A willingness to experiment and an easy-going attitude have served Victoria and Barney Martin well in their quest to establish Stokesay Flowers
IN BRIEF
What Sloping walled garden with good buildings and a small poly-tunnel in the footprint of a former glasshouse.
Where Shropshire.
Size One acre.
Soil Well-balanced, medium-heavy soil.
Climate Sheltered by high walls and a stand of tall conifers on the west side, although there is a frost pocket in the central area.
Hardiness zone USDA 8.
Passing through the gatehouse at Stokesay Court in Shropshire, and winding through tall trees past the stable block to the sloping walled garden, it is possible to believe that you are entering another, better world. In place of tyrannical head gardeners of old, two very relaxed people use this acre for growing flowers that are described by florist Shane Connolly as ‘truly among the best in the UK’, grown with passion and flair and without chemicals – something that is self-evident on entering Barney and Victoria Martin’s benign kingdom, which is alive with birdsong, buzzing, and a clutch of feathery Barbu d’Uccle hens.
When the couple took on the lease ten years ago and decided to have a go at market gardening, having lived in London and briefly in Shanghai, they were enchanted. Shropshire, too, seemed magical, and so was their small cottage where they planted an orchard, and added some sheep, and roses – and soon many more roses – both in their own garden, and for their business. Of all the luxurious stems grown at Stokesay Flowers, it is roses that are desired the most by customers. In their infinite variety, they give form to the couple’s modus operandi: “It’s all about the romance,” says Victoria. “All of the decisions in our lives and in our gardens are made on that basis.”
It is a narrow focus that allows a lot of freedom. Victoria, who was a professional gardener before moving to Shropshire, while Barney was a commercial surveyor, sees no romance in growing under cover, all year round: “We like the rhythm of quiet and sleep in winter, and waking up in spring.”
They prefer to offer flowers between April and October when they are “properly” seasonal, supplying plants such as rambling roses, cut by the tumbling branch, if that is what is required. Even Pratley Flower and Plants, the British-grown cut flower specialists at New Covent Garden takes these unconventional items, as do “the discerning, bold, romantically inclined florists” among their clients.
During the growing season, Barney and Victoria don’t have the leisure to garden, instead focusing on deliveries, orders, and a huge amount of picking that generally involves a team of six. When the Martins first arrived, with no money for perennials and bigger plants, they grew annuals, vegetables and a lot of soft fruit, which was popular with the Michelinstarred chefs of Ludlow but made no money for them. Fortunately for their future trajectory, flowers were found not only to be more enjoyable but also more profitable, with only a few gooseberries and blackcurrants now remaining, as well as an historic knot of culinary blackberries.
The garden’s crossroads are marked by a handsome, wrought-iron arbour, made by a local blacksmith in response to the rounded gable ends of Stokesay Court, clearly visible from the garden. A couple of Rosa Adelaïde d’Orléans make a fine tracery over it. An avenue of eucalyptus is kept short and stout through heavy harvesting, while an informally cut parterre makes a casual rose garden, home to mainly David Austin English shrub roses that are prized for their extended season of repeat flowering and good health.
Experimentation is part of the Stokesay ethos, and roses are obtained from many sources, including discount supermarkets. But any that are found to be “unlovely or ungenerous in flower” are soon gone. In a garden that relies on garlic and seaweed spray rather than a chemical alternative, plants need to be naturally healthy. One exception is pink and white-striped Rosa ‘Variegata di Bologna’, a decadent beauty that is severely prone to black spot. Old roses are the Martins’ favourites, each one an ode to romance. They love the anticipation, the intense but finite burst of flower. And yet there are many old roses in the garden such as Rosa ‘Madame Alfred Carrière’ and ‘Buff Beauty’ that keep on going, on and off, into autumn.
Billowing ramblers and spilling shrubs (such as luminous Paeonia ‘Coral Charm’ and ‘Coral Sunset’) find a dynamic pairing in vertical self-seeders. Foxgloves and alliums are joined by toadflax species and cultivars, including Linaria ‘Peachy’, L. purpurea ‘Canon Went’ and L. triornithophora ‘Pink Budgies’.
