Trichosanthes cucumerina
Want to improve the attractiveness and functioning of your garden? Then read on…
It’s a six session programme using a mixture of discussion, presentation and surgery – type advice to individuals who want to apply some design thinking to their own gardens. The course will help you:
It also features a garden visit to see some of the principles of garden design in practice and encourage a critical approach to assessing gardens.
Oh, and by the way, later in the coming week I’ll be starting a new series of articles focusing on design tips to improve your garden. The series- called’ Design my Garden’ – will start with a few thoughts about designing a garden for someone who has some sort of disability.
The island – a ‘twin’ with Mont St. Michel in Normandy on the other side of the English Channel – has some buildings dating from the 12th century. It’s sub-tropical Gardens feature exotic plants clinging to steep granite cliffs and terraces laid out with a mixture of formal and informal borders. These terraces are tiered close to the rocky water’s edge.
I witnessed an ‘abseiling gardener’ carrying out some ‘extreme strimming’ on the grassy slopes!
Plants that are natives of Mexico, the Canary Islands and South Africa thrive in the mild micro-climate created by the sun-warmed cliffs. As we found in many other parts of West Cornwall plants like Agapanthus, Fuchsia, Crocosmia ‘Montbretia’ and Hydrangea thrive here as well as along road – sides and more modest domestic gardens in the area.
Further information:
St. Michael’s Mount Garden Itinerary
Wikipedia- St. Michael’s Mount
If you’ve enjoyed reading this post and others on this blog, why not comment and join others by signing up for automatic updates via email (see side bar, above right ) or through an RSS feed (see top of page)?
Lotus seed pod
It’s the time to begin planting many bulbs for flowering next spring. Narcissus, Crocus, Tulips and many more are now available in the shops and online. This week’s topical question comes from Justine Potts who lives in Bath:“I live in the middle of town and have no garden to speak of. Can I grow bulbs in grow – bags?”
Bulbs are ‘ready – packaged’ plants that are very adaptable and so they can be used in many different ways. Growing them in grow – bags is perfectly feasible. And just as you can have a double/treble layer of bulbs in a pot to give a longer floral effect, so you can do the same in grow-bags and other containers (though you migth be limited by the depth of the container). Among the Narcissi the old double yellow ‘Van Sion’ is early, cheerful and showy; ‘Armada’ is large, gold and scarlet; ‘Royal Orange’ is large, white and orange. among the tulips the Darwin hybrids in reds, yellows, oranges and white are very impressive.
Layering different types of bulb in a pot for long spring flowering
As with grow bags if you grow bulbs in pots and similar containers it is important to have good drainage. So long as surplus water can soak away, bulbs should grow well in them. If you have raised containers on pedestals the plants might be blown about, so you should choose those that can put up with the wind, However even lilies are a possibility here; sturdy-stemmed types that can be tried include ‘Enchantment’ (orange flowers), L. regale (white), L. ‘Destiny’ (yellow). Daffodils in early spring and tulips a little later will give colour for weeks; in particular a double layer of daffodil bulbs planted in the autumn will give you plenty of colour. There are many suitable varieties:
Narcissus ‘Thalia’ 
Narcissus ‘Tete a Tete’ 
Tulip Darwin hybrid- with mutation!
Before you plant up bulbs in bowls think about what you will do with them afterwards. If you want to put them out in the garden it’s best to grow them in John Innes potting compost as this provides some nutrients that will feed the bulb and so increase their strength. If, however you discard the bulbs at the end of the flowering season you can grow them in bulb fibre which doesn’t contain these nutrients and will be cheaper. If you have your own supply of well – rotted leaf mould that would be just as good as bulb fibre – and even cheaper!
Hyacinths in pots
Further information:
Container gardening on Pinterest
If you’ve enjoyed reading this post and others on this blog, why not comment and join others by signing up for automatic updates via email (see side bar, above right ) or through an RSS feed (see top of page)?
This weekend sees the annual Heritage Open Days, where many heritage venues are opening their doors for free. Please check out the national website (https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/) for ideas for your area.
We have already selected some events in and around the Ouse Washes Landscape Partnership area you might be interested in:
Ely this weekend is celebrating its rich heritage with a range of events, with its museums and local houses opening their doors for longer, giving you more time to see the local heritage.
Ely Museum, as part of Heritage Open Days, is holding an event for all ages and are staying open for longer so you can experience a night viewing: on Friday the 13th after 5 pm it is free to enter Ely Museum! This weekend at the Ely Museum is also the last chance for you to see its exhibition about the Old Goal: the last…
View original post 534 more words
Pelargoniums display at Calke Abbey via Colin Garratt
First some projects involving children…
Next, some seating ideas…
Designer pallet seating/ art form- pallets covered in metal sheeting
A bed turned into a bench
A pallet swing seat
A bench made of pallets and cable reelsA few garden storage and planting projects…
Pallet shed
Chilli pepper drying rack
Versailles planter from pallets
Childrens’ crib ends as climbing racks for plants
A box planter made from pallets
Pallet plantersFinally, some really bold creations…
A stunning pavilion made from 1300 pallets
an up market covered terrace made from pallets
Pallets used for Festival lightingOld School Gardener
If you’ve enjoyed reading this post and others on this blog, why not comment and join others by signing up for automatic updates via email (see side bar, above right ) or through an RSS feed (see top of page)?
Related articles:
Recycling in the Garden: widening the net
Pallet Projects – more creative ideas
Polished Primary Pallet Planters
Nigel Boldero aka 'Old School Gardener'
 | Nigel Boldero on Fighting to Reduce Climate Cha… |
 | Anonymous on Fighting to Reduce Climate Cha… |
| Anonymous on PicPost: Carrot, my foot! |
| 18 Surprising Hydran… on Plantax 16: Hydrangea the wate… | |
| Nigel Boldero on Poppyland: A Victorian romance… |
| Anonymous on Poppyland: A Victorian romance… |
| Anonymous on Plants to die for… |
 | Isabella Childress on PicPost: Forest, but not as we… |
 | Happiness Factor on Is child-friendly planning a l… |
 | zidane on Top Tip: On a Pedestal- make m… |
Nature Connectedness Research Blog by Prof. Miles Richardson
Connecting People with Nature
A daily selection of the best content published on WordPress, collected for you by humans who love to read.
Celebrating gardens, photography and a creative life
Writing, photography and more by Daniel Greenwood
Lydia Rae Bush Poetry
Australian Pub Project, Established 2013
The Journey from Finnish Rintamamiestalo to Arboretum & Gardens
Because even in chaos, there’s always gin and a good story …
RANDOM BITS & MORE TIDBITS
.....and nurturing my soul
Cultural Heritage and the Digital Economy
Sense of place, purpose, rejuvenation and joy
Notes from the Gardeners...
Connecting People to Nature, Empowering People to Live Sustainably
A girl and her garden :)
Old School Garden 