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

The Beth Chatto Symposium 2026Here are some of our wonderful bursary ticket holders with Beth Chatto Education Trust Tru...
07/09/2026

The Beth Chatto Symposium 2026

Here are some of our wonderful bursary ticket holders with Beth Chatto Education Trust Trustee, Sheila Das, at our Garden Party.

One of the most rewarding parts of the symposium is bringing together people from such a wonderfully diverse range of backgrounds, disciplines and experiences. While their individual interests and areas of expertise may differ, they share a common desire to learn, to connect and to pass that knowledge onto those around them.

Our bursary programme is all about creating opportunities for new voices and perspectives to be part of these important conversations, and importantly, to take what they’ve learned back into their own communities, workplaces and networks.

We hope the ideas, connections and conversations from the symposium continue to grow long after just the three days.

A huge thank you to all of our bursary recipients for being part of it - we can’t wait to see where your learning takes you next.

07/09/2026

🎄Coming soon - Beth Chatto Christmas Fair 2026🎄

🎁 Tickets on sale very soon
🎁 Over 60 Stallholders of locally produced crafts and goods.
🎁 Saturday 21st November, 10am-4pm.

We still have a few spaces left for Stallholders. If you wish to apply for a pitch please email [email protected].

This Friday, join us for an hours guided walk and talk with Dr Chris Gibson around Beth's Garden, at 11am and 12:30pm.Ou...
07/09/2026

This Friday, join us for an hours guided walk and talk with Dr Chris Gibson around Beth's Garden, at 11am and 12:30pm.

Our wildlife advocate, Chris, will take you for a gentle stroll around the garden looking at whatever wildlife can be found, from insects to birds to fungi. Find out what the things we share the garden with need, and how you may make your garden even better for wildlife.

Price includes Garden Admission, to book:
https://bcet.bethchatto.co.uk/courses/wildside-walk-at-beth-chatto-gardens_7.htm

Our Plant of the Week - Euphorbia griffithii ‘Fireglow’ 🪴A striking perennial with branching stems rising from a spreadi...
07/09/2026

Our Plant of the Week - Euphorbia griffithii ‘Fireglow’ 🪴

A striking perennial with branching stems rising from a spreading rootstock. Flat heads of small, apricot-red flowers are held above fresh, light green foliage in late spring and early summer, creating a bold splash of warm colour. Best grown in a moisture-retentive soil and happy in either sun or part shade.

Euphorbia is a very large and distinctive genus, containing numerous native species as well as many non-native plants grown in gardens. Some non-native euphorbias can also be found in natural habitats, although none are currently considered to be causing significant ecological concern.

All euphorbias have flowers arranged in a unique structure known as a cyathium. These contain specialised nectar glands which attract a range of visiting pollinators, particularly flies and ladybirds. The plants’ characteristic milky sap helps them retain water, making many species remarkably drought tolerant, while also acting as a defence against herbivores. There are exceptions, however: if you are very lucky, your spurges may become food for the large and dramatically coloured caterpillars of the spurge hawk-moth.

Aspect: Sun or part shade
Flower colour: Orange | Red
Flowering period: May | June
Height: 90cm
Spread: 60cm
Soil: Rich and fertile; moisture-retentive

Shop here: https://www.bethchatto.co.uk/a-z/e-h/euphorbia/euphorbia-griffithii-fireglow.htm

An extract from Beth Chatto's Garden Notebook'Two days later two coaches arrived bringing members of the audience to see...
05/09/2026

An extract from Beth Chatto's Garden Notebook

'Two days later two coaches arrived bringing members of the audience to see for themselves what we are doing. I feel diffident about entertaining professional nurserymen. It is not common nursery practice to run a large ornamental garden. However well you run it, it does cost money. Can you really justify it? Well, I do not know how to run a nursery any other way. It is the best way I know to attract visitors to see my plants, to let them see how different plants look when well-established and mature, to see what will grow in difficult situations, which plants look well planted together and what is in flower in the 'difficult' months of the year. It is my living catalogue, arranged first and foremost to please myself but with the hope it may also please others.'

This week in the garden with MalinLast week we hosted our biennial Beth Chatto Symposium, with the theme Connections Thr...
04/09/2026

This week in the garden with Malin

Last week we hosted our biennial Beth Chatto Symposium, with the theme Connections Through Time. The whole team at Beth’s worked really hard and were there from start to finish. We had a brilliant time listening to interesting talks and panel discussions and meeting with old and new friends in the industry. After a tough summer, extremely dry and hot - where both plants and us gardeners have struggled, it was a lovely boost to meet up with people facing similar challenges and discuss how we can change our practices moving forward.

I was lucky enough to be on a panel with Lina Liubertaite, Laura McArthur and Shereen Chung Blake, where we discussed the future of gardening and gardeners, challenges and opportunities going forwards.

Thursday and Friday were spent in the lecture hall at Essex university, with a lovely garden party at Beth’s on Thursday evening.

On Saturday we had talks and workshops all around the garden, and the gardeners gave tours throughout the day, where we talked about how we’ve gardened in the drought this summer. Ironically, we had our first significant rainfall since middle of June - 12mm recorded!

