In this first film, Beth Chatto guides us through her world-famous gardens at Elmstead Market in Essex. ‘All my gardens have a story,’ she says. Although they are sited in one of the driest regions of Britain, you would never know that when you see the exuberant foliage growing around the series of large ponds in the Damp Garden.
From the lush foliage of the Damp Garden, we are lead up to the Reservoir Garden, home to many of Beth’s ‘family’ of favourite plants, species perennials, growing where they are happiest in conditions matching their native homes.
The Woodland Garden came about after the 1987 storm battered the Essex countryside bringing down many ancient trees. This gave Beth the opportunity to create one of her most loved areas with an understory of spring bulbs with carpets of snowdrops and hellebores relishing the cool conditions.
Finally, Beth leads us to her most famous creation, the Gravel Garden. Once the nursery’s car park, it is now the leading inspiration for dry garden planting across the world.
Thanks to Beth Chatto, The Garden Museum and Catherine Horwood Barwise.
