Visiting Cotswold Garden Flowers
May 05, 2007
Over on the right there, you’ll see Cotswold Garden Flowers in Worcestershire listed amongst my favourite British nurseries and on my recent trip to England I had the opportunity to pay another visit.
Run by Bob Brown, a man of deep knowledge and strong opinions, his mail order catalogue is one of the most fascinating and amusing that you’ll come across and his nursery is packed with good plants – familiar, unfamiliar and sometimes a little strange. He’s chairman of the Variegated Plant Group of the Hardy Plant Society in Britain, which gives a big clue to one of his many enthusiasms.
The nursery is unusual in featuring a long series of rectangular stock beds where you can see mature plants in their prime, though the labelling is a little unpredictable. But beware this: Bob has the habit of quietly weeding behind a shrub and, as we works away, paying attention to customers’ remarks as they browse. If you hear a challenge to a passing remark, apparently coming from a tree, it will be Bob answering your question or putting you straight. But relax, it might be unnerving at first but he’s a fountain of wisdom so be sure to pick his brains and get his recommendations.
As you would expect, variegated plants feature, including the spectacularly hideous Heliopsis helianthoides ‘Loraine Sunshine’ – which gets a Bob’s Score of 6 out of 10 – and the dramatic biennial Lavatera arborea ‘Variegata’ (7.5) popping up everywhere. Bob gives most of his plants ratings, his clone of Helleborus x ericsmithii, ‘Bob’s Best’ gets 10 out of 10, “The best plant I grow,” he says, while most of those rated low are no longer in the catalogue but may be found in the encyclopedia on the website, sometimes with appropriately scathing remarks.
There are many tempting perennials, with a good range of echinaceas including some of the very latest from America, along with shrubs, woodlanders and at the nursery you’ll see an interesting bed of succulents including agaves and opuntias showing what thrives in the British climate.
This is an essential stop for gardeners from far and near, but be sure to check the website for directions and opening hours – and don’t expect a restaurant and swings for the kids: this is not a garden centre, it’s a nursery, packed with a vast range of well grown plants – and with one of the most knowledgeable owners and entertaining mail order catalogues you’ll find anywhere.
And finally, here’s something really fascinating. Bob’s Top Ten sellers for the season so far and interestingly different from the top sellers from North Carolina’s Plant Delights. Some new, some old – and the top three are all in the daisy family.
1. Chrysanthemum 'Chelsea Physic Garden'
2. Dahlia 'Twyning's After Eight'
3. Echinacea 'Harvest Moon'
4. Kniphofia rooperi
5. Geranium 'Rozanne'
6. Kniphofia 'Bee's Sunset'
7. Dahlia 'Murdoch'
8. Salvia nemorosa 'Carradonna'
9. Geranium 'Bob's Blunder'
10. Paeonia 'Mdme.Gaudichau'
You'll find details, and pictures, of them all on the Cotswold Garden Flowers website.