This year perhaps more than most and certainly a massive change from last year, things are stirring in the wilderness. Snowdrops made an early start and the RHS garden in Rosemoor, Devon was awash with a sea of white - not snow this year but the delicate blooms of the snowdrop.

Snowdrops - Galanthus in flower early January 2012

So too have many other plants put in an early appearance. Hellebores too are showing strongly with their sometimes bright

Hellebore breaking bud

sometimes classy blooms

Hellebore breaking bud

These are well worth taking a closer look at. Normally all we see is the hanging bell shape of the flower but take time to upturn these flowers to study the intricate patterns and colours within.

Hellebore in flower

Hellebore in flower

Hellebore in flower

A couple of real surprises hit me this week though – in a garden not known for its warm micro-climate I found a couple of crocus putting in an appearance

Crocus coming in to bloom January 2012

Crocus coming in to bloom January 2012

and a periwinkle Vinca major ‘Variegata’ actually in flower!

Vinca major 'Variegata'

The continuing warm weather will no doubt see other plants eager to show that they can match the others – any late cold snaps though could potentially be quite damaging as plants put on fresh new growth that isn’t sufficiently hardened off.

Take a look around you – I think you will find that there is plenty going on in the garden, so don’t just sit and wait for the daffodils to appear take a look at what is already brightening up your garden this winter.

All photos Tim Matcham

As our summer retreats it is a great time to get your thinking hat on about what you want to achieve in the garden for next year. Does your garden have a structure that will give it form throughout the winter? Evergreen shrubs, climbers and perennial grasses can help with this. Hardy shrubs like Lonicera x purpusii ’Winter Beauty’ and the evergreen Sarcococca confusa start to stake their claim and fill the winter garden with sweet scent.

Have you made provision for harbouring native wildlife through the winter months, encouraging beneficial insects and creatures to the garden by leaving some of the leaves under hedges or shrubs, creating log piles for creatures to take refuge. All these things will help the garden when it re-awakes in spring. Cotoneaster ’Hybridus Pendulus’ and other cotoneaster are smothered with bright red berries that carry well on in to the winter months and will help birds as the weather gets colder.

Winter months have different priorities in the garden but do beware about making it look too tidy even if you have had it designed to look sharp and functional during summer months. While clearing some leaves recently it was noticeable how worms had started taking the leaves down in to the soil – great work for aeration and enriching the earth – the trick is not to leave too many or it will have a detrimental effect.

Planning your garden so that it is a benefit and a pleasure all year round does require action and knowledge and you will find it beneficial to talk to a garden designer about how best to make use of your space so that it meets your requirements. it needn’t  be a gloomy place just because very little is in flower. Getting the structure right adds longevity to the value of your garden.

Start working on it now – then you can enjoy it next year, any later and you may miss out!

Top Tip: Use a blower not a rake for clearing leaves – any leaves that worms have started to take down will be left and the ground will be less damaged.

Bees on Verbena bonariensis

Bees on Verbena bonariensis

Bees on Verbena bonariensis

It is a tall short lived perennial that will self set from seed very easily – almost to the point of being a nuisance but it is easy enough to remove unwanted plants should too many start to thrive. The joy is though that these plants provide a long season of interest, are attractive to bees butterflies and other beneficial insects. Their slender nature, narrow rigid stems with small elongated leaves are self supporting so need little attention and when they do start to multiply up create a stunning display of glowing purple inflorescence in the evening sun.

Upright Verbena bonariensis

They are easy to grow and quick to establish so why not make these stalwarts a feature in your garden. They work well with grasses like Calamagrostis acutiflora Carl Foerster or Stipa gigantea, or in a mixed border. You will find that they quickly attract a bevvy of wildlife that you can enjoy as much as the plants.

Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna'

A longstanding client reluctantly gave in to having their border reworked last year. I knew from the start that the change was going to be dramatic. Out came some very tired old shrubs that were seriously under performing and gave the garden the air of a side ally to a supermarket car park – truly inspiring! We discussed what their preferences were in terms of colour, texture, form and of course maintenance. They wanted a border that changed and developed as the year went on and that gave them something to get excited about. Something to show off to family and friends who frequently visited. Above all something they could enjoy and derive pleasure from whilst attracting bees and butterflies to add to the ecological mix.

Monarda & Delphinium

This year sees the first year of that new border. Every week I am greeted by the client who takes pride in showing me the new flowers that have blossomed since my previous visit. And every week the same comment – why didn’t we do this sooner! This is something I have got used to hearing from all of my clients. Why ever didn’t we do this before? What was stopping them?

Echinacea purpurea in bud

Helping clients get the most out of their garden is a real treat for me and I would love to help you too. Re working a border isn’t as scary as redesigning the whole garden but can have just as significant impact.

Cosmos - brightly coloured annual

Take a look at your garden – would it cheer you up to see some changes for the better? Feedback from my customers strongly suggests that you would – so don’t leave it any longer – we can start straight away!

Firstly the elaborate structure of the stems and leaves create a mesmerising pattern rising up from a flat pad of dark green leaves that look as though someone has etched the veins in a titanium dioxide rich white paint. The plant is semi evergreen and sends up these wonderful spikes of flower heads in the summer. They dry out and can provide good winter interest too.

