An Evening with Summerill & Bishop
Last week the lovely June and Bernadette from Summerill & Bishop invited mydeco.com and London’s finest bloggers into their beautiful boutique on Portland Road. The kitchen shop, established in 1994 and home to some of Europe’s finest hand crafted earthenware, glassware and natural home products, was the perfect setting for what turned out to be a... Read more...
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...
mydeco on London Design Festival
This year’s London Design Festival was as diverse and inspirational as ever. Packed full of innovative new designs and emerging talents, as well as established super brands showcasing their latest work, it was an event not to be missed. The mydeco team scoured the shows to bring you the latest trends and insights into who... Read more...
mydeco and Mr & Mrs Smith at Best of Britannia
Last week saw the launch of ‘Best of Britannia’ – a new and highly targeted, brand statement event that caters for both established and new designers, whose products are all made in Britain. The event showcased an eclectic mix of exhibitors, with products ranging from beautifully tailored suits and retro, hand crafted furniture to quirky modes of... 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...
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...
