Chaste Tree — Vitex agnus-castus
10 minutesA sophisticated yet often overlooked Mediterranean shrub, the Chaste tree, or Vitex bush, adds a touch of late-summer elegance to the autumn garden.
The Pond Garden
Info
The Pond Garden is a formal design at the far end of my back garden. It consists of several L-shaped raised beds which surround a small rectangular pond with a bridge across the centre. Fruit is trained along the boundary. Prior to their transformation in 2019 these beds were used for vegetable growing.
A Dry Meadow Theme: The planting in the raised beds consists of lowish herbaceous plants, bulbs, herbs, alpines, lavender and roses. The main season is high summer: June – September with an aim to attract insects and butterflies.
A Modern Romantic Rose Garden
16 minutesModern roses are low-maintenance floral power-houses, which can contribute so much to the garden. Here’s my experience with twelve beautiful varieties, including shrub roses, patio roses, ramblers and climbers.
Garden Wildlife Gallery 2023
20 minutesA a photo survey of the butterflies, spiders and insects seen in my garden in the last two years. Includes some beautiful shots of common, rare and unusual species. Plus tips on insect photography and identification.
Dividing Water lilies & Pond Cleaning
5 minutesHaving neglected my pond for the past decade, it was in desperate need of a some attention. Here’s how I cleaned it out, and how I divided and replanted the water lilies.
Two Herbaceous Clematis
4 minutesI have added two varieties of herbaceous clematis to my garden this year, each with distinct characteristics. In this post I record their progress through their first season.
The New Pond Garden
Part 2 – Late Summer
5 minutesIn the second part of this photo review I focus on the late-summer planting in my mediterranean-style raised-bed garden; Hopefully, you will find some ideas to inspire your own garden design.
The New Pond Garden Part 1 – Early Summer
7 minutesA photo showcase of my recently redesigned mediterranean-inspired raised-bed garden; Packed with planting ideas to inspire your own gardening adventures. … read more
A Winter Homage to Finlay and Frosts
5 minutes1 “Formal Gardens are (as it were) statues to Nature.“– Ian Hamilton Finlay 2 ⋮ ⋮ “Weather is a third … read more
Myrtle spurge (Euphorbia myrsinites)
throughout the year
5 minutesMyrtle spurge Some plants have the ability to just keep giving throughout the season with never a dull moment. The … read more
Four Artemisia varieties for Silver planting schemes
7 minutesArtemisia abrotanum (top-left) Artemisia alba ‘Canescens’ (top-right) Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’ (bottom-left) Artemisia schmidtiana ‘Silver Mound’ (bottom-right) The Wormwood family (Artemisia … read more
Fairy Thimble Bellflower
2 minutesThis pretty little alpine plant is Campanula cochlearifolia ‘Elizabeth Oliver’ also known as Fairy thimble bellflower, which is at its … read more
Early pastel colours for the dry garden
3 minutes#rockgarden #mediterraneangarden #drygarden #gravelgarden #pastelshades Here are four less common perennials currently in flower in my new Pond Garden. They … read more