Friday, December 11, 2009

A decade of gardening: back to nature

Innovation, creativity and controversy – gardening has changed much over the past decade
By Tim Richardson
Published: 12:03PM GMT 11 Dec 2009

The decade that was: the domes of the Eden Project, which opened in 2001. Photo: CHRISTOPHER JONES The Noughties has been a time of great excitement and change, following a decade that saw lots of sound and fury (all those Nineties "makeovers" involving decking, barbecues and blue walls, courtesy of Ground Force team Alan Titchmarsh, Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh), signifying not very much in the end.

The past decade, on the other hand, has seen a new planting style from Europe sweeping to popularity. If the Nineties was all about lifestyle and showing off, the Noughties have proven to be a more reflective period for Britain's gardeners, who have hunkered down with nature in terms of planting style, horticultural technique and a mellowed-out attitude to personal space.

Trends from Europe


The future arrived from Holland in the form of snowy-haired designer Piet Oudolf (pronounced Peet Ow-dolf). He had been making gardens for a select group of British clients in the late Nineties, but he really burst into public consciousness around the turn of the millennium courtesy of a series of books on how to create naturalistic gardens using a palette of grasses and mainly tall perennials, the most successful of which was Designing With Plants (1999), in collaboration with Noel Kingsbury.

Oudolf designed gardens at Pensthorpe nature reserve in Norfolk (2000) and at RHS Wisley in Surrey (2002), where the RHS's endorsement, although controversial at the time, reflected the impact this "new perennials" style was already having. Today, many British gardens betray Oudolf's influence to some degree: he has persuaded gardeners to make grasses and taller perennials a key feature of the garden, which is now more often planted for form and structure than for colour.

Shrubs, which were starting to fall from popularity even in the Eighties, have been increasingly replaced by grasses and other bulky plants as structural subjects – much to the chagrin of some traditional plantsmen.

The new naturalism

Against this backdrop, the 20th-century ideal of the colour-themed mixed border as the culmination of a gardener's art quickly gave way to the concept of creating a garden that is at ease with itself and its surroundings.

The signature colour combination of the late Nineties was the vivid red of the dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff' and orange cannas prefaced by the purple haze of Verbena bonariensis (all courtesy of Christopher Lloyd at Great Dixter). A decade later it has morphed into the golden-russet, late-summer tones of grasses such as calamagrostis or molinia, offset by spires of digitalis, verbascum, persicaria and salvias, or the fluffy plumes of filipendula and thalictrum, all waving gently in the wind before visibly decomposing through winter.

It is the shape of the plant that matters in new perennials, with repetition and rhythm created by means of daisy forms (rudbeckias, echinacea, asters, inulas) or flat-capped umbellifers such as sedum, angelica, eupatorium and achillea.

The meadow-garden movement can be related to this general trend towards naturalism, and in the past few years it has been developed in the hands of the "Sheffield School" of landscape designers, who are recreating naturalistic habitats in public spaces with little self-conscious design in the mix.

Green roofs are part of their remit, while fashionable green walls or vertical gardens remain the preserve of French designer Patrick Blanc, who is the only person out there with the technical ability to make them last, it seems.

The plants we loved

Away from grasses and tall perennials, among the plant trends we have seen in the Noughties are the continuing niche predeliction for snowdrops and unabated interest in alliums. Meanwhile, corydalis, digitalis, salvias, hellebores, thalictrum and euphorbia have all become general nursery staples alongside the hardy and ever-reliable geraniums and pulmonarias. Herbaceous perennials remain the undisputed focus for most gardeners, while the ever-popular rose shows no sign of fading in its appeal, with characterful old shrub roses still the choice of the cognoscenti.

Conceptual gardens

At the other end of the design spectrum, the non-naturalistic garden and landscape design has also begun to make an appearance on the British garden scene, in the shape of conceptualist landscape design – that is, design based primarily on ideas, often utilising colourful forms and non-natural materials.

