Inspiration

Last weekend I went to RHS Flower Show Cardiff.  There were moments over the past couple of weeks when I was very glad not be on site building a garden – the weather at times has been far from idyllic. What a contrast from last year when we were blessed with warm sunshine – I seem to remember I had to use suntan cream!

In our garden this week the Amelanchier, which took prime position in my show garden, has come back into flower so I think Spring has caught up with itself at last.  Some of the bulbs I managed to rescue from the mice over the summer are also in flower so it’s been a nice reminder.

I felt mixed emotions when I arrived at the show because part of me wished I’d designed a garden this year.  Who knows, I may do another one again in the future, we’ll see!

So I wanted to share a few images of my two favourite gardens at the 2016 show.  I have to make a confession however that I left my camera at home (not on purpose I might add) and had to use my phone instead so the images aren’t as good as they’d normally be.

Alfresco Gallery Garden

The Alfresco Gallery Garden was designed for a client with a passion for horticulture and art.  It’s a place to appreciate the form and structure of plants.  I loved the balance of this garden, the corten steel planters and water feature and the link between the box balls and the circles on the wall.

The Hiraeth Garden

Hiraeth is a Welsh word for which there is no direct translation, it’s used to capture a sense of yearning or longing for a place.

This garden was designed to appeal to our sense of nostalgia as well as a subconscious longing to be in the outdoors.  It incorporates elements of ruined buildings which is a reference to those found scattered around the Welsh countryside.

As well as a Gold medal, it was awarded Best Show Garden.  I liked the natural stone, the informal planting and the sense of the past.

RHS Flower Show Cardiff is smaller and less formal than Hampton Court and Chelsea, but it has a really nice local feel to it.  It was great to see the Show Manager, Katie Draper, and also the guys who are instrumental to the logistics each year as well as some of the exhibitors I met last year.

I remember going to Raglan Castle when I was little.  We always spent some of our holidays on a farm near Brecon so we stopped en route I suspect.  We used to love it, feeding the orphan lambs and helping when it was shearing time. Read more

I’ve started feeding the birds now that it’s finally getting a bit colder.  We get so many more species than we did in Leatherhead including woodpeckers, tree creepers and even a fat pheasant who seems to have successfully avoided the fortnightly shoot so far! Read more

Happy New Year!

On this day last year, we packed up our house in Surrey and started our move to South Wales.  We shed a tear when we locked up the house, but since we moved into our new home on 7^th January it’s been pretty fabulous and we love being here. Read more

I’ve written about Cox & Cox before as I love their products and garden accessories. This Christmas they have some gorgeous lighting products for the garden to make it really festive. Read more

Can you believe that Christmas is just four weeks away?  It always has a habit of creeping up on me and when I was in Cardiff earlier this week it seemed to be packed with shoppers already. Read more

I’ve wanted to go to Westonbirt for years and never seem to have managed to arrange a visit.  But last week I had a friend staying and because I’m now reasonably close, we decided to pay a visit. Read more

I have recently been in touch with Black Country Metal Works.  They’re a family run company based in Shropshire and home to the country’s largest outdoor display of decorative metal work, as well as the county’s only interactive forge offering visitors the opportunity to learn more about the craft of metalworking. Read more

I met up with my friend and fellow garden designer Paul Richards last week.  We’re (sort of) local now so decided to meet at Hampton Court Castle for lunch and have a wander around the gardens as well.  Mostly because it’s half way between us. Read more

I went back to Hauser & Wirth last week in Bruton, Somerset.  I went last year when it had just opened so I was interested to see how it’s looking one year on. Read more