Optimism underpins a lot of gardening but few growers need it quite as much as those featured in a new book on Island Gardens that I’ve been reading. Here, the compulsion to grow sees gardens that have been created right on the edge – sometimes literally – of what is possible.
Written by Jackie Bennett, the book explores just some of the flower-filled spaces on the more than 100 inhabited islands in the 6,000 that surround the Britain Isles.
“Britain has more visitable island gardens than anywhere else in the world,” she tells us, going on to explain that the range is wide from rocky slopes suitable for alpines to those with deep, fertile soils.
On a journey around the coastline, we encounter famous gardens, such as Tresco Abbey Garden and Lindisfarne Castle, and others that are less well known, including Kierfiold House on Mainland, Orkney, where the current owner is building up a collection of hardy geraniums.
Many of the gardens have a long history, with a few brought back from the brink. The three distinct gardens that make up Plas Cadnant on Anglesey have been rediscovered and restored by Anthony Tavernor over the past 20 years. At Ascog Hall, on Bute, there’s been a mixture of restoration, such as the sunken fernery, and new ideas from a succession of owners who realise “that a garden is, by nature, a work in progress.”
What all the gardens have in common is the difficulty of getting plants and supplies – most are still reliant on ships – and the wind. Almost without exception, hedges are a priority to shelter plants that would otherwise be battered by gales.
“To talk to an island gardener is to continuously discuss the height of hedges, the types of hedges and even how many rows of hedges will be needed to protect the garden plants,” says Bennett, whose other books include Shakespeare’s Gardens and The Writer’s Garden.
Scattered through the accounts of visits to different islands are profiles of some of the plants their gardeners grow. We’re told about the Horlick Rhododendrons, raised by James Horlick (of the malted drink firm) at his garden on Gigha (pictured top of page) and agapanthus, which along with echium, another featured plant, are ‘weeds’ on the Isles of Scilly.
Underpinning the stories told is the sheer determination of the gardeners not least that of Caroline and Kevin Critchlow whose Orkney garden was devastated by three days of gales just a week before they opened to the public. They simply replanted.
Caroline, who regularly appears on The Beechgrove Garden television programme, has resisted planting a shelter belt in order to keep the sea view.
What is clear is that in order to garden successfully in these often-remote places, it is vital to understand the climate, soil type and terrain and to plant accordingly.
With photography by Richard Hanson, Island Gardens is an entertaining introduction to some of the country’s gardening outposts; a travel and garden guide gives details of how to get to them.
And it’s a journey that seems to offer the ultimate escape: “In our minds, an island fulfils a universal need for escape, solace, beauty and isolation – all qualities that can also be found in a garden.”
• Island Gardens: Havens of Beauty Around the British Isles by Jackie Bennett, photography by Richard Hanson, is published by White Lion Publishing, priced at £25 RRP. Buy now (If you buy through this Amazon link, I get a small fee. The price you pay is not affected.)
• Review copy supplied by Quarto Publishing.
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