Every National Trust gem has its own special character.
Here, the people in charge of some of the most beautiful gardens in Britain share their wisdom…

 

Create a better lawn

Glyn Jones, from Hidcote Manor in Gloucestershire, says... One of the best ways of encouraging grass to grow strongly is to mow it regularly but never in the same direction for more than two or three cuts. Changing direction when cutting helps to prevent stalky grass establishing.

Best plant for tricky places

Sam Youd, from Tatton Park in Cheshire,says... Ferns are one of the groups of plants we take for granted in the garden, but they’re ideal for a problem place. Hardy ferns tolerate conditions many plants would find unacceptable - for example under trees, in north-facing aspects or wet areas. I like to use evergreen ferns that don’t die down in winter but continue to look lush even in the harshest temperatures. The shaggy shield fern (Polystichum aculeatum) and hard shield fern (Dryopteris cycadina) look good all year round. Another favourite, despite the fact that it dies down in winter, is the Japanese royal fern (Osmunda regalis), which produces wonderful curled-up fronds in spring that unfurl to stunning effect. It can grow anything up to 2m high and, once established, is almost impossible to kill.

Expert know-how: Ferns really love moisture, they dislike strong sunlight and love a soil enriched with organic material.

Prettiest trees for small gardens

Mike Buffin, from the National Trust Central Office, says... Selecting the right variety of tree for a smaller space is one of the most challenging decisions any gardener will face. There are three groups: Clear-stemmed trees that are naturally small or slow growing - my top choices are: Japanese maples (Acer palmatum), flowering dogwoods (Cornus florida and C. kousa), the weeping silver pear (Pyrus salicifolia ‘Pendula’) or the conifer Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Filifera Aurea’. Large treelike shrubs: The serviceberry (Amelanchier lamarckii), Chinese privet (Ligustrum lucidum) or the Chilean fire bush (Embothrium coccineum), all of which need pruning to maintain a clear central stem. Trees that respond well to pruning to keep them smaller: Indian bean tree (Catalpa bignonioides ‘Aurea’), the silver wattle or mimosa Acacia dealbata) or the smallleafed lime (Tilia cordata ‘Winter Orange’).

Expert know-how Best tree for year round beauty is the Chinese paper bark maple (Acer griseum).

Basic rules for gorgeous containers

Peter Hall, from Powys Castle in Wales, says... No matter what the type of container - grand planter or simple teapot, all need to give plants the right conditions for growth. Here are the basic rules: Air Roots need oxygen to grow, so good drainage is essential. Coarse gravel is fine, or I use bark chips. With poor drainage the plant can become waterlogged and roots die. Too uch drainage and the compost will drain too rapidly, so water is wasted - and with it its nutrients.

Light: Most container plants prefer full sun for much of the day to promote good flowering. For a shady spot: try Impatiens, Nicotiana and Convolvulus sabatius.

Water: The best containers are sumptuous with foliage and flower, and really have to be a labour of love. Water loss increases in a breezy, open site, so pick a sheltered spot.

Nutrients: We use a peat-free compost mix combining ground bark, composted woodchip and sterilised loam - similar to a John Innes-type mix but with more organic matter. I can’t over-stress the importance of using the best quality compost. I add slowrelease fertiliser to ontainers to provide a longer-term feed, then supplement this later in summer with liquid feeding.

Expert know-how: Planting up the perfect pot: A good idea is to have a central feature plant for the design - for example, Fuchsia triphylla are excellent for rich foliage and flowers, as are scented pelargoniums such as ‘Clorinda’ or ‘Scarlet Pet’.Favourite trailing plants include the double red nasturtium ‘Hermine Grashof’ with its round leaves, or clear blue Lobelia richardsonii.

Good housekeeping!

Alan Power, of Stourhead in Wiltshire, says... Make sure pruning tools are sharp and clean and, when pruning, remove the
debris from around the base of the tree or plant as soon as possible as this can play host to pests and diseases.

