Inspiration

I had a great day at Chelsea today – lots of inspiring things to see and I’m looking forward to sharing them with you this week.

I’m going to start with a selection of images of the gardens I featured in my blog post on Friday…

The Telegraph Garden, designed by Christopher Bradley-Hole, was the first to really capture my attention.  I love the structure of the clipped hedges which were perfectly held together by the soft planting in between.

Adam Frost’s garden for Homebase “Sowing the seeds of change” was another really structured garden.  I loved the pergola covered seating area at the back of the garden and the iris and euphorbia planting combination…

The final garden for today is the Laurent Perrier garden designed by Ulf Nordfjell.  It had a contemporary feel to it with sawn paving and an architectural timber pergola arches with soft and frothy planting…..very much like the bubbles in a glass of champagne…

I hope you’ve enjoyed my first blog post about Chelsea 2013, I’ll be back with more over the next few days…

(Images: Lisa Cox for the Room Outside)

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show opens next week and I can’t wait to visit on Monday.  If you read my blog regularly then you’ll know this is my favourite show of the year – for those involved in the creation of the show gardens and floral exhibits, they’ll be feeling truly exhausted by now but I hope they’re also feeling positive and energised. Read more

This year the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is celebrating its centenary year and with 15 show gardens, 11 fresh gardens, 8 artisan gardens, 150 exhibits from nurseries and florists in the Great Pavilion and 250 trade stands, it promises to be a great show.  Each element of the show I’m sure will be bringing something a little bit special to mark this momentous occasion. Read more

Easter holidays are often a great time to be outdoors with the family.  It would be great if it warmed up a bit here in the UK, but even if this cold snap continues to linger, it’s still worth getting outside in the fresh air. Read more

Rather excitingly, I was approached before Christmas to write the feature article for the March/April 2013 edition of FOCUS magazine. Read more

I always know when summer is around the corner because I start to receive the latest furniture catalogues.  I suspect that most companies are keeping everything crossed that the weather will be kind enough to allow people to sit outside in the garden this year! Read more

Last week I spent a few hours with a fellow garden designer in London.  We went in search of inspiration and it’s amazing how much you find when you start to think about taking photographs. Read more

I have been aware of outdoor fires for some time, but I came across Planika last week and thought it would be nice to share some images and details about their bio-ethanol fires that can be used both inside and outside your home. Read more

We’re forecast to have snow here in Surrey today so I thought it might be nice to get you in the mood by sharing some photographs I took in Somerset a couple of years ago after quite a heavy snow shower. Read more

Finding the right Christmas gift for people can sometimes be a challenge so I thought I’d give you a few ideas of gifts for people who appreciate their garden… Read more