Moving Home

The new site of the ‘Wilson 50’ Azaleas at Nymans

Not only only is Autumn a beautiful season here at Nymans, full of fantastic foliage and beautiful berries in so many different colours, it is also the perfect time for carrying out some key jobs around the garden. So, if you’re thinking of moving plants in your own garden, or if you have ever wondered what is the difference between a Rhododendron and an Azalea, read on…

We’ve already waxed lyrical about our Autumn lawn work and rose care in a couple of previous blogs (click on the underlined key words to see those now) but when the soil is still reasonably warm and it’s been moistened by the seasonal rain, now is also a great opportunity to move plants from one spot to another. There will be less stress for the plant if moved at this time of year. There will also be less need to watering once transplanted, especially as the plants are about to enter a dormant period.

The Wilson 50 collection, as seen back in 2010

One of the big transplanting jobs we’ve been working on recently is that of the collection of Wilson 50 Azaleas that we have here at Nymans. As you can see from the above photograph, the previous home for them was on the mount in the Rock Garden that overlooks the Croquet Lawn. This spot however was too exposed and the shrubs didn’t enjoy being baked in full sun every day. We lost a couple of them during this time and it was then that the decision was made to re-house them elsewhere. We chose a border along the East Drive that backs onto the Walled Garden. Here they will receive a mix of full sun and shade at different times of the day. The wall will also provide more shelter for them.

Here are the Azaleas awaiting their placing out and replanting

And here are some of the garden team hard at work with the process

Water-retaining granules were added to the bottom of each hole, along with a healthy dollop of our home-made compost

Luckily the weather held out while we worked!

And here is the final product. The Azaleas look like they’ve always been there!

The ‘Wilson 50’ is a collection of important evergreen Kurume Azaleas collected by the famous plant hunter Ernest Wilson in Japan during the 1920s. Wilson traveled to Kurume at the behest of the Arnold Arboretum in Boston and selected what were in his opinion the fifty best Azaleas that would be suitable for a western climate. Upon his return to Boston, they were propagated and then distributed around the World to key gardens and parks. We currently only have 19 of the collection, although we have more than one of most of them. We are also planning to add some of the missing Azaleas to our collection and have recently made contact with The Isabella Plantation in Richmond Park who also have a similar Wilson 50 collection. We plan to propagate from each others’ stock next year so that we can both get closer to the full 50.

Each plant in the collection is labelled with its name and also the official Wilson 50 number

Our current Wilson 50 Azalea collection includes the following specimens:

1 – Rhododendron ‘Seikai’
2 – R. ‘Kure-no-yuki’
3 – R. ‘Shin-seika’
7 – R. ‘Hachika-tsugi’
8 – R. ‘Irohayama’
9 – R. ‘Ho-o’
12 – R. ‘Kasumi-gaseki’
15 – R. ‘Kimigayo’
16 – R. ‘Asuma-kagami’
21 – R. ‘Satome’
22 – R. ‘Kirin’
24 – R. ‘Kiritsubo’
26 – R. ‘Oi-no-mezame’
28 – R. ‘Shin-utena’
31 – R. ‘Suga-no-ito’
32 – R. ‘Kasane-karagibi’
42 – R. ‘Hino-degiri’
48 – R. ‘Hinode-no-taka’
50 – R. ‘Hana-asobi’

At the same time as the Wilson 50 Azaleas were being transplanted, we also moved some other Rhododendrons to the other side of the East Drive path…

…where they will add to this sort of Spring display as seen here from earlier in the year

What is the difference between a Rhododendron and an Azalea I hear you ask?! Well, to put it simply, all Azaleas are actually Rhododendrons but not all Rhododendrons are Azaleas. Does that make sense? To elaborate further, Rhododendron is a genus (i.e. a group of plants with shared characteristics) and Azaleas are a group within that genus, rather than forming an actual genus of their own. Although they all require the same conditions and cultural treatment for healthy growth, the way you can distinguish the differences between them goes as follows:

1. An Azalea has 5 stamens while other Rhododendrons have 10 or more.
2. Azaleas can be deciduous or evergreen while other Rhododendrons are all evergreen.
3. Azaleas are small to medium shrubs but other Rhododendrons range from small, low-growing prostrate shrubs to large domineering trees.

A vintage view of the Sunken Rockery from the photo album of Thomas Messel

Another big transplanting job we did around the same time recently involved an unusual collection of deciduous Azaleas from the Sunken Rockery. This area is the project area for Flic Archer, our trainee gardener as part of her National Trust Diploma scheme. Flic’s proposal is to create a dry gravel garden here with plants that originate from the Oceanic climate of Australia, New Zealand and the surrounding islands. These plants will be adaptable to the site and growing conditions at Nyman’s, as demonstrated by the success of similar style planting in the nearby Mediterranean and South African beds. Gravel gardens are currently in vogue due to climate change, and this would reflect the Messel family’s attention to current trends and forward thinking approach. The style of a gravel garden also allows for a playful planting scheme and experimentation in testing the hardiness of Australasian plants, again in line with the Messels’ spirit of adventure and momentum.

Here’s Flic and a team of gardeners and volunteers in the process of transplanting the group of Azaleas in question

As part of the hard landscaping process for this project, the Azaleas here are being moved as they won’t fit in with Flic’s new planting plan or design ethos. Their journey was mercifully short however as they can now be found in a corner bed of the main lawn near the Rock Garden and Wisteria Pergola. Once again, the slightly shadier conditions of this site will hopefully allow the shrubs to thrive that much better then were they were before. Other landscaping work going on in Flic’s Sunken Rockery recently has included the placement of large boulders sourced from a local quarry and the installation of a French drain system to improve drainage at the bottom of the site.

Another day, another Azalea collection being replanted!
(Don’t worry, your eyes aren’t going funny, this picture is a bit blurred – sorry!)

And here is the final result, complete with carpet of Cyclamen growing beneath

As you can see, there is always plenty going on in the gardens here at Nymans to keep us busy! These new projects and changes are in keeping with the experimental and forward thinking approach that the Messel family had during their tenure, and long may that continue. Of course, there is plenty more to see and do here at all times of the year so to make sure you keep up to date with all that is going on at Nymans, don’t forget you can interact with us on both Twitter and Facebook as well as finding out all the important visitor information via our official website. If you want to be alerted by email when each new Nymans Garden Blog is published, simple click the ‘Follow’ button at the top of this page and carry out the instructions.

We’d like to find out more about how Nymans makes you feel and what in your opinion makes it a special place. This feedback will help inform our visitor experience and feed into future planning for Nymans. Please either email your thoughts to nymansmarketing@nationaltrust.org.uk or give some feedback on either Twitter or Facebook at NymansNT. You can also pick up a comment card – please ask a member of staff.  We need all feedback by 27 November.