colour

My own private oasis – lots of green, a little pink summery loveliness, bamboo, bananas, charity shop finds and lots that love the shade ….

Categories colour, Composting, cookery, Evergreen shrubs, General comment, Organic Gardening, Organic pest control, Plants for a shady garden?, Shrubs, Summer garden, Woodland GardenLeave a Comment on My own private oasis – lots of green, a little pink summery loveliness, bamboo, bananas, charity shop finds and lots that love the shade ….

This is a small private garden, no more than 24' wide and a little longer, well possible maybe twice as long, with a mature Horse Chestnut tree, from a neighbouring garden, that shades at least half of it. It was the reason we bought this house, such a beautiful sight in full flower and broke up…

Continue reading ➞ My own private oasis – lots of green, a little pink summery loveliness, bamboo, bananas, charity shop finds and lots that love the shade ….

Ham and Petersham in Bloom / Britain in Bloom and Petersham Nurseries

Categories Architectural Plants, colour, container gardening, Cottage Garden, dark foliage plants, evergreen perennial, General comment, herbaceous, late summer border, Open to the public, Organic Gardening, Petersham Nurseries, Plants for a shady garden?, Seasonal colour, shade, Summer gardenLeave a Comment on Ham and Petersham in Bloom / Britain in Bloom and Petersham Nurseries

Petersham Nurseries have donated plants, time and a considerable amount of compost (I know, I carried it ...) to plan, prepare and plant up three new stone troughs - horse troughs effectively - at three prominent sites within the local community. All part of Britain in Bloom and building on the success Ham and Petersham…

Continue reading ➞ Ham and Petersham in Bloom / Britain in Bloom and Petersham Nurseries

Hampton Court Flower Show Part Four – more gardens … more nurseries … just more!

Categories annuals, Architectural Plants, Art in the landscape, Bedding, Bulbs, Clematis, Climbing plants, colour, container gardening, Cottage Garden, Cutting Garden, Dahlias, dark foliage plants, Dry Garden, evergreen perennial, Exotic, floristry, Flower Shows, Garden Design, General comment, herbaceous, Hydrangea, late summer border, Open to the public, Orchids, Ornamental trees, Seasonal colour, Seeds, shade, Shrubs, Summer garden, Tropical, White Garden, Wildlife gardeningLeave a Comment on Hampton Court Flower Show Part Four – more gardens … more nurseries … just more!

Hampton Court Flower Show – Part 2 (Festival of Roses)

Categories Architectural Plants, Art in the landscape, Climbing plants, colour, dark foliage plants, David Austin roses, Flower Shows, Garden Design, General comment, Open to the public, Roses, Seasonal colour, Shrubs, Summer gardenLeave a Comment on Hampton Court Flower Show – Part 2 (Festival of Roses)

A snapshot from the RHS Gardens at Wisley

Categories annuals, Architectural Plants, Art in the landscape, Climbing plants, colour, conifers, Cottage Garden, Cutting Garden, dark foliage plants, David Austin roses, Dry Garden, Exotic, Flower Shows, Fragrant plants, Friends, Fruit Trees, Garden Design, herbaceous, Lawn Care, Open to the public, Orchids, Ornamental trees, Plants for a shady garden?, plants for roses, RHS WIsley, Roses, Seasonal colour, shade, soft fruit, Summer garden, Tropical, Vegetables, Water gardening, White GardenLeave a Comment on A snapshot from the RHS Gardens at Wisley

With a friend visiting from Melbourne and cool, cloudy weather, an opportunity to explore RHS Wisley and with 20 Plant Societies - Delphiniums and Cacti, Hostas and Bonsai, Pitcher Plants, Heathers, Vegetables, Dahlias and more - no better excuse to spend three hours in these varied landscapes. We explored the Cottage Garden - gorgeous planting,…

