Continue reading “Winter Highlights From Bodnant Garden In Wales”
Winter Highlights From Bodnant Garden In Wales
Suzie Cranston’s Birdhouse Garden
When Suzie Cranston’s world was rocked by the death of her son, Peck, a sign saying ‘Peace begins in the garden’ inspired her to create a garden that would celebrate his life.
Beautiful at any time of the year, my sweetheart and I often pause to admire it on walks through our quirky little neighbourhood, Fondren, in Jackson, Mississippi. More than twenty years after starting the garden, Suzie is eager for others to enjoy it as much as she does. She welcomes visitors with a broad smile, pointing out things they may have missed: flowers, garden art, a new birdhouse and, in particular, things that Peck would have loved, such as the tortoises which appear everywhere. Continue reading “Suzie Cranston’s Birdhouse Garden”
How To Make A City Garden In A Small Space
Want to make a, easily maintainable city garden? Just follow this plan, as illustrated above.
- Select your space. The heart of a medieval city is ideal (the more souls that can overlook the garden, the better), but almost any space will suffice.
- Create one or more organic shaped beds in the centre and another around the perimeter, leaving room for a sinuous, scrollable path (experts advise laying out the path first).
- Edge the beds in a stone coloured material, selecting a darker tile to define the perimeter border.
- Scatter shrubs, small, decorative conifers, grasses and herbaceous plants that can tolerate some neglect in the central beds. Keep it on the minimal side – you don’t want to crowd things.
- Artfully place decent-sized rocks in small groups or piles.
- Mulch with crushed slate.
- Add curved, benches that will invite passers-by to linger. Chocolate coloured metal ones will match those tiles around the outer borders.
- Fix trellises to the walls and encourage vines to soften them, creating the effect of a glade within a city (if you lack walls, add a fence or baffle first).
- If the same vines can be pruned low to provide ground cover for the perimeter beds, so much the better. If not, plant something green to do the job.
- Pave, staying true to the neutral, natural theme.
- In winter, tie the grasses up into neat bundles by wrapping a few of the long outer strands around the clump.
- Sit back and enjoy.
Continue reading “How To Make A City Garden In A Small Space”
Pedestrian Walkway At The Missouri Botanical Garden
I rarely take people pictures. It makes me feel sneaky (when I try to take pictures unobserved) or shy (when I’m spotted). I’d be hard pressed to estimate how long I’ve spent in gardens waiting for people to clear away from my shot and how often I’ve captured a random back or stray bottom by mistake when looking too excitedly at a flower to thoroughly check the periphery. Continue reading “Pedestrian Walkway At The Missouri Botanical Garden”
The Ballroom Garden at Jupiter Artland
We visited Jupiter Artlands, near Edinburgh, Scotland last week. I’ll no doubt be sharing more pictures, but for now, here’s one looking towards the stone dovecote in the Ballroom Garden for the weekly photo challenge: corner.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Unusual Topiary
You could argue that Levens Hall in North West England is unusual in itself – the topiary garden you can glimpse in the background is the oldest in the world, dating back to 1694. But my focus is on the Hat Man in the foreground. Continue reading “Weekly Photo Challenge: Unusual Topiary”
Creative Combination Planting At Chihuly’s Garden And Glass, Seattle
We travelled to Seattle last May to see this unusual garden at its peak, when the perennials were in bloom. The underplanting feels as if an artist has laid out the plants by magic, with the sweep of a brush.
Underplanting is the idea of planting a garden in layers, with shrubs growing beneath trees, and shorter perennials and bulbs underneath them. The designer  thinks about the height and spread of each plant, their colours and textures, then combines them in the most pleasing way. I’ve seen many attempts but rarely seen the effect better realised. Continue reading “Creative Combination Planting At Chihuly’s Garden And Glass, Seattle”
Susan Rushton 