{"id":23598,"date":"2023-06-27T14:23:11","date_gmt":"2023-06-27T12:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gardensillustrated.com\/?p=110679"},"modified":"2023-06-27T14:36:46","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T12:36:46","slug":"the-legacy-of-beth-chatto-the-pioneering-plantswoman","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/rss_feed\/the-legacy-of-beth-chatto-the-pioneering-plantswoman\/","title":{"rendered":"The legacy of Beth Chatto: the pioneering plantswoman"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beth Chatto, the late, pioneering plantswoman who convinced us to find the right plant for the right place, would have been 100 this year. Here, those who were influenced by her reflect on her lasting legacy. Words Catherine Horwood, photographs Richard bloom <\/p>

By Richard Bloom\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 27 June 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Among gardeners, there was, and is, only one Beth. Over her long life, Beth Chatto<\/a> achieved the highest accolades in horticulture and beyond, including ten successive Chelsea Gold medals<\/a> and an OBE. She wrote a string of best-selling books based on her experience of growing at her famous garden, and opened the first nursery to offer plants for specific conditions.<\/p>\n

Discover more about Beth Chatto\u2019s Gardens<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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The Gravel Garden at Beth Chatto\u2019s Gardens in June. Perovskia atriplicifolia \u2018Blue Spire\u2019<\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Richard Bloom<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

This year marks the centenary of her birth in what she called \u2018the sticks of Essex\u2019. But it was her garden at Elmstead Market, near Colchester, especially her experimental Gravel Garden<\/a>, that brought her international acclaim. It\u2019s a beautifully planted space that James Hitchmough,<\/a> emeritus professor of Horticultural Ecology at the University of Sheffield, has described as \u201cperhaps the most original British garden creation of the 20th century\u201d. As the fame of her garden and nursery grew, so did the team around her. Beth inspired enormous loyalty and staff stayed for decades. But there was also a constant stream of international horticultural students<\/a> starting out in their careers, eager to spend time learning from Beth.<\/p>\n

With her impeccable eye for a good plant, and ability to combine them so they made sense, she was a natural educator