Beth Chatto's Plants & Gardens

Beth Chatto's Plants & Gardens The official page of Beth Chatto's Plants & Gardens. The award-winning Gardens of Beth Chatto OBE VM Beth began to transform the area in 1960, in her 40s.
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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 al

l 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

SATURDAY 27TH JUNE 10am-4pmJoin us on what would have been Beth’s birthday and explore our drop-in workshops on the Soil...
20/06/2026

SATURDAY 27TH JUNE 10am-4pm

Join us on what would have been Beth’s birthday and explore our drop-in workshops on the Soil Food Web and Composting with Eddie Bailey and the Soil Smiths.

Come along and celebrate the art and science of composting. As gardeners, we often overlook the astonishing complexity of the Soil Food Web, a living network of microscopic creatures working tirelessly out of sight. These tiny creatures drive decomposition, build fertility, and create the foundation for resilient, healthy plants. Understanding and nurturing this underground ecosystem transforms the way we garden, turning soil into a thriving, living community rather than just a medium for growth.

Eddie Bailey 🦠
Eddie is a chartered geologist, organic gardener and soil food web specialist. He is the founder of RhizoPhyllia Regenerative Gardening Studio where he teaches gardeners and allotment holders how the soil ecosystem functions, why problems arise and how to restore healthy, living soil
Throughout the day, Eddie will be giving a series of mini-talks where you can learn about:
• The evolution of plants – how ancient plant life emerged through partnership with microorganisms.
• The workings of the Soil Food Web – what’s happening beneath your feet and why it matters.
• See who’s who in the world of microbes - live microscope demonstrations projected on screen.

Soil Ecology Laboratory/Soil Smiths 🔬
Working with clients across the UK specialising in soil microbiology testing and the creation of live microbial products aimed at increasing life in the soil. They also run small hand-on classes that teach participants how to assess and improve soil health for higher yields and better-quality crops.

The Soil Ecology Laboratory will be bringing their microscopes, giving you a chance to explore the hidden life within your soil. Bring along a soil or compost sample from your garden to discover the tiny creatures living beneath the surface.
They will also be running a drop-in, compost-making workshop where you can learn the secrets to producing rich, healthy compost by maintaining the ideal balance between 'browns' and 'greens'.

Garden admission applies.
Book here: https://www.bethchatto.co.uk/entrance.htm

This week with gardener Scott:We have been joined in the garden this week by two great interns: Caitlin a HBGTP trainee ...
19/06/2026

This week with gardener Scott:

We have been joined in the garden this week by two great interns: Caitlin a HBGTP trainee gardener at Wrest Park and Amelia a London based gardener and florist. And it's been a busy week, with many hands working hard that have allowed us to cover lots of areas across the garden and beyond.

We began in the wood with the final push to cut back this area ahead of the new flush of foliage to come. We pulled the fading Smyrnium perfoliatum, the last of the arums, and Caitlin did a great job strimming the patches of symphytum so we get lush new growth. You know you're a gardener when after a day pulling cleavers (Galium aparine) you are covered head to toe in their sticky seeds!

Then we headed next door to Chattowood where we deadheaded the many Euphorbia characias planted here. We are always very careful when cutting these as they have a thick milky sap that can irritate the skin, so take precautions if you intend to cut yours. Whenever we visit, I'm always so pleased to see just how much wildlife has moved in. I found a bumblebee nest, absolutely alive with these beautiful creatures dug deep into the sand.

From there we moved into the Scree Garden. This space is fantastic at the moment, dominated by the magnificent Hesperoyucca whipplei and its towering flower spike. We all weeded the beds and paths and Amelia thinned the Eschscholzia californica that had begun to spread leaving a pretty drift amongst the other plants.

Lastly when visiting the pigs on the new land, it was great to see how well the wildflower meadow was beginning to establish. After some timely rain, it has erupted into colour, full of plants and wildlife.

Enjoy your weekend.

This week in propagation 🌱The week kicked off down in the growing department with steely determination in faces galore! ...
18/06/2026

This week in propagation 🌱

The week kicked off down in the growing department with steely determination in faces galore! This time of year things are flying, if that be in respect to the speed roots are putting down, or new shoots and seedheads appearing for propagation.
Richard, Sean and Olly have been down on the stockbeds, lifting and dividing a host of future treasures.

