Garden studio: a solution for recharging your batteries at home

There's nothing like the back to school season to get you thinking about new desk organization solutions. Whether you're hoping to reorganize your home office, set up a new dorm room desk, or looking to freshen up your work space, there are plenty of creative accessories to draw inspiration from.

We strongly believe that planning and preparing are crucial for success in every area. Gardening is no exception, but sometimes it can be difficult to know what you are supposed to do this month—especially if you have limited experience in the gardening area.

After 20 years of having a lawn that took, I wanted a yard that contributed: to the planet, to local animals, to biodiversity, to my neighbors, to my mental health. With the sage (native plant pun intended) design work, counsel, and collaboration of David Godshall of Terremoto and David Newsom of Wild Yards Project—and a plant-friendly paint palette from color consultant Teresa Grow—another little garden that gives was born.

The growing season might be in full swing, but there are still ways to upgrade your garden game. From keeping out unwanted pests (or pets) to building your own customized trellising and irrigation—it’s time to make your beds work smarter, not harder. We’ve got five ways to customize your planters this summer that will not only make things look fantastic, but will take your growing capabilities to the next level. Whether you choose to tackle them all or just add one to your list of weekend to-dos, I promise it will be a noticeable refresh with rewarding results. 

All the latest garden news and the best UK garden events to look out for in August.

In Yorkshire we are lucky to have several gardens designed using the theme of a Himalayan Garden. The Hut near Ripon at Grewlthorpe is   ‘The Himalayan Garden’ with all the plants you would expect in such a setting including

Britain has some of the best gardens in the world. The choice of which to visit is far larger than this selective list but at least it gives you somewhere to start planning this years outings.

In the cold wet winter it is a good time to plan where to visit as the year improves. The South West is the obvious place to start your visiting tour of gardens containing exotic plants.

China is one of the great destinations for visiting gardens. The influence over garden design and the vast array of plants and flowers is secondary to the investment in time and dedication demonstrated in so many great locations. This is just a selection of those you may consider visiting if you can make the journey..

Holland Park has some Zen like features but fails my Zen test. The classic elements of a successful Zen are stone, sand or gravel, water, plants and space. Then there is a question of balance between yin and yang. Cramped or cluttered gardens inhibit the flow of spirit so space is potentially the key ingredient of a Zen garden.

The year 2020 is set to be memorable for far too many reasons. At the moment I will only stick to comments about plant and garden viruses but note we ‘caught a cold’ on the wet winter.

Not what you would expect for a garden called ‘The Phoenix Garden’  in the middle of  Tottenham Court Road near Crown Point. It isn’t a phoenix from the ashes of a great fire or a WW11 bomb site at but was built on a disused car park in the 1980s. It may be part of an overflowing burial ground for St Giles-in-the-field church back in the 1600s and is reputed to be the last surviving Covent ‘Garden’. The entrance is located in St Giles Passage