Great Ouseburn may be small but it showed yesterday it has some of the finest gardens in the Harrogate district.

Sixteen private gardens opened for the day as part of the village’s annual garden festival.

They included a wildflower meadow, quirky modern designs, cottage gardens and even one small courtyard garden that doesn’t get any sun for almost half the year.

The festival has grown to become about more than beautiful gardens: there were also concerts by the vocal ensemble Camerata Sonora in St Mary’s Church, a cookery demonstration, wine tasting, gardeners’ question time and displays of Morgan cars and alpacas on the village green.

With cricket on the playing fields and tea and cakes in the school, it made for a quintessentially English experience that even included a downpour, which fortunately did not take place until five minutes before the event was due to end.

Read more:

• Where to see Open Gardens in the Harrogate district
• Co-op submits plans for new store in Boroughbridge

The festival, which raises money for village causes, was the latest of many midsummer open gardens events taking place across the district.

Knaresborough and Marton-cum-Grafton are holding events this weekend.

For further details, click here.

Here are some photos from Great Ouseburn yesterday.

A horticultural nursery near Harrogate is to reopen after almost eight years.

Cliff Bank Nursery at North Rigton was run for years by Joe Maiden, who appeared on radio gardening shows for 40 years until his death in 2015.

Ben Preston, who was previously head gardener at York Gate Garden, and NHS worker Laura Kennedy have spent a year restoring the Harrogate Road site, which will re-open on Saturday, May 27.

The nursery will specialise in rare woodland plants, unusual perennials and ornamental grasses as well as offering a yearly selection of hardy annuals.

Mr Preston and Ms Kennedy, both 35, took on the challenge to bring the derelict nursery back to life in March last year.

Ben Preston and Laura Kennedy

They have cleared the overgrown site, installed new polytunnels and created selling space. A derelict glasshouse has also been refurbished.

The couple plan to grow everything at Cliff Bank by propagating from seed, cuttings and divisions.

Mr Preston, who is originally from Boston Spa, worked at gardens across the UK, including Goldsborough Hall, near Knaresborough, before overseeing the expansion of York Gate Garden as head gardener fro 2017 to 2022. He is also a lecturer at Yorkshire School of Garden Design.

Ms Kennedy has worked in the NHS for nine years.

Mr Preston said:

“We’re really happy to be re-opening the gates at Cliff Bank. It has seen many horticultural chapters over the years and hopefully we’ll be here for many years to come growing unusual plants and providing inspiration and knowledge for gardeners.

“Being a local lad and having a passion for plants, it has been a dream to open our own nursery so close to where I grew up. Our aspiration is to become a popular local nursery with a national reputation for growing interesting and unusual plants here in Yorkshire.’

The greenhouse pre-renovation

The renovated greenhouse

Ms Kennedy added:

“We’ve got huge plans for Cliff Bank and I can’t wait to see them come to fruition, but in the meantime, we look forward to welcoming the gardeners of Leeds and Harrogate over the summer.”

Cliff Bank will open Wednesday to Saturday from 9am to 4:30pm until October.

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• Chainsaw sculpture completed at Ripon’s Himalayan Garden
• Man jailed for 140mph Harrogate police pursuit after being banned from driving

A stunning golden cloak, crown, orb and sceptre fashioned out of flowers is one of the star attractions at this year’s Harrogate Flower Show.

Today’s first day of the show saw around 15,000 enthusiastic visitors. This year’s theme was the coronation of King Charles III.

The show, which is organised by the North of England Horticultural Society, is the first big gardening event on this year’s UK calendar. More than 50,000 people are expected over the four days.

Nick Smith , show director, told the Stray Ferret:

“We’re so pleased to see the amount of quality horticultural we’re seeing here today. After such a miserable winter, it’s just fantastic to see everybody come here and celebrating spring.

“Some might think the principle of floral art is quite old fashioned, but flower arrangers have created fantastic things – to see the range and quality in the Floral Pavilion is just amazing.”

The royal cloak, crown, orb and sceptre were designed and created by Harrogate florist, Helen James – who is no stranger to winning awards for floral artistry.

This display however, was not made to be judged but to promote the show and has done its job — images of her work graced the front pages of the national press this morning, much to the delight of show organisers.

