The gardens of Beth Chatto OBE VMH used to be overgrown wasteland with poor gravel soil and boggy hollows. Some areas were formerly used for fruit farming, but it was deemed unfit. It became her life’s work and her contribution to the gardening world since then has been staggering. She won gold at the Chelsea Flower show 10 times, over 10 years. She wrote many influential books and she lectured all over the world. Beth sadly passed away in 2018 aged 94, but her legacy remains; her plants, her books, her gardens, her influence and her charity; the Beth Chatto Education Trust. Beth Chatto’s plants and gardens are an inspiration, a place to come to learn about plants, to be inspired by beautiful gardens and planting based on Beth’s ethos: ‘Right plant, right place’. The Gravel Garden, which is never irrigated and used to be the carpark, is now world-renowned. It’s an example of drought-resistant planting: sustainable planting, so important to our way of gardening now. The Gravel Garden gently descends into the dramatic water gardens where lush green growth creates a scene of harmony and tranquillity throughout the year. From late winter to early summer the Woodland gardens are embroidered with gentle drifts of plants and the Reservoir Garden has been recently replanted, opened by Beth on her 94th birthday.
90% of the plants in the ample plant nursery are grown here on site. Plants are lovingly cared for, to ensure their high quality and many are propagated from the plants Beth herself added to the Gardens. Plants are also available to buy online at www.bethchatto.co.uk/plants
