In an article today appearing in Horticulture Week, research by multimedia retailer QVC shows that an untidy garden can knock £5,000 off the value of your property. That’s a lot of hard earned money going down the drain!
Entries from March 31st, 2010
Garden | Garden Design | Is your garden costing you more than you think?
March 31st, 2010 1 Comment
Tags: aspirational · benefit · development · enjoy · garden design · gardening · imagination · Inspiration · lifestyle · low maintenance · money saving · opportunity
Gardening | Garden Design | Meeting fascinating garden people
March 27th, 2010 2 Comments
Gardening can be quite a lonely pastime. Hours spent pottering amongst the borders tending those delicate blooms and marvelling at nature as she goes about her business. Don’t get me wrong I am very comfortable with my own company but sometimes it’s good to share your experiences with others. Debate designs, discuss plants and share passion for gardens.
As owner of the Garden Network I make an effort whenever I can to get out and meet members. It’s fantastic to put faces to names. These are people that only exist in a sort of parallel universe normally – today I was going to meet them for real.
Tags: aspirational · business · enjoy · Garden Network · gardening · Inspiration · networking · opportunity · Success
Gardening | Garden Design | What’s so good about the Malvern Spring Gardening Show?
March 23rd, 2010 2 Comments
These days there seem to be an ever increasing number of gardening shows. Each offering their own distinct and unique character. RHS Chelsea Flower Show is of course the pinnacle of such events and attracts a huge amount of media coverage. Television cameras almost rule the show though, with every leaf, petal and stone captured during the extensive coverage of this blue riband event.
For those that cannot wait to get their garden inspiration there is the altogether more relaxed, rural affair that is Malvern.
Tags: garden design · Garden Network · gardening · Malvern Spring Show · opportunity · Success
Gardens | Spring visit to Corsham Court
March 21st, 2010 2 Comments
One such opportunity is Corsham Court, and today I made the commitment to visit. The first day of spring and the house and gardens were open as part of the NGS Scheme. The gardens should have been awash with daffodils and spring bulbs. The owner had been round in the morning and counted just two daffodils actually in bloom! Not quite what he had hoped for in throwing open the gates for this event!
What was interesting though, from a garden design perspective was to see the structure of the gardens when they were void of floral interest. It serves to highlight the importance of getting this right when we look at the layout and design of our own gardens.
Structure is so important and can be achieved using hedging, trees and ornamentation.
Tags: enjoy · focal point · garden design · Garden Network · Inspiration · opportunity · structure · sunshine
Gardening | Sustainable food!
March 13th, 2010 No Comments
Wouldn’t it be great though if instead of having to sow fresh seeds each year you just waited for the plant to come up and produce food for you? You are probably getting interested now – particularly if you have limited space and time. You heard right plant once and crop for ever!
Tags: benefit · Garden Organic · gardening · grow your own · Inspiration · lifestyle · low maintenance · money saving · One Pot Pledge · Plant · sustainable · value
Garden Design | Meeting legendary garden designer John Brookes MBE
March 13th, 2010 No Comments
John is a hugely influential garden designer who was designing gardens before it became fashionable to do so and in so doing developed methods of designing that are widely used today by a great many garden designers. I am a big fan of his grid system and it forms the basis of many of my garden designs.
John was speaking to the Oxford College of Garden Design at St. Hugh’s College Oxford on Thursday 11th March, 2010 and I travelled there to hear him speak. I was immediately taken by his genuine warmth and passion for garden design. John has been designing gardens for many years and he has clearly lost none of his enthusiasm.
Tags: blog · business · garden design · Garden Network · gardening · Inspiration · John Brookes MBE · masterclass · networking · opportunity · Oxford College of Garden Design · Success
Gardening | Growing Sweet Peas
March 8th, 2010 No Comments
In order to create a succession of sweet scented blooms throughout the summer months I now plant a further batch of seeds. These are now a few weeks behind the first batch and will flower that bit later. Repeat this process until you have used all your seeds and you will enjoy a much longer season of cut flowers!
Tags: Conservatory · Garden Organic · gardening · Inspiration · Plant