if your garden is bigger than a courtyard, but smaller than an acre
Join Me On:
Whitstable Open Gardens is on next weekend (for the NGS). Ten gardens will be open on 10th June (10am-5pm), which makes it easy to remember. [caption id="attachment_9030" align="alignnone" width="400"] Wildflowers on Joy Lane beach at sunset.…
A seashell garden path is probably the most environmentally friendly path option you can choose. It's relatively cheap and you can lay it yourself. And it's not just for 'seaside gardens', either. [caption id="attachment_8867" align="alignnone"…
Monty Don's new book, Down to Earth, has lots of good practical advice, but it isn't a 'how to.' [caption id="attachment_7652" align="alignnone" width="600"] Monty Don's new book, 'Down To Earth', at its launch on the…
I've been taking a sneak peek at the 2018 garden trends . I spent two days at GLEE, the exhibition where the gardening industry displays or discovers next year's garden plants, equipment and ideas. We…
Garden ideas picked up from holidays abroad have inspired garden designers for years. Every year, there are several award-winning RHS show gardens based on places we visit, from Provence to the Yorkshire moors. Some garden…
This week I visited the roof garden at John Lewis in Oxford Street, designed by Tony Woods. Tony is a former RHS Young Designer of the Year. He and his team, Garden Club London, specialise…
'Style your garden' doesn't mean exactly the same as 'design your garden.' Designing a garden is about choosing a theme, then planning the hard landscaping and planting. Styling is about making sure it all works…
Steven Edney and Louise Dowle's middle-sized tropical garden, Sweetbriar, is just three years old. But it's already opening for the NGS. Both Steven and Louise are professional gardeners. Steven runs the beautiful Salutation garden in…
A friend recently asked me which hedge she should choose for her garden. It's a bit like being asked for the answer to world peace. It's rather a big question. [caption id="attachment_7092" align="alignnone" width="600"] Garden…
We decided to turn a neglected pergola in the corner of the garden into a simple gazebo, in order to create an 'outside room.' It has a wonderful view of the garden. [caption id="attachment_7038" align="alignnone"…
Children's gardening is perennially in the news. How can we encourage the young to be interested in gardening? Should we even try? I have a theory. If we go back to our hunter-gatherer ancestors, your…
I love garden party decorations. Flowers, bunting, lights...it's all such fun. This week we 're giving a party for my brother-in-law's big birthday. The middle-sized lawn is almost completely covered with a marquee. [caption id="attachment_6954"…