“We’ve chosen plants from around the world”
This quintessentially English garden boasts rare and unusual plants from around the globe. Owners Leslie and John Bryant give us a tour
With its flower-filled borders, damson trees and lily pond, this tranquil haven might seem like the epitome of an English country garden. “Actually, it’s full of unusual specimens from around the world,” explains owner John Bryant, who lives here with his wife Leslie. “I discovered a lot of the plants while I was in the army, posted overseas.” Thanks to John’s miltary postings, he and Leslie have lived in such far-flung places as Dubai, east and west Africa and Uruguay. “Everywhere we went we made the best of the garden, although we had to move on every three years,” he says. After John’s mother died, he and Leslie returned to the family home at Tynings in Worcestershire. “We’ve lived here for almost 30 years now,” he says. “My mother was a very keen gardener and she planted some of the trees here, including a giant cherry ‘Kanzan’, more than 50 years ago. The planting has moved on a lot since then; we’ve added a lot more trees and shrubs, despite the fact it’s only half an acre.” Rare and interesting specimens include the Indian bean tree (Catalpa bignonioides) and an unusual hybrid between the Indian bean tree and the desert willow (Chilopsis linearis) known as Chitalpa tashkentensis ‘Morning Cloud’, which has white and purple foxglove-like flowers. “You can cut it back hard to produce enormous leaves, but we leave ours to flower,” says John. Another unusual acquisition is a Wollemi pine (Wollemia nobilis).
My mother planted the giant cherry ‘Kanzan’ 50 years ago
“It’s an Australian conifer that was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 1994 in New South Wales,” says John. “I bought mine about 15 years ago when they started to come up for sale. Just to be on the safe side, I bubble-wrapped it for the first two winters; now it can fend for itself.” John prefers plants with lush, jungly foliage. “Cannas are a favourite and I grow mine principally for their large, green and red paddle-shaped leaves rather than for their vivid flowers,” he says. “I’m a bit of an instinctive gardener and buy plants without knowing quite where to put them! Some new cannas I acquired on a visit to RHS Garden Wisley are a case in point...” Although John lifts his canna rhizomes and overwinters them in a polytunnel together with his tender abutilon plants, he’s happy to let the dahlias stay underground, covered with bark mulch. “My vigorous, red decorative ‘Blaisdon Red’ does very well,” he says. “I haven’t had any problems leaving them in the ground. I’ll also overwinter some of my exotic shrubs, such as Mexican Cestrum fasciculatum [early jessamine] in a sheltered spot outdoors, together with Iochroma australe, which is a trumpet-flowered shrub native to Argentina and Bolivia. They all make wonderful statement plants.” One very sheltered area of the garden is protected by a pillared fence. “I call it The Great Wall,” says John. “It produces a warm microclimate where I plant more tender
shrubs and large swathes of Turk’s cap lilies, including crimson Lilium pardalinum giganteum, but these are prone to lily beetle. I spray early in the year, with Provado, and then Leslie picks any beetles off by hand to keep them in check.” After his retirement John attended talks given by Bob Hares at nearby Pershore College. “He talked about growing plants from cut stems, then invited the audience to help themselves to cutting material,” says John. “About a third of the shrubs were grown from those cuttings.” Leslie is a keen gardener too, but she’s happy to share the planting space with her plantaholic husband. “He’s the plantsman and I’m the number one weeder and assistant gardener!” she laughs. “We both enjoy the garden equally though; our favourite seat overlooks a small pond, ornamental bridge and water feature. The gentle sound of water is very relaxing.”
My vigorous red decorative dahlia ‘Blaisdon Red’ does very well