June 2016 Newsletter Summer greetings What a crazy busy Spring we have had here at Hunting Brook. It has been difficult to find a quiet moment to do our newsletter but now as I type this, I sit happily amidst a sea of bobbing purple and white alliums, admiring the bounty of all our labour with so much joy. The main gardens are a constant moving vista of new and exciting perennials and this winter and spring we have expanded the garden down into the valley. My friend Brian Hedrick, a talented woodsman and craftsman was instrumental in thinning out the old trees and allowing badly needed light into the newly created woodland glades. Brian's work combined with our new plantings, has completely transformed the valley. By creating space in the canopy and allowing dappled sunlight into the valley floor we have created a cool haven for very exciting plants. I am very excited to watch this space develop over the coming years.
Back up in the main garden, the succulents have claimed more space this year too. The colors and textures of these plants are so diverse and stunning that it's easy to see why many people have been seduced into their world! For extra drama, I have combined the succulents with some of my new collections of Salvias. Our next open day is this coming Sunday June 12th and we would love to see you. Delicious tea and cake will be on hand to give you extra fortitude and I am doing a free guided tour of the gardens at 2pm. For any gourmands among you, Orlaith Murphy is doing a walk at 3.30 in the garden where she will point out edible ornamentals that can add a touch of drama to any meal. Hope you enjoy the newsletter and see you all over the summer Jimi Watch our woodland garden take shape
June 12th - Next Special Sunday Open Day Favorite plants for this time of the year
Lunaria annua 'Corfu Blue' Lunaria commonly know as honesty, is a real child hood memory for me with its silvery papery seed heads in the winter. This is a new cultivar discovered by garden designer Mary Keen. It has pale cobalt-violet flowers from April till July which bridges that gap perfectly from spring into summer. Sow the seed in June/July for flowering the following summer. Geum 'Totally Tangerine' I first met this wonderful Geum at the Chelsea flower show 3 years ago when it hit the gardening scene by storm. This is the longest flowering Geum with apricot/orange flowers from Spring till winter. I even had the occasional flower popping up through the snow. It is a sterile hybrid so it doesn't produce seed allowing it to flower over a really long season. My main tip on growing Geums is to divide plants regularly in Autumn or Spring into nice rich compost.
Valeriana pyrenaica When most of my woodland plants are running out of energy for flowering, this Valeriana steps in and takes center stage; bringing the woodland garden colour, right into summer. Large heart shaped leaves with lacy heads of tiny lilac flowers that produce clouds of fluffy seed heads. It is slightly invasive so I remove seed heads before the seeds take flight. I can't understand why this is not grown more It will grow in sun or shade but I prefer it in semi shade.
Next in our series of Supper Clubs...
Starting September 2016 In this course, Jimi Blake will provide a deeper understanding of current planting ideas and plant combinations. Over the course of a year, classes are held in the beautiful surroundings of Hunting Brook Garden and June Blake's Garden.
Learn to create spectacular borders with succession planting throughout the year and effectively group plants to create stunning combinations. Enjoy lectures by leading horticulture specialists in the country. Invaluable opportunity to see changes in Hunting Brook Gardens over one year. Receive detailed notes on at least 50 plants from each visit to Hunting Brook Gardens. Participants are taken through a wide range of plants -from highly aristocratic to reliable good doer and get to see in-situ plant specimens at Hunting Brook Gardens. Gain access to private gardens and specialist nurseries led by Jimi and specialist plantsmen at each venue. These visits provide a unique in-the-field learning experience and area rare highlight of the course. If you miss a class you can repeat the following year. Cost of course 74 per class 12 classes over the course of a year. This can be paid in one full amount upfront or split into 3 installments. (first installment of 150 is used as your deposit) Do you want to know more...? Join Jimi on his plants person course. One day a month over the course of the year, follow the journey of his wonderful ever changing garden at Hunting Brook. Click here to book This course is for people who truly love plants; if you are a trained horticulturist or an avid gardener then this course has something for you. Jimi's charismatic insights into the world of plants is not to be missed!
Click here to book Our Tour to Great Dixter and Wisley next August is now fully booked but do let us know if you would like to go on the waiting list.
Click for a birds eye view view of Hunting Brook Take a couple of minutes to have a look at our new drone video of the gardens. While we were filming we discovered the outline of another ring fort! Very exciting and most unexpected! Watch for it when the drone flies over the meadow. Garret is available for filming and his contact details are at the end of the clip. We are going to load all of Jimi's videos onto the Hunting Brook You tube channel so please do subscribe to ensure you don,t miss any of them.
To Subscribe to Hunting Brook Channel Click here I'm really happy to announce that the weekly meditation at Hunting Brook Gardens is on every Wednesday from 7.30pm to 9pm with Trevor Clarke. Cost per class 12 Hunting Brook Gardens Lamb Hill, Blessington, Co Wicklow Jimi - 087 285 6601