RHS Journals
The Garden
February 2008
Scene from a different perspective
Reasons for change
The key to this great diversity, and the basis of Keith’s ethos here, is simple. In constructing the mounds (by himself with the aid of a mini-digger), he has manipulated the site to achieve a vast range of microclimates and, subsequently, growing conditions. Different faces of the same mound have differing aspects; drainage, soil depth and moisture also vary. Soil at the top of the mound will be well drained, but lower down it becomes damper. This means that while an Agave from arid regions of Mexico might grow at the top, a Japanese Shortia may thrive in cool, moist shade below – in reality just metres apart.
All this takes the ‘right plant, right place’ techniques perfected at gardens such as Beth Chatto’s in Essex to another level. Keith matches plants to the conditions they enjoy in the wild but, importantly here, those conditions are ones he has created. Also, there is no attempt at ecological purity with regard to the planting – Keith loves to mix his plants. From British natives to hybrids, from single to double flowers, he chooses plants for their own worth, because he wants to grow them. He plants some young, to aid establishment, but others he will put in as semi-mature or large specimens – there are no set rules. ‘For too long people have assumed that gardens have one set of conditions. Gardening has been stuck in a rut for a long time,’ he says. ‘Planting like this, taking advantage of aspect, opens up almost infinite planting opportunities.’ His enthusiasm cannot be hidden.
This approach also means more planting opportunities: creating an undulating topography increases surface area and results in more space for plants. Many species, too, seem to relish life on the near vertical. A great deal of our garden plants come not from flat areas, but cliffs or hillsides; they actually grow better on an angle, having improved drainage. Many simply look better too.
The upper part of the garden the Wileys call the ‘canyons’ – it was from here that soil was dug to raise the ground and form some of the mounds in the lower garden. This left him with a site sheltered on all sides except south, with 6m rock-and-soil cliffs – a total nightmare to most people, but for Keith, an almost-perfect blank canvas. With further shaping, some by hand, secondary valleys are being created. It is a gargantuan undertaking for a two-person band and the work will take years, but the area should be ideal for a huge range of plants, from South African bulbs and Proteaceae to North American succulents, allowing them to grow much as they would in the wild. Far from being daunted by the job, Keith now has to be stopped from spending all his time in his ‘canyons’. ‘Gardening can be so exciting when you take a leap of faith from traditional thinking – it seems boring to me now to plant on the flat – and I have hardly begun to scrape the surface of what is possible.’
Although there is still much to do at Wildside, what has been achieved is remarkable, and the way in which the plants flourish is testament to Keith’s radical thinking. Some of what can be seen is built on ideas from the Garden House (a new ‘wisteria wood’ will be planted, for example) but here, at last, he has a free hand – and so much space.
In this garden, plants come first. The last 20 years were the era of the garden designer; new gardens by pure plantsmen have been rare, and many who garden for plants have been left aching for something fresh. Perhaps the tide is beginning to turn – after all, for most people, a love of gardening begins with a love of growing things, not a passion for set squares and cobble-filled gabions. However, Keith’s purity of approach has imbued his garden with real aesthetic appeal; the way it fits into the surrounding landscape should inspire even the most stony-faced garden designer.
Each generation has its own iconic garden; a place that changed how we garden or changed what we perceive to be good about gardens. The last 100 years have given rise to Hidcote Manor, East Lambrook, Beth Chatto’s and Little Sparta – there are others, of course – and the driving force behind each of these was an individual with a pioneering spirit. Keith Wiley has this same spirit and, in time, Wildside will surely change the perceptions of future gardeners.
Phil Clayton is Features Editor for The Garden
Further information
Wildside Nursery, Green Lane, Buckland Monachorum, Yelverton, Devon PL20 7NP. Tel: 01822 855755. Email: wildside.plants@virgin.net.
Open: Thurs, 10am–5pm, Feb–Nov.
Mail order: for list, send 2 x 1st-class stamps or email.
Keith is giving a Growing for Success talk at 7.30pm on 8 April 2008 at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. Cost: RHS members £4, non-members £5. Tel: 01974 241458
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