Category Archives: Gardens

We all know that with the New Year comes the inevitability of New Year’s Resolutions. Most people’s lists feature an element of improving their fitness or taking up a new sport; however juggling the demands of a busy working day and family life can often mean sacrificing keeping fit.

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I recently treated myself to a day at the Cotswold Gardening School to refresh my skills in Container Gardening and get some inspiration from Caroline Tatham, the award-winning designer and lecturer. I certainly achieved both goals with the added bonus of rekindling my love of art and the works of the Impressionist painters in particular – more of that later.

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Hedges are the unsung heroes of the garden – a practical solution for security and privacy, a beautiful backdrop for planting and other garden features and, perhaps more importantly, a haven for wildlife. Hedges are the green walls of a garden, a natural boundary which can be used for structure around the edge and within a garden, but also as a key feature in themselves.

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With any project, planning is one of the most important elements to create success and can help you save time and money. Your garden is no different. Although it can be tempting to raid the garden centre for plants that catch your eye, you may end up with too much of one thing and not enough of another. Alternatively rushing out into your garden to dig up the lawn because you fancy a water feature, could end up costing you a lot of money and result in a lack of cohesion in your garden.

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Front gardens are an important part of life in Britain today for more reasons than you might think. Not only is your front garden the first thing that greets you and your visitors, it also has to be multifunctional. While a front garden creates the all-important first impression, setting the tone for your home and what you may find within it, it often also has to accommodate space for parking and practical access. As a result of our increasing reliance on our cars, many front gardens have been transformed over the last few decades into monochromatic hard standing areas that do little to enhance or even sustain the environment. Times are changing, however.

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As the summer draws to a close and everyone returns to work and school, it is the perfect time to be thinking about how well your garden worked for you over the last few months. Summer is the prime time to be out in your garden so it is important to use this time of year, while your memories of barbeques and enjoying the sunshine are fresh, to reflect on how to get the most out of your garden next year and for the summers to come.

What worked well?

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One of the many joys of having a well-planned garden is that you can have ready access to freshly-cut flowers to add colour and scent to your home all year round. Your home-grown flowers will be less expensive than the florist/shop bought variety and also there’s the extra satisfaction and enjoyment from growing your own cut flowers in a sustainable manner that then decorate your home both inside and out.

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