Porcelain – the new wonder paving material

February 7, 2017

 You may think of exquisite Chinese pots, or bathroom tiles – smooth and slippery – when you think of porcelain. But porcelain is now a fantastic non-slip material for paving, in all kinds of finishes. It’s made of earth and ground up stone, basically quartz, kaolin, feldspar and clay, fired in a hot oven then […]

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How to get ideas for your garden

January 7, 2017

It’s nearly time for gardens to come alive again. If you have recently moved, or want a change, you may be thinking how best to use your plot when it gets warmer. Where do you start? Magazines like Gardener’s World may seem overwhelming if you are not familiar with gardening or want advice on layout, […]

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Mediterranean planting with a difference

July 27, 2016

Now is the height of the season for plants from the Mediterranean – suiting that warm but temperate climate that features mild, wet winters and hot dry summers. I aim to post this in time for you to get ideas for your garden when you go on holiday. Whether we will eventually have this climate […]

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Tropical gardens

June 29, 2016

Now that it’s been pouring down for weeks, and we all want to go anywhere warm, here is an article from ‘Houzz’ about how to get a tropical feel in your garden.

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Action Week for Flowering Blossom (and Chelsea)

May 31, 2016

It’s time for the countryside to explode in frothy blossom. The Northamptonshire hedgerows are decked out like a wedding cake in creamy white hawthorn blossom, with masses of cow parsley flowering below it. The artist David Hockney called this short period of time ‘action week’, as everything seemed to come out at once after the […]

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Trees for small gardens

April 15, 2016

I have been designing a planting plan for a small garden, about 9m across by 11m deep, overlooked by other houses as are many new gardens nowadays. The problem is that to provide a screen one must also cut down on sunlight a little, as the garden faces southwest. I have included a tree on […]

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What plants do you need for your space?

March 21, 2016

It’s the peak season for plant buying and getting out in the garden. How do you decide what to buy for your plot? I have just designed a planting plan for a little courtyard garden, and think some of the principles I used might be useful this time of year. 1. Think when you want […]

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How you can help save the hedgehog

January 9, 2016

(Photo © Kichigin/Shutterstock.com and BHPS)   Hedgehog populations have been declining by about 25% in the last 10 years. One thing we can do to help them is to make sure they can move freely between gardens, so that they have enough to eat and space to make a home. Jacksons Fencing have brought out […]

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Most popular outdoor living photos of 2015 from Houzz

December 30, 2015

I am excited that my work has been featured in ‘Houzz’, in their end of year review, as one of the 20 most popular photos of 2015.  See photo number 5 below, which is part of this project explained on my website. Happy New Year to all my readers! The Most Popular Outdoor Living Photos […]

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Winter pots and spring bulbs

November 10, 2015

Now’s the time to plant up a container to brighten your winter months.  Many have already done this, keeping up with Monty Don (Gardener’s World) and the nurseries are already running out of plants.  However I am only just thinking about this as the geraniums (pelargoniums) have lasted so long this year. I never used […]

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