Top plants for winter interest

Richard Todd, from Anglesey Abbey Garden in Cambridgeshire, says... Producing colour without using lots of flowers makes winter gardening challenging and exciting.

Good-sized, bold groupings are important for impact as single plants get lost in the mix. Contrasting colours or shapes draw attention, and bright stems such as dogwoods (Cornus) and willow (Salix) give colour for months, even on the greyest of days. The bold leaves of oleaster (Elaegnus) and Mexican orange blossom (Choisya) make fine backgrounds for other plants. Activating the senses is what winter gardening is all about, and the sense of smell demands to be explored. Try mahonia, viburnum, honeysuckle (Lonicera), wintersweet (Chimonanthus) and Christmas box. We often position these on corners to give pleasant surprises, especially on days that are still and warmer.

Expert know-how: Use low winter sun either to highlight or backlight plants for best effect.

Flowers for free Cat Saunders, from The Courts Garden in Wiltshire, says... Save some seed as you go through your borders - but collect it on fine days, laying it out on newspaper until it’s thoroughly dry. Store it in a plastic box in the fridge, with silica gel inside to help keep the seed dry. Yes, you can put weeds on the compost heap...

Richard Todd, from Anglesey Abbey Gardens in Cambridge, says...Invasive weeds with fleshy roots, such as bindweed, couch grass and ground lder, can be made harmless by putting them into a black plastic bag, leaving them somewhere to rot down for some weeks, then adding them to the heap.

Top tips for beautiful borders

Heather Aston, from Upton House in the West Midlands, says... The mixed border is the backbone of any garden and is part of what makes gardening so exciting... Establish a routine of plant husbandry - in other words, don’t leave it for years, then do it all at once!
 
Research your plants and find out what they like before planting them. Do they prefer wet or dry conditions, heavy or light soil? eep a diary of maintenance routines, noting dates of planting, feeding, composting and so on. Constantly stand back and view the order. There’s always room for improvement and new combinations, such as different varieties of clematis around wooden poles for height and colour.

End Times

The 16th album from the beautiful wordsmith that is E. The first time I heard this band was on TFI Friday singing Novocaine for the Soul. I must admit it wasn’t until a friend of mine pointed out the brilliant lyric “ Jesus and his lawyer are coming back” that I was blown away by them. So 13 years on his still writing and playing some great tunes. The new offering is End Times, which comes six months after his last release. The Album starts with the beautiful “ The Beginning” such a moving melody. Then on to the sixties sounding “Gone Man” then the wistful homage to lost youth “In My Younger Days” great lyrics. “Mansions of Los Feliz” three cord acoustic track you can’t help to like. In “A Line in the Dirt” we are listening to a couple breaking down. “End Times” & “Paradise Blues” are really the two ends of this album… End times being the slower side. The heart breaking “ I Need A Mother” reminds me of Lennon, my favorite track. With “Little Bird” and “On My Feet” he leaves us with a positive feel. He sings on the last track “One sweet day I’ll be back on my feet”. If you’ve not heard any of The Eels albums you really should treat yourself to at least one. This guys melody’s, lyrics & voice is something you really do not want to miss.

It seems appropriate to choose this album as the step back in time zone this month. Now after “Killing in The Name “ being Christmas number :) it makes me very pleased to tell you about the rest of the album… The album opens with “Bombtrack” this opens with such a cool riff then bang you’re in… You can’t help but fall for it … Forget political, forget protest, this is hard-core funk at its best… believe me… “Take the Power Back” the sound on this makes it feel like you’re in the room with them… Great production. I could listen to the guitars all day … “Settle for nothing” starts with a very moody bass line, mix with eerier feedback. Then over the top of that you have the brilliant vocal/rap that just blends so well. Then when you think we are full rock the gustier kicks in with a beautiful guitar run. “Bullet in The Head” makes me dance… And it will you as well… Can I also say, that sound your hearing on the guitar is  all him… No overlays… “ Know Your Enemy” Please … Does it get any better… “Wake Up” nods its head to the old school (Kashmir Led Zep) then we’re back into the Rage way of things, Funky bass lines, and heavy drums. “Fistful of Steel” is a bit more chilled… Well I say that but not Coldplay chilled. “Township Rebellion” is just a full on funk vibe… Then we end the album with a big and mighty song called “ Freedom” perfect end to a perfect album. I got an e-mail telling me that Rage Against The Machine would be putting on a free show next year as a thank you for getting them to number 1 this Christmas. You got to love this band.

