Spring planting

The south-facing formal borders at Betley Court Gardens (Su Hurrell)

There’s a gardening meme doing the rounds at the moment, that goes along the line “I looked up my symptoms and it turns out I just needed to spend more in the garden.” Now the weather’s getting milder, the gardens at Betley Court are calling to me, luring me out of the house and the comfort of central heating. Yesterday, a bright, breezy, sunny morning here on the Staffordshire/Cheshire border, it was perfect for visiting the formal flowerbeds and checking which plants made it through the winter. The good news is, I spotted the first shoots of many of the plants I planted out last year, so they have made it through.

A lily starting to pop up (Su Hurrell)

Our formal borders are scorched by winter gales, so their survival until spring is by no means guaranteed. I’m happy to count that as a win for the family!

Daffodils by the south wall (Su Hurrell)

Shane, Melvyn, and Paul the digger man have finished the landscaping around the visitors’ hub. They’ve created paths, edged them, and compacted hardcore to make sturdy, free-draining routes to the hub. This will be topped with decorative Staffordshire pink gravel over the next few days. The paths have left interesting little planting pockets that are crying out for some pretty woodland plants. Nigel and I ventured out to a few local garden centres and nurseries, but to be honest, the flowers they stocked would have looked completely incongruous amongst the broadleaf trees. We’re talking very bright primulas, ideal for a window box, or in a pot to brighten up the front of the house.

After a bit of research, I came across a nursery near Warrington called Bluebell Cottage Nurseries. They sounded promising, as they grow on their own plants (UK grown; tick, hard-grown; tick). Following a quick email, the proprietor, Sue Beesley (a former BBC ‘Gardener of the Year’, no less) replied, saying someone would be available to help me choose plants if I visited.

Arriving at Bluebell Cottage Gardens (Su Hurrell)

Bluebell Cottage Nurseries is a quick 45-minute drive up the M6 from Betley Court Gardens, so I popped up yesterday to have a look. The nursery is down a narrow country lane that bumps over a red brick canal bridge before you come across the entrance. As I parked up, I was stalked by an amber-eyed, stripy cat, prowling in the long grass. After appraising me for a while, the cat allowed me on my way, and I soon found Sue and a colleague (I’m afraid I missed her name!) emerging from the potting shed. It was so good to have an expert to advise me on my choices.

Lovely Primula vulgaris

My eye was caught almost immediately by a patch of buttery yellow. Just what I was looking for; native primroses and oxlips, that would sit harmoniously in our woodland setting. They were the first things to go into the shopping cart. Then I was shown some other plants in the shade section that I was unfamiliar with. There was a lower-growing dogwood, Cornus canadensis, which has a mat-like habit, and red berries in the autumn.

A mat-forming dogwood, Cornus canadensis

Then I picked two Helleborus x sternii, with creamy green flowers at this time of year. I know my next choice will do well where I plan to plant it. Its Latin name Anemone sylvestris gives the clue; ‘sylvestris’ meaning ‘of a forest or woods’. It also has pretty, frilly leaves and white flowers. It’ll go well with Geranium pretense ‘Mrs Kendall Clark’, which has blue forget-me-not flowers. It’s said to be the prettiest of the cranesbills, and I wonder who the ‘Mrs Kendall Clark’ it was named after was/is? For leaf interest, I fell in love with Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’. The plants are tiny at the moment, but the leaves already show the dramatic white veining that inspired the name.

Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost'

Finally, I popped some Cardamine quinquefolia in the shopping trolley. They’re in flower now, and have lovely light purple flowers. As the Latin name ‘quinquefolia’ suggests, they have interesting leaves with five sections. After a quick lesson in the habit and care for the plants,

Cardamine quinquefolia

I was ready to go. A lovely car-full of plants, one of my favourite things! I just need a couple hours to plant them.

All best wishes

Ladybird Su