A burgeoning interest for these "avant gardeners" has been reflected in a series of dedicated, albeit short-lived shows, such as the much admired Westonbirt Festival (2002-2005) and Future Gardens (2009), while the RHS's Hampton Court show now stages a conceptualist section. This year, conceptualist design even made it into the main show garden arena at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

A thoughtful attitude to gardens was reflected in the short-lived Modern Gardens Open Day (2004-2005) and continues to grow courtesy of discussion groups such as Thinkingardens. Meanwhile, the revamped Garden Museum in London has in the past couple of years become the hub and meeting place for British gardeners. The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew got in on the art/gardening act with critically acclaimed exhibitions on the work of glass sculptor Dale Chihuly and an important outdoor retrospective of Henry Moore.

Restoration projects

This has been a period of retrenchment and reflection for organisations such as the National Trust, after a bonanza of restoration and visitor-centre construction during the Nineties, not all of it well advised. The most interesting developments have been in new plantings for colour and scent in 18th-century landscape gardens such as Painshill and Stowe. These were previously thought of, erroneously, as "green gardens" with few flowers. The most impressive restoration – or recreation – of the decade was also the most controversial: the Elizabethan garden at Kenilworth Castle by English Heritage, which opened this summer.

English Heritage has initiated several other admirable historic projects, including the reinstatement of the great fountain and surrounding parterres at Witley Court in Worcestershire. One outstanding one-off garden project was the Duchess of Northumberland's extraordinary revamp of the walled gardens at Alnwick, Northumberland (2002), incorporating a gigantic cascade. Meanwhile, the threat to historic Greenwich Park, which has been earmarked for the equestrian element of the 2012 Olympics (entailing a 23,000-seat arena and 6km eventing course), is being opposed by the Garden History Society and local residents.

Climate change becomes mainstream

The Eden Project in Cornwall opened in 2001 as a prescient reflection of environmental preoccupations on a tourist-attraction scale. Increasingly, garden owners are thinking of their plots as part of a continuum of the surrounding ecology, encouraging wildlife to thrive as much as possible while accommodating their own leisure needs and horticultural interests. The garden is cherished ever more as a private sanctuary and a refuge from modern life now that the home has been invaded by the internet and mobile phone.

Related to the ecological emphasis is the surge in popularity of allotments and the home-growing of fruit and veg, particularly noticeable in the past two years. The phenomenon of the celebrity gardener/cook came to the fore mid-decade, reflecting the fact that most gardeners are cooks (although the reverse is less often true).

There are no reliable statistics on this, but it appears that "grow-your-own" has attracted large numbers of younger people to gardening – those in their twenties as opposed to their thirties – which has to be good news for the future.

Back in the Nineties gardens were heralded as fashionable or "sexy" in the mainstream press – when they weren't really, of course. Today, with allotment chic in full swing, it appears they might actually be quite cool. If so, we had better make the most of it. Nothing in the garden, and nothing in gardening, stays still for long.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Rose Gardening

You guys won't believe the web site I've found on Rose Gardeing.

It's the most beautifull garden I've ever seen. Here is the link to it:

http://roseswedgwoodhouse.blogspot.com/

Do yourself a favour and go to the link above... it's out of this world.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

What If You Could Easily Have A Lovely Landscaped Gardening? – Simple Landscape Gardening Tips

Landscape gardening can be used to help you create a beautiful and personal space. There are some great tips you can apply to your own yard or garden and find that little ideas and changes can go a very long way. You can use these tips to start your own garden or to improve your existing garden.




Many times the most important design concept, perspective, is missing from gardening beds. Determine which way you will normally view that bed. If you only look at to form one direction then taller plants should be in the back with shorter plants being planted in front.



The plants at the very front should be very close to the ground. If the bed is in the middle of an open area then use the same principle but work from the center, with the tallest plants, in the middle and shorter plants on the edges.



Color is very important and there are many landscape gardening tips associated with color and the garden. The use of color in any garden is important and you need to plan out what colors you are using and when they will be present. Certain colors are related to emotions and if you are looking to create a soothing and relaxing space the white and color colors are recommended. To vary the look when using one color you should use different textures, shapes and sizes.



There are some useful tips for landscape gardening for beginners as gardening does not need to be overly difficult. If you chose easy to care for plants then you can enjoy your garden without having to be constantly maintaining it.



Some plants that are easy to care and should be thought of for your garden include calla lily, petunias, dahlias, hyacinth, aster, mum, lilies, snapdragons, sunflower, pansies, impatiens, violets, phlox and poppies.



