PLACES TO VISIT
Recommended places to see seasonal plants at their best both in Europe and the UK
There are many flower-rich meadows of great note in the former Soviet bloc. Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic in central Asia, stands out as a plantsman’s paradise. A country around half the size of Germany, it has around 3,900 native species. In late June, early July, the nurseryman and plant specialist Brian Kabbes runs botanical tours to this virtually unexplored Asian country that borders China’s Xinjiang province. We went in 2012 and I have never seen such a rich abundance of flora. Fields of foxtail lilies, Linum olgae, and many, many more – too many to mention; you can sometimes find more than 100 species in a single square metre. It is a truly amazing sight. You can find details of Brian’s tour for June 2019 at kabbes.nl
For more than 20 years now our nursery De Kleine Plantage has exhibited at the International Specialist Nursery Days at Bingerden in the central Dutch province of Gelderland. It is one of the highlights of the Dutch plant show year, and takes place this year over the weekend of 15-17 June, offering as ever an incredible choice of rare and unusual plants. The gardens themselves are worth a visit at any time of year. The 23-acre estate, surrounded by a moat dug in 1791, is one of the oldest preserved estates in the Netherlands. It is made up of five separate gardens, including the original potager and exuberant borders, which include a large collection
of roses that are in full bloom in June. Bingerdenseweg 21, 6986 CE Angerlo, the Netherlands. Tel +31 (0)313 484238, bingerden.com
Bingerden is not far from Hummelo, the private garden of the renowned Dutch designer Piet Oudolf, which is opening to the public for the last time in 2018. For many years now Piet has used his garden to test out new designs and create some of the new perennials that are so important to his trademark style. Open 31 May – 7 July, Thursday – Saturday, 11am-4pm. Broekstraat 17, 6999 DE, Hummelo, the Netherlands. Tel +31 (0)314 381120, oudolf.com
Another designer’s garden to visit this month, although one in a very different style, is that of Arabella Lennox-Boyd’s country home Gresgarth Hall in north Lancashire. It’s a gloriously romantic affair with deeply planted, herbaceous borders that are filled with colour through to autumn, beginning in June with nepeta, geraniums and alliums. There’s also a lovely walled vegetable garden, nuttery and orchard. Open 10 June, 11am-5pm. Gresgarth Hall, Caton, Lancaster LA2 9NB. Tel 01524 771838, arabellalennoxboyd.com
Less than an hour’s drive from Gresgarth, in the Lake District, is the exciting new garden at Lowther Castle. Within the castle’s ruins, Dan Pearson has created a beautiful parterre where perennials, such as Salvia pratensis ‘Indigo’ and Thalictrum ‘Elin’ mix with ferns and climbers to create a lush feel of abandonment in the inner castle. Dan is currently creating a new Rose Garden, where briar roses will form the shape of a rose around a beautifully planted ornamental rose collection. Head gardener Martin Ogle is leading a behind-the-scenes tour of this new garden on 14 June. Lowther, Penrith, Cumbria CA10 2HH. Tel 01931 712192, lowthercastle.org