THE COTSWOLD GARDENING SCHOOL

Research You Can Do Before You Start TheTen Week Planting Design Course.

We are very much looking forward to welcoming you to The Cotswold Gardening School.

As well as preparing your reading and equipment lists, if you have time, there are other ways that you can get set to make the most of your time with us.

Below you will find my 'Nifty Fifty' list of most useful plants, these are plants that I use time and time again when designing gardens and if you feel that plant knowledge is something that you would like to work on - getting to know these plants in particular is a great way to start. We will be covering these plants in studio also.

Trees

1 Callery pear 'Chanticleer' (Pyruscalleryana 'Chanticleer')

2 Holm oak (Quercus ilex)

3 Sweet gum 'Lane Roberts' (Liquidambar styraciflua'Lane Roberts')

4 Himalayan birch 'Grayswood Ghost' (Betulautilis var. jacquemontii 'Grayswood Ghost')

5 Black cherry plum (Prunuscerasifera 'Nigra')

Hedging

1 Common beech (Fagus sylvatica)

2 Common yew (Taxusbaccata)

3 Hornbeam (Carpinusbetulus)

4 Portugal laurel (Prunuslusitanica)

5 Box 'Suffruticosa' (Buxussempervirens 'Suffruticosa')

Shrubs

1 Mock orange 'Manteaud'Hermine' (Philadelphus 'Manteaud'Hermine'.

2 Sweet box (Sarcococcahookeriana var. digyna)

3 Gold-edged winter daphne (Daphne odora 'Aureomarginata')

4 Mexican orange (Choisyaternata)

5 Pittosporum 'Tom Thumb' (Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Tom Thumb')

Grasses/Ferns/Bamboo

1 Snowy woodrush (Luzula nivea)

2 Eulalia 'Flamingo' (Miscanthussinensis 'Flamingo')

3 Black bamboo (Phyllostachysnigra)

4 Soft shield fern (Polystichumsetiferum)

5 Mexican feather grass (Stipatenuissima)

Perennial Tall

1 Spiny bear's breeches (Acanthus spinosus)

2 Anemone × hybrida ‘HonorineJobert'

3 Verbena bonariensis

4 Double peony 'Shirley Temple' (Paeonia 'Shirley Temple')

5 New Zealand satin flower (Libertia grandiflora)

Perennial Medium

1 Geranium 'Album' (Geranium phaeum 'Album')

2 Sedum 'Autumn Joy' (Sedum telephium 'Autumn Joy')

3 Lady's mantle (Alchemillamollis)

4 Bear's foot hellebore (Helleborusfoetidus)

5 Fringe cups (Tellima grandiflora)

Perennial Short/edging

1 False Forget-me-not Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost'

2 London pride (Saxifragaumbrosa)

3 Coral bells ‘Amethyst Mist’ (Heuchera ‘Amethyst Mist’ )

4 Alpine violet (Viola labradorica)

5 Wherry's foam flower (Tiarella wherryi)

Bulbs/Corms/Tubers

1 Montbretia 'Lucifer' (Crocosmia'Lucifer')

2 Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff' (Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff')

3 Tulip 'Queen of Night' (Tulipa 'Queen of Night')

4 Allium 'Purple Sensation' (Allium hollandicum 'Purple Sensation')

5 Common snowdrop (Galanthusnivalis)

Annuals/ biennials

1 Foxglove 'Alba' (Digitalis purpurea 'Alba')

2 Ornamental tobacco plant (Nicotianasylvestris )

3 False bishop's weed (Ammi majus)

4 Hollyhock 'Black Knight' (Alcearosea 'Black Knight')

5 Honeywort 'Blue Kiwi' (Cerinthe major 'Blue Kiwi')

Climbers

1 Armand clematis (Clematis armandii)

2 Ivy 'Glacier' (Hedera helix 'Glacier')

3 Chocolate vine (Akebia quinata)

4 Climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea anomalasubsppetiolaris)

5 Honeysuckle 'Graham Thomas' (Lonicera periclymenum 'Graham Thomas')

As well as books you can learn more about these plants at:

The best way to learn about plants is to garden with them or to see them for real when visiting gardens. Remember if you wish to study plants it is advisable to visit them regularly over the seasons to observe their changes. Take a camera with you but remember that you will not be permitted to touch or remove any part of a plant! Digital images of plants will not only help your learning they will be invaluable when compiling mood boards for yourself or for clients.

Gardens that I would recommend to visit would include:

  • Bourton House Garden: Bourton-on-the-Hill, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, GL56 9AE
  • Batsford Arboretum, Batsford Park,Moreton in Marsh, Gloucestershire, GL56 9AB
  • Hidcote Manor Garden: HidcoteBartrim, near Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, GL556LR
  • Kiftsgate Court Gardens: Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, GL55 6LN
  • Sezincote Garden: Sezincote, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire , GL56 9AW
  • Miserden Park: Miserden, Near Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL6 7JA
  • Rodmarton Manor, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 6PF
  • Abbey House Gardens, The Abbey House, Malmesbury, Wiltshire, SN16 9AS
  • Sudeley Castle, Winchcombe Gloucestershire, GL54 5JD
  • Cerney House Gardens, Cerney Lodge, North Cerney, Cirencester, Glos. GL7 7BX
  • Painswick Rococo Garden, Painswick, Glos, GL6 6TH
  • Westonbirt Arboretum, Tetbury, Glos, GL8 8QS
  • Owlpen Manor,Owlpen, Dursley, GL11 5BZ
  • Barnsley House Hotel, Barnsley, Cirencester , GL7 5EE
  • Pan-GlobalPlants, The Walled Garden, Frampton Court, Frampton-on-Severn, Gloucestershire, GL2 7EX.
  • Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, GL2 7B
  • Mill Dene Garden,Mill Dene, Blockley, Moreton in Marsh, Gloucestershire, GL56 9HU
  • Cotswold Wildlife Park, Burford, Oxfordshire, OX18 4JP
  • Great Dixter, NorthiamRye, East Sussex, TN31 6PH
  • Sissinghurst Castle, Biddenden Road, near Cranbrook, Kent, TN172AB
  • Legoland, Winkfield Road, Windsor, Berkshire, SL4 4AY
  • Trentham Gardens, The Trentham Estate, Stone Road Trentham, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST4 8AX
  • Le Jardin Plume, Le Thil, 790 rue de la plaine, 76116 AUZOUVILLE-SUR-RY, France
  • The Alnwick Garden, Denwick Lane, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 1YU
  • Kew Gardens, KewRichmond, Greater London, TW9 3AB
  • RHS Garden Wisley, Woking, Surrey, GU23 6QB.
  • RHS Garden Harlow Carr, Crag Lane, Harrogate, HG3 1QB
  • RHS Garden Rosemoor, Great Torrington, EX38 8PH
  • Munstead Wood Garden, Heath Lane, Busbridge, Godalming, Surrey, GU7 1UN
  • The Savill Garden, Royal Landscape,Wick Lane, Egham, TW20 0UU

Magazines that you might find of interest include:

  1. The Garden - The RHS monthly magazine, free when you join!
  2. Gardens Illustrated - a BBC publication
  3. Gardener's World - another BBC publication
  4. The Garden Design Journal - the monthly magazine from the Society of Garden Designers.
  5. House and Garden Magazine.