I know how you feel, you love garden landscaping but are a bit overwhelmed by it all. Then this is what you need to do NOWFirst, go to http://4landscapegarden.com/landscape-gardening/ to get honest and impartial reviews on some popular and successful ‘landscape gardening‘ products. NextIf you are serious about having a beautiful garden, TRY one of them, they do work. Thirdenjoy the site and pick up some tips. Fourththere is no fourth, NOW is YOUR time, grab this opportunity and start creating the landscaped garden of your dreams, you deserve it.

I really enjoyed this guy's blog on gardening so thought I'd share it with all you nice people.
http://www.tips-and-guides.com/

Monday, December 7, 2009

"Leaves, persimmons, and traveling"

Tom - 7th Street Cottage said...

I use leaves in all my beds too. Some are mulched, some are left whole for the winter to protect self sown seeds and the existing soil. I began almost all my gardens with leaf mold from the local landfill. When they stopped giving it away earlier this year thanks to state regulators who are worried there MIGHT be something in the leaves, I started collecting my own. A neighbor has a large pile, years old, where all the leaves go each fall. When I need mulch, I usually look there first sometimes adding a little wood mulch if I can find it cheap. This fall I have collected and spread leaves in all the new beds. I've shredded and layered leaves in the new vegetable beds. I like to think that I'm echoing what happens in nature. My gardens last year gave me the proof I needed that it works. I ate and viewed my successes.

Enjoy your travels. Be safe. Take lots of photos. We'll be here when you get back. So will the leaves, in some form or another.

December 5, 2009 7:41 AM

I thought you guys might like this:
http://naturalgardening.blogspot.com/

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Time left over for life: A review of The NEW Low-Maintenance Garden

There have been years in which I spent 20 hours a week weeding, planting, watering and pruning in my garden. The garden was ablaze with color, the kitchen sink was filled with vegetables and I would proudly lead guests on a tour—whether they wanted to go or not.

Then there have been other years in which I have spent a fraction of that time tending my garden. In those years the weeds sprouted in paths, roses had blackspot and I prayed for rain when guests were coming so I could cower inside and hide the squalor that was my garden.

So although I love to garden, the appeal of the title The NEW Low-Maintenance Garden was fairly strong for me. After all, life does sometimes intrude on my best intentions and, let’s face it, I’m not getting any younger. My kind of high-maintenance gardening requires stamina. And a strong back.

The NEW Low-Maintenance Garden’s author, Valerie Easton, insists that low-maintenance gardening is not “gardening lite” or the same as overnight gardens installed by housing development ground crews.

New low-maintenance gardens are “easy to live with and live in,” writes Easton. “They’re thoughtful places for outdoor living as well as plants, tailored to the needs of the people who create and use them. New low-maintenance gardens might be rich in flowers for cutting, feature places for kids to play, consist of a few pots or a luscious vegetable garden.”

Easton explains that a truly low-maintenance garden must be guided by an intentional design that incorporates hardscaping as well as plants. Having a plan—and sticking to it—minimizes the time-stresses of haphazard gardening practices that make for more work. That means relinquishing the habit of dragging home every appealing plant from the nursery and spending the rest of the day carrying it around the garden to find it a home.

Other low-maintenance practices Easton advocates are just basic good gardening practices—generously amending the soil, weeding early and often, working with nature by putting the right plant in the right place and practicing good garden sanitation habits. But there are also plenty of other low-maintenance tips that are useful, such as planting closely together to minimize the opportunity for weeds to get a foothold and adopting an acceptance for something short of perfection. Easton also offers plant suggestions and her featured gardeners list their own low-maintenance gardening tips.

Easton lives in Washington State where she writes for the Pacific Northwest Magazine of the Seattle Times. Her West Coast experience is evident since most of the gardens and gardeners featured as low-maintenance examples are in Washington, Oregon and California, slighting us Right Coasters a bit.

Some of the gardens featured rely heavily on hardscaping and accoutrements, with hardly a plant in site. They appear more like architectural examples of outdoor rooms than garden rooms and probably won’t appeal to the people who actually like plants in their gardens.

