Tag-Archive for ◊ Garden visits ◊

Author:
• Tuesday, June 11th, 2019
Elements of Sheffield garden

It was on a rainy day that I visited the RHS Chatsworth Flower Show but that didn’t dampen my spirit. I was indeed looking forward to seeing the show gardens which despite being quite small (6x4m) all had interesting features that made them look bigger.

I was particularly impressed by the ‘Elements of Sheffield’ garden as the sunken seating area combined with a soft water feature and rich planting made it feel quite cosy.  I enjoyed the compact planting of flowers such as purple Lysimachia atropurpurea combined with bright Achilleas and Digitalis, as well as the use of airy plants such as bronze stemmed Anthriscus.

Also contributing to the cosy feeling of the garden is the use of moss in the soft cascade from the constructed back wall.

A key theme for this year was mindfulness, highlighting the benefits of gardening and the great green outdoors on mental health.

One particular flower that stood out for me this year was Geum, since it was used in a lot of displays in all shades of apricot colours and I found that it complemented other plants in shades of copper really well. In fact I spotted such Geum in the wild as the trip to Chatsworth offered the opportunity of a walk in the Peak district. And it thrived in the Lathkill Dale alongside the Jacob’s Ladder, in full bloom at this time of year.

Eutierra garden

Another show garden which appealed to me was called Eutierra (gold medallist too), which although minimalist felt quite peaceful thanks to the dominance of green walls, hostas and ferns.

Finally in the beekeeper’s stand I couldn’t resist to get some seeds for the allotment, including Teasel and Ammi, to help attract bumblebees and lacewings in the garden.

Author:
• Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

Following my article on what to do now in the garden you may feel that you need a break from all this hard work clearing out the garden, or it could be that you need a bit of encouragement and inspiration to get started with gardening.

Why not visit a garden as part of the National Garden Scheme?

Summer days are here and you can visit some of the most beautiful gardens in Britain in the most informal way. You will get the opportunity to have a friendly chat with the home owners and get their personal advice and input on their successes and potential failure in their garden activity. The personal advice that you can get from amateur gardeners can be most valuable if are looking to achieve results with home-tried gardening practices.

I also enjoy the opportunity to relax and treat myself to the great British tradition which is afternoon tea, preferably with a big slab of Victoria sponge cake – after all I deserve it!

But all this is also for a better cause. The funds raised will benefit a number of charities including Marie Curie Cancer Care, Help the Hospices Movement, and the Royal fund for Gardeners’ children, to name but a few.

You can find more information about the gardens which are open this summer on the National Garden Scheme website.

If you’d like to share your experience on the best British gardens, please leave a comment.