The English Garden – September 2019

32 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2019

Above Gail Bridges
keeps the Dutch Garden
pristine by regularly
skimming algae from
the rectangular pool.
Below Dahlias, sweet
peas and zinnias in the
packed borders of
the kitchen garden.

Lady’, are alternate

columnar yews, Ta x u s

baccata ‘Fastigiata’,

and fresh green, domed

mushrooms of the

Portuguese laurel,

Prunus lusitanica.

Sapphire agapanthus

spill from double rows

of terracotta pots either

side of the 26m-long

central canal that

gardener Gail Bridges cleans daily, removing blanket

weed and pollen scum. The agapanthus, which have

occupied the same pots for several years, are planted

in a free-draining mixture of compost and grit. “I

water the pots weekly and apply a seaweed feed

every other week,” Gail explains.

The two-acre walled garden is swathed in flowers

and enveloped in perfume – it’s more of a kitchen-

come-cutting garden, both colourful and culinary.

Organic methods are employed, and companion

planting combats pests and diseases while adding

charm and beauty. Many of the plants start life

each year from seed grown in the glasshouse.

“Growing from seed means I can try a variety of

heritage and other vegetables and ring the changes

with the flowers to suit my colour schemes,” says

Gail. Fruit espaliers and tall yew hedging cordon o

more intimate growing spaces, while orchards and

wildflower meadows grow beside cutting patches

of dahlias designed to draw in pollinators and

the beneficial insects that safeguard the garden’s

produce. “Masses of single or semi-double-flowered

dahlias attract pollinators and tend to be hardier and

lower maintenance than double blooms,” advises

Gail. “I particularly wanted to encourage pollinators

into the garden, so each vegetable is coupled with

flowering herbs or flowers.”

Defensive principals apply more fully in the

more regimented portion of the productive garden

which is laid out geometrically with 28 oak-edged

raised beds. Here pest-deterring plantings and

religious crop rotation intensify output. Hyssop

accompanies lettuces, while nitrogen-fixing clover

follows nutrient-depleting root crops like carrots

and parsnips. Gail uses other organic methods of

pest control including nematodes and beer traps for

marauding slugs and snails. She staggers sowings

for a successional supply of produce, or makes

two separate sowings, one early and one late.

Occasionally she lets a few plants to bolt, distracting

pests away from newer and more succulent arrivals.

Hampton Court Castle, Hope under Dinmore,

Herefordshire HR6 0PN. Open daily until Sunday

3 November, 10.30am to 5pm. Tel: 01568 797777;

hamptoncourtcastle.co.uk

Sapphire

agapanthus

spill from

double rows

of terracotta

pots either side

of the canal