England's Gardens

Rock garden with charming water pool feature. Alpine cool. Great use of railway sleepers and slate.

Absolutely brilliant article from Inhabitat website. Click here for the full story. There is something vaguely Franciscan about this idea and is the kind of thing that would have me hatching all kinds of pipe dreams of getting a band of brothers together to go around doing gardening works of mercy for Brighton. It's the kind of action that says, "We are going to go around doing good under the cover of darkness and there's nothing you or the council can do about it!" Regardless of whether you are an urban, suburban, or rural dweller, there is inevitably a patch of neglected turf in your neighborhood that might need a bit of TLC and greening. If you see hidden gardening potential between sidewalk cracks when others see decay and abandon, well then, you might be a budding guerrilla gardener and not even know it! The guerrila gardening phenomenon is currently sweeping the globe as folks are finding innovative ways to come together for the optimization of neglected lan...

Somebody would like me to help her lay down some slate-chippings in her front garden and it has to be said that they do make for an ideal, low maintenance garden, which you can then plant up with potted plants and have grasses or other plants sprouting up from the chippings, creating a lovely effect. Stipa tenuissima and blue grasses in particular go well with it. I think this image actually makes for a nice, visually striking garden. Lavender and Rosemary would go well with this effect too. So much potential! This is a nice effect with Hostas, a Phoenix Palm, Juniper communis, Crocosmia and ferns. The constrast of the greens and the plum chippings is really pretty. Slates come in plum, green, grey, blue, black but I think the grey, green, plum look is the nicest type.

Pulmonaria 'Diana Clare' The Telegraph have compiled a list of the 25 best Spring plants in a top 100 for all seasons. Here it is: 1 Pulmonaria 'Diana Clare' Long, silvered leaves with an apple-green cast flatter deep violet flowers, making this pulmonaria perhaps the best of all. Part shade (30cm/2ft). 2 Epimedium x versicolor 'Sulphureum' Graceful wiry stems with two-tone yellow flowers above heart-shaped, shiny green leaves. A toughie. Part shade (30cm/2ft). 3 E rysimum 'Bowles' Mauve' In flower from spring until late autumn, this bushy wallflower produces sprays of purple flowers above grey-green foliage. Sun and good drainage (75cm/2.5ft). 4 Dryopteris wallichiana Black bristly hairs contrast against bright green fronds when this handsome upright fern unfurls its croziers in late April. Good soil, shade (1.2 m/4ft). 5 Scilla siberica 'Spring Be...

Courtesy of Gardening Data, click here for Website. Using turf is the quickest way to get a lawn, but it needs careful preparation and care while it settles down. In southern UK, turves are best laid in late winter/early spring when the ground has not dried out and the growing season is approaching. They can be laid later in spring through to late summer but they will need more attention to ensure that they do not dry out. Laying them in late autumn and early winter is best avoided as the grass will be dormant and the turves can become waterlogged by winter rain. In more northern areas, the best times are early spring to mid summer. Turves should ideally be laid within 24 hours of delivery, any delay over 48 hours increases the risk of the grass turning yellow or the turf drying out before being laid - 3 days should be considered the absolute maximum in ideal conditions (not too dry, hot or sunny). Don't arrange for the turves to be delivered until the site is completely prepared...