Horticulture

Gravel, sand, steppe & scree

March - July 2025

I was awarded sponsorship from the RHS and The Hardy Plant Society to undertake internships at Beth Chatto’s and Klinta Trädgård. I spent a month at each garden learning how to grow in mineral-based media, like gravel, scree and sand. Much of my experience was spent planting on large public projects (Chattowood Housing Estate and 6 new parks in Sweden with Peter Korn). Sand and gravel are free draining; this encourages root development, increasing a plant’s drought tolerance. A visit to John Little’s Hilldrop demonstrated why this expansive style of gardening is so beneficial for wildlife. An unexpected learning was how much I enjoy the physicality of hard landscaping.

The teams at both gardens tended to favour steppe and alpine plants, so I wanted to visit these plants in the wild. I was awarded sponsorship from the Merlin Trust and the Scottish Rock Garden Club to visit Upper Svaneti and Udabno in Georgia (Caucasus). I was blown away by the floristic diversity of Georgian landscapes. Observing wild plants deepened my understanding of how to care for them and what to pair them with in ornamental gardens.