“Our roses look and smell magnificent!”

Andy Stevens shares the thrills and challenges of working at Borde Hill

Head Gardener Andy has been at Borde Hill for 11 years, managing a team of three full-time gardeners and one part-timer. Five volunteers each work a few hours a week.

How did you come to work at Borde Hill? I come from a family of keen gardeners so I guess it’s in my genes! As for working here, my previous garden was closing, so I needed a new job. By chance there was a vacancy at Borde Hill. Now I’m in my 11th year here!

What jobs will you be doing in July? At the height of summer, watering has to be a priority, as well as keeping on top of weeds before they take hold. In order to keep the displays looking fresh – and encouraging more blooms to come – we spend a lot of time deadheading the roses and any repeat-flowering perennials. Tubs of annuals provide bursts of colour, but they need careful watering, feeding and deadheading during summer. We also work hard to keep blanket weed under control in the ponds.

Are there any new developments to see this year? We have a new planting scheme for the Italian Garden that’s been evolving over the past couple of years. Last autumn we planted several hundred bulbs of Fritillaria imperialis ‘Rubra’ and allium ‘Globemaster’ mixed with a selection of summer-f lowering herbaceous perennials. The design was put together by Annie Guilfoyle and includes penstemon ‘Raven’, Gaura lindheimeri, Geranium psilostemon and perovskia ‘Blue Spire’. Nearby, in Josephine’s Way, Noel Kingsbury has drawn up a new planting scheme. His plans use grasses such as Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Dark Desire’, carex ‘Silver Sceptre’, Miscanthus sinensis ‘Ferner Osten’ and Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’, along with dahlias such as ‘Mystic Dreamer’, ‘Mystic Fantasy’ and ‘Mystic Spirit’, which produce pretty, wildlifefriendly single f lowers.

What are the garden’sJuly highlights? Naturally the roses are looking and smelling wonderful this month. Jay Robin’s rose garden features 750 David Austin English roses, while the Midsummer Border features a collection of lightercoloured ‘Gold Standard’ roses, grasses, shrubs and perennials. During July, Paradise Walk looks very colourful with summerf lowering perennials such as geraniums, sanguisorba, patrinia, phlomis, kniphofia and perovskia in full bloom.

What’s the main challenge of working at Borde Hill? Ooh there’s a question! A large historic garden like this is a special challenge in itself. Day to day there are plenty of challenges, many of which will be familiar to all gardeners. There’s time – of which invariably there is never enough; the British weather; and, of course, the unexpected, which is usually lurking around a corner waiting to jump out! It keeps you on your toes, but having said that, I do think a garden without challenges would be quite boring to work in! Fritillaria imperialis ‘Rubra’