Campanula ‘Sarastro’ – one of many wonderful Campanulas but somehow this is the daddy of all the bells! Large dark purple-blue flowers with a slightly unreal waxy appearance that start to appear from May onwards.
Entries Tagged as 'Soil pH'
Gardening | Garden Design | great plants – Campanula sarastro
June 8th, 2011 No Comments
Tags: enjoy · garden design · gardening · Inspiration · low maintenance · Plant · Soil pH · striking display
Gardening | Garden Design | Inspirational Gardens | North Court
April 29th, 2011 No Comments
My family are all keen gardeners which made the decision to earn a living from my gardening knowledge fairly straightforward. Setting up as a Garden Designer on the outskirts of Bath brings back memories of past generations who shared my love of the garden. Last weekend I was lucky enough to return to a garden that probably is the greatest influence on that passion.
The gardens are at North Court in Shorwell on the Isle of Wight.
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!
Tags: enjoy · garden design · gardening · Inspiration · Paeonia mlokosewitschii · Plant · Sissinghurst · Soil pH · striking display · Vita Sackville-West
Gardening | Garden Design | Clay soil – and how to improve it
April 8th, 2010 2 Comments
The soil in Wiltshire, where I live changes dramatically – heading West towards Bath it is predominantly very heavy clay over sandstone, while less than a mile to the East, heading towards Chippenham the soil becomes very sandy.
The small clay particles that make it so difficult to work and so poor draining have the benefit of retaining lots of wonderful nutrients. Nutrients that plants like roses absolutely love. Sandy soil tends to see these nutrients washed away.
The secret is applying a layer of organic material about 2 inches thick every year. Then sitting back and letting the worms do all the hard work! It is important to vary the type of organic material applied so that a variety of nutrients are released. Sticking with say – spent mushroom compost will lead to the soil becoming quite acid so use well rotted farmyard manure, leaf mould, soil improver and compost.
Tags: amelioration · clay · compost · garden design · Garden Organic · gardening · mushroom compost · organic material · Plant · soil · Soil pH
Gardening | Garden Design | The importance of testing your soil
May 7th, 2009 No Comments
A recent posting on the Garden Network was asking about the importance of testing the pH of your soil. Why is the pH of soil so important? There are a number of factors that affect what you can grow in your soil, the type of soil that you have, clay, loam or sand generally has [...]
Tags: garden design · gardening · money saving · Plant · Soil pH