A timely guide to spring-flowering bulbs – choices, tips, techniques and planting ideas for a display from January to May

  More thieving from my back catalogue of articles, this one doubly so since it originally featured in September a few years ago, featuring images taken from 2014 onwards - and repeated again in April of this year. But spring-flowering bulbs are available now so this time of year is probably the most useful as bulbs can be…

Mottisfont Rose Gardens, June 2018

June 2018 visiting Mottisfont with a fellow rose-lover. A day of laughter and fun. 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…

A few scribblings on creating a White Garden

  Creating a White Garden Straight out of the block, I'm talking about green. And grey, silver, and variegation. We'll get to white but a few thoughts first. ‘Green is the backdrop to the garden but in its range of shades and textures, green has much more to offer as any foreground interest. Grey dims,…

A guide to spring-flowering bulbs in the garden – planting ideas from January to May in kaleidoscopic style

  Bulbs in the spring garden. The text and images are timely in this piece, looking through the late winter and spring months January through to May, though it was originally written for a September story when the bulbs and corms would be available for planting. There are practical tips and hints planting of course,…

White

Every shade of white .... no need for a white garden to be sterile, with coolness and warmth, blushes of yellow and pink, blue and lime. Keep the palette calm, with grey and silver foliage, add some soft yellows, blue-greys, to keep the colour scheme less static. Vary the shape, foliage, horizontals and verticals, for…

Spring-flowering bulbs for the Garden – many galleries and my notes for a Workshop …

I've a workshop planned this week as part of the School of Garden Inspiration syllabus at Petersham Nurseries. The subject is bulb planting in the garden, and more specifically, Spring-flowering bulbs that are available now for planting in the coming weeks and months. Some practical information and hopefully, some inspiration along the way. Without doubt,…

Purple

May I refer you to Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple Sometimes more blue, or lilac, lavender, rose, red, but a not pure blue, or pink depending on which is closest, a varied palette - cool, rich, and elegant tones.  Thug, the Petersham Cat, rounding up proceedings. I rest my case ...

Blue

OK, so there is a touch of rose-making-the-blue-purple going on here too though I have weeded out the more obvious not-blues, but the theme, from palest to the boldest, with some blue-grey foliage too, is a cool blue palette. Fruit, leaf and flower all contribute and I refer you once again to Gertrude Jekyll. In…

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,…