Welcoem to posts!!
in the future - u will be able to do some more stuff here,,,!! like pat catgirl- i mean um yeah... for now u can only see others's posts :c
Weed your pots? I know we're all taking a more relaxed attitude to weeds now, but it's still worth thinking about how plants, including weeds, compete with each other. Especially when resources are limited - for example, in pots. I have two tubs, both planted at the same time with identical Hydrangeas 'Pinky Winky'.
The hydrangea in Tub 1 has never had to share anything. But several really pretty weeds planted themselves in Tub 2 and I couldn't bear to pull them out. But now I don't even have to label these photos to show you which is Tub 1 and which is Tub 2! So weeding your pots and planters is definitely worthwhile.
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A few pix of what's doing well in the garden in July:
1) I've sowed wildflower seed in our raised borders instead of veg this year. Video about using wildflowers to add colour and vibrancy to your garden coming soon. I tried three different mixes in different beds, this is the Cottage Garden Mix from Kent Wildflower Seeds.
2) Our Robinia frisia (False acacia) ten months after being pruned by @AboutTreesLtd If you look carefully at the trunk, you can see that it divides about halfway up, where two branches have grown into one. This can be a weakness so About Trees pruned and thinned the tree, keeping its shape, to reduce the weight on this union. The result is a beautifully shaped tree with lots of light coming through.
3) About Trees also lifted the lower branches of the big conifer. We had already cut off some of the lower branches, but About Trees went further, creating more light at the bottom of the tree. Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle' is enjoying the extra light and not leaning out too far. Oddly enough, Crocosmia 'Lucifer', a sun lover, has seeded itself under the branches of the conifer. I don't think it got the memo about 'right plant, right place' but we're grateful anyway.
4) Ozzie. Still a puppy in everything other than looks.
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There may be a small delay in the timing of this week's video - we packed the car with the dog plus all sort of bits and pieces and set off on a two-and-a-half hour journey to talk to a friend with a wild garden. When we got there, we discovered we had left the bag with all the camera equipment in our sitting room at home! We'll go back in a couple of weeks' time but I did manage to take a few photos on my phone in the meantime (and I am now re-jigging other video plans so I hope there will actually be a video this weekend!
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Today's design details from @The_RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024: be creative with arches and pergolas - they're garden sculpture: Pic 1) Very lightweight metal arches inspired by Klimt and Seurat paintings in the Boodles National Gallery garden by Catherine Macdonald.
2) Brick/stone walls with big beams on top - a pergola which feels solid and secure in the Killik & Co garden by Baz Grainger
3) Cork and timber screen with a wooden pergola - all made of plant-based materials in the National Autistic Society Garden by Sophie Parmenter and Dido Milne
4) Intriguing corten steel and slate archway on the Terrence Higgins Bridge to 2030 garden by Matthew Childs
5) Another shot of yesterday's amazing space age rainwater-harvesting pergola in the Water Aid Garden by Tom Massey and Je Ahn.
Tomorrow: Recycled garden design was big at RHS Chelsea 2024! I'll post some details.
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There were some lovely ideas for our own gardens at @The_RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024 so I'll pop a few in over this week. First design tip: blur the boundaries between planting, paths, pavers and people. Instead of formal borders, many show gardens had plants mingling with other elements of the garden.
Pix 1 and 2: Grow plants around steps, in cracks between pavers and around seating areas as in the Octavia Hill Garden for @nationaltrustcharity designed by Ann Marie Powell with @bluediamondgardencentres6111 .
Pic 3: Raise a metal grid walkway and decking over planting as in the @wateraidorg garden designed by Tom Massey and Je Ahn. The space age looking pergola is for rainwater harvesting as well as to provide shade!
Pic 4: Use decking to create a path through planting as in the The National Autistic Society garden by Sophie Parmenter and Dido Milne
Pic 5: Let plants stray into gravel paths as in this Freedom from Torture garden by John Warland and Emma O'Connell.
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Just wanted to share a few pix of some of the gardens coming up over the next few weeks: 1: Tim Pilgrim's pretty and contemporary cottage garden design, coming this weekend. 2: Brilliant advice on shade gardens and shady spots from @thehorti-culturalists (1st March), 3: The lowdown on sloping gardens (coming soon) and 4 & 5: an interview with top garden designer Paul Bangay with views of his stunning garden (also coming soon!). Really excited by how beautiful these gardens are.
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I'm visiting a shady woodland garden soon. Which of the following would you most like to hear more about? Do add more in the comments!
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Happy Christmas to those who celebrate it, and have a good break if you don't. Of course, we never get snow at Christmas, so this was taken in February but it feels appropriately festive. The vase-shaped trees are Malus hupehensis (crab apple Hupehensis) and they were grown from a pip in 2010 by a friend of mine. I planted them on either side of the gate in 2012, when they were about 90cm high and now they reach up almost to the top of the house. A great example of trees growing faster when they're planted very young! Hope to see you all in 2024, with best wishes, Alexandra
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No video this week - everyone's getting festive, it's snowing and too cold to go out in the garden. (It's unusual for us to have snow this early!) I'm planning next year and looking back on the high points of this one, which include @BBCGardenerWorldEvents(corten steel raised bed pond) @The_RHS Chelsea Flower Show (Sarah Price garden), @thediggersclub(wonderful green structure) and @greatdixter7280 (The Long Border) What are you hoping to do in the garden next year?
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Some wonderful garden YouTube channels and gardening Christmas gifts on this latest video by @TheImpatientGardener featuring @RoyDiblik @WyseGuide @jaysgardenjournal @thehorti-culturalists @DigPlantWaterRepeat @heatherhereshegrows @gardenfork @greatgardensforall @Lovelygreens @HowsItGrowing @TheOrganizedHomemaker @GardenEvolution
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Garden ideas, inspiration and tips - so you can create a garden you love! Expert interviews and real life garden tours.
By a journalist and author, who has worked for Britain's top magazines & newspapers - Good Housekeeping, Harpers & Queen, The Daily Telegraph, The Times magazine and more.
I have a walled town garden ( 100ft x 80ft) and I fit gardening into a busy life. So I look for ideas, tips and information to make gardening easier and your garden more glorious.
Do join us!
More tips on saving time, money or effort in your garden on the www.themiddlesizedgarden.co.uk blog.