SERIOUS GARDEN-VISITING SEASON KICKED OFF for me on Monday, meaning visitors besides the usual amphibian suspects like this guy who wait on the doorstep for me to come play each day. Them I can deal with, but the human types! Yikes. My brain spirals, and I keep hearing the same thought over and again in my head while walking guests around: If only you’d come last week (when the lilacs were still blooming).
If only you’d come week after next (when the next wave of perennial geraniums and later alliums are happening, since all that’s happening now are faded early ones of each). Shoulda, coulda, woulda…if only. Seeing the holes, not the whole. Bad girl.
And more visitors (you, maybe?) are coming soon. Uh-oh.
On June 14, I’m open for the 10th straight year as part of the Garden Conservancy’s national Open Days program, and though I do feel anxiety each time these days loom, I also love it. Just as each of us learns from visiting gardens, each of us who welcomes visitors learns from the experience.
I am regularly startled to see where people wander and what they look at…things I never notice, vantage points I never explore. Gardens all over the country are open, so go visit one. Learn something, and leave some teaching of your own behind.
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A fad in modern architecture and gardening or a necessity to bring back nature into industrialised densely built urban landscapes? Living green walls are becoming more and more popular, so we decided to explore the benefits, installation and maintenance process of these structures. Read on to find out how long they have been around, why so many buildings are having them, and how you can make one for your home.
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.
In the Georgian period of the 1700’s John Aislabie set about landscaping a water garden at Studley Royal near Ripon. Today it is a verdant green garden with ornamental lakes, cascades and vistas to take the breath away.
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..
The Himalayan Garden at Grewlthorpe continues to mature and develop. It is great to see a wide range of trees allowed to grow their natural size without undue lopping or arbo work. A new arboretum will open at the end of May 2017 and the next autumn season will be worth a special visit.
Peace is not just the absence of war it can be a reflection of a personal inner tranquility. To many gardeners peace may be a state of harmony with nature. It is a theme of several ‘hard landscape’ projects and sculptural works as shown by the selection of Peace gardens below.
In 2016 the National Garden scheme donated £2.7 million to a range of cancer and other charities. This furthers the charitable objectives of the society ‘supporting charities, in their work in the provision of nursing and caring, and
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.
I wanted something to look forward too and another trip to Madeira seemed appropriate. For the time being a virtual trip to this garden paradise of an island must suffice.