If you’ve been following this week’s show coverage then you’ll know that the Ecover Garden won a Gold medal and Best Show Garden.  The garden was designed by Matthew Childs and the inspiration for the design came from the fundamental principle that water is life.

The garden is about solutions to the problems with pollution, waste plastic and toxic residues, which are reflected in Ecover’s products.

The planting in this garden was gorgeous…blues and deep pinks.  The agapanthus were really stunning although by the time I got to take some photographs, the sun was blazing so the colours are a bit washed out.  I hope you get the idea though!

And the rammed earth walls were stunning, inspired by coastal cliffs and river gorges.  Look at how fabulous the planting looks against them…

If you’re going to the show this week, or indeed if you have already been, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this garden?

(Images: Lisa Cox)

I’ve been out planting today and it was pretty hot despite the fact that the garden has quite a bit of shade.  I was thinking how hot it must have been at Hampton Court today…I bet there are a few burnt bodies this evening! Read more

I was up with the sparrows this morning because I wanted to beat the heat and get to the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show whilst the sun was low enough to get some decent pictures of the show gardens.  I arrived at 7.15am which was early enough, but I didn’t have very long before the sun was in full swing. Read more

I hope you had a lovely weekend and especially if you’re in the UK, enjoyed our summer weather which has now arrived in earnest. Read more

The RHS Hampton Court Flower Show opens next week.  For once the run up has been dry, but I have no doubt that the heat won’t be so welcome over the weekend because it will be a challenge to keep the plants looking fresh for Monday when the judges will be making their rounds. Read more

We finally got around to doing some work in our own garden this weekend.  The sunshine and warmth helped to get the motivation going and we spent a bit of time in the front, weeding and moving a couple of things around. Read more

I came across Alfresco Fires in a recent edition of the Garden Design Journal and thought they’d be great for enabling outdoor living on those chillier days.  We cook on our BBQ all the time, even in winter, so I’d love something a little bit more permanent. Read more

We spent a fabulous weekend in Rome a few weeks ago, my 40th birthday present last year.  I’ve always wanted to go, since I studied for a degree in Classical Studies, so that made it all the more special. Read more

It was my birthday a few weeks ago so we went to the Cotswolds for the weekend, spent the night in a lovely country hotel and then decided to meander around Blenheim Palace gardens on the Sunday.  I’ve been to Blenheim many times, but this is the first time I’ve ever had chance to look at the gardens. Read more

This month’s Garden Flowers post, which I write with Rona Wheeldon of Flowerona features the top three new plants in the Plant of the Year Award at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Read more