#MyGardenRightNow

March 5, 2017 | Vergette Ltd - Garden Design

Visitors to this blog will be aware that the garden at home is not something that ever really features in the posts. There are lots of reasons for this but the main one is, just like a million and one other people, our garden is personal and private. We don’t open to the public and it isn’t the subject of this blog, until today.

So why the change of heart, well should you follow Michelle Chapman aka @Malvernmeet you might have noticed the above hashtag in her timeline this weekend. The #MyGardenRightNow project was born after a TV company got in touch wanting Michelle to advise a couple on how to grow vegetables, a great opportunity, but sadly the researcher expected a burgeoning mid summer veg patch at the start of March. Michelle’s good but without the aid of a sonic screwdriver or hogwartian time turner not something that was realistic.

You can read more about the project here

So here we go, a little tour of My Garden Right now…..

Scene of last Summer’s bean (Phaseolus coccineus), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and annual flower fest, now home to an over wintering smorgasbord of self sown hairy bitter cress (Cardamine hirsuta), foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea) , marigolds (Calendula officinalis) and other lovelies. For those of you with an enquiring mind “Mo Veg Fedge” is a Modesty Vegetable Hedge who’s creation was necessitated when the existing hedge was rejuvenated resulting in mahousive gaps.

Just past the Mo Veg Hedge on the opposite side is one of the hottest spots in the garden. South facing and slightly sheltered it benefits from a microclimate generated by the central heating flue. All of the above pots will be destined for our garden at RHS Chatsworth if they perform on time, there are plants in them honest, but you know it’s still only March.

Moving on to the path past the Oak (top right of the hot spot pic) this is pretty much North Facing and gets very dry and very dark at the height of summer. We don’t bother collecting the leaves in Autumn they hide the straggly old leaves of the Primroses and assorted ferns rather nicely. This part of the garden is home to Cyclamen, Primroses (Primula vulgaris), Ferns (mostly Dryopteris species), Foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea f. albiflora) and a few Crocosmia (nope no idea how they got there but they seem happy enough) There may be a mid season cull of Dandelions (*Taraxacum officinale) and Wood Avens (Geum urbanum), or not, they might just be deadheaded instead.

The farthest point of the garden from the house where once was a wild scape of brambles, docks and Christmas Tree dens is the newest planting. A bit of experimental planting (shocking wind eddy in this part of the garden) which will be developed over time but currently contains Hellebores, Epimediums, Cyclamen, Nigella and others all snuggled up under a toasty blanket of Lesser Celandines (Ficaria verna)

Moving back up towards the top of the garden is the Midden Bed so called because it hides the concrete septic tank in the middle of the lawn. It’s one of the last parts of the garden to be tidied up in Spring as I’d rather look a a bit of natural decrepitude than a concrete poop bunker, call me old fashioned if you must.

Another pot spot but being North/West facing it’s the coldest spot in the garden, perfect for holding things back, should you need to, and also tends to become temporary home to the odd ‘Where should I put that’ impulse purchase.

So there you have it warts, weeds and (**nearly) all of #MyGardenRightNow

*Possibly Taraxacum officinale or Taraxacum vulgare all I do know for sure is the bees like them and they seed around the clock just like any other Dandelion.

**well a girl’s got to have some secrets after all 😉

Malvern Spring 2016

May 6, 2016May 6, 2016 | Vergette Ltd - Garden Design

Every year the Show Gardens at Malvern Three Counties get better and better and this year was no exception, with five out of the twelve being awarded well deserved Gold Medals.

Two of the biggest Gold medal gardens were opposite in style. The first of these two having a loose mix of the formal and natural with a relaxed languididy and the second being most definitely a representation of control and formality.

Vergette Ltd Garden Design Malvern Wedding Garden 2016 — The Garden of Romance – Villagio Verde

Once again Villaggio Verde brought a little slice of the Med to Malvern with their Garden of Romance. The edged beds filled with roses and lavender, although formal in design, were soft enough to blend seamlessly into the informal shapes of the surrounding trees and shrubs.

Vergette Ltd Malvern 20160848-001 — Reflections of Japan

Even if you weren’t in possession of a catalogue, which I wasn’t at 7.30 am, there is no denying where Peter Dowle and Richard Jasper found their inspiration. Perfectly executed and like the garden before making very effective use of the borrowed backdrop of the Malvern Hills. I may not have adequately captured in the picture one of the things I particularly liked here, however, look closely and there is a mix of both reflective and rippled water.

Vergette Ltd Garden Design Malvern 2016 UCARE — The UCARE Garden

Another garden making the most of reflective water was raising awareness for The Urology Cancer Research and Education charity or UCARE. Large pots of Tulipa ‘Caress’, which feature on the Charity’s logo, were used to good effect as focal points.

Vergette Ltd Garden Design Millefori Malvern 2016 — Millefiori ‘A Garden of a Thousand Flowers’

Now I have to be honest, I didn’t take the time to count, but, I wold think this garden features significantly more than a thousand flowers. Inspired by a glass work stud found amongst the Staffordshire Hoard, the jewel like colours echoed the glass of the gazebo above.

Vergette Ltd Malvern 2016 Primrose — Time is a Healer Supporting Primrose Hospice

More jewel like colours again, this time in the garden designed as a space for bereavement counselling. I’m not a 100% convinced by the colour used in the central sculpture but it would certainly brighten up a grey day.

