I recently made another visit to Kew Gardens, where we were enchanted by several glass sculptures by artist Dale Chihuly. Placed in the most surprising areas – at the top of the Sion Vista, just outside the Temperate House, hovering over the pond in the water Lily House, or cunningly nested in amongst the tropicalContinue reading “Glass Sculpture Transforming Kew Gardens”
Category Archives: garden design
Great Gardens of England: Hidcote Manor Gardens, near Chipping Campden
A great garden is an image of paradise, in more than one religious outlook. Perhaps this is because within such a garden, all the very best of the natural world is taken by human ingenuity, and then gifted and skilled gardeners weave their own design and creativity into it. Our dreams become realised through aContinue reading “Great Gardens of England: Hidcote Manor Gardens, near Chipping Campden”
Stoneleigh Abbey – a Glorious Restoration and a Fascinating Historical Tour
We recently made another visit to Stoneleigh Abbey, very near where we live in Warwick: a stately home that has been beautifully restored since it was devastated by fire in 1960. Originally home to an order of Cistercian monks granted land by Henry II in 1145, this later evolved into a gracious seventeenth century residence,Continue reading “Stoneleigh Abbey – a Glorious Restoration and a Fascinating Historical Tour”
The Throckmortons of Coughton Court, Warwickshire: A Family Forever Linked to those Who Conspired to Murder their King
Approaching Coughton Court, the ancestral seat of the Throckmortons, near Alcester in Warwickshire, we may admire the mellow sandstone sixteenth century house with its dramatic battlemented gatehouse tower and lovely timbered north and south wings. In front is the most exquisitely laid-out garden packed with abundant lavenders. Everything about this house and its surrounding groundsContinue reading “The Throckmortons of Coughton Court, Warwickshire: A Family Forever Linked to those Who Conspired to Murder their King”
A Lost Garden Rediscovered and Given New Life: Guy’s Cliffe Walled Garden, Warwick
I love gardens which once were lost, but have now been restored. How poignant and symbolic they seem, and how inspiring when they are recovered and given new life. A famous example is The Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall; but we have a rediscovered garden just down the road from us. Just off theContinue reading “A Lost Garden Rediscovered and Given New Life: Guy’s Cliffe Walled Garden, Warwick”
Gold For Pershore College at the Ascot Spring Garden Show 2018
I’m delighted to announce that the Pershore College team – of which my son Jamie was a member – was one of the 3 college teams who were awarded a Gold Medal in the Young Gardeners of the Year 2018 Competition at the Ascot Spring Show 2018. We went to the show on Saturday 14Continue reading “Gold For Pershore College at the Ascot Spring Garden Show 2018”
Pershore College students making good progress on their garden for the Young Gardeners of the Year Show Ascot 2018
The aspiring Young Gardeners of the Year are all now working hard to complete their show gardens ready to be judged on Thursday 12th, before the Ascot Spring show 13-15 April 2018. My son Jamie and his fellow horticultural students are there now getting their garden ready. We’ll be at the show on SaturdayContinue reading “Pershore College students making good progress on their garden for the Young Gardeners of the Year Show Ascot 2018”
A Visit to the Prinknash Bird and Deer Park, Gloucestershire
What a lovely place the Prinknash Bird and Deer Park is. I was very impressed with it when we visited on Easter Saturday. The park is beautifully landscaped with some enchanting gypsy caravans and playhouses for young children, and the birds and animals are very tame indeed. A word of warning – do buy theContinue reading “A Visit to the Prinknash Bird and Deer Park, Gloucestershire”
An Inspirational Circular Garden Design with an Equestrian Theme by Pershore College
Here is the design that my son Jamie’s team at Pershore College have put forward for The Young Gardeners of the Year competition at the Ascot Spring Show 13-15 April 2018 in Windsor Great Park. Personally I love a circular garden design. My ideal is winding paths, leading off behind shrub and trees so thatContinue reading “An Inspirational Circular Garden Design with an Equestrian Theme by Pershore College”
My Son Jamie in the Young Gardener of the Year Competition at the Ascot Spring Show 2018
I’m delighted to say that Jamie, my son, will be representing Pershore College along with his fellow horticultural students, to compete with five other top horticultural colleges in the Young Gardener of the Year competition at the Ascot Spring Show in Windsor Great Park 13-15 April 2018. The competition was launched by TV gardener DavidContinue reading “My Son Jamie in the Young Gardener of the Year Competition at the Ascot Spring Show 2018”
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