This is the story of The Land Gardeners, creators of productive gardens and stunning bundles of cut flowers. Based in the original walled garden at Wardington Manor, The Land Gardeners have revived the tradition of working with the land to produce abundant, seasonal flowers for clients' use in decoration, design and events. But for all the frivolous, bucolic beauty of the flowers, it is the productivity and health of the soil that truly underpins The Land Gardeners' philosophy. The book explores lively soil, the joy (and, arguably, necessity) of gathering from our gardens, and the imperative that we care for our soils and live among healthy, vital gardens.
Chapters include:
The Land Gardeners - how Bridget Elworthy (New Zealand) and Henrietta Courtauld (England) created The Land Gardeners in 2012, their background in growing and designing, their philosophy.
A Floral History - how it all began in the walled garden at Wardington Manor, Oxfordshire, England.
Creation of a Cutting Garden - the fundamental importance of soil health. The life in the soil: how we improve it, how we feed it, how we make compost. The importance of organic and biodynamic growing.
The Flower Room - gathering, preparing, arranging and selling.
A Year of Flowers - growing throughout the year: spring (narcissi, tulips, hesperis); summer (roses, peonies, delphiniums, scabious, ammi); autumn (cosmos, dahlias, gladiolus); winter (bulbs, aconites, snowdrops, berries, hips).
Your Cut-Flower Garden - creating cut-flower borders; planting and growing; feeding the soil; growing under cover; tools; staking and supports.
Growing Cut Flowers - The Land Gardeners' favourite flowers: roses, peonies, dahlias, bulbs, annuals, perennials, foliage, shrubs and trees.
Resources - books; websites for information on cutting gardens; suppliers of plants; seed companies; tools and equipment.
Author Biography:
Bridget Elworthy and Henrietta Courtauld both trained and worked as lawyers before studying garden design. Henrietta went on to work with landscape and garden designer Tom Stuart-Smith and then started her own garden design business. Bridget went on to study horticulture in London before spending three years back in her native New Zealand, where she grew peonies on the family farm, Craigmore, before moving to Wardington Manor.At The Land Gardeners, both Henrietta and Bridget now specialise in the design of productive gardens - particularly walled gardens. They have combined forces to research soil health and its importance as the source of plant, animal, human and, ultimately, planetary health. They launched The Farm Project to make high-quality, microbially rich compost on a large scale, with the goal of empowering growers and farmers to do the same. Their book Clive Nichols English Gardens was published by The Land Gardeners Press in 2014.
