ASTON POTTERY lies a couple miles east of Bampton, a Cotswold village that sits on the edge of the Thames Valley, where upland sheep pasture fades to lowland water meadow. Stephen and Jane Baughan, who specialise in hand-decorated pottery, came to Kingsland Farm in Aston more than 30 years ago and now employ about 50 local people. In 2009, Mr Baughan, who has the energy of 10 men, started to direct his creative impulses into making a colourful garden that includes a hot garden, dahlia beds, a perennial border and a long border.
The star of the show is the Annual Border, which measures more than 200ft in length and contains a vivid mixture of 5,000 annual plugs, all raised from 120 packets of seed ordered from Chiltern Seeds. The planting, divided up into triangles on a colour-themed plan worthy of any garden designer, is put together by Mr Baughan himself. He raises 8,500 annual plugs in an unheated, single-skin tunnel hidden away behind the hot bank.
The very best plugs are planted out in early June, after the fear of frost has passed, with the help of one or two pottery workers and a couple of volunteers. Weather always dictates the final timing, but it takes three days of intense activity and any spares are given away to staff and friends. ‘Each plug is a few inches high, which means no staking is needed. There’s no feeding either, so the plants are grown hard, although there is a sprinkler system if conditions are dry,’ says Mr Baughan. Planting small is key, because short, sturdy plants resist the weather.
Denne historien er fra January 06, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra January 06, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