Foxtail lilies create the most dramatic spires; Eremurus x isabellinus ‘Cleopatra’ is grown in great profusion, to lessen the impact of individual losses to the demands of summer party orders. Later, dahlias “in all the colours that our customers like” will add orange, peach, cream and plum to the mix.
Barney has an uncanny ability to find walled gardens that are in reasonably good condition. They have just taken on a second one, 15 minutes’ drive away. When Victoria showed the new site to Michael Marriott, chair of the Historic Roses Group at The Rose Society UK, she asked his opinion on the best areas for planting roses. She cannot have been surprised when his answer was: “Everywhere.”
USEFUL INFORMATION
Find out more about Stokesay Flowers at stokesayflowers.co.uk
Blooming big and beautiful
Victoria and Barney Martin are not veteran rose growers but enthusiastic propagators and collectors, learning as they go. They have roses they can pick pretty much every month of the year, including Rosa x odorata ‘Bengal Crimson’, which flowers sporadically all winter in a sheltered spot.
Victoria’s book Favourite Roses for Cutting sets out her ideas for growing roses for enjoying in a garden, as well as in a vase. Here are some of her tips: Avoid anything that is disease-prone and choose naturally healthy cultivars. Plant roses well, with fertile compost, and keep them mulched. Restrict companion planting to airy spires with a small footprint, such as foxgloves, toadflax, alliums and fringe cups (Tellima grandiflora). Make your own organic feed solution (such as garlic and seaweed) and spray once early in the season, especially in the early years of growth.
For more of Victoria’s tips on growing roses for cutting, visit gardensillustrated.com
8 roses for cutting
1 Rosa ‘François Juranville’ Rambler, 1866.
A rose that is not too thorny and has pliable stems making it good, as Victoria puts, it “for twiddling about on the wall”. Some repeat flowering. 7-8m. AGM*. RHS H6† .
2 Rosa ‘Madame Hardy’ Large shrub, 1832.
A strong grower with manypetalled flowers that have a green eye. Thorny and scented, its growing habit can be opened up by training shoots downwards. 1.5m. AGM. RHS H7.
3 Rosa ‘Tuscany Superb’ Small shrub, 1837.
A healthy rose that Victoria describes as “bringing a touch of gypsy romance”. Flowers only once and has a short vase life but offers a deep fragrance. 1.2m. AGM. RHS H7.
4 Rosa ‘Prosperity’ Large shrub, 1919.
A highly fragrant, generous rose with large clusters of small, double, creamy, flowers on arching stems with glossy leaves, from June to November. 1.8m. AGM. RHS H6.
5 Rosa ‘Königin von Dänemark’ Large shrub, 1816.
So beautiful and feminine is this rose, Victoria had to do a double take when she first saw it. Fragrant and vigorous, it has quartered blooms, meaning the petals are tightly overlapping, flattened and arranged like a quatrefoil pattern. 1.5m. AGM. RHS H7.
6 Rosa ‘Buff Beauty’ Large shrub, 1939.
A healthy and gently fragrant rose with rich, soft apricot blooms. Looks lovely on its own or mixed with other colours. Its strong branches are great for large displays. 1.5m. AGM. RHS H6.
7 Rosa ‘Variegata di Bologna’ Large shrub, 1869.
An extremely fragrant and irresistibly beautiful rose, but prone to black spot. Benefits from rich soil, mulch, good light and air, and a seaweed and garlic solution spray. 1.5m. RHS H5.
8 Rosa ‘Fritz Nobis’ Large shrub, 1940.
Strong, arching, kinky stems, topped with exquisite, porcelain-like flowers that are a warm, soft, rich pink and have a musk scent. Flowers once. 1.8m. AGM. RHS H7.
*Holds an Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society. †Hardiness ratings given where available.