Umbels for Gardens & Ornamentation

The colour of this young Knapweed is dark almost purple. As it opens fully it will become blue and then fade as the flower ages. The colour helps Centaurea montana earn its nickname of Mountain Cornflower or perennial cornflower.

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

For less than £5 you can buy ‘Container Gardening’ by Alan Titchmarsh from Amazon. Just click on the picture above

Dendrology is the the branch of botany and science about trees and other plants that have woody structures. It includes the natural history of trees, species identification, taxonomic classifications and economic significance.

Great big flowering Dahlias need some good support early in the season. A walled garden helps but these 4 by 4 canes with string every 12″-18″ add that bit extra. When the plants leaf-up and start to flower they will be heavy and liable to damage without support.

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.

‘The Garden of Reading: An Anthology of Twentieth-century Short Fiction About Gardens and Gardeners’ edited by Michele Slung.

First read the authoritative book ‘The Himalayan Garden: Growing Plants from the Roof of the World ‘ by Jim Jermyn

Your own rock garden does not have to be as large as that at Kew. You do not need to demonstrate every regional zone on the planet. Nor do you need specimen plants that grow in all the range of soil conditions and climates. Better to concentrate on doing one or two things well.

Once a regular weekend event, Garden Bonfires are now fewer and further between since recycling, reusing and composting got to the top of the green agenda. There are still occasions when a fire is the right way to go and I use one of these dustbin burners. The holes at the bottom provide air flow and the chimney restricts the amount of flying debris. I collect the none compostable (often diseased) wood and brash in the bin until I have a load then set fire to it. After 4-5 years the bin bottom burns through and I need a new bin. For large chunks of wood I used to have a November 5th fire but now with chimineas and Council recycling they have gone the way of Guy Fawkes.

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..