- date:
- 22/05/03
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Back from Chelsea and what a terrible day it was for weather - rain, rain and more rain. I try to go to Chelsea Flower Show every 2 years as I find that I can keep on top of new products and plants fairly easily that way. Every time I go; I say never again but this year I thought the organisation was the worst I had ever known. Perhaps it will be never again and I shall confine my viewing of Chelsea Flower Show to watching it on TV. This year there was a queue to view the gardens on the Rock Bank and it took one and a half hours to reach the first one, (this was in the pouring rain, if the sun had been out I dread to think how long I would have been standing there). I know there are problems in viewing but I am afraid I prefer the rugby scrum of previous years. I could be in front of the garden in minutes - take a photograph, collect the descriptive paper and away, but as it was I had to stand in line and wait for the people in front to move away. I also found the catering this year not as good as usual - I had a reservation for 4.30 pm and again had to queue until 5 o'clock before being given my table. The table was only half laid and the service was diabolical taking two hours for our three courses to arrive. I have never had such service with a bill that came to just under £110.00 for the two of us. That meant during the course of the day I lost through queuing and eating, 4 hours. The Show is open from 8 am to 8 pm and you need that time to see everything, so I had checked into a hotel the night before because of the journey from home of 100 miles. I do object having 4 hours unecessarily wasted along with the costs involved in trying to get a full day at the Show. As a garden designer, I wanted to view the stands and see their products and I did not have time to do this. Just imagine how much business these stand holders will have lost because of the bad organisation of the show. Whether I will attend in 2005 remains to be seen.
- date:
- 13/0503
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You know it is so strange how much we take for granted. England has but a few native plants and new introductions started when the Romans came to our shores. They introduced the vine, the fig, even the chestnut tree, I find it quite amazing that we have them to thank for roasted chestnuts in my open fire at Christmastime.
I recently returned from a trip to Florida and visited Flamingo Gardens and Cypress Gardens. While I was there I could not help but wonder what it had been like for Charles Darwin and David Douglas when they visited those shores to see the native plants for the first time. As for me the excitement was somewhat reduced since many of the plants have been introduced here in England, albeit many of them as house plants. But it is fascinating that a weed in one country is regarded as something beautiful elsewhere, which caused me to write the following ditty.....
A weed that originates in Katmandu
Is thought to be an exotic down at Kew.
OK so I will never make Poet Laureate but it just fascinates me, what can be considered an exotic. I am involved with a twinning association and when the French visit my county they marvel at the cow parsley growing on the roadside. Talking of the French, I had to smile one day when they referred to a hanging basket where they said 'Don't you call those Industrious Elizabeths in your country?' They were looking at the Impatiens we grow annually that we call Busy Lizzies - something obviously got lost in translation!
- date:
- 05/05/03
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It is so difficult to make clients understand at times - they see a newly planted garden and wonder why so much space. Unlike television I do not plant up for the day but for the future and consequently the plants do not fill the space allocated for them. One thing you always need to remember is that the average shrub takes up 1.8 metres or 6 feet in its spread and people generally do not make their borders wide enough to accommodate this size. As for expectations, as a rule of thumb you should allow 3 years for perennials, 6 years for shrubs and 12 years for trees to start looking good. Another thing to take into account, is that things are seasonal, the plants that are available today are invariably looking good at the moment - for all year planting, the purchase of plants often has to be spread over a full gardening year.
- date:
- 150502
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Another visit to the Malvern Show and another success. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the beautiful Spring weather which always seems to entice me to buy even more plants - two particular ones this year was Iris germanica 'Jane Phillips' which is a beautiful shade of blue with a faint perfume along with the latest Streptocarpus for my Mother's window-sill which was a wonderful deep shade of red. The designer gardens this year, I thought were better than usual but my favourite was done by an amateur designer for the charity RUBKA. The R.H.S. awarded them a well deserved gold medal for a design that made so much space from very little by using a mirrored trompe l'oeil, the terracotta walls conjured up memories of mediterranean holidays and the planting was superb. I really love the Malvern Show, there is space to move, so much to see and it is held in an area of unsurpassed beauty - I will certainly be back next year for my tenth visit.