Continue reading ➞ A snapshot from the RHS Gardens at Wisley

Cottage Gardens

Categories Architectural Plants, Bedding, Bulbs, Clematis, Climbing plants, colour, Composting, container gardening, Cottage Garden, Cutting Garden, Dahlias, dark foliage plants, David Austin roses, Dry Garden, evergreen perennial, Evergreen shrubs, Flowering Cherry, Fragrant plants, Fruit Trees, Garden Design, Great Dixter, Hellebore, herbaceous, Hydrangea, Iris, Kitchen Garden, late summer border, Mottisfont Abbey, National Trust Gardens, nerines, Open to the public, Organic Gardening, Organic pest control, Ornamental trees, Petersham Nurseries, plants for roses, Propagation, RHS WIsley, Roses, Seasonal colour, Seeds, Shrubs, soft fruit, Spring Garden, Summer garden, Trees for smaller gardens, Vegetables, Wild Food/Foraging, Wildlife gardeningLeave a Comment on Cottage Gardens

Phyllis Bide – the perfect rambling rose for a cottage garden – informal flowers in a muddle of apricot and cream – and not a monster either, like Kiftsgate or Wedding Day… The Story cover photo is from the Welcome to Yorkshire Garden at RHS Chelsea this year. Proof if it were needed of the…

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How much can you cram into one small front garden … more than you would think, I think ..

Categories annuals, Architectural Plants, Bedding, Bulbs, Clematis, Climbing plants, colour, Cottage Garden, Cutting Garden, David Austin roses, Evergreen shrubs, Flowering Cherry, General comment, Hellebore, herbaceous, Hydrangea, my projects, Roses, Seasonal colour, shade, Spring Garden, Summer garden1 Comment on How much can you cram into one small front garden … more than you would think, I think ..

Well, there are two standard Munstead Wood Roses, one standard Rose Ballerina, another standard Lady Emma Hamilton, oh and Desdemona, another standard - shrub roses Vanessa Bell and The Poet's Wife, a half barrel of Erigeron karvinskianus, a pot of Campanula Pink Octopus, Alliums (Mont Blanc maybe), three large pots of Pelargoniums (zonal, ivy-leaved, scented…

Continue reading ➞ How much can you cram into one small front garden … more than you would think, I think ..

RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2018 – the show gardens, the great pavillion, the roses and … well, pretty much everything

Categories Acid-loving plants, Alpine, annuals, Architectural Plants, Art in the landscape, Bulbs, Clematis, climbing plant, colour, container gardening, Cottage Garden, Cutting Garden, Dahlias, David Austin roses, Dry Garden, Evergreen shrubs, Exotic, floristry, Flower Shows, Flowering Cherry, Fragrant plants, Garden Design, Grasses, Hellebore, herbaceous, House plants, Hydrangea, Indoor gardening, Iris, Japanese Maples (Acers), Kitchen Garden, late summer border, macropetala, Magnolia, Mediterranean Garden, Mottisfont Abbey, Open to the public, Orchids, Organic Gardening, Ornamental trees, Plants for a shady garden?, plants for roses, Rhododendron & Azalea, Roses, Seasonal colour, shade, Shrubs, spring flowering, Spring Garden, Summer garden, Television, Travel broadens the mind, Trees, Trees for smaller gardens, Tropical, Water gardening, White Garden, Wildlife gardening, Wisteria, Woodland Garden1 Comment on RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2018 – the show gardens, the great pavillion, the roses and … well, pretty much everything

From my walk through Chelsea, to the very last moment - a few hours in the company of the world's greatest flower show....

A Spring Soup … spring cutting garden flowers, floating

Categories Abstract Photography, annuals, Art in the landscape, Bedding, Bulbs, colour, Cutting Garden, floristry, Flower Shows, General comment, Hellebore, Petersham Nurseries, Seasonal colour, spring flowering, Spring Garden, Water gardening1 Comment on A Spring Soup … spring cutting garden flowers, floating

A beautiful addition to the displays, this bronze cooking bowl in which spring flowers - tulips and tree peonies, violas and clematis, the last of the Hellebores are dropped into the shallow clear water. The breeze moves them around in a floral ballet of brownian motion and it is a real delight. Some float, some…

Continue reading ➞ A Spring Soup … spring cutting garden flowers, floating