A close up of the cloak’s beautiful floral fabric

Helen James has created promotional displays for the show for the past eight years but she said this one in particular seemed to have captured people’s attention:

“We’ve started off with a base cloak of fabric and then overlaid it with organza to create a luxurious, padded look and then applied the floral material onto that. The flowers were either stitched on or we used special glue.

“The colour inspiration came from something regal but it’s also fitting for springtime. The flowers are orchids, anthuriums, craspedia, kangaroo paws and mix of ferns and foliage, some have been coloured to fit the colour scheme.”

The work took Helen and her team four days to create, then the cloak was gently draped over a table, put in the back of a van and taken to the Great Yorkshire Showground.

It’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club. The third in our series of networking events in association with The Coach and Horses in Harrogate is a lunch event on March 30 from 12.30pm.

Don’t miss out on this chance to network with businesses from across the Harrogate district. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

The Yorkshire School of Garden Design is to offer a new Diploma in Planting Design.

The year-long Diploma will be launched at the school’s Spring Open Day this Saturday and is an opportunity for those with a passion for plants to explore a career in garden design.

The school at Harewood House was launched less than a year ago and specialises in teaching professionals the art of garden design.

The course will cover topics ranging from plant taxonomy, through the history of horticulture in design, to the art and science of designing plants in a wide range of settings.

Yorkshire School of Garden Design founder Alistair Baldwin said:

“Our new diploma is the perfect opportunity for budding designers, amateur gardeners, professionals and all those passionate about the fundamentals of planting design.”

“The course will provide a careful blend of creativity, design principles, botany and taxonomy, the sociability of plants in sustainable communities, and insights into the work of the world’s leading practitioners in the world of planting design.

“Our proximity to many of Yorkshire’s finest gardens, landscapes and plant collections, not to mention the glorious gardens at Harewood, will also provide unrivalled opportunities to expand the learning process. Throughout the twelve months, our students will be encouraged to explore and gain first hand insight from our surroundings in the company of experts, supplemented by trips out to first class regional gardens and a study tour in the south of England.”

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• Local Tories and Lib Dems urge new council to back £49m Harrogate Convention Centre upgrade

A partner at Jones Myers has been named ‘Lawyer of the Year’ in Northern Powerhouse Awards.

Kate Banerjee won the award in the Private Client category.  Judges selected Kate, who heads the Harrogate firm’s internationally renowned children’s department, from a shortlist of eleven lawyers across the North of England.

With almost three decades of experience in children law, Kate has expertise in international child abduction. Her specialisms include contact, residence, and adoption.

Kate said:

“I am proud and honoured to receive this prestigious recognition which is attributable to the commitment of our highly experienced and respected team.

“An enormous and heartfelt ‘thank you’ to my colleagues who consistently provide the best bespoke solutions for our valued clients.”      

Kate Banerjee, partner at Jones Myers Solicitors, with her award 

Nidderdale environmental artist James Owen Thomas met Monty Don when the BBC Gardeners’ World presenter visited Harrogate.

Mr Thomas spoke recently on Gardeners’ World about being an artist in residence at Fishpond Wood in Bewerley and the importance of being in nature for his health and wellbeing.

At An Evening With Monty Don at Harrogate Convention Centre last Friday, Mr Thomas was able to meet the famous gardener shortly before he went on stage.

He presented him with one of his original collages of a garden scene, and received two books signed by Monty Don.

Mr Thomas, who will be opening a gallery in Pateley Bridge shortly, added:

“He knows I spoke on Gardeners’ World about mental health problems.

“It was good that some of his talk on stage was about mental health and the importance of being out in nature.”

Read more:

• Art becomes therapy for Pateley Bridge grandma with dementia
• 20mph speed limits to be tested in Harrogate and Knaresborough

Experts set to take centre stage at Harlow Carr Flower Show

Thousands of visitors will descend on Harrogate next weekend as the annual RHS Harlow Carr Flower Show takes place.

Running from Thursday, June 23 to Sunday, June 26, it will feature talks and demonstrations by gardening experts as well as stalls, displays and more.

Among those on the line-up is Martin Fish, the renowned horticultural writer, broadcaster and RHS judge, who will share advice from more than 30 years of gardening.

He will be joined by celebrity floral designer Jonathan Moseley, offering visitors inspiration and tips to create stunning cut flower displays.

The show will also feature live music as visitors explore the gardens.