Eryngium tricuspidatum

The second reason that this particular plant was smothered in the bright red soldier beetle which has acquired the name Hogweed Bonking Beetle! These bright red creatures spend most of their life doing – well – it!! They even feed and fly together and are seldom found alone. This summer the conditions seem to have been absolutely perfect for the beetle which has been seen in large numbers. The larvae are soil dweller and hunt for snails and other insects

Hogweed Bonking Beetle on Eryngium tricuspidatum

Hogweed Bonking Beetle on Eryngium tricuspidatum - unusually solitary!

Hogweed Bonking Beetle on Eryngium tricuspidatum

Anne Wareham & Charles Hawes at The Veddw House Garden

Usually on a garden visit somewhere or at a Flower Show. Anne is quite forthright with her views on gardens (and gardening) whilst Charles is more relaxed. To have the opportunity of visiting the garden they created was something of a curiosity for me. Here was someone who openly declares as dislike of gardening but has taken the time and trouble to create a garden and then be bold enough to open it for public consumption. Brave!

And Anne it was lovely…

At this point I need to turn and run, fast! (Take a look at Anne’s book The Bad Tempered Gardener to realise that this is not something that will be appreciated…)

Seriously though, we had just finished a morning visit to The Laskett and were ready for some lunch.

Lunch as brought by fellow guests

I had made a point of not researching the garden before arrival so knew nothing about what to expect. The standard for the day had been set by our earlier visit… It is fair to say that as a garden designer I find the challenge of designing a garden for yourself is not always the easiest challenge, so how had Anne & Charles fared?

The site in Monmouthshire near Tintern Abbey borders the  Chepstow Park Woods might be described as challenging but you can see immediately that it has potential. My first impression was how well the garden blended with its surrounding environment, drawing you from the garden to the open landscape.

View across the garden to the countryside

It is a garden in two halves – as many gardens are, front and back though in the case of The Veddw it is more left and right. The right garden or back was my starting point and although hindered by the gazebo set up for us to enjoy lunch this actually demonstrated the use for the garden as the owners intended; a place to entertain. Looking back at the house provided food for thought too as it had been painted black – a bold move that would become apparent later. Set against this was a vibrant drift planting of Alchemilla mollis dotted with blue hardy geranium.

acid green Alchemilla and blue hardy geranium

But the real treat was to follow. Guided by a prominent though rather curious cut out focal point we were encouraged to explore the gardens.

Cut out and painted focal point - simple but effective

As you rise up through the garden different vistas open up in a truly engaging way. The element of surprise always just around the next corner. Although on quite a slope the well dressed hedges prevented you from catching a glimpse of the whole garden even when seated at the highest point of the gardens. It is from here that you reflect on the history of the site and how this has been incorporated sympathetically in to the garden.

View across the garden

Looking out from the ruin

This then is a garden that works well for me and draws together simple a repetitive elements to create a garden that challenges the senses and demands inquisition. The flow around the garden is fairly consistent throughout, though occasionally you are left wondering which way to turn in order not to miss your next treat. My next treat came in the form of the fabulous reflecting pool, and the soft flowing hedges that worked their way back up to the woodlands behind. The inky black of the pool contrasting with the vibrance of the greens.

The Reflecting Pool - look carefully this is actually the reflection!

Looking back at the Reflecting Pool

Now here is the strange thing – this is not a garden full of colourful planting, bright drifts of flowers, borders bursting with the next wave of bee delighting nectar carrying blossoms. Yet there is a very colourful nature about the garden when viewed from pretty much anywhere. This variation in colour comes from the gentle flowing hedge forms as they reflect the ambient lighting and must be a garden photographers dream throughout the full calendar – no surprise then that Charles is a garden photographer!

Colour contrast and variations

What this also means is that there is less of that chore, known to all of us as gardening (apart from keeping those hedges in trim) to be concerned about. Where there are plants they are naturalistic and appear to be largely left to their own devices kept in check by copious amounts of suitable mulch.

The left garden (or front) was perhaps more confusing and experimental though I loved the planting combinations in the Grey Border.

The Grey Garden

What again is much in evidence is the working with the landscape to fashion the garden, working with what you have got. To be fair I didn’t spend as much time in this part of the garden, but perhaps it invited less. It being turned over for more functional activities such as growing of vegetables and fruit, orchards and meadows.

The Orchard and wildflower meadow

The Front Garden with strong topiary shapes and plenty of colour

So have Anne and Charles created a garden worthy of merit? Does their Borders Idyll stand up a as garden that deserves any accolade? They have managed to do a number of things very well, including making it personal, having respect for the history of the site, incorporating it in to the landscape and stamping their own very indelible mark upon it. They make no excuses for it. But don’t take my word for it and don’t look at the pictures and pass judgement. Gardens are for visiting in the flesh. Be prepared to be challenged. This is not ‘just another garden’ garden. I look forward to returning.

