Editor’s letter
Alongside the idea of sustainability – reducing and recycling plastic, avoiding peat composts and buying fewer (but better) things – is the idea of slow design. The Slow Movement is perhaps most familiar to us in terms of the food we eat, grown locally and eaten in season. ‘Slow’ isn’t about moving at a snail’s pace but rather seeking to do things at a speed that is right. This isn’t news to gardeners, but it is less frequently considered in terms of garden design.
La Granja Alnardo in central Spain is a garden designed by Tom Stuart-Smith and actively gardened by its owner Peter Sisseck. “Never have I felt more strongly that what I am doing as a designer is setting a process in motion, as it were, pushing the boat out into the water,” Tom told garden critic Tim Richardson. The range of plants used at La Granja Alnardo is rhythmically intensive but narrow, as is Tom’s horticultural signature, and slow growth is accepted. Achillea, dianthus, phillyrea, cistus and other native shrubs create a hummocky landscape; it is difficult to tell where nature ends and the garden begins. It is a garden created thoughtfully and with intent.
January means planning ahead and in this issue our favourite plantspeople share the plants they are most excited about growing in 2019. Growers for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Hortus Loci, flag up the best new shrub introduction in the past few years, The Land Gardeners, Henrietta Courtauld and Bridget Elworthy, highlight a scented rhododendron (recommending bringing it indoors during flowering) and nurserywoman Claire Austin notes an autumn-flowering aster with black stems and small lilac-pink flowers.
With cold, bright days outdoor in mind, Joshua Sparkes, head gardener at Forde Abbey in Somerset, digs more deeply into soil. He challenges traditional thinking about how we can get the best from our gardens with practical tips to put into practice during the year ahead.
I hope you enjoy the issue,