Tickets for the event have sold out, but organisers said some last-minute cancellations may allow more to be released via the website.

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• RHS Harlow Carr to convert bungalow into staff offices
• Harrogate distillery wins RHS branded drinks licence

The Stray Gardener is written by Rudding Park’s Kitchen Gardener, Fiona Slight. Fiona has worked in horticulture for more than 30 years in the UK and abroad, and specialises in growing fruit and vegetables for fine dining. This month, Fiona gives you her top tips for propagating a new plant. 

Softwood cuttings are a great way to get started with propagation and as long as you follow a few simple rules you are guaranteed success.  A wide variety of perennials, deciduous shrubs and some trees can be rooted this way.

Plants such as Osteospermum, Penstemon, Pelargonium, Verbena, Salvia, Fuchsia, Sambucus (Elder), Hydrangea, deciduous Magnolia and more can all be rooted very successfully this way.

Pelargonium

Softwood cuttings are generally taken from spring to early summer, although I have had some success with soft woodcuttings of Penstemon and Pelargonium taken in August or September. They still have time to root before winter and can then be potted on in the spring quite happily.

Try and get your cutting material from young plants, the cuttings will root more easily as they have more natural rooting hormones, however, you can heavily prune older plants, feed and water well, and these can then produce new softer growth that will root more quickly.

When it comes to taking the cuttings, you need to work quickly, soft plant material loses moisture quickly once detached from the plant, so it is important to either get the material into a jar of water or a plastic bag immediately after cutting.  Try and get out of the sun as quickly as possible too, with the early morning or evening the best time to crop from the plants.

It is also important you inspect the plant and chose healthy strong shoots with no evident pests and diseases and preferably no flowers or buds. You need to take off around 10cm of the chosen shoot, although this does depend on the type and size of plant you are working with. Once collected, if you can’t take the cuttings straight away, put them in a fridge to keep them cool.

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When preparing the cuttings, use a sharp knife or pair of snippers, most do best if you cut to the node (found at a leaf joint), as this is where roots will grow from, although some plants such as Clematis do better as internodal cuttings (cut in between two leaf joints), the roots will grow from the internode.

Once you have trimmed to the node, remove the lower leaves and in most cases the tip can then be removed too.  I have found some plants do best if the tip is left in and removed once it has rooted, so it may be worth trying to see if it works for you too! The cutting can then be dipped in rooting hormone powder if you prefer, although a few plants will root perfectly well without it such as Pelargonium.

The cuttings then need to be inserted into a good well-drained propagation compost, make sure the leaves sit just above the compost and do not get buried at all, as this can be a source of rot in the cutting.  Water the cuttings from above as this will settle them in well.

Cuttings in propagator

If you are lucky enough to have a propagator, then place the cuttings into the propagator and keep them semi shaded.  If not, they will root perfectly well placed in a plastic bag that is tied at the top and put on a windowsill out of direct sunlight.  Keep checking the cuttings to ensure they are moist enough, generally three to four weeks is enough to get good roots on a soft woodcutting.  Then it’s just a case of taking them out of the propagator and once you see the roots coming out of the bottom of the pot, get them potted on.

Voila! You have the start of some new plants, have a go, it really is worthwhile.

Five top tips for July:

• Its not too late to plant autumn flowering bulbs such as Nerines, Colchicums and Amaryllis
• This is the best time to prune deciduous Magnolias if they need it
• Feed Tomatoes, Melons and Peppers with a high potash feed for better fruiting
• Damp down your greenhouse on hot days to avoid overheating
• Make sure you tie in climbers and ramblers as they grow to keep them tidy

The Stray Gardener is written by Rudding Park’s Kitchen Gardener, Fiona Slight. Fiona has worked in horticulture for more than 30 years in the UK and abroad, and specialises in growing fruit and vegetables for fine dining. This month, Fiona takes you step-by-step through air layering.

If you’d like to try a different type of propagation this spring, it might be worth having a go at air layering.  Especially effective for plants that don’t root well from other forms of propagation, or don’t have low growing shoots that can be used for conventional layering on the ground, it is quite a slow process and patience is required, but it is well worth it.

