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Nick Hoggmascall

@hoggmascall

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Obsessively and introvertedly a gardener and geologist
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A brief late in the day visit to West Dean. Aristolochia gigantea in the tropical house A fabulous specimen of Agave victoriae-reginae Time for the Nerine sarniensis hybrids to flower A Piper in perfect form A huge Anthurium flowering Pumpkins and Squahes in the greenhouses Helianthus ’Sheilas Sunshine’ a great variety if you have space and height! Great seedheads on Vernonia Mallards in the Pergola pond Sunset over the new gravel beds bordering the pergola A fabulous Cercis canadensis ‘Ruby Falls’ I I think by @hoggmascall
Short on botanical words this morning; a visit to @greatdixterofficial yesterday in the later afternoon rain when few others were there lets you have a completely different experience, one thats closer with the place where you don’t haveto share the air with other bodies. A great sandwich (big up the team in the loggia cafe; great choice of music for packing up too) and a cup of tea to start off and a quick chat in the @greatdixtershop over gardeners hat styles. Dark brooding loaves of clouds rolling over the countryside, the garden transformed from a week ago; light softened, colours mellowed, the sunflowers that dominated the Peacock Garden are over and its like someone has turned the lights off. In their replacement, unfeasibly large Dahlias that require staking, tottering above the asters like someone sort of gaudy, needy drag queen. The damp autumn allowing later performers a space on the stage many of which wouldn’t have got there a few decades ago, such is the influence of man on climate. Bright bedding displays preparing to exit stage right but doing so gracefully with a fading glow; the Long Border a remarkable construct that has gone on giving since May will soon be allowed a bit of a rest. Greenhouse a buzz with preparation for winter and great to see the @greatdixternurseries team in full actionn (@shaun.r.b amongst others). A thoroughly wholesome place; the nuances will be lost on some, others will be deep in stories about ghastly family members goings on whilst breezing past the most exquisite of tableaus over which a huge amount of thought and consultation has gone into. I wonder what Christo would think of the place now? It has evolved since his passing, along with the times, but it still offers an escape from reality into a garden lovers sweetie shop. by @hoggmascall
A great day out a few days back at Chartwell, the family home of the Churchills (as in Winston). Set in an amazing position in the Weald with fabulous views looking south. We stayed in the garden (ticketed only in the house) and were kept interested by a combination of historic trees and shrubs and hard gardening effort to keep the walled gardens interesting and tidy. First, view of the house with a nice S American Eucryphia x intermedia now of tree-like proportions Porcelain Berry; Ampeleopsis glandulosa on the house, the berries just turning to their striking blue hues A huge specimen of the Japanese cedar Cryptomeria japonica Aconitum ‘Cloudy’ looking really good in a shaded border, much better than in full sun The view from the terrace Porteranthus (Gillenia) trifoliatus colouring up nicely A great border of salvias; just 3-4 varieties on repeat - most effective A mature specimen of Malus ‘Golden Hornet’ weighed down with fruit Nerines looking very good with the salvias An interesting use of Hydrangea hydrangoides as pillars up a wall; very effective with their black seedheads View of the terrace with a very mature Caryopteris in the foreground which threw me for a while as I’d never seen its habitat in old age Looking across the flower beds on the terrace Haywain in the lower field Sweet chestnuts from the healthy looking trees in the car park - looks like its been a bumper year by @hoggmascall
Blazing salvias yesterday, now sodden by the drizzle. It wasn’t long ago that there were a small handful of forms to choose from, now there is a long list. Here is Salvia guaranitica ‘Supertrouper’ bred by the late Robin Middleton; Salvia ‘Berry Blast’, a compact form bred by Rod Richard’s of New World plants and one that came through last winter in a pot on its side outdoors. Salvia ‘Alma’ also bred by Robin Middleton of unknown parentage but including C. Chiapensis; it’s profilic and long flowering and hardy with @the_sage_head in Bedfordshire. Finally Salvia involucrata ‘Bethelii Dark Form’ - looking forwards to the shocking pink flowers on this one as the buds show how much more pigment it carries from the already excellent normal Bethelii. September October gardens hold so much for new varieties such as these. by @hoggmascall
