Garden visits

Plucky or preposterous, but I find myself incredulously in disagreement with the infinitely eminent Piet Oudolf. According to my garden guru, colour in the garden is only an added extra1. Quite remarkable, as his designs with their distinctively striking streams of colour are legendary. According to Oudolf, colour sets the mood in the garden, but remains a secondary dimension where good planting should be able to look interesting in a [...]

Unfamiliar with golf courses as I am, it never really occurred to me that they could be home to such extraordinary wildflower diversity. Serene botanising not quite on the minds of the three wheezing nutter labradors that hauled me gracelessly across Trevose golf course in North Cornwall; the result of my superbly defective plan for a gentle scenic stroll along with two keen golfers. Limited to ground level observation by [...]

With the garden in pseudo-dormant mode, visiting gardens without the habitual apprehension of neglecting one’s infinite gardening to-do list, is a delight. Unless one harbours strong galanthrophilic tendencies, it could be argued that this may not the best time of year to visit gardens. Void of formal herbaceous borders, landscape gardens are an exception to the rule. Breathtakingly beautiful, Stowe is the remarkable creation of Charles Bridgeman, John Vanburgh, James [...]