Quite a few different plants can be used for air layering, including Acer, Camellia, Chaenomeles, Daphne, Ficus, Hamamelis, Jasmine, Rhododendrons, Lilac and Viburnums.  The best time of year to carry out air layering, especially with evergreen plants, is the spring, but it can also be done in autumn too, where deciduous plants can do equally as well.

A Rhododendron

It is a very simple process.  Choose a one to two year old stem that is straight and healthy and at least pencil thick in diameter.  It is important to get a young stem, as it will be more vigorous and healthy to produce new roots more easily.  Trim off any side shoots and leaves from a 30cm section and make sure not to leave any snags (these can be a source of disease or decay).

Wounding the stem

The stem then needs to be wounded, with a cut at least 2.5cm long and cut through a leaf bud that is angled towards the shoot tip. The best concentrations of natural rooting hormone can be found nearest to buds.  A small matchstick can be used to open up the cut to help add rooting hormone powder to the surface of the wound and a small amount of damp moss (which can be purchased from florists or some garden centres) can be put in to the wound and then wrapped around loosely with black plastic. Black plastic is preferable to use rather than clear or white, as green algae can form and can be another source of disease.

Damp moss is then placed into the wound

The black plastic can then be sealed at one end either with string or with weather proof adhesive tape. Once that is done it is a simple method just to pack in more moss around the wound to ensure it is protected and has enough moisture around it, a thickness of around 7.5 to 10cm should be adequate. The other end can then be sealed up.

After that, it’s just a waiting game, the wrapping needs to stay in place for at least a year, but can be opened and checked occasionally for signs of rooting, making sure it is sealed well again to avoid it drying out.  Once strong new roots appear through the moss, the plastic sleeve can be removed and the stem can be cut through just below the rooted section.

The finished product

The rooted stem can then be potted up in compost suitable for the plant that has rooted.  Don’t try to take the moss off the roots as it could damage them, just add it into the pot too.  Then, water, label and grow on until large enough to plant out in your chosen position.

Air layering does take a little more time and effort, but if you have a plant in your garden you value, and have had trouble propagating from in the past (or a replacement would be very expensive), then this could be a good thing to try.

Happy propagating!

Fiona’s Five Top Tips for May:

1. Bedding plants can start going out at the end of the month, but keep an eye out for late frosts and cover with fleece if any are forecast
2. Try to water either first thing in the morning or in the evening, for the plants to make the most of the water which could evaporate in the middle of the day
3. Divide Primulas once they have finished flowering
4. Put in place supports for herbaceous plants before they start getting leggy
5. This is a good time to coppice Eucalyptus for fresh young foliage and to keep them in good condition

The mental health benefits of gardening are being celebrated at the Harrogate Spring Flower Show which starts tomorrow.

Designers from across the country will be creating a flash of floral inspiration aimed at showcasing the country’s growing connection with plants and flowers.

The four-day event at the Great Yorkshire Showground will feature ‘Grow Your Home’, a colourful installation created by floral stylists from Leeds-based Leafy Couture.

The display, featuring hundreds of blooms around a central courtyard setting, offers visitors a glimpse of the joys which flowers can bring, which was particularly highlighted during the pandemic.

Show director Nick Smith said:

“After a difficult time for many of us, this year’s Spring show concentrates entirely on the positives which plants and landscapes can bring to us all.

“Gardening is the great leveller – from sweeping lawns to a simple window box, we can all benefit from the life-affirming pleasure which plants and flowers can make to our own personal space.”

Harrogate Business Improvement District (BID) has chosen the flower show to launch its latest campaign – ‘A Floral Summer of Celebration’.

Between July 15 and August 12, the town centre will be home to a floral trail featuring 10 unique displays, floral-themed shop windows and events starring key speakers from the world of gardening.

Pictured at their art deco-themed flower show stand: From left, Harrogate BID Chair Sara Ferguson, BID manager Matthew Chapman, Blameys florist Fran Addis, BID business and marketing executive Bethany Allen, Blameys owner Ruth Fisher and BID business liaison officer Jo Caswell.

This will be in addition to dozens of hanging baskets outside town centre businesses, the numerous flower beds maintained by Harrogate Borough Council, more than 200 barrier baskets funded by Harrogate BID and some specially commissioned floral street art.

Read more:

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Matthew Chapman, Harrogate BID manager, said:

“Harrogate is renowned for its floral displays; it’s the home to RHS Garden Harlow Carr, the stunning Valley Gardens, and of course the Spring Flower Show, which is one of the biggest and best in the North of England, if not the whole country.

