Garden design – Page 5 – Susan Rushton

May 7, 2015March 4, 2020

Border at Kiftsgate Court

My recent post on Hidcote’s red border – and seeing so many pictures of tulips appearing in my Reader – inspired me to share this picture. It shows another colour themed planting, this time at Kiftsgate Court Gardens.

I believe this is the yellow border, pictured here early in the season – thought it does looks more like chocolate, orange and lime in this view, so perhaps you know differently! It reaches its peak of flowering – and, no doubt, yellowness – in August and September. Continue reading “Border at Kiftsgate Court”

April 7, 2015December 27, 2018

Sneak peek into a garden folly

I couldn’t resist giving you a sneak peek into this garden folly in a corner of the treasure trove private garden of influential landscape architect, Rick Griffin and his wife Shirley. If you have time to explore this picture, you’ll find many lovingly chosen details. Continue reading “Sneak peek into a garden folly”

February 21, 2015December 29, 2018

Recipe for a Traditional English Cottage Garden

Described by the British Cottage Garden Society as an informal, abundant, diverse planting, this well-loved gardening style is always in fashion with ’real’ gardeners. If you’d like to create a cottage garden at home, follow this recipe. Add an extra dimension by including as many highly fragrant cultivars as you can from the plant lists below. Your challenge (should you choose to accept it) is to have no soil visible from year three onwards. Simple!

Essentials

Patch of earth (ideally cultivated and enriched for hundred years, though it’s never too late to start)
Some form of enclosure: hedge, stone walls, wooden fence
Path, winding
Garden gate

Continue reading “Recipe for a Traditional English Cottage Garden”