Welcome to our May issue, where we’re excited about the warmer summer months and the forthcoming bank holiday weekends. Nature is truly inspirational and our gardens have the immense power to give us contentment.
The flowers are blooming and we’ve seen our first butterflies and bees bumbling about; here are some ideas to get you out and about too.
Inspiring English rose
Surrey-born Gertrude Jekyll is a legendary British landscape architect of many beautiful gardens. You can visit her home Munstead Wood in Godalming and Hatchlands Park, near Guildford. She died in 1932 but has a rose named after her (pictured) and is a constant source of inspiration. She said: ‘The lesson I have thoroughly learnt, and wish to pass on to others, is to know the enduring happiness that the love of a garden gives.’
Maypoles and Morris dancing
Maypole and Morris dancing traditionally celebrates the return of summer and the fertility of the land. You can enjoy watching the Pilgrim Morris men at the Summerpole, on Saturday 4th May, in Guildford.
All ‘ale the Bushy Beverage!
Nothing goes better with Morris Dancing than real ale: the Hogs Back Brewery near Farnham source most of their hops within five miles of their brewery and also have their own hop garden, making them the largest Hop Grower/Brewer in the UK. You can join a guided tour and sample some of the beers or visit the shop online.
Eat hearty for National Gardening Week
To celebrate this year’s National Gardening Week the RHS has called on gardeners to share their love of home-grown produce with the theme ‘Edible Britain’. Why not get into the spirit of this and BBQ a few home-grown vegetables (I won’t tell if you cheat though!. This demo from Riverside of Herby BBQ Vegetable Salad with Fennel, Celeriac, Bean And Courgette will get you started and you can add in your own extra veg too …
RHS Chelsea Flower Show evening event
Do you want to experience the magical RHS Chelsea Flower Show (21st-25th May) but can’t make the day time? Fret not! ‘The Chelsea Late‘ gives you the opportunity to enter the showground from 5.30pm on the Friday of the show. You can explore the Ranelagh Gardens in a twilight setting and enjoy live music and a botanical cocktail or two.
A whole raft of crafts
The RHS Garden Wisley’s ‘Spring Craft Fair‘ offers contemporary and traditional crafts between 2nd – 6th May. With nearly 200 exhibitors and the wonderful Wisley gardens too, it’ll make a great day out!
I began this issue with a quote from an amazing landscape designer, so I’ll finish it with one from a great garden artist, Claude Monet. He said, ‘My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece’. If you’d like some ideas on how to turn your garden into a masterpiece, we’d love to help. You can see what we do here.
Enjoy the month!
Chris Stone
Head of Beautiful Gardens