“This summer, Harrogate Floral Summer of Celebration will see us celebrating our floral excellence and the return of Yorkshire in Bloom after a two-year absence.”

Featuring show garden features, plant nursery displays and floral art, the show will include plenty of colour, style and inspiration.

Local charities will also be showcasing their work, including Jennyruth Workshops in Ripon and Horticap in Harrogate.

This year the programme of live entertainment includes talks and demos across four stages.

A new show, ‘Human Gardener’ will offer a series of fun and engaging sofa conversations with the people behind the plants – from bee inspectors to fungi fanatics.

Over on the Gardener’s Kitchen stage, TV cook and chef consultant Stephanie Moon will create dishes from veg patch produce, with the help of grow-your-own guru Martin Walker. 

Meanwhile, the GROW! Live team will provide answers to  gardening questions, whilst the CREATE! Floral stage will host celebrity floral designer Jonathan Moseley.

Thousands of garden products, handmade crafts, gifts and specialist foods will also be on offer.

Tickets

Pre-booked tickets with a £3 saving on gate prices are available online until midnight tonight.

Thursday to Saturday tickets are £20.50 online, £23.50 on the gate.

Sunday tickets are £18 online, £21 on the gate.

Children under 16 are free when accompanied by an adult. General car parking is free.

The Stray Gardener is written by Rudding Park’s Kitchen Gardener, Fiona Slight. Fiona has worked in horticulture for more than 30 years in the UK and abroad, and specialises in growing fruit and vegetables for fine dining. This month, Fiona gives her golden rules for growing tomatoes.

I was 13 years old when I grew my first tomato plants, after inheriting a glasshouse when we moved into a new house. I was coached in what I thought was the secret art of tomato growing, by a lovely old man who lived around the corner. In fact, if you just stick to a few simple rules, tomatoes are really easy to grow, and the rewards when the fruit are ready are well worth the trouble.

The golden rules to growing tomatoes:

Don’t sow the seed too early, unless you have a heated glasshouse with lights and automatic ventilators it is far better to wait until late March, early April when they will grow far more successfully. Tomatoes hate getting cold. (They really do sulk!)

Choose between cordon or bush varieties, cordons need to be trained up canes, tied in, and the side shoots removed to stop them branching out and to focus the effort into flowers and fruit. Bush varieties don’t need to be trained and will grow well in a pot or hanging basket.  The seed packet will tell you which they are.

Golden Sun tomatoes

Grow the plants in a good multi-purpose compost, or you can get special tomato growing bags with the compost ready mixed.

Water regularly and try to avoid giving the plants too little and too much water. Tomatoes are very sensitive to fluctuations in moisture.

Feed once a week when the first fruit has set with a high potassium fertiliser. There are some very good organic tomato fertilisers available.

Try to keep the temperature around 16 degrees as tomatoes really do resent being too cold and too hot.

If you are growing tomatoes in a greenhouse, get the doors and ventilators open during the day to encourage in pollinating insects for a bumper crop of fruit. You can also spend a little time in the middle of the day, gently tapping the plants to get them to release their pollen (a very satisfying job, honestly!)

Tomatoes growing in a polytunnel

As mentioned before, cordon tomatoes need to be trained. They can either be grown and tied into canes, or can be grown up string that can be would round the plant as it grows upwards. Both ways work well, and as long as the plants have their side shoots removed regularly, they stay tidy and produce a good number of flowers (just make sure you don’t remove the growing tip as this would stop the plant growing any taller and possibly means you would lose out on more flowers and consequently more fruit).

In most cases, once you reach around six trusses it is worth taking out the growing tip then, to allow the plant to put its energy into fruit production before the weather starts to get cooler and the day length gets shorter. Bush plants are much easier just give them room to grow and they will get on with it.

Multiple varieties of tomatoes.

By the end of July you will start to get fruit ripening and all the hard work will suddenly become worth it. Until I grew my own tomatoes, I would refuse to eat them as I thought they tasted vile. That is when I realised why, they were not allowed to ripen properly on the plant.  A fully ripened tomato picked straight from the plant, that is still warm, is a thing of beauty.

Go on, get sowing!

Fiona’s Five Top Tips for April: