Herbidacious

White Lavandin
Lavandula × intermedia ‘Edelweiss’

July 19, 2020 by Keir Watson

White Lavandin ‘Edelweiss’ is a beautiful summer flowering shrub that provides a long season of fragrant blooms later in the year than most lavenders. Lavandin is a cross between English lavender (L. anguvstifolia) and Portugese lavender (L. latifolia) leading to …

Macro Flower Photography

August 17, 2020July 17, 2020 by Keir Watson

During lockdown, I’ve been learning how to use my camera (a Nikon D3300) to improve my garden photography, particularly how to use aperture priority to get better macro (close-up) shots. The idea of a good macro-shot is to capture some …

Space

July 17, 2020 by Keir Watson

(Asteroid Field). I had a bed of over-wintered onions (Alliums cepa) that all bolted before they matured. I decided to leave them as their flower heads are as good as any ornamental onion, and a whole bed of them — …

REVIEW: Avon Bulbs – mail order nursery

July 5, 2020June 30, 2020 by Keir Watson

△ Photo of the team at Avon Bulbs courtesy of Neil Hepworth At the beginning of lockdown, with all the local garden centres and nurseries closed, I went online to find mail-order suppliers to get my spring gardening started. Unfortunately, …

WoodShed Renovation

June 29, 2020June 29, 2020 by Keir Watson

△ My woodshed, before and after renovation Pages in this post Page #1: Structural Repair ► Page #2: CladdingPage #3: Renovating the roofPage #4: Paving In this four-part post I detail how I renovated a 14 year old rustic garden …

Wildflowers make the most of lockdown

June 22, 2020June 22, 2020 by Keir Watson

Ox-Eye Daisyis just one among many common wild species that has flowered in lockdown, unimpeded by the council mowers this year. During the Coronavirus lockdown, there have been many reports of wildlife returning to towns and cities. In our little …

Incredible buds of Agapanthus africanus

July 4, 2020June 21, 2020 by Keir Watson

One of the joys of garden photography is that it makes you look more carefully, not only when seeking out a good shot, but also afterwards: Once the photos are uploaded to the computer, details become evident that we’re previously …

Aquilegia ‘Blue Star’

June 15, 2020 by Keir Watson

Aquilegia ‘Blue Star’ 18in (45cm) 14in (35cm) mauve / blue / white May-June Sun / Part-Shade This Aquilegia is one of the prettiest and most photogenic columbines I have grown. This year, ten years after planting, it provided me with …

Give Green a Chance
The importance of foliage in planting design

June 18, 2020June 8, 2020 by Keir Watson

Designing a planting scheme on a foliage-first basis is a sure-fire way to a classy garden. In this post I will show you how I have created beautiful designs that are stylish and dramatic despite being almost entirely green. … …

Libertia grandiflora

July 31, 2020June 2, 2020 by Keir Watson

Libertia grandiflora (Syn. Libertia chilensis) is, I believe, a little-known and undervalued plant which has some great design potential given the right situation: Evergreen, architectural, easy care, free-flowering… what’s not to like?

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