Rich got into it with Stachys byzantina, an excellent ground cover plant for sunny spots, one cherished as a foil in borders where more bold displays need taming.
Sean had his hands full with Miscanthus sinensis 'Purple Fall', which some may know as maiden grass. This beauty sports delicious creamy pink flowers in the late summer, but I love it for its autumn colour when its leaves develop many shades of burgundy and orange.

Artemisia abrotanum is just one of the multitude of cuttings Debs has been beavering away with this week. A gorgeously feathery plant, but one sought more for the aromatic properties it gifts and thus is often planted beside paths or near seating areas where it can be enjoyed fully.

We were very lucky to have Amelia and Caitlin spend a day in the growing department where Emily shared some of the wealth of experience and knowledge she possesses for all things propagation! Succulents were the theme of the day, many of which are already over on our nursery and being eaten up by our visitors!
Elsewhere, a plethora of new plants are being potted by Kathy, Priya and PJ. Many new varieties potted last month are now fully rooted and are ready to strut their stuff on the website and nursery.

As always, thank you for choosing to bring a piece of Beth's garden into yours.

Until next time,
Rob

BETH CHATTO SYMPOSIUM 27TH-29THSPEAKER LINEUPAnna Lena HahnAnna Lena is a landscape designer and researcher based in Fra...
18/06/2026

BETH CHATTO SYMPOSIUM 27TH-29TH
SPEAKER LINEUP
Anna Lena Hahn

Anna Lena is a landscape designer and researcher based in France, where she works with Résonance UP and BACSAC. She teaches at the landscape architecture school in Angers and is a trustee of the Karl-Foerster-Stiftung. With German-Turkish roots, she draws particular inspiration from steppe and Mediterranean plant communities in her design work.

Trained in geography and ecological design, her work begins with an in-depth understanding of a milieu and its human and non-human inhabitants, approaching design as a weaving of ecological relationships. This ‘meshwork approach’ forms the basis of her PhD research, to be published as a book with Routledge in 2027.

Find out more about our speakers and panelists: https://www.bethchatto.co.uk/symposium/symposium-2026/speakers.htm

An extract from Beth Chatto's Shade Garden'Beneath the canopy of newly fledged oak leaves, still bright yellowish-green,...
17/06/2026

An extract from Beth Chatto's Shade Garden

'Beneath the canopy of newly fledged oak leaves, still bright yellowish-green, the whole wood floor is heaving with life in every shape and form. For flower and foliage I think the Wood Garden is at its best, the most varied at his time of year. Evening light is low, sundued. Mornings are magical, totally still, every leaf still wet with dew, the fast-developing canopy overhead shielding everything from the glare of the sun. Tiny insects hover motionless or sway from side to side as if listening to the constant concert of bird song, dominated by a thrush atop the tallest tree, practicing new trills over and over again. Now and then there comes a duet as another thrush far away offers a theme, which the first one takes up and embellishes with variations.'

THE BETH CHATTO SYMPOSIUM 27TH-29TH AUGUSTSPEAKER LINEUPDean CharltonDean comes from a fine art background specialised i...
16/06/2026

THE BETH CHATTO SYMPOSIUM 27TH-29TH AUGUST
SPEAKER LINEUP
Dean Charlton

Dean comes from a fine art background specialised in printmaking, complimenting his horticultural journey working in therapeutic and community gardens. Starting as a student at Beth Chatto Gardens, he then studied at Great Dixter and was employed within the team as a gardener for three years working under head gardener Fergus Garrett. He then spent another three years working in the Great Dixter Nursery working under Michael Morphy.

With the knowledge and experience he has learnt from the incredible, generous people that work at both places, he has now set up a family run nursery called Hooton's Walled Nursery in his hometown of Rotherham, now in it's third season, working with his father Glenn to create a horticultural hub in the region.

Find out more about our speakers and panelists: https://www.bethchatto.co.uk/symposium/symposium-2026/speakers.htm

This week join our expert Dr Chris Gibson:This Thursday 18th June, Wildside Walks around the Garden. Take a stroll aroun...
16/06/2026

This week join our expert Dr Chris Gibson:

This Thursday 18th June, Wildside Walks around the Garden. Take a stroll around Beths Garden looking at whatever wildlife can be found from birds to insects and fungi!
Book below:
https://bcet.bethchatto.co.uk/courses/wildside-walks-at-beth-chatto-gardens_9.htm

On Saturday 20th June, on what could be a really exciting morning with the warm temperatures, join Dr Chris & Jude Gibson as they open the moth trap to discover what creatures use the garden by night! Just two places left.
Book here:
https://bcet.bethchatto.co.uk/courses/marvellous-moth-morning_2.htm

Plant of the Week - Catananche caerulea 🪴Cupid's dart forms neat clumps of slender, grey-green leaves, from which branch...
15/06/2026

Plant of the Week - Catananche caerulea 🪴

Cupid's dart forms neat clumps of slender, grey-green leaves, from which branching stems emerge bearing striking silver, papery buds. In midsummer, these buds open into lavender-blue, daisy-like flowers with dark centres. This drought tolerant perennial produces rosettes of narrow, grass-like foliage and thrives in dry, well drained conditions.

The plant's botanical name, catananche, comes from the Greek word meaning 'strong force', reflecting its historical use in love potions and giving rise to its common name, Cupid's dart. Its large, cornflower-like blooms are highly attractive to bees, hoverflies and butterflies, while the seeds provide food for goldfinches and other seed eating birds.

Shop here: https://www.bethchatto.co.uk/a-z/c-d/catananche/catananche-caerulea.htm

SYMPOSIUM SPEAKER LINEUPSara MiddletonSara is a plant ecologist, science communicator and educator interested in how our...
13/06/2026

SYMPOSIUM SPEAKER LINEUP
Sara Middleton

Sara is a plant ecologist, science communicator and educator interested in how our environment shapes how we show up as individuals and connect with our communities both in plants and people. Sara's lifelong curiosity and passion for the natural world led to a DPhil in plant sciences at the University of Oxford, following a BSc and MRes in environmental sciences. Sara’s research looks at environmental change responses in grasslands across scale: from snapshot reactions in individual leaves to multi-year plant community dynamics.

Rooted in the values of joy, creativity, integrity and mindfulness, Sara’s work weaves in ecological knowledge, advocacy and visual storytelling to help foster a future that is more just, connected and resilient.

Find out more about our speakers and panelists: https://www.bethchatto.co.uk/symposium/symposium-2026/speakers.htm

This week in the garden with MattieSpring has whizzed by into summer and the garden has benefited from lots of rain this...
12/06/2026

This week in the garden with Mattie

Spring has whizzed by into summer and the garden has benefited from lots of rain this week after a dry season. It's all looking lush and rejuvenated ready for the summer.

In the Reservoir Garden there's the feathery glow of the smoke bush (cotinus), yellow Glaucium flavum, and slender spires of Verbascum chaixii 'Album'. While high in the treetops is Rosa 'Paul's Himalayan Musk' blooming with its light pink flowers.

We've mainly been out in the woodland where spring rush has evolved into a green tapestry with feathery ferns, yellow Doronicum paradalinches and the stunning purple bells of Campanula latifolia. Here we're doing our annual sweep around of arums, cleavers, and weeds. It's a bit of a race against time to cover the whole garden before they all set seed again.

While down in the Water Garden we've been tidying up the beds, taking out foxgloves and hesperis which have gone over, strimming nettles and brambles, and reducing thalictrums from smothering peonies and other plants. We've also been updating our plant labels so visitors can identify the plants they love.

We had lots of fun doing a geranium ident with at least 23 different species or cultivars with head of horticulture Steve. It's a great way to get out our eye in and challenge ourselves over the micro differences!

We've also been joined by the lovely Jas this week who will be starting at Chelsea Physic Garden. They've been a great and enthusiastic help! Together with Cathy we put together our weekly ident for our visitors celebrating what's looking good in the garden.

Last week we mentioned the exciting flower spike of Hesperoyucca whipplei in the Scree Garden - here you can see it in all it's glory!

We hope you've stayed dry amidst the thundery showers and have a lovely weekend!

Address

Beth Chatto, Clacton Road
Colchester
CO77DB

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 4pm
Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

01206 822007

Website

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