastery, but following the Dissolution of the Monasteries the land was acquired by Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk between 1604 and 1612, who built a very grand house on the site on a par with a royal palace. It has been altered and added to throughout the years, and the grounds were originally designed by Launcelot ‘Capability’ Brown in the usual parkland style of the time, together with a temple in the distance.
Our group decided to visit the Parterre first at the side of the house. There were beautifully shaped beds and lovely planting just humming with bees, hoverflies and butterflies. Plants included lavenders, Nepeta, day lilies and Phlomis which were being watered in the very hot sun.
Continue reading A Trip to Audley End
Among the services offered by Perennial are a range of garden tours, many to gardens which are not often open to the public. Long Barn Gardens is one of those. Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West bought Sissinghurst in 1930, but for 15 years before that they lived at Long Barn and it is interesting to look for the elements here which they later expanded and refined at Sissinghurst. On the edge of the village of Sevenoaks Weald, the garden has retained its long views over wooded countryside and has been the family home of Rebecca Lemonius and her husband who have lived here since 2007.
Like the house itself, the garden has developed as a kind of hotch-potch with bits added on over the years and there is a wonderful informality and intimacy about the place. Rebecca emphasises that although they garden with Vita Sackville-West’s ethos and style in mind, the emphasis is on the atmosphere which she created.
Continue reading A visit to Long Barn Gardens, Kent
Not too far away (and on the 54 bus route from Charlton and Blackheath!) lies a ‘new’ old park: Beckenham Place Park. The name can be confusing – it lies on the border between the London Boroughs of Bromley and Lewisham, but is run by Lewisham Council. It is larger than you might think, at 96 hectares (well over 200 acres), and stretches from Beckenham Hill railway station in the north to Ravensbourne railway station in the south, west into Beckenham ‘proper’ and east toward Bromley.
Beloved of dogwalkers, wild swimmers, park runners, bluebell spotters and vintage shoppers, since Heritage Lottery Funding was awarded in 2016 there have been many changes and a huge increase in community use. Old features of the 18th century estate have been brought back, playgrounds added and the 1762 mansion (which was formerly a golf club house with a small visitor centre) is now home to artists’ studios, a café, a vintage shop and hosts multiple events.
But to the gardens…
Continue reading Have you been to Beckenham Place Park lately?Jean and I were very sorry to miss the (highly successful) plant fair on 19 May but we did have a lovely visit to the fabulous garden at RHS Harlow Carr instead.
RHS Harlow Carr is a short drive or bus ride away from Harrogate, a very elegant spa town in North Yorkshire. The garden opened in 1950 with the intention of trialling and showcasing plants that would thrive in a northern climate as opposed to the possibly easier growing conditions of RHS Wisley.
Continue reading A Visit to RHS Harlow Carr
Charlton and Blackheath Amateur Horticultural Society 