It is some six or seven weeks since I last visited Stockton Bury Gardens in Herefordshire and strangely it was raining then as well. The planting has put on some serious weight since early April and everything looks so lush. This was my second visit of the year and I decided to take out a season ticket as I will definitely be going back to the Gardeners event on the 15th June and then hopefully a few more times during the summer.
The planting around the ponds has changed drastically since the time of the Skunk Cabbages and fritillaries. These have now been replaced with trollius, siberian irises and camassias with the foliage of the skunk cabbages providing a nice foil. This is one of the reasons I want to visit on a regular basis as I am curious in how the interest in the borders is maintained throughout the year. Obviously there is far more space at Stockton Bury than I have to be able to succession plant in the borders but as it is something I am trying to achieve any tips I can find are welcome.
May 25th 2014
April 10th 2014
It is interesting to compare the difference in the borders since my last visit and how the plants have filled the space in a border which was looking a little light on planting. I think this border will be looking much more floriferous when I next visit in June. As it was raining a lot by this point of my visit I didn’t investigate the border fully so I am interesting to discover exactly what is growing in it.
The other reason I like to visit this garden is because I always learn something be it discovering Anemone pavonina as I did last month or learning more about growing tulipa sprengeri (above) and how to establish them in the border. One of the owners is inevitably available for me to interrogate on whatever I have seen and been puzzled by. I also end up buying something from the small nursery as they very cleverly have plants for sale that are at their best in the garden.
Finally I was struck by the size of the wisteria flowers. I have noticed quite a few wisteria plants over the last few weeks with particularly long racemes and I wonder whether the mild wet winter we had had really benefited them.
Due to the sogginess of the day and because I had tried to combine two garden visits in one afternoon and was flagging I didn’t explore in as much depth as I would normally but I think the fact that there was much to fascinate and interest me since my last visit shows how good a garden Stockton Bury is.