Words Francine Raymond
Film and photography Ellen Hancock

Although many gardens we visit merit a second look, we couldn’t wait to go back and see how Andrew Salter’s garden was growing this summer. He bravely welcomed us in darkest November to see his collection of conifers, and of course they’re still there this time round, standing tall, but they’re almost overwhelmed by a vast selection of vivid, sweet-smelling summer blooms in a moat of plants surrounding his small black barn. For the latest episode of How My Garden Grows, we discover what has been growing while we were away …

After our visit last November, Andrew cut back almost everything, leaving a black square brooding through the darkest months of the year and covered with a thick restorative mulch, until the warming soil was pierced with the first snowdrops, then crocuses, then forget-me-nots, then overwhelmed with over 2,000 tulips (Andrew’s guilty pleasure).

Then, among spring perennials, the first of the year’s visitors from the wild bursts into froth: thousands of self-seeded cow parsley plants, a biennial that has its heavenly moment, before "turning into a bunch of sordid sticks” that need digging up. The subsequent disturbed soil promotes a sea of wild poppy seedlings, until they too are dismissed and replaced with bright midsummer annuals that have been grown from seed in pots around the deck.

This riot of zinnias, rudbeckias, snapdragons and nicotiana is softened with star grasses in the late summer light, until it’s time for the huge range of dahlias and grasses to take to the autumn stage and then the curtain falls for winter, completing the garden’s plant calendar.

This cycle of hard work “in service to the garden” is a routine that Andrew has established over many years. He funds his passion by working 100 days a year as a special effects artist, dedicating the remaining two-thirds of the year to this perpetually moving work of art: a garden that is always shifting, resulting in a performance that you too can experience in August, and one that relies on his boundless energy, imagination and craft, inspired by his time volunteering at Great Dixter. As a recent visitor remarked: “This garden has broken all the rules but kept all the excitement”.

If you have similar ambitions, you can put together your own list of performers: star plants that have a place in your heart and will put up with your garden and climate conditions, depending on the amount of time you can spare. And you can invite a continuum of wild visitors into your garden, from violets in spring, through cow parsley, wild carrot, teasels, mullein, red campion, scabious, foxglove and oxeye daisy. All will delight, overstay their welcome and then leave behind a memory of seeds for next year that will need careful editing.

Garden Clippings

Although Andrew grows many of his plants from seed, cuttings and division, he enjoys a trip to a nursery. Here are a few of his favourites:

Madrona Nursery

“Stand-out plants for oddballs.”

Founder Liam Mackenzie started by growing and selling from his mother’s back garden. Reputedly Derek Jarman’s favourite nursery, it moved to its current site in 1996, when he was joined by Swedish landscape designer Ylva Blid-Mackenzie.

One of my favourites too, the site is fabulous and worth a visit. The plants are unusual and home grown, the website is comprehensive (but no mail order), and the nursery sets up its stall at most of the best garden shows in the south.

Bethersden, Kent TN26 3EG

Beth Chatto Gardens

“Well collated, with a commodious website.”

World famous for its founder Beth Chatto’s dictum “right plant, right place””, proved conclusively by a visit to the diverse garden, this is one of the best nurseries in the UK, both online and in real life.

Elmstead Market, Essex CO7 7DB

Great Dixter

“Still my favourite for reliable and exciting garden-worthy plants. I believe you can buy from Great Dixter with your eyes closed and take home not a single regret.”

A definite must-visit for all garden lovers, with a great nursery selling healthy, desirable plants. Their spring and autumn plant fairs are calendar essentials, while their courses will change and improve the way you garden.

Northiam, Rye, East Sussex TN31 6PH

Pan Global Plants

“Like walking into a rarified dream.”

Plant explorer Nick Macer’s fabulous nursery in the Cotswolds. For a quick view of their exotic selection, see @panglobalplants and your mouth will water. Their site looks amazing – it’s on my bucket list – and their website is full of very desirable exotica. According to the Guardian, “For gardeners, it’s the equivalent of the new season’s fashion collections.”

Frampton on Severn, Gloucestershire GL2 7EX

Andrew’s garden is open to the public on 15 August 2026. Follow Andrew Salter @bigdrewland for details.