- date:
- 23/04/02
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Today is St George's Day and being very English I wondered if I should wear a red rose in support of my country. I saw one rose, no more, which is such a pity but wonder if people refrain from wearing one since it is also the flower of the Labour Party and perhaps people who support other political parties feel they cannot wear a red rose at this time. I spent today cleaning up the nursery, because of my broken leg 18 months ago I really did get behind and there are many plants hidden underneath a carpet of couch grass. It was quite exciting really to discover what has survived. A couple of favourites include Liatris spicata 'Floristan White' and Tradescantia x andersoniana 'Blue Stone' but the trouble is they are also favourites of the dreaded slugs. I spent the day hand picking the slugs and disposing of them while removing the plants to the safe keeping of the greenhouse. It never ceases to amaze me how plants will survive in spite of lack of attention - my excuse is that I am testing them for drought and pests on behalf of clients. I wonder what excuse other people use, let me know if you have any thoughts on this. Must have an early night if only to set the video - I am speaking tomorrow to a Fitness Club on the benefits of gardening and it is a day when I am suppose to be on TV - I shall look tomorrow evening in anticipation.
- date:
- 27/03/02
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Well I thought I better drop everyone out there a line who had expected to see me on TV today. It was stopped last minute because of the new advertising campaign on tiredness can kill and of course it is thought that it all came about because of the Selby rail crash. Anyway, Yorkshire television tell me that it will definitely go out next Wednesday, and be on for 4 subsequent Wednesdays. In any case why be indoors today, when the weather was so beautiful - much better to be out in the garden.........Happy Easter and Happy Gardening to you all.
- date:
- 01/03/02
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What a wonderful time I have had today. Last night I spoke to the Tatton Garden Society and they arranged for me to see the gardens of Tatton Park this morning. The sun was shining and the sky was blue which added to my pleasure. The stags were fighting in the parkland designed by Humphrey Repton over 200 years ago while the Japanese garden originally conceived in 1910, looked a peaceful retreat from the modern world. The most outstanding feature for me though was the Fernery - so fashionable in Victorian times but now making a comeback. The Tree Ferns (Dicksonia antarctica were way above my head nearly touching the glazing bars that Sir Joseph Paxton had invented when he created the Crystal Palace in 1851. Everywhere you looked it was green, in every conceivable shade that you can imagine with Woodwardia radicans tumbling over ground cover of various mosses and Mind your own Business. They say that green calms the spirit and as I left Paxtons creation I felt totally refreshed and ready for the long drive home.
- date:
- 25/02/02
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Today was spent with my landscaper discussing a new garden. You know I can never understand people, I design gardens to be practical but clients like to tweak the design here and there - putting their own stamp on it I suppose. But making a driveway narrower doesn't make sense if you have to stand in the borders to get out of your car.
- date:
- 23/02/02
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Today, I was scanning my local newspaper and suddenly noticed a forthcoming auction. The items to be sold were silver plated trophies from a village Horticultural Show. How sad I thought, to see them go under the hammer - I wonder who had won them and what for? I expect the day that the gardener collected the trophies they were thrilled and proud to have their efforts acknowledged. It would be the icing on top of the cake to win after the time spent in providing tender loving care to their flowers and vegetables. Nowadays, everything is instant from garden makeovers to pick your own fruit from a local farm. There is no longer the excitement of seeing the first blossoms on a new shrub, or the flowers appearing on annuals that have been nurtured on a kitchen window-cill and nothing can compare with the taste of a freshly picked strawberry that you have protected throughout the seasons. Once upon a time we not only had a garden but also an allotment - I wonder, am I getting old and sentimental, yearning for the days gone by when people were 'real gardeners'.