Fortunately, there are many examples of low-maintenance gardens with gorgeous plant collections. San Francisco designer Jeong Lee’s succulent garden is as sumptuous as it is surprising. David Pfeiffer, a Seattle-based landscape architect, has an enviable kitchen garden that looks anything but low maintenance. The author’s own garden, mixing flowers, greenery and edibles, will also appeal to plant lovers.

The book has extras that make it particularly useful. Garden book hoarders should hide their credit cards before reading because each section in the book is followed with a list of garden book resources. If your budget or shelf space limits your garden book buying inclinations, you’ll be grateful for the list of online resources provided—something many book writers leave out for fear of the websites disappearing.

The NEW Low-Maintenance Garden is ultimately about having a plan that fits with your lifestyle and limitations. Design-a-phobic gardeners should run the other way—fast. This is not the book for you unless you get some garden therapy. But for the rest of us, there are good low-maintenance lessons to take to heart and implement before exhaustion, age or both require tilling under our high-maintenance gardens altogether.

You can reach Robin at gardeningexaminer@gmail.com and can follow her on Twitter at @RobinRipley
 
I thought you guys might like this:
http://www.examiner.com/x-346-Gardening-Examiner~y2009m12d6-Time-left-over-for-life-A-review-of-The-NEW-LowMaintenance-Garden?cid=exrss-Gardening-Examiner

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Tulip Gardens: Planting & Growing Tulips

Planting tulips is certainly a beautiful experience, you have several gorgeous colors to choose from when it comes to tulip gardens. Growing tulips will certainly make you the envy of the neighbourhood considering the beauty they provide. Below you will find information that will help you understand when to grow tulips, how to grow tulips and more.

How To Grow Tulips

Growing tulips is quite easy once you find the ample space for planting tulips in the fall.

» Tulip gardens also require well drained soil in order to grow well, thereafter you just need to sit back and wait for these beautiful flowers to blossom.

» You will have several things to keep in mind when planting tulips, when you planting tulips see to it that you have a planting depth of 10cm. Its best to dig a larger hole than required so that you can add manure and a thick layer of soil before planting tulips, this will help a great deal when growing tulips.

» It is also best if you remove any tulips that are three years old, if not see to it that the tulip bed is well fertilized.

» Another very important point when you grow tulips,is that you should never buy cheap bulbs as you will not get a very good blossom due to it, you rather spend a little extra and be sure you will have beautiful tulips in the end.

When To Grow Tulips

The perfect time to grow tulips is certainly during fall as the bulbs need a cold climate to get accustomed to in order to blossom well in spring. However if for some reason you miss your chance for planting tulips in the fall, that is completely fine. Without a doubt ideally tulip gardens grow well in fall but if extra attention is given to the bulbs then there is no reason for you not to have a good blossom outside fall. If you purchase your bulbs before you need to plant them be sure to refrigerate them and not leave them out, or they will dry out before you can plant them. Remember bulbs need at least 12 weeks in refrigerator storage so that it can complete its biochemical process before it is planted. After this is complete you will need to plant your tulip bulbs in early spring, so you need to get your timing perfect for growing tulips. The day that you start planting tulips make sure that the weather is fine and that the ground is moist, after planting your bulbs add a layer of mulch to keep in the moisture. This will help greatly when you grow tulips and will contribute to a perfect blossom.

Tulip Gardening Tips

» When designing your tulip gardens, be sure to pick an area in your garden that receives frequent sunlight and is partially shaded.

» When you allocating the areas in your garden for these bulbs, always work out how many bulbs you will require for your tulip gardens and whether or not you require dwarf bulbs for certain areas.

» After all this is done you will have to decide on whether or not you would the same colors in one particular area or would you rather mix and match, this will depend on you and what works for you.

It is important to follow the procedure in growing tulips to get the best results, you will release how amazing it is to grow tulips after spending time in your tulip gardens and admire the beauty.

Growing tulips will certainly take some planning, but at the end of the day it is quiet easy to grow and the end result is spectacular.

I really enjoyed this guy's comment on http://www.home-gardening-tips.com/2009/10/10/tulip-gardens-planting-growing-tulips/#more-491 so I thought I'd share it with you nice people.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

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