The Wedgwood Garden, designed by Jo Thompson, marks the 260th anniversary of the company, founded by Josiah Wedgwood in 1759. The hard landscaping is inspired by Etruria - the pioneering Staffordshire village that Wedgwood built for his workers - and the canals that transported his pottery throughout the UK. Many of Wedgwood's motifs were based … Continue reading Coral, Peach and Ivory Tones in Jo Thompson’s Wedgwood Garden
Visitors to BBC Gardeners World Live have a busy, exciting show ahead of them this year. With 10 show gardens, 6 smaller gardens, more than 20 beautiful borders and over 100 stands selling plants and gardening equipment, the show will provide inspirational ideas for everyone to take home. Inspiration is everywhere at this year's show Made … Continue reading BBC Gardeners World Live – All About Inspiration
Chris Beardshaw recently said that he felt Chelsea show gardens should only be accepted if they were going to be relocated afterwards. It seems that other designers may be following his lead as this year's show sees more of the gardens and planting being relocated than ever before. The recipients of the gardens are diverse; … Continue reading Health, Wellbeing and Sustainability at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show
I've spent much of the past week reading about one of the twentieth century's most influential landscape designers and it has left me surprised that Geoffrey Jellicoe's name doesn't crop up more often in discussions of contemporary garden design. As someone who has always worked between the margins of different disciplines - especially focusing on the … Continue reading Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe – the landscape, arts and the mind
Returning home from Chelsea yesterday and on waking this morning my main recollections of the show were all infused with colour, my brain still awash with the contrasts and blends which lent a particular character to each garden and plant exhibit. I've been entertained, surprised and soothed by the colours of Chelsea in the past and there's no doubt … Continue reading Planting Palettes: Reflections on RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2016
Welcome back to my potter through the changes in our back garden over the past 6 years. In the last post I considered the diverse aims of many modern gardens and their similarity to the older styles of cottage, potager and walled gardens - that of combining utility and beauty in one place. My garden is no different. We wanted … Continue reading My Hard-Working Garden: An Ongoing Transformation (Part 2)
Potager gardens, walled gardens and old-fashioned cottage gardens - all styles I love for their eclectic mix of vegetables, fruit and flowers. They can be seen as nostalgic, whimsical, outmoded; gardens which exist in an historical context, from time to time tempting modern gardeners into grand estates or rural open garden shows, but without contemporary relevance. Their visual, almost casual beauty belies … Continue reading My Hard-Working Garden: An Ongoing Transformation(Part 1)