Early March has arrived and I popped over to Diana Ross’ house around the corner from…
Gardens to visit
Visiting other gardens is one of the best ways to expand your gardening and garden design knowledge, and to gain inspiration. Here are some photo articles of the ones I’ve been to.
Marrakesh (Part Four): Jardin Majorelle
Jardin Majorelle is best known today for being owned by Yves Saint Lauren, who famously saved…
Marrakesh (Part Three): Islamic tiled courtyards at Bahia Palace
The second oldest garden we visited was by far the most visually arresting of designs. It is immaculate…
Marrakesh (Part Two): blown away by ancient Islamic garden design at the El Badi Palace
I’ve wanted to visit Marrakesh for about ten years, drawn by its bright colours. What I hadn’t…
Marrakesh (part one): beautiful and bonkers, on the urban garden trail in the red city
My overwhelming impression of Marrakesh in Northern Africa is of a city greener than expected, filled…
Crossrail Place Roof Garden, Canary Wharf
At the weekend my Instagram buddy lamaisonbleue tipped me off to the fact the Crossrail Place…
Landscape design at Stowe Garden in Buckinghamshire
Back in November Chris and I had the opportunity to spend a sunny Autumn afternoon at Stowe…
From the streets: Library of Birmingham’s rooftop secret garden and futuristic municipal design
My mum and I share the same birthday, bonfire night. We love it, so Chris and I…
Autumn colour in Diana Ross’ garden
We were really taken with plantswoman Diana Ross’ stunning garden around the corner in Clapham when we visited…
Cacti in the Princess of Wales Conservatory, Kew
The Princess of Wales Conservatory at Kew has rarely looked as good as it does now.…
Apple iTree: the botanical trend reaches new heights with Ficus maclellandii ‘Alii’
This week Apple reopened its flagship London store on Regent Street after months of renovations to…
Beauty of life in all its stages (4 Macauley Road, Clapham NGS)
Time is a wonderful gift, it changes things. None are more aware of this than gardeners.
Modernist garden design at The Homewood
After learning of The Homewood while studying garden design history with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh,…
That sinking feeling – RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show
The other week Chris and I went to RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show where two…
From the streets: Brighton’s futuristic municipal planting
I don’t know what they put in the water down in Brighton (where I work) but…
Lambeth Palace Gardens
As part of the RHS Level 3 course we have to learn about different garden design…
7 Chiswick Open Gardens in One Day! (NGS)
On Saturday 28 May 2016 Chris and I popped to west London to visit the four NGS…
24 Things at the Chelsea Flower Show 2016
This is my third year at the Chelsea Flower Show and it remains an emotional experience.…
7 Trends at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2016
I’ll have more blog posts this week with my photos and thoughts from the Chelsea Flower…
Gallery: Chelsea Flower Show 2014 & 2015 recap
“People can only dream of a Chelsea Flower Show garden” they say. To that I say:…
PHOTO GALLERY: Barbican Conservatory, London
Brutalist, futurist. Despite the concrete, the Barbican exudes such atmosphere and style that you’ll feel as…
Alan in Wonderland: East Ruston Old Vicarage
I knew East Ruston Old Vicarage in Norfolk would be special. What I hadn’t appreciated is…
Rousham: getting to the heart of landscape garden design
As I arrived at Rousham, the single other visitor was leaving and I had the entire place to…
Photo Gallery: My favourite garden design inspiration from my travels
This gallery contains a selection of my favourite garden design from 2014 and 2015. Photos are…
Autumn at Kew Gardens
It feels like Kew Gardens is upping its garden design efforts – or perhaps I’m just…
National Dahlia Society Annual Show 2015 & RHS Dahlia Trials
I returned to the National Dahlia Society’s Annual Show today after being totally gobsmacked last year. Though…
Regent’s Park a high summer stunner
I can’t be very observant. I’ve been visiting Regent’s Park my whole life but only paid…
NGS 2015 – one of the greatest things to hit British summertime
Quite unexpectedly, one of the highlights of my year snuck up on me and I now…
Sissinghurst & Monks House – intertwined lives endure in the gardens
We visited Vita Sackville-West’s Sissinghurst Castle and Virginia Woolf’s Monks House on separate days during our…
Great Dixter – a garden outside of time
Stepping onto Great Dixter soil is like stepping into a dream world of wispy, airy meadows,…
Nymans, Hayward’s Heath
On Sunday 5th July, we visited Nymans, one of the four famous gardens featured in the…
A walk on the South Downs at dusk
It started with a lama and ended with an allotment of Delphiniums, with wildflower meadows and…
Standen House, East Grinsted
On the first morning of our summer holiday in Sussex we were diverted by rain from Wakehurst…
Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh in early summer
My fourth trip to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, and the first time at the start…
Ferns at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
I’ve gone fern mad – I don’t even know how it happened. This weekend, on my…
15 Things at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2015
Last year was my first trip to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, it changed my world.…
NGS 2015: 51 The Chase, Clapham by Charles Rutherfoord and Rupert Tyler
The very first garden we visited last year on the National Garden Scheme (NGS) was the…
It’s all grow in the Eden community garden
I’ve been really lucky in recent months to be allowed to use a small 2 x 2m…
RHS Wisley in spring
I had two gardening epiphanies on Friday at RHS Wisley (that place gets me with every visit!).…
Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie, London
“It’s like being at Kew Gardens in the sky!” exclaimed one visitor – I’d liked to…
[PHOTO GALLERY] 2015 so far
Not a lot going on in the garden right now. I’m planning, planning, planning while also…
25 Photos of interesting autumn sightings (and what I thought at the time)
Here are 25 things I spotted in September and October that I thought were beautiful for all…
Chelsea Physic Garden in Autumn
Today I made the most of my new Royal Horticultural Society membership and visited the Chelsea…
From the streets: who needs a garden to garden?!
I was just moseying around Brighton at lunch and four houses caught my eye down a street…
RHS Wisley Flower Show 2014
Yesterday I went to RHS Wisley for the flower show, in particular the National Dahlia Society’s…
National Dahlia Society Annual Show 2014 at RHS Wisley
It’s not often something knocks my socks off and genuinely makes me say “wow” out loud but then…
Camley Street Natural Park, King’s Cross, London
This weekend I was in central London on a trip as a treat for our work’s…
35 Turret Grove Open Garden
The National Garden Scheme (NGS) is brilliant because it raises money for charity and lets us…
Cragside, Northumberland
In July 2014 we went on a road trip around the north of England and Scotland,…