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How to plant spring and early summer flowering bulbs.

October 28, 2013 By Jill Anderson Leave a Comment

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 […]

Filed Under: Blog, Plants, Recycling & Sustainability Tagged With: allium purple sensation, bulb planting., daffodils, flowers, garden, Nectaroscordum siculum, spring flowering bulbs., tulips

Borrowing a view for your garden

October 21, 2013 By Jill Anderson Leave a Comment

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 […]

Filed Under: Blog, Garden Design Tagged With: borrowed view, garden, Landscape

Great Dixter, ideas to use in your garden.

October 9, 2013 By Jill Anderson Leave a Comment

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’ […]

Filed Under: Blog, Garden Design, Inspiration, Plants Tagged With: arbour, dahlias, garden, Great Dixter, pergola, plants, topiary

Friday inspiration: have a seat and enjoy your garden

October 4, 2013 By Jill Anderson Leave a Comment

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 […]

Filed Under: Blog, Garden Design, Inspiration Tagged With: garden, garden bench, garden inspiration

The creative recycling of a garden after the Chelsea Flower Show

September 20, 2013 By Jill Anderson Leave a Comment

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 […]

Filed Under: Blog, Garden Design, Recycling & Sustainability Tagged With: Chelsea Flower Show 2013, garden, recycling, show garden, sustainability, sustainable garden, upcycling, Wilson McWilliam Studio

A gem of a garden to visit in West Sussex.

August 26, 2013 By Jill Anderson Leave a Comment

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 […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: flowers, garden, garden visit, Isabel & Julian Bannerman, Lanning Roper, National Trust, roses, West Sussex, Woolbeding House

Friday inspiration ~ fancy a summer-house in your garden?

August 16, 2013 By Jill Anderson Leave a Comment

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 […]

Filed Under: Garden Design, Inspiration Tagged With: garden, garden building, garden design, summer-house, summerhouse

The reinvention of a garden after it’s appearance at the Chelsea Flower Show

August 12, 2013 By Jill Anderson Leave a Comment

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 […]

Filed Under: Blog, Garden Design, Inspiration, Recycling & Sustainability Tagged With: Andrew Wilson, Chelsea Flower Show 2013, Cloudy Bay Discovery Garden, garden, garden design, Gavin McWilliam, RHS, Wilson McWilliam Studio

Some of the best gardens at The Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2013

July 9, 2013 By Jill Anderson Leave a Comment

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 […]

Filed Under: Blog, Garden Design, Inspiration, Plants, Recycling & Sustainability Tagged With: garden, Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2013, plants, show gardens, sustanable design, sustanable gardens

The Cloudy Bay Discovery Garden at the Chelsea Flower Show 2013 – Week 2

May 8, 2013 By Jill Anderson Leave a Comment

  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 […]

Filed Under: Blog, Garden Design Tagged With: Andrew Wilson. gavin mcWilliam, garden, R.H.S. Chelsea Flower Show 2013, rammed earth walls, Wilson McWilliam Studio

It’s time to prune, clear & generally spring clean your garden.

February 25, 2013 By Jill Anderson 2 Comments

  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 […]

Filed Under: Blog, Garden Design, Plants Tagged With: Cotinus (smoke bush), garden, garden design principles, mulch, primroses, snowdrops, sowing seeds

Every stormy cloud has a silver lining

January 6, 2012 By Jill Anderson Leave a Comment

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?

Filed Under: Blog, Garden Design, Plants Tagged With: damaged trees, garden, plants, storm damage, tree surgeon, trees

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Hello, I’m Jill Anderson.
This is where you’ll find good, solid information about gardening, growing fruit & vegetables and how to keep it all looking good.
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The healing, calming power of nature in one photo. The healing, calming power of nature in one photo.
These wonderful autumn colours won’t be around for much longer. But that’s ok, because now is what matters, & their fleeting beauty makes them even more precious.
It’s easy to see how being among trees & nature is so beneficial for our health & wellbeing. 
Have a great Sunday.
Savouring all the autumn colour, & doesn’t it lo Savouring all the autumn colour, & doesn’t it look spectacular with this bold front door.
Today has been hard work, after a lovely time last week in Norfolk. The north coast there is spectacular. Realising these last few months, that there are so many beautiful places here. 
Have a nice evening.
Charming glasshouse at Houghton Hall, Norfolk. Vis Charming glasshouse at Houghton Hall, Norfolk. Visiting to see the Anish Kapoor sculptures, which are amazing, but unprepared for the beauty of the grounds & garden. 
Such a treat, worth coming to Norfolk for this alone!
Hope you’re keeping well, & managing to smile some of the time. x
P.S. more of Houghton Hall & Anish Kapoor on my stories
We stopped off on the way home to pick blackberrie We stopped off on the way home to pick blackberries, after coffee & cake, sitting in the churchyard - the cafe was full, & the churchyard is a quiet, peaceful spot..... as you’d expect.
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One little advantage of lockdown is walking so much more, rather than using the car. Though it shouldn’t have taken something as momentous as this, for me to change bad habits 🙁
Hope you’re weekend is going well.
My hazel arch, a bit lopsided 🙄 using wood from My hazel arch, a bit lopsided 🙄 using wood from a random clump of hazel on the garden. Now looking much better covered in winter squash plants, so you can’t see just how ramshackle it is. I like to think it has a certain home-spun charm .

Great for small space gardening, imagine how much room you need to grow these without vertical supports.

I’ve got 2 Uchiki kuri, lovely nutty flavour.
1 Turks turban, for its flamboyant shape & colours, though it also tastes good.
One unknown, grown by my grandsons in their homeschooled science lesson.
Close-ups of the squash over on my stories.
Stay cool my friends x
I wanted to show you this lovely lily ( Lilium reg I wanted to show you this lovely lily ( Lilium regale) which is flowering right outside our bedroom window. 
It gets sun for about 4 hours only, you can order the bulbs now for planting in September. It’ll reappear every year & waft delicious scent around your garden, or through your windows.
Have a very happy Monday x
It’s British Flower Week, there’s a lot to be It’s British Flower Week, there’s a lot to be said for fabulous seasonal flowers that haven’t travelled thousands of miles ...... & are wonderful for biodiversity
A bit of rain, nice long days (it’s almost mid-s A bit of rain, nice long days (it’s almost mid-summer!) & it’s, mostly, all growing nicely.

Spinach, courgettes & garlic in shot here. 
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday x
Hope is a decision I’ve thought long & hard abou Hope is a decision
I’ve thought long & hard about how to view the tumult in the world we’re living in now. 
The only thing that works for me, is to choose hope.

It’s a tall order, but avoiding mainstream news & speculation helps avoid the anxiety, that’s often waiting in the wings.

One day soon there’ll be grandchildren clambering over this again.
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