6 Top Plant Expert Tips. Plant expert Mark Wheeler, the new owner of a Wiltshire walled garden and a Grade II* listed Bothy, shares his winter tips for keen gardeners. He’s complied the list to help gardeners enjoy the current season and prepare their outside space for 2025.
Mark, AKA the Plant Hunter, is well-respected in the world of gardens and designs for his knowledge of rare plants. He works with companies and landscape gardeners across the UK.
He and his partner Jules Gilleland, are renovating Bothy Gardens. It’s located on the edge of the Burderop estate outside Chiseldon, near Swindon. In 2025, they’ll launch the site as a rare plants emporium. It’ll serve those working in the gardening sector. And be a nature ‘classroom’ for Jules to share her knowledge and experience in immersive education.
Bothy Gardens, will include greenhouses, flood plant beds, nurseries for rare plants, including orchids, a garden library, and an atelier/classroom. Mark is sharing some of the actions he’s now taking ready for winter applicable to any garden.
‘I felt it might be of value to share some of the tasks a professional horticulturist undertakes in their own gardens as winter approaches. These tips can be of value to anyone who loves their garden,’ Mark said.
The top tips
1. Evergreens
To get more evergreens or to include these in your garden, the time to plant them is now. Autumn and spring are the best seasons for planting evergreens. If you plant them during the winter there’s a risk that they could dehydrate because it’s too cold.
2. Fruit Trees
If you have fruit trees in your garden, as we have, especially if they are mature trees (our’s are at least sixty years old) it’s best to prune them back now. Keeping their branches in a horizontal pattern is preferable and makes them easier to maintain.
3. Potting plants
Should you have a beech hedge it will currently be displaying those rich autumn colours of orange and gold. But in a few weeks, before the end of November, I’d be giving that hedge a hard cut. This means working on its shape and preparing it for the turn of the seasons.
4. Wildflowers
Does your garden have wildflowers or a wildflower area? If so make the most of any which are still flowering at the moment such as Californian poppy. Once the flowering is over, don’t forget to clear the area and collect the seeds.Then store them ready for planting next year. It’s so worth it to do this.
5. Fine mulch
Using fine mulch at this time of the year is a great idea for newly-planted perennials. This helps suppress weeds and protects them from frost. Choose fine chip for this which also looks good!
People who live in glass houses
Mark and Jules are currently also renovating a Victorian greenhouse at Bothy Gardens. It was on the brink of collapse, tangled in vines and brambles, with a pair of unruly fig trees bursting through the shattered glass. It will soon have a new lease of life as Jules’s creative studio and a sanctuary for propagating rare orchids.
Mark already has an established plant nursery in North London. He’s well known in the ‘gardening’ world for his encyclopaedic knowledge and love of plants. In particular rare breeds/species, such as Schefflera Rhododendrifolia (Umbrella tree), Ruscus Hypoglossum (spineless butcher’s broom), and Salvia Oxyphora (Fuzzy Bolivian Sage). He has made contributions to nineteen winning RHS Chelsea Flower Show exhibits.
Jules is an accomplished designer who has been running her company, Turtlewings, from Brussels, Belgium, for many years. With a background in design she has a passion for creating spaces that inspire wonder and well-being. In 2014, she founded Think with Things after winning the Open Education Challenge, earning a spot as one of the top seven EdTech companies in Europe.
The couple are offering some open days during the winter. On these volunteers can book and explore and learn at Bothy Gardens before its offical opening next year. To find out more about the volunteering opportunities and to register an interest in upcoming classes, visit https://www.bothygardens.com/
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