Planted as a single plant last year, Kniphofia ‘Happy Halloween’ has nine flower on it this season. A superb strong variety with healthy upright leaves, seen here with Miscanthus ‘Adajio’behind by @hoggmascall
Some more photos from Dixter last weekend… still resonating. Salvia conestiflora Ferula Asters in the Peacock Garden The ‘Horizontalis Hedge’ and Peacocks Helianthus salicifolius Pot display Through the Yew hedge Actaea Salvias and Asters Kniphofia rooperi The through the Lutyens arch Miscanthus and Coopers Burmese Crimson Rose in the Nursery by @hoggmascall
The garden at Dixter this weekend… humming with insects and humans; here’s a selection of individual plants that stood out… starting with the tender Trevesia palmata something I associate more with woodland around Chang Mai rather than the high Weald….. A fetching combo of a red Alstroemeria hybrid next to the reliable Fuchsia magellanica A couple of pots with the tender Coleus (Plectranthus) argentatus in were just stunning A really good form of Heuchera with a good dose of the tough reliable H. villosa in it; not sure if this is the form going around as ‘Harry Hay’ Our native Daphne; Daphne laureola looking particulary healthy Centrum parquii has been growing at Dixter for decades. Once though somewhat tender, now in the current climate forms a huge bush and flowers for a long season Boemeria plantanifolia, one of many species introduced in the recent decades and now becoming popular mainly as a foliage plant. Related to the stinging nettle. This is perhaps my favorite species of all of them Eriocapitella (Anenome) japonica flowering next to the spend sterile flowers of Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Ayesha’ Kniphofia rooperi in the sunken garden; always performs well Equisetum hyemale (syn. camchatcense) looking very happy in the pond in the sunken garden Pistia stratoides, the water soldier, now spending its time lower in the water column compared to the summer when it bobs around the surface Symphiotrichon (Aster) ‘Little Carlow’, hard to argue you get a lot of bang for your buck Rhus typhinus ‘Laciniata’ (I think); a really good form with tinted stems and petioles It’s Salvia congestiflora time: a stunning species this time of year with fascinating reptilian bracts slowly extending with profuse flowers. This year they planted it with Slvia uliginosa and it looks stunning Cephalaria transylvannica, a 2 meter high annual of incomparable lightness and grace Helianthus salicifolius in the Peacock Garden, a dangling splinter of Egg yolk yellow by @hoggmascall
A glorious weekend for the holding of the Great Dixter Autumn Plant Fair. An entry ticket gets you access to perhaps the best selection of Nurseries out there; @pelhamplants @brightgreenfox @cotswoldgardenflowers @malcolmallisonplants @edulis.nursery @jurassic_plants @hardysplants @phoenixperennials @specialplantsnursery @plantpref @whitehousefarmarb @callygardens @pottertons_nursery @greatdixternurseries @hoylandplants and a few more ive forgotten. The effort by the Dixter team and some of the stalls is exemplary and gives the visitor a great example of the seasons exuberance. Such a chance to meet and mingle often with friends only known on social media. Once the early Saturday rush was over a more relaxed air descended and continued into today. Then into the Gardens around the house which were exemplary and only showing the effects of the drought in a few places along the long border. Hard to think of a better place to be for anyone who like a colorful garden by @hoggmascall
Going into its third flower flush, Pelargonium acetosum just keeps getting better and better. A brief comment about ‘easy from seed’ on a pelargonium Facebook group encouraged me to collect the plants seed and sow in sand. Lo and behold they come up like cress…. Great fun, this sort of malarkey… by @hoggmascall
Cutting something back with hollow stems (that apparently won’t root)? Try them in water #diasciapersonata by @hoggmascall
Great to get a chance to visit the new QEII gardens in Regents Park on a balmy 22 degrees late September day. Considering it’s only been established in the last year the whole scheme looks remarkable and is bedding in well. Planting designed by Noel Kingsbury responds to the setting, a large part of which is based on crushed bits of old garden frames and glasshouse bases from the Capel Manor College site it formerly was. Ponds, Swales, Meadows, Steppe, Shade… a real range of habitats planted beautifully. The gravel gardens need another season or two to settle but what a great new place to sit and relax, read a book maybe, just chill - this is what city spaces should be all about by @hoggmascall
Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain by @hoggmascall

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