Cottage Garden

Hampton Court Palace Flower Show – Part 1 (Show Gardens)

Categories Architectural Plants, Art in the landscape, Cottage Garden, Flower Shows, Fragrant plants, Garden Design, General comment, herbaceous, Open to the public, Ornamental trees, Seasonal colour, Shrubs, Summer gardenLeave a Comment on Hampton Court Palace Flower Show – Part 1 (Show Gardens)

Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Hampshire – summer, this time around

Categories Architectural Plants, Art in the landscape, Clematis, Climbing plants, conifers, Cottage Garden, Cutting Garden, Dahlias, Exotic, Fragrant plants, Fruit Trees, Garden Design, General comment, Grasses, herbaceous, Magnolia, Open to the public, Ornamental trees, Seasonal colour, Summer garden, Travel broadens the mind, WisteriaLeave a Comment on Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Hampshire – summer, this time around

The Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, run extraordinarily well by Hampshire County Council, is an exceptionally varied, beautiful, diverse, botanically curated landscape with so much to recommend, at pretty much any time of year (their winter garden is a beauty and possibly the best in the UK). An extended stay at Mottisfont and then the charms…

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Mottisfont Rose Gardens

Categories Architectural Plants, Clematis, Climbing plants, Cottage Garden, David Austin roses, Fragrant plants, Friends, Fruit Trees, Garden Design, General comment, herbaceous, Iris, Mottisfont Abbey, National Trust Gardens, Open to the public, plants for roses, Roses, Seasonal colour, Summer gardenLeave a Comment on Mottisfont Rose Gardens

Overblown, blowsy, beautiful, fragrant, lush, a little ragged, absolutely in need of some serious dead-heading - but equally glamorous and hopelessly romantic, there are no rose gardens quite like Mottisfont. Soulful, they inhabit the walled gardens of this ancient priory, clambering through the many venerable apple and pear tress, hopelessly constrained by box or lavender,…

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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,…

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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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Petersham Open Garden 2018 – all the pictures!

Categories Art in the landscape, Bedding, Bulbs, Camellias, Climbing plants, container gardening, Cottage Garden, Cutting Garden, Dry Garden, evergreen perennial, Evergreen shrubs, Exotic, Fragrant plants, Fruit Trees, Garden Design, General comment, Grasses, herbaceous, Hydrangea, Iris, Japanese Maples (Acers), Kitchen Garden, macropetala, Magnolia, my projects, Open to the public, Organic Gardening, Organic pest control, Ornamental trees, Petersham Nurseries, Rhododendron & Azalea, Roses, Seasonal colour, shade, Shrubs, soft fruit, Summer garden, Trees for smaller gardens, Tropical, Vegetables, White Garden, Wild Food/Foraging, Wildlife gardening, Wisteria, Woodland GardenLeave a Comment on Petersham Open Garden 2018 – all the pictures!

Ten gardens, ten private passions, ten stories - all on show for Petersham Open Gardens, an event every two years where private gardens showcase their beauty and skills (and skulls in some gardens), for charitable purposes. And given the footfall today, the charity-benefitting coffers will be full to overflowing. Congratulations folk, one and all. I…

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Blue Skies and Roses at Petersham Nurseries – and Petersham Open Gardens is today ….

Categories Architectural Plants, Climbing plants, Cottage Garden, Cutting Garden, David Austin roses, Fragrant plants, herbaceous, Organic Gardening, Petersham Nurseries, Roses, Seasonal colour, Summer garden, Woodland Garden1 Comment on Blue Skies and Roses at Petersham Nurseries – and Petersham Open Gardens is today ….

A few random photos (and randomly shuffled I think too) from Petersham Nurseries and from Petersham House Gardens yesterday, under rich blue skies punctuated by the prettiest of white clouds. Clouds of perfume too, especially from the rambler rose Paul's Himalayan Musk clothing the big holly tree in the House Gardens, and Blush Noisette in…

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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…

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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....