Monthly Archives: April 2019
Fish, for gardening.
In 1999 a couple visited a country manor house with the view to buying the property. They arrived in the dark and never saw the garden. They failed to appreciate the importance of the garden or have any knowledge of its creator Margery Fish. Having purchased the house, they stepped up, took a horticultural course, […]
Eden Project – gardening on a grand scale.
Not all gardens are for the pleasure of a home owner or part of a public park. Some are simply there to exhibit the wonderful world of plant life and remind us of the delicate balance between the needs of humans and nature. Botanical gardens can be found up and down the country, the most […]
Dewstowe Gardens – hidden grottoes and ferneries
Gardens should be above ground, shouldn’t they? Plants need sunshine and rainwater to survive, so how could life be sustained underground? In 2000 a garden was discovered in South Wales. It had been lost for over 50 years under tonnes of soil, buried just after WWII. There were ponds and rills (small streams cut into […]
Coastal gardens befitting an island
I live on an island. I doubt that anyone living in Great Britain is more than 3 hours drive from the coast. Those wind swept coasts face all the compass points, from the arctic Highlands of Scotland to the warmer seas of the south west, the estuaries and white cliffs of the east. Dotted around […]
Mr Brown – a visionary landscaper who saw capability
Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown is a name that sticks. Until I researched this post, I was under the impression that the ‘capability’ nickname referred to his capable abilities. It actually comes from his describing landscapes as having ‘great capabilities’. The man had vision. These days, he might be considered a wrecker – he didn’t simply plant […]
Arboretum – exclusively for the trees
It’s that time of year again when my blog bursts back into life after months of neglect. It’s the annual A to Z Blogging Challenge, a worldwide event that encourages bloggers to post daily using a letter of the alphabet as their prompt. Themes are optional, but as in previous years, I like to keep […]
The Quiet Writer 