One of the great advantages of planting gardens for clients at this time of year is that I can include bulbs in the planting plan. It’s the perfect time to plant spring and early summer bulbs, here are my tips for a lovely display next year. Ideally, it’s best to plant them before November: daffodils, the small tete a […]
Borrowing a view for your garden
If you feel a bit limited by your own garden, why not borrow a view. It’s a well established technique and is officially called ‘a borrowed landscape’, where views outside the garden can be incorporated into the composition of your own garden. It encourages you to look beyond the garden boundary and expands the […]
Great Dixter, ideas to use in your garden.
The garden at Great Dixter in East Sussex is probably one of the most famous gardens in the world. It was the family home of gardener and garden writer Christopher Lloyd, who dedicated his life to the garden and made great changes to the planting. Most of the garden’s original lay-out was designed by Edwin Lutyens for Christopher Lloyds’ […]
Friday inspiration: have a seat and enjoy your garden
Summer is certainly over, but there will still be days when you can sit in your garden and enjoy the autumn sunshine. It’s nice to have a bench or seating away from the house so you get a different perspective of the garden. The set-up of this bench, perched on a little platform to enjoy the […]
The creative recycling of a garden after the Chelsea Flower Show
Way back in May the Wilson McWilliam Studio exhibited a highly acclaimed garden at the Chelsea Flower Show which won a silver-gilt medal. I became very familiar with this garden as I followed it’s progress and wrote a weekly blog post over 10 weeks as it was developed for Chelsea. But the story of […]
A gem of a garden to visit in West Sussex.
Having lived less than an hours drive from this garden for years I visited this summer for the first time. I’m now rather obsessed with the garden and made a second visit a few weeks later. Woolbeding House and garden is managed by The National Trust and I’m not sure why it isn’t better known because it’s […]
Friday inspiration ~ fancy a summer-house in your garden?
This is rather grand as summer-houses go, but I think you have to aim high when you want to be inspired. If you’re not planning on having something on this scale you can still use it for inspiration: I like the colour of this one, this soft grey blends in well and looks good with green, see […]
The reinvention of a garden after it’s appearance at the Chelsea Flower Show
It can be an abrupt end to the Chelsea Flower Show, when after months of work, sweat and sometimes tears, the gardens are dismantled within days. The area is grassed over so efficiently that it’s hard to believe that anything was there before, so it’s great to see a garden that I came to know quite […]
Some of the best gardens at The Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2013
There’s something rather indulgent about visiting a garden show when it’s hot and sunny and all the exhibitors are busy working to a dead-line. Such a lot of hard work is involved, but as always, they pulled it off and everything looked sparkling and in tip-top condition ready for Press Day yesterday. There are some […]
The Cloudy Bay Discovery Garden at the Chelsea Flower Show 2013 – Week 2
This Thursday sees the start date for the building of Gavin McWilliam and Andrew Wilsons garden at Chelsea. It’s been a long haul for them, but now we’re talking about days rather than weeks until the garden becomes a reality. The final arrangements are all falling into place very nicely. During this last week […]
It’s time to prune, clear & generally spring clean your garden.
In just a few days it’ll be March, a busy month on my drawing board and in the garden. There does seem to be a lot of delayed gratification in gardening, but if you keep the programme rolling you’ll always have something to appreciate right in front of you. Snowdrops, primroses and hellebores are small […]
Every stormy cloud has a silver lining
Have you been affected by the storms in the UK during the last week, or were you able to view the TV footage from the safety and comfort of your armchair?