Designing a border garden for RHS Wentworth Woodhouse

This July, gardener Lydia Weston-Foss will have a border garden at the RHS Wentworth Woodhouse Show in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. With a string of wonderful connections to the National Garden Scheme we’re delighted to be supporting her at the event. We caught up with Lydia to find out more.

Lydia with National Garden Scheme Chairman Rupert Tyler, at her HBG graduation

My name is Lydia Weston-Foss and I am currently a gardener at Kiftsgate Court Gardens which opens for the National Garden Scheme … I was also a trainee on the National Garden Scheme funded English Heritage, Historic and Botanic Garden Training Programme (HBGTP) at Osborne House and have also worked as a trainee gardener at Buckingham Palace Gardens. With a BA and MA in Archaeology and International Cultural Heritage Management and most recently the RHS Level 2 Principles in Plant Growth and Development, it was the HBGTP placement that allowed me to move my career into horticulture full time.

I was inspired to apply for a design category at RHS Wentworth Woodhouse as I have always been a creative individual and I have the opportunity to use this, and my knowledge of plants to create something to showcase my skills.

The border design

Traditionally, when we imagine hot borders, we imagine hot colours and plants found in more arid or tropical environments. This doesn’t need to be the case. We can still have the English country garden feel and colour palette that can cope with a changing climate and doesn’t lose the romantic feel. This is what a visitor can expect to see.

The Arts & Crafts garden is the thematic and colour inspiration for my border garden. Gardens such as Sissinghurst, Great Dixter and Hidcote Manor are the main inspirations and are personal favourites of mine. It allows me to highlight the use of perennials, specifically Salvias, in the traditional colour palette of the English country garden. This is combined with the acknowledgment that this border must be able to withstand the changing climate and particularly our hotter, drier summers.

Key features include topiary spheres, Taxus baccata, a more robust plant today than Buxus and one that is a classic feature in larger Arts & Crafts gardens across the country. The driftwood pieces are a symbolic representation of the drying climate, an impactful, focal feature for the border. There will be a small amount of visible soil in the planting scheme to allow for a sense of breathability without it compromising the design.

The impact of the border will be the flexibility of Salvias and of well-loved perennials to create a naturalistic soft border that is reminiscent of an English country garden. The colours and textural choices will reflect cool summers and yet this scheme works with full sun.

If you’re visiting RHS Wentworth Woodhouse this summer do look out for Lydia’s Border Garden and the National Garden Scheme team supporting her. For more details about the show click here.