Festive foraging
Winter is one of my favourite times in the garden. It is only at this time of year that the garden fully reveals itself. It is the time of year when I look out of the window and admire the structure of the garden. The hedges crisp with frost. The dew glistening on the lawn.... Read more...
Reach for the stars
As S Club 7 sang, “Reach for the stars, climb every mountain higher”. Or as my garden design lecturer said rather drily, “Don’t forget the vertical plane of your design.” I think I prefer S Club 7. What I’m getting at in a rather convoluted way is the importance of the vertical elements in your... Read more...
Bonkers – planting with a musical influence
No, not ‘conkers’. Bonkers. This isn’t another Autumnal planting blog. Bonkers – as in the hit by Naughty, sorry, Dizzee Rascal, the erstwhile East London street scamp now hanging with the hip hop massive in Miami. In a departure from my usual blog posts for mydeco, I thought I’d do something more like my usual... Read more...
Autumnal jewels
At this time of year, I’m drawn to planting what is looking good right now. Many of the perennials that can be planted now will be way past their best and will only put on a show next year. Of course, I know that Dahlias, Echinaceas, Rudbeckias and many grasses are looking great right now,... Read more...
Going native – the very best of British
Isn’t Britain great? Didn’t we do a good job with those Olympics? Weren’t our paralympic athletes an inspiration? Haven’t we had a lovely summer? Er, well, scratch that last one and let’s continue on a Rule Britannia theme. One much mentioned aspect of the events down in Stratford was the magnificent job which had been... Read more...
Small is beautiful – five trees for a small garden
Every garden should have a tree. I don’t care how small your garden is, it needs a tree. And lets use our imagination. Lets not just stick a couple of clipped bay trees in pots either side of the front door. Or a Japanese maple. They’ve been done. To death. We can do better than... Read more...
School’s out
Unless you are in Scotland, its still the school holidays (just). You’ve taken a couple of weeks off work. You’ve struck it lucky and the sun has come out. You think, “Wouldn’t it be nice to sit down in the garden and read the paper?”. Or perhaps, “I’ll get the kids to put... Read more...
Garden sculpture – what’s the point?
I love sculpture in gardens. It’s probably fair to say that I love sculpture, full stop. But is it my love of sculpture that makes me want to put it in my gardens, or is it something that sculpture brings to a garden that I particularly enjoy? In other words, “what’s the point?” Two things... Read more...
Be happy and don’t worry about the watering
Some of us have been lucky enough to have had some sunshine recently – perhaps summer is finally here, hooray! But being a gardener, this sunshine brings worries - from fretting about about slugs and snails eating our dahlias, the worries turn to who is going to look after our gardens when we go on holiday. When I am... Read more...
Euphorbia, the plant with zing (and a sting)
If there is one plant I always reach out for in my garden designer’s bag of tricks, it’s the Euphorbia. It gives so much and asks for so little. It has a range of species that suit almost all conditions. Used sparingly they are like slow burning fireworks going off around the garden. I like... Read more...
Gone to pot
OK, so you haven’t got much outdoor space. Or you rent and your nasty landlord won’t let you do anything with the garden. Or perhaps you are lucky enough to have a roof terrace with views to die for, but don’t know how to make the terrace look as jaw droppingly gorgeous as the inside... Read more...
What is it about roses?
Apparently, you can’t get more English than a Rose. But, if that is true, what does it say about the English – quite pretty, often prickly, only come out in the summer and shortly after they make an appearance they get struck down by a summer cold? No, it can’t be that the rose defines... Read more...
