As for most aiming to garden and design sustainably, bedding plants – essentially throw away within the season – don’t appeal. The instant colour and geometric planting schemes can seem garish and contrived to modern/minimalist taste, even when done very well and in a historic framework such as at Regents Park Italianate beds. Nonetheless, the …
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Wildflower planting was THE trend at Chelsea in 2012. Lovely bright points of flower head colour bobbing against a background of lush grass and leaves. You might try buying wildflower turf by the metre, as at the Lindum ‘Out of the Blue Garden’ (left), or go for a classy look using only white ragged robin, …
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Loved the angle and grace of the dichotomous branching of this tree in bare naked winter form today at Wisley and on further research I find it has so many virtues I’ll be looking for an opportunity to plant one asap. – swamped by bees in July and August with domed corymbs 15 cm (!) …
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Two fabulous aspects of holly to behold at Kew Gardens: the grand scale curvaceous formal hedge and topiay which echo the form of the Palm house, so sharply clipped and stately in the hazy December approaching dusk… …and the holly walk (link to Kew’s webpage), over 1000m long with ’56 species and hybrids, making this …
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What’s in a name? Well, how could your mind not be lifted by Cosmos ‘Psyche White’. It’s a light and floaty tall annual, with fine foliage and prolific moon-daisy flowers. It also has a vigourous, iron constitution and is easy to raise. I spare a 1.5m x 2.5m raised bed for cut flowers at my …
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Cycling home I spied this stand of Anemone x hybrida spot lit in the late afternoon sun and diverted into Archbishop Park to enjoy them better. Standing 1.2 – 1.5m on slim stems, their cup shape flowers nod and wave in the breeze, providing suspended moving dots of pink. Other varieities of Anemone x hybrida …
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