Country estate The Newt in Somerset has held its 2025 Head Gardner’s Conference, featuring 80 leading professionals focusing on tree selection, planting and care. Highlights (click links for further HortWeek coverage) included:
- Tony Kirkham and Henrik Sjoman: Tree experts on future choices.
- Ash dieback: The future of research.
- Majestic Trees: Commemorative ash planted.
- Ancient trees: Why they are valuable.
- Air-Pots: Jamie Single on the benefits of the tree-growing system.
- Cell-grown trees: Are they the future?
- A next-generation head gardener panel heard former Newt chief executive officer Ed Workman speak about how the employee-exchange scheme came about after The Newt Head Gardner’s Conference 2023 as a platform to create connections. Andy Jasper (ex-National Trust, not Eden Project) and Sheila Das (ex-RHS, now National Trust) back the scheme. The 20 gardeners and 20 hosts from this year will meet at Serge Hill. Future developments could be expansions and international exchanges.
- Another panel insisted that the old days of raking leaves for 10 weeks in autumn is a waste of time. Using a mulching deck on rotary mowers and blowing leaves under tree canopies and sprinkling them is current best practice. Kirkham said on leaf raking: “We need to be more untidy.”
MORE ON THE NEWT
HortWeek Podcast: The Newt in Somerset
