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Archive for July, 2017
Ian Waites, Middlefield: A postwar council estate in time (Uniformbooks, July 2017) This is a modest, gentle, elegiac evocation of an ordinary council estate of its time. If that sounds as if I’m damning it with faint praise, it shouldn’t. I think this is an important little book – a corrective to our focus on […]
via Ian Waites, ‘Middlefield: A postwar council estate in time’ — Municipal Dreams
I find myself increasingly enamoured by ferns. They are such useful plants and once you get your eye in, you realise they have wonderfully diverse appearances. When the spring flowers and bulbs have done their stuff in the woodland area of my garden, ferns step in and provide greenery where little else will grow in…
(Image source: Childzy, Wikimedia Commons) Sometimes we need to cut down trees to remove them, but chopping trees down to the ground does not stop them putting out new growth from the stump or from the roots and eventually turning back into full sized trees again. In fact, the technique of cutting trees down to […]
via How to Kill a Tree Stump Without Poisonous Chemicals — Deep Green Permaculture
Our second trip to a notable Lake District house and garden was Sizergh Castle, an imposing house standing proud at the gateway to the Lake District. Still lived in by the Strickland family, Sizergh has many tales to tell and certainly feels lived in, with centuries-old portraits and fine furniture sitting alongside modern family photographs. The exceptional wood panelling culminates in the Inlaid Chamber, returned here in 1999 from the Victoria and Albert Museum.
‘A true patchwork of styles, taking a stroll through the House will lead you from the base of the medieval solar tower, through the Elizabethan interiors, into the French regency-styled Drawing Room and beyond. Cherished family photos sit alongside precious antiques, linking the past with the present day. In a house full of contrasts, fine craftsmanship can be seen throughout, from the impressive collection of Gillows furniture, to the stunning Italian-designed ceilings. They all have stories to tell, not least of all the splendid Victorian dining table, which awaits your uncovering of its tales and secrets. From the Battle of Agincourt, to the fight for Malta during the Second World War, the Strickland’s involvement in over 700 years of national history can be uncovered first-hand at Sizergh. ‘
The 647-hectare (1,600-acre) estate includes limestone pasture, orchards and semi-natural woodland. Its rich and beautiful garden includes a pond, lake, a national collection of hardy ferns and a superb limestone rock garden.
Unfortunately an urgent medical need meant my visit was shortened, so some areas of the gardens I will need to return to. But I managed to meet the Head Gardener and compliment her on the quality of the planting in the herbaceous borders (with some clever twiggy supports) and the ‘square foot gardening’ in the kitchen garden. I also loved the Stumpery which shows off the ferns to great effect.
Further information: National Trust website
Old School Gardener
https://youtube.com/watch?v=97CyDED345k%3Fversion%3D3
”Just one more scoop”, the father intones to his pre-schooler for the second time in as many minutes. “It’s time for us to go.” Here in the southeastern reaches of Toronto’s Dufferin Grove Park, the three-year-old digger boy is busy moving dirt from a deep channel to level ground in the most ginormous kid’s sandpit […]
via Just One More Scoop – Dufferin Grove Park — PlayGroundology
Some people keep a Buddha statue in their garden. Others have St. Francis. For us, it’s Abraham Lincoln. Not a Lincoln statue, actually, just half of a bookend set I found online.
Old School Garden 