Tag Archives: garden philosophy

Circles and squares in the Blue Water Roof garden Chelsea 2013 What’s hot…or lukewarm

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Apart from the few bright sparks among the Chelsea gardens, the majority of year’s main display gardens were safe, tasteful and disappointingly dull. Phillip Johnson’s Australian garden was an obvious Best in Show standout with its innovative plant palette and exciting raised studio pod, and I loved the ‘Seeabiility’ garden, ‘The East Village’ garden with its flowing sinuous lines, and the huge greenwall in the ‘Stoke-on-Trent Story of Transformation’ garden. And the ‘As Nature Intended It’ garden was refreshing in its rejection of the now ubiquitous perennial flower mix. Continue reading →

Magic in the garden . . . (2) Magic in the garden

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Growing a vegetable garden can seem a mundane and prosaic activity. For me however, there is something far more spiritual and magical about it. By holding a handful of seeds I am holding an entire vegetable garden in my hand. When we start growing our own food we tap in to the magic of creation itself. We become attuned to the cycles and seasons of birth, growth, abundance, senescence and death. In our busy lives it is easy to lose touch with the essentials. Becoming a vegetable gardener changes that, as we become increasingly aware of the magic that surrounds us. Continue reading →

Sassy black boots and a scarf will liven up any dull outfit Portrait of a gardener

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I’ve begun to notice that a variety of garden catalogs are carrying clothing designed just for gardening. This is an intriguing concept. On a typical day in my garden, I am happily clad in whatever holey, stained clothes were closest at hand and pay little to no attention to my appearance. Devoid of makeup and hair care products, my short locks stick out at odd angles and my blonde lashes are rendered invisible. Continue reading →

Burnley volunteers and the Burnley Table Great value in garden volunteers

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You know, I think the world would collapse without volunteers, especially gardening ones. Volunteers save organisations thousands and possibly millions of dollars in labour, do jobs that otherwise would not get done and without them we wouldn’t have many of the special places we like to visit. Continue reading →

Reed Pugh suburban garage with beautiful new vegetable roof garden Suburban vegetables reach new heights

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A friend recently introduced me to someone who has true passion for vegetable gardening in limited space. This new friend of mine has built a vegetable garden on the roof of her new garage! They recently rebuilt the garage with the intention of putting a deck on its roof to grow vegetables and keep bees. It is a tasteful and beautiful use of the space on display for the whole neighborhood. Continue reading →

Roberto Burle Max Sitio Roberto Burle Marx’s private Sitio

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Roberto Burle Marx single-handedly changed the face of tropical garden design while introducing to the world a host of amazing indigenous Brazilian plants hitherto ignored by Brazilians. In the process became an international figure. It’s intriguing to delve into his soul as an artist and plantsman to find out why his impact was so gargantuan. Continue reading →

Jud's agave and succulent garden California Jud’s amazing agave & succulent garden

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I have the Long Beach Marathon to thank for finding this garden. No, I didn’t run the marathon, more like actively avoided it. The marathon barricades cut off much of my end of Long Beach, so trying to get a few errands done was a circuitous challenge. I ended up in neighborhoods I don’t often see, such as the one where this front garden fills a corner lot. I vowed to return. Last night, I found it again, even though I had misremembered the street name. Who needs street names with a garden like this? I bet locals use it for reference: “Hang a right at Little Lotusland…” Continue reading →

I grow all of my veggies and ornamentals without using peat moss. Peat-free potting soil options

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Most every commercial potting mix contains sphagnum peat moss because it’s a good, lightweight, organic amendment that improves drainage, as well as water retention and air circulation. The downside to peat moss is that it isn’t a sustainable resource. Peat moss is the decomposing remains of living sphagnum moss, and it is harvested at unsustainable rates from bogs in a manner than involves scraping off the top layer of the living moss to get to the saleable product below. Continue reading →