Corsham Gardeners Question Time

I love sharing my passion for gardening with others and have done a couple of similar (smaller) events at the local pub in Neston. It is always useful however to have back-up and I was very ably assisted by Michelle Chapman perhaps better known as VP of VegPlotting blog. We also had the assistance of Lu Overy who acted as our compere! All very grand!

Tim with Michelle aka VP at The Corsham Food Festival

It is fair to say we had no real idea what to expect or how to go about our first attempt – what sort of questions were we going to be asked? How could we prepare for every eventuality? How many books would we need to help us? How dry could we stay? Would anyone have any questions for us?

Our fears were soon banished as people braved the weather and came forward with their questions. There were plenty for Michelle on growing vegetables and fruit which is really encouraging – particularly as this was a food festival! Although some were rather unexpected – Can you grow Apples & Pears in Bangladesh? I bet the real Gardeners’ Question Time never had a question like that! We reasoned that it was probably too hot and that they should stick to citrus!

We also answered questions on plants to attract bees, can you replant roses, how do you prune Wisteria to make it flower, dealing with Box blight, are nettles really a sign of fertile ground?, planting wildflower meadows and many others.

We were applauded for giving better answers than a certain local garden centre and thanked for saving the sure death of a rambling rose – not bad for a day’s work!

We also demonstrated making newspaper plant pots – ideal for taking cuttings of your tomatoes!

Tim at Corsham Gardeners Question Time

I’m sure we will be back for more next year – so we have made copious notes in preparation – if you have any questions in the meantime do feel free to drop me a line!

So were these fears well founded? Almost all of our group were disappointed and were vocal in their views about how crowded, unkempt and frankly messy the gardens were. The planting seemed ill considered with the strangest of planting combinations, where one type of plant would have sufficed there were five. The wide and varied use of predominantly cheap materials seemed to spoil great swathes of the garden and more statues than you might expect to find in any museum.

The lack of unity, the bringing together of ideas, forms, colours was evident in abundance. There was no coherence or glue in which to hold the assembled array of plants and materials together to provide anything substantial or memorable.

But perhaps this is to miss the point of this garden?

It strikes me that it is a very personal space. One created by a husband and wife team of Sir Roy Strong and his late wife Julia. It is a garden of experimentation, one that is evolving and changing, one that celebrates the life and achievements in a way that evokes emotion.

As a garden designer, one of the key things that I try to achieve is to bring out the clients personality in their garden. I am told that I achieve this well. To do this in my own garden however I find very much more challenging – the point that I am seeking help and guidance from John Brookes. The point I am making here is that to design your own garden is not an easy task for anyone, even if like Lady Strong you have a design background (albeit that her forte was stage set design).

Whilst the garden may leave many puzzled and disappointed the garden wasn’t created for them. I applaud the fact that they have achieved something that is so personal but from a garden design perspective most of it left me cold. There was too much incongruity and an overwhelming feeling bought about by the volume of planting and statuary. For me less would have been more. Not a garden I will rush to see again but equally I’m glad that I have seen it, as much to remind me what not to do. For some however the cost has left a bitter taste that a garden that is open to the public should be so far from excellent.

I’d love to hear your views if you have been to the gardens, feel free to leave a comment.

Campanula 'Sarastro'

As the flower starts to form it has the appearance of a deflated airbag before opening out in to a wonderful shiny bell. It works well alongside ornamental grasses and alliums and others in a blue/purple planting scheme and is an asset to any cottage garden scheme. Cutting back the stems to the ground after flowering will encourage a second flush of flowers through to the autumn.

flowers heads look like deflated air bags before opening to their full bell shape

It grows to about 50cm (just over 2 feet in old money!) and will grow in most soils and conditions – fully hardy too, so expect to see it again next year!

valuable addition to any border

A real favourite perennial with minimal care requrements.

The gardens are at North Court in Shorwell on the Isle of Wight.

My grandparents moved there when they retired in 1964, splitting the house three ways between three brothers and their families. The garden was also apportioned and being around 14 acres in total there was plenty for everyone!

After restoring the house they set about the gardens which include a wonderful acre of Victorian walled garden. My grandfather was keen on growing fruit and vegetables and my grandmother loved her roses. They won many medals at the local Brighstone Flower Show for their exhibits over the years – contesting many of the categories with a very able gardener by the name of Bob Bucket.

The house is now owned by my grandfathers nephew and he is wildly passionate about the gardens. There are some fabulous plants in the gardens – some with interesting connections.

This Paeonia mlokosewitschii - affectionately known as Molly the Witch was given as seed to my grandmother by Vita Sackville-West (Lady Nicholson) from Sissinghurst.

It now flourishes in the borders of North Court and John Harrison kindly gave me a small root cutting to propagate on. The plant is wonderful and always seems to attract masses of bees.

Here are some of the other plants that were in bloom or looking special.

The gardens are very extensive and are frequently opened as part of the NGS Scheme – there is plenty to see!

There were also some very private moments for me when I felt the very strong presence of my Grandparents – the last time I visited here was for the funeral of my Grandmother in 1996 – so it was pretty emotional!

I hope that I have captured some of the spirit of these wonderful gardens and that it helps explain my passion for gardens and gardening – I feel very lucky and am delighted that they are in such safe hands now. I am already planning a return in the Autumn!