- date:
- 22/02/02
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Well yesterday I joined the Heckington Gardening Club on a coach trip to see the snowdrops at Hodsock Priory in Nottinghamshire. The day was fine but there had been so much rain prior to our visit - I cannot say that it was a pleasure wandering around. Two years ago I slipped while visiting Chatsworth gardens and broke my leg and consequently I was in fear of repeating the experience while skidding on the mud around the woodland paths. Admittedly the owners had tried and scattered bark chippings but not enough for the amount of people that were visiting. Still being a galanthophile (A snowdrop fanatic) I enjoyed the trip although was disappointed in only seeing a handful of snowdrop types. There are nearly 600 variations on the 14 or so species - my favourite being Galanthus 'Wendy's Gold' which can be seen elsewhere on my website but was nowhere in view at Hodsock Priory. But if you are looking for ideas for winter planting then it is a good place to go for inspiration. The Hellebores are magnificent and the variation of shrubs superb. As you approach the woodland walk you have to pass through an avenue of the winter flowering honeysuckle; Lonicera x purpusii and the perfume is quite divine. Other shrubs that will titillate your sense of smell and scattered throughout the garden include Hamamelis mollis (witchhazel), Chimonanthus praecox (wintersweet)and the floriferous Viburnum x bodnantense 'Dawn'. One disappointment for me was that the Persian Ironwood (Parrotia persica) blossoms had already gone over, they look like little scarlet spiders hanging off the bare branches but had obviously bloomed early this year. Apart from satisfying the nose and eyes the tea rooms will satisfy your tastebuds and provide just what the doctor ordered - Home-made hot vegetable soup was on the menu yesterday along with some wonderful cakes such as hot apple cake and mincepies. Having had an enjoyable outing I popped into the nursery and to encapsulate the memory just could not resist buying a couple of Cylamen coum, one white and one in a beautiful shade of magenta. Hodsock Priory only opens at this time of year but it really does gladden the heart and is well worth a visit if you can fit it into your diary.
- date:
- 23/05/01
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Back from Chelsea and totally exhausted but what a super day. It was the first time that I had seen the new marquee and I must admit that it did seem much cooler inside than on previous years on a hot day. At least this year there were some gardens that I could relate to, although I must admit that the wild gardens although amazing are not something that I strive to have. Indeed I spend so much time pulling up the weeds rather than cultivating them but I do find it amazing that nettles and chickweed can be successfully transplanted for Chelsea week. One thing that was super was where we stayed - right in SW1 a B and B that I found in the booklet Bed and Breakfast for Garden Lovers, you can find the link on this website. The owner Winkle Haworth greets you in such a way that you feel you have been friends for years and our dinner was true perfection for a summers evening. This morning we viewed her garden where there are some interesting design features but also some beautiful colour combinations that shows Winkle to be a very good plantswoman.
- date:
- 20/05/01
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A week ago I went to the first Flower Show of the season at Malvern. Such a good day out with plenty of space and everything from old fashioned lemonade to the most up to date lawn mower on sale. But...I am starting to despair, is it me? So many designs these days seem to be extreme and not something you would want in your own back yard. The one at Malvern that hurt my eyes was a double trough of water in orange and yellow but for some unknown reason on the upper trough there were three newts suspended on metal posts about 1.2 metres (4 feet) long and painted in royal blue. How anyone could wish to have such a thing in their own garden I cannot contemplate, let me know if you like this kind of thing so I can have a rethink. I am off to Chelsea this week and hope that there is nothing there that grates the eyes - I'll let you know upon my return.
- date:
- 25/03/01
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Yesterday I spent my day at the Hardy Plant Society's Annual Lecture day - such a super day with two good speakers and the opportunity to rub shoulders with like minded people. I particularly enjoyed Fergus Garrett, Head Gardener at Great Dixter, who gave a lecture on succession planting. Unfortunately as it includes annuals and quite high maintenance, I don't think I will be able to suggest this to my clients as they are always looking to save on work due to leading such busy lives. However, I am a great believer in layer planting - trees and shrubs with climbers trained through, underplanted with herbaceous perennials and bulbs to keep the garden full of interest throughout the year. In small gardens every planting site is precious and needs filling with plants that give surprises through form, colour and fragrance to extend the seasons continuously.