Vergette Ltd Malvern 20160839-001 — The Sunken Retreat

More colour in the Sunken Retreat, and yes green is a colour often overlooked in a garden despite it being the the most prolific. The background colours of bronze and green being echoed amongst the blocks of planting. I wasn’t sure I felt that this was a retreat, it seemed to me a brilliant space for socialising and a great party space with the central fire pit.

Vergette Ltd Malvern 2016 0821-001 — The Low Line

A different angle on formality was shown by The Low Line, one of the Three Festival Gardens, although a similar Bronze feel featured, this time with accents of blue and grey from the planting and composite decking.

Vergette Ltd Malvern 2016 — Hidden Gems of Worcestershire

Blue grey again in the Hidden Gems of Worcester garden in the hard landscaping, which was a work of precision. It cannot be easy fitting a square peg, or in this case square cut Digby Stone Slate into concentric rings, as the GK Wilson Landscaping team managed. This was softened considerably by the surrounding planting.

Vergette Ltd Malvern 20160817-001 — The Water Spout

The last, *but by no means least, in the trio of Festival Gardens was the beautifully executed Water Spout garden. A relaxed and naturalistic garden filled with colourful shrubs, perennials and bulbs and accompanied by the relaxing sound of water from the natural spring in the garden. *It was most certainly not least as it scooped the Best Festival garden Award.

Vergette Ltd Malvern 20160814-001 — Gardening Amongst Ruins, an homage to Capability Brown

At first glance I wasn’t convinced by the Gardening Amongst Ruins garden, but I think once you overlook the plastic pots of the roses, which were still proudly on display and suspended your disbelief to remember that at any moment an 18th century gardener is coming to move the chickens to a new site before everything in the enclosure is trashed, then it works very well. Lots of detail in the planting and a skilfully achieved bucolic feel.

Vergette Ltd Malvern 2016 0918-001 — The Woodcutters Garden

Nested amongst the trees and set apart from the rest of the garden I happened across the Woodcutters Garden. It made the most of its surroundings this was a representation of the home of Angus and Poppy Rowan, characters featuring in the novel ‘The Woodcutters Story’

Vergette Ltd Malvern 20160827-001 — Macmillan Legacy Garden

The Macmillan Legacy Garden is another rustic garden in the round, just to show how sublime all aspects of this garden were the above photo is a view of the back of the garden. I’m afraid I failed to capture the truly exceptional qualities of this garden with my snaps.

You could spend a happy half hour or so looking at the intricacies of the planting and marvelling at the attention to detail shown here. This is 2016’s Best in Show and most deservedly it wouldn’t be out of place at Chelsea.

The forecast looks set to be sunny for the weekend of the show, so you may want to find a shady cloister to enjoy your ice-cream before it melts.

Vergette Ltd Malvern 2016_0870-001 — Villaggio Verde – Garden of Romance

Herbalicious

April 13, 2016April 13, 2016 | Vergette Ltd - Garden Design

Unusual Pine scented pure white Rosemary from The Cottage Herbery — Pine Scented ‘Cottage White’ Rosemary

To sow, or not to sow…Hardy Annuals

April 1, 2016 | Vergette Ltd - Garden Design

…..That is the question Hamlet might have internalised had he been a gardener rather than a disenfranchised Danish Prince. To be honest had he been slightly more interested in flowers I can’t help thinking things would have turned out better in the long run, however I digress.

At this time of year “When to Sow?” is a question a lot of newbie gardeners are asking on social media and replies are often accompanied by lots of pics of seedling germination. However, look a little closer at these pictures, and you may notice something they all have in common – a greenhouse.

So what to do if you haven’t been blessed with a greenhouse, pollytunnel or cloche? Well you wait, you twiddle thumbs for a week or two, and what you are waiting for is for the soil outside to warm up. Now, if you’re new to gardening, the following is a guide passed down from Mater Gardeners to their Apprentices for ages past…..

Firstly, you need to be properly attired, a pair of stout boots is essential as the soil may be wet and if you’re gardening on clay a little sticky. Secondly, loose trousers are an absolute must, as will become apparent shortly, or if you’re an adventurous chap or chapess a kilt is perfect. The techniques will differ slightly depending on your choice of clothing but choose something you feel most comfortable wearing.

Once attired correctly, make your way to the area set aside as your seed bed, it doesn’t have to be huge, however testing soil is easier if the bed is at least the width of your hips. Next as is the age old tradition stand in the middle of the seed bed, feet slightly apart for balance and slide your loose fitting trousers and undergarments down your legs so they are roughly level with your ankles. (If wearing a kilt in the traditional fashion you can skip this step.) Next maintain your balance while gently lowering your posterior until it comes into contact with the surface of the soil, kilt wearers will find it necessary at this point to flick the hem of the kilt out of the way so as not to sit on the fabric to avoid a false temperature reading.

If the soil is ready for seed sowing, you will barely register a change in temperature but if the cold wet soil causes a shock to the derrière then you will need to wait a week or so and test again.

I have to say these days I prefer to be guided by the rule of thumb, as opposed to the rule of bum and now favour a second method which is to wait for a nod from Mother Nature, who better to guide you in your seed sowing enterprises that the world’s foremost gardener, let’s face it – she’s been at it for millions of years.

Allium and Lunaria seedlings — Self sown Hardy Annual seedlings germinating in the garden

So if you’re not thinking of exhibition gardening wait until you see germination happening in the garden, whether its weed seeds or self sown hardys, then you’ll know the time is right to get sowing.