Latest Entries »

PicPost: Show Stopper

Filed under: PicPosts- great photographs — Leave a comment
12/06/2015
Picture of a Clematis by John Aspley

Picture of a Clematis by John Aspley

Tags: , ,
Comment

Trees, trees, trees…

Filed under: This and that — 2 Comments
11/06/2015

WP_20150609_13_44_59_ProI had an interesting trip to a Tree Nursery on Tuesday.

Barcham Trees, near Ely, Cambridgeshire, grow trees on an ‘industrial’ scale. They also have in depth knowledge about development and after care. I was impressed with the scale of trees on offer, and which- because they are container grown- can be big enough to provide instant impact in landscape and garden design schemes.

Big trees require big carriers...

Big trees require big carriers…

I was attending a seminar on ‘Garden Design as Landscape Painting’ (I’ll do a further report on this shortly), and as part of the day we had an informative tour of the nursery with a lively guide, Ellen.

Ellen, our guide
Detail showing the irrigation systems which delivers a mix of water and feed (tailored to different species and time of the year) to each container

The day was cool, with a brisk north-easterly wind sweeping across this massive site, but we made good progress and were told lots of interesting stuff about the different varieties of tree on offer, saw some fascinating examples of pleaching and surveyed some 120,000 trees (we didn’t get to see a further 100,000 younger examples in the fields down the road).

Example of ‘ready to pleach’ specimens
120,000 trees and counting…

The visit reminded me of my series of articles on Garden Trees, making use of Barcham’s very useful catalogue and online resources- I must get on with this ‘A-Z’ which has a way to go before It’s finished. So, expect ‘N is for…’ in a week or two…

Further information: Barcham Trees Website

Old School Gardener

 

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Worth a visit, says Nick…

Filed under: Great Gardens — 1 Comment
10/06/2015

duttonMy old friend Nick sent me this lovely pic of some Himalayan Poppies (and Gunnera?) at Bluebell Cottage near Dutton, Cheshire. I’ve not been there, but Nick says it’s a great combination of nursery, garden and tea shop.

Further information: Bluebell Cottage Website

Old School Gardener

Tags: , , , , ,
Comment

3 ways to make shady places interesting…

Filed under: Design, Gardening techniques — 1 Comment
09/06/2015
White Walls and light paving can help to lift a shady space

White Walls and light paving can help to lift a shady space

Even  dense shade in the garden can be made attractive to look at and suitable for growing plants.

1. Whiten up

Make the best use of available light by painting walls and fences white. Also lay light coloured paving, stain trellis work white and use seats and containers which are either white or pastel shades.

2. Reflect on it

You can create the illusion of space and brighten up dark corners by putting up a mirror, which will also reflect light onto the plants.

3. Water works

The reflected light and the gentle sound of a water feature with a fountain will help to lift a dark corner.

Mirrors can give a shady space a whole new dimension

Mirrors can give a shady space a whole new dimension

Source: ‘Short Cuts to Great Gardens’- Reader’s Digest

Old School Gardener

 

Tags: , , , , , ,
Comment

Some Gressenhall temporary residents…

Gallery
Filed under: This and that — Leave a comment
08/06/2015

gressenhallfw's avatarGressenhall Farm and Workhouse

‘Snap’ the Famous Norwich Dragon, is currently here for some spa treatment from our conservators. He is looking pretty happy about the whole experience! Have a look at his special horse shoe teeth that make that distinctive SNAP!

We are also looking after his poor cousin too, who seems less happy with his treatment!

DSC02027

View original post

Comment

New arrivals!

Gallery
Filed under: This and that — Leave a comment

gressenhallfw's avatarGressenhall Farm and Workhouse

The statue of Christopher High and two of his sons arrived today. It has been created for us by Alan Herriot, and captures the moment when the farmer has to leave his young son at the workhouse as he can no longer afford to look after him. It will eventually be placed in the main courtyard.

Some of our previous statues are not very impressed…..

IMG_0185

View original post

Comment

PicPost: Twisted Beauty

Filed under: PicPosts- great photographs — Leave a comment
Picture of Parrot Tulip by Gina Gray

picture of Parrot Tulip by Gina Gray

Tags: , ,
Comment

John Evelyn’s Monthly in the Garden- June

Filed under: Gardening and Gardeners: historical snapshots, John Evelyn's Monthly in the Garden — Leave a comment
07/06/2015

Lettuce_JPG‘Sow Lettuce, Raddish -‘

John Evelyn 1686 (published 1932)

Old School Gardener

Tags: , , ,
Comment

PicPost: Bleeding Hearts

Filed under: PicPosts- great photographs — 1 Comment
06/06/2015
Picture of Dicentra by Eva Kovacs

Picture of Dicentra by Eva Kovacs

Tags: , ,
Comment

On my knees at Blickling

Filed under: Blickling Hall- rebirth of the Walled Garden, Community Gardening, Heritage Gardens & gardening — Leave a comment
05/06/2015

WP_20150604_14_12_41_ProYesterday’s session at Blickling was spent planting 6 million Penstemons ( I exaggerate)…

Chance would have it that the day I was to spend on my knees in the Long Borders, was the first day I’d wear shorts! Having finished off raking the bare soil, my fellow volunteers and I set to work planting out a large number of over wintered plants, which were brought over from the Walled Garden for us. The system worked well- a couple of helpers bringing plants to the three of us digging holes and planting; fairly close together, as the soil isn’t wonderful here and the plants, apparently, don’t seem to get very large.

Four hours later (and after a mild panic when we thought we’d run out of plants), the job was done. Apart from the sore knees, it was lovely planting out in the sun and with the fragrance of nearby Wisteria and Honeysuckle filling the air. It will be good to see how these mixed plants (some of the pots had been amusingly labelled ‘unkown’), progress in the next couple of months.

I also took a look at the Peony borders I featured a few weeks ago. Surprisingly, they haven’t yet fully opened, but there were a few blooms to give us a taste of what will come- hopefully soon, if the weather warms up a bit.

Over lunch Mike, the Walled Garden Project Manager, showed me a lovely ‘artist’s impression’ of the Walled Garden;  a wonderful vision of how it will look in a few years time and something to spur those involved in pressing on with the regeneration project. I’ll see if I can share this picture with you at some point.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Further Information:

Blickling Hall website

Blickling Hall Facebook page

A 360 degree tour of Blickling Hall

Old School Gardener

 

Tags: , , , , , ,
Comment
Finding Nature

Nature Connectedness Research Blog by Prof. Miles Richardson

Families Connect

Norfolk Green Care Network

Connecting People with Nature

Discover WordPress

A daily selection of the best content published on WordPress, collected for you by humans who love to read.

Susan Rushton

Celebrating gardens, photography and a creative life

Unlocking Landscapes

Writing, photography and more by Daniel Greenwood

Alphabet Ravine

Lydia Rae Bush Poetry

MU Library Treasures

TIME GENTS

Australian Pub Project, Established 2013

Vanha Talo Suomi

The Journey from Finnish Rintamamiestalo to Arboretum & Gardens

Marigolds and Gin

Because even in chaos, there’s always gin and a good story …

Bits & Tidbits

RANDOM BITS & MORE TIDBITS

Rambling in the Garden

.....and nurturing my soul

The Interpretation Game

Cultural Heritage and the Digital Economy

pbmGarden

Sense of place, purpose, rejuvenation and joy

SISSINGHURST GARDEN

Notes from the Gardeners...

Deep Green Permaculture

Connecting People to Nature, Empowering People to Live Sustainably

BloominBootiful

A girl and her garden :)

Winterbourne House and Garden

greygoosedotco.wordpress.com/