Detroit Social Club @ The Flower Pot
(London) Wednesday 9th December 2009

The band start with a hypnotic drum based “Kiss the Sun” buildings up in to a chant of we kiss the sun, fantastic start. This then drifts into the feedback driven “Prophecy” the backing vocals our beautifully placed. Very catchy… We then move on to the really large sounding “Northern Man” David Burn’s vocals really come into there own here… Once the album comes out I’m sure you will be hearing this all over the radio. “Rivers & Rainbows, this is the first song that got me on board. It’s got that Primal Scream /Kasabian vibe to it… Again it’s got such a hypnotic feel to it … you can’t but get dragged along. “Sliver” just makes me want to get my Happy Mondays flares out of the cupboard…

That Congo dance beat will get you moving. “Thousand kings” shows off just how great this band are, you’ve got different sounds coming from all over the stage… Every single one of them deserves to be up on the big stages which I’m sure will not be long. Burn’s vocal is probably  the best vocals I’ve heard since a young Liam started in 95. I’m not saying) he sounds like him but has the same impact when you hear a great rock singer.  “Black & White” such a brilliant sixties riff. “Forever w onderland” goes all down n dirty blues… Very Dr John sounding…

DSC end the night with the excellent “Sunshine People”. If these lads don’t ake it big in 2010 there is no justice in the  world… VOTE DSC, VOTE DSC.

http://www.myspace.com/detroitsocialclub

Paul Weller  Cambridge Corn Exchange / Twisted Wheel. Saturday 12th December 2009

What a fantastic end to the year for me! Twisted Wheel was the first and only support act.
Luckily for me I had seen them before during the summer so I knew what to expect of them.

The lads pulled off fantastic set singing songs that really got the crowd going. The band are the type that appeal to most people because they seem so down to earth, this shows in their music and in the bands personality so it seems- I spotted lead singer Jonny Brown in the bar afterwards. For me the band produced a good full sound for a three piece and was a perfect choice of support for Weller. When Weller and company graced the stage the whole room came alive; The Twisted Wheel boys had done a good job but this was the real highlight of the evening. Paul played many old favourites including “Wild Wood”, “Sea Spray” and “One Bright Star”. The performance of all songs were perfect as I had anticipated and Paul Weller and band managed to do a 3-song encore. What I always find funny about Paul Weller gigs is that the crowd knows it’s coming. He misses out crowd favourites so that everybody knows to stay the ones that don’t quite grasp that miss out big time! One of the things that disappointed me was the fact that he missed out so many good Jam songs such as “The Eton Rifles” and “Going Underground”. I put this down to the fact that his former band mates were playing on the same stage the following night. The only other complaint I have to make was the fact that “Brand New Start” wasn’t played! It’s a personal favourite of mine, and many others I’m sure, so I was gutted to not hear it in his set at all. The performance went down well with the audience, many of his songs could be heard playing out through car windows in the car park after the gig. (Hearing about 50 people singing along to “Wild Wood” in a huge traffic jam is rather entertaining!) So overall I would say that it was a brilliant gig despite the fact that he missed out a few legendary numbers!

The Grants: Unsigned

If you like the feel of The La’s jingle jangle sound I’m sure this will be your cup of tea. They’ve been touted around as the best-unsigned band in the UK. I’m not sure that’s true, they’ve definitely got a vibe about them but it’s a bit lightweight for me. Great songs, Good melodies but no get up and go. “I Am the One” is a really good tune. But I’ve heard better bands coming out of Liverpool.

See the website:www.myspace.com/thegrantsrock.