if your garden is bigger than a courtyard, but smaller than an acre
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Here in the South East (of England), we're assessing the winter damage to our gardens. The real problems weren't caused by the snow, freezing winds or low temperatures of late February. [caption id="attachment_8631" align="alignnone" width="600"]…
I've always been slightly nervous of buying 'unusual plants.' Maybe they're just for expert gardeners? More demanding? Difficult to grow? [caption id="attachment_8517" align="alignnone" width="600"] Nandina domestica 'Richmond' is a variant that has berries on it…
'Laura has an orchard in the garden,' said my friend, Rosie, over a gin-and-tonic. Firstly, Laura and Rosie live in the same street in the market town of Faversham. The road is mainly Victorian, with…
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…
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…
I visited a beautifully planted garden last year, but it was spoilt by its garden path. The garden owner clearly didn't care about her garden paths. She poured all her time and money into creating…
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…
If asked for 'small garden ideas', I wouldn't normally start with advising you to plant a large cypress tree right in the middle of your courtyard garden. But one of the great pleasures of helping…
Two years ago Emma and Mel moved to a house in Whitstable with a long thin garden. They came from a London flat with a tiny courtyard: 'I've been dreaming about how I would create…
People with middle-sized gardens used to worry about garden sculpture and ornaments. They seemed too close to garden gnomes. As children, we loved peering into front gardens to see a few brightly coloured stone gnomes…
Could you double or treble the amount of food you grow in your small urban garden? I visited a garden recently which packs layers of fruit, vegetables and herbs into every corner of a small…
There are many good reasons for choosing hedges for privacy. Evergreen hedges provide food and shelter for wildlife all year round. Like trees, they're good for the environment generally, because they improve air quality. And…