Being back in the garden this week we can almost see how the plants have taken a sigh of relief and the lawns are magically shooting new green grass in what looked completely brown just a week ago. We’re crossing our fingers for more rain - our trees and shrubs really need it!

Other jobs for the week have included planning the autumn ahead, looking at gaps and plants that have given up in the drought, and thinking about replacements. As soon as we get some proper rain and the ground softens, we want to be ready to plant!

This week in propagationWe're all still downloading and decompressing in the growing department, after an absolutely inc...
03/09/2026

This week in propagation

We're all still downloading and decompressing in the growing department, after an absolutely incredible symposium. We loved meeting so many of you. And, I'd personally like to thank everyone who attended my Biological Control talk who didn't jeer and throw tomatoes at me. I also passed my RHS Level 2 this week, so I'm walking on cloud nine!

Annie and I have been out and about gathering plants for the Horniman Plant Fair this Saturday. Annie, Richard and myself will be there on the day so please come and say hi! You can buy some plants too, if you like!

Richard started off the week propagating Chrysogonum virginianum, which Steve speaks fondly of, 'A modest plant seldom seen, but deserving more attention due to its long flowering season. Bright yellow star-shaped flowers are set in every stem joint of the low sprawling plant' Certainly a must have for those shady parts of the garden!

Emily and Jess have been collecting seed from Euonymus europaeus, known commonly as the spindle tree, although you might have heard it called prick timber, prickwood or pegwood, which I think are much more fun names. A deciduous shrub which likes to spread out, it will grow to about 3 metres. Wait for those fruits and berries for a gorgeous splash of colour. Em and Jess used sand in their hands to remove the flesh and get to the goods within. Genius!

Finally, it's with tears in my eyes as I write this, (my hayfever is playing up.) That we say farewell to Olly. Olz has been ourstanding this summer, helping out in a variety of areas, but mostly with Richard on the stockbeds. His work has been invaluable and he will be missed greatly. We wish Olly the very best as he heads off to college, and the extremely bright future which awaits ahead.

Welcome to the eighth in our new series where Head Gardener Åsa and Head of Horticulture Steve share their expert advice...
02/09/2026

Welcome to the eighth in our new series where Head Gardener Åsa and Head of Horticulture Steve share their expert advice on tackling your gardening and garden design dilemmas.

'Would be grateful for thoughts for some plants to place in our gravel driveway.

As you can see from the picture, we have an 18th century barn that has been recently restored. The area at the front faces north, and in the summer still receives a good amount of afternoon sun. When we designed our front garden, we decided that we would focus on a white garden – which would stand out against the black barn.

We are looking for some advice on plants to go in the gravel driveway from the staddle stone around to the water trough. Ideally of a cottage nature that look like they have just self-seeded in the driveway – obviously, any varieties of plants should have white flowers.

Look forward to hearing your thoughts and suggestions, and if you need any further information, please let us know.'

- Clare and Martin

Head of Horticulture Steve
Looking at the gravel area, I think your instinct is exactly right: it doesn't need large islands of planting. It needs the impression that a few plants have gently wandered out from the borders and made themselves at home.

Rather than filling the whole driveway, I'd plant with plenty of empty gravel between them. The negative space is what makes the barn so striking.

For the most natural effect, I'd repeat just a handful of species.

Airy self-seeding annuals and biennials:
Orlaya grandiflora – perhaps the perfect choice. White lace-like flowers that often self-seed gently.
Ammi majus or Ammi visnaga – taller, more architectural umbels that catch the light beautifully.
Digitalis purpurea f. albiflora – allow a few white foxgloves to pop up unpredictably near the borders.

Continue reading here: https://www.bethchatto.co.uk/discover/our-blog/guides/gardening-dilemma-part-8.htm

Our Plant of the Week 🪴Vernonia arkansana is a striking, upright perennial that forms a substantial clump of stiff stems...
01/09/2026

Our Plant of the Week 🪴

Vernonia arkansana is a striking, upright perennial that forms a substantial clump of stiff stems, clothed in narrow, pointed leaves. Growing to around 2m, it is well suited to large borders and naturalistic or wild-style planting, where it thrives in sun or part shade and rich, moisture-retentive soil.

From September into November, the stems are topped with flat clusters of tightly packed, daisy-like flowers in brilliant reddish-purple. It works particularly well planted alongside late-flowering asters, actaea and aconitum, or with colchicums around its base.

A large but relatively underused genus in UK gardens, vernonia belongs to the asteraceae family. Its upright form and flowers, ranging from white through to purple-pink, have a character that is perhaps more reminiscent of cirsium than aster.

Beyond its garden value, vernonia is particularly valuable to late-season wildlife. The tiny flowers that make up each flowerhead provide a rich source of nectar and pollen, attracting honeybees, hoverflies and a wide range of butterflies when many other plants are beginning to fade.

Shop here: https://www.bethchatto.co.uk/a-z/s-z/vernonia/vernonia-arkansana.htm

28/08/2026

THE BETH CHATTO SYMPOSIUM 2026

Ready for day 2!

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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