Gardening
Beth Chatto
Beth Chatto is rightly lauded as the trailblazer of a way of planting that may seem obvious today. It was 50 years ago she began putting trees, shrubs and flowers in areas to which they were naturally suited - rather than trying to adapt the terrain to the plant. Beth Chatto’s philosophy is: “plant the right plant in the right place.”
It sounds remarkably simple, but Beth was one of the first gardeners to adopt it.
Beth’s husband, Andrew, ran a fruit farm but his life long passion was researching the original homes of plant and flower species. Beth used that research to set about transforming parts of her farmland near Colchester. It was a wilderness, with areas so dry in this driest of counties, Essex, that even the weeds wouldn’t grow, next to those was equally difficult marshland. Much of the ground was shaded by trees and overgrown by brambles. So instead of forcing native plants to survive in such varied conditions, Beth divided the land up. She then trawled the world to find plants that would thrive in the unusual conditions.
These days they are a tranquil corner of the county, which welcome around 45,000 visitors a year. It’s a place that has helped to transform the way people plant their gardens. Beth Chatto has since written many books helping people to overcome the difficult conditions in their gardens to create something beautiful. And she still tends all of this on a daily basis.
Watch the video above of Beth Chatto and the story of how her gravel garden was once a car park! Now, it’s an insight into how a garden can flourish even in a drought.
More information can be found on Beth Chatto's site.