Yes I again agree with what you say. And in fact I have a similar garden/ approach.Especially the 'tapestry' approach. My front garden is yellow and pink themed with grasses, pink lavender, green red hot pokervarious ground cover such as erigeron karavinskensis and ajuga reptans, anddark and yellow foliage
And I didn't see the 'weedy' gardens! It probably doesn't come across on tv! Mind you I leave my dandelions in places- the bees love them and they survive the wet and cold.
Which brings us back to the weather. It has been a shock coming from thr shelter of a London garden- small, shady with some sun and relatively warm to Oxford Sunny but windy and dry and verging on sand.
So, while I get to know what thrives here- irises, papaver orientale,centaurea macropetala, cosmos, but NOT my heleniums(why?), I'll be very tolerant of weeds1 so then I have something for the wildlife and me!
You can see my photos here - http://s211.photobucket.com/albums/bb262/Obelixx_be/1205%20Chelsea%20Flower%20Show/ but I didn't take photos of the weedy gardens as they neither interested nor excited me. I saw a baby blackbird in the Korean war and peace garden but there were more insects and birds flitting about in the other gardens.
Good luck with your new garden. Sounds like it needs truck loads of garden compost.
I have moved from an acid, clay soil in Harrow to an alkaline but fertile loamy soil in central Belgium and much harder winters which have been deadly these last 4 years. Bit of a shock to me and a lot of my treasures.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Thank you! I decided to concentrate on the front. And this year I've put some strawberries and beans in the front garden as I think it will be easier to waterand feed.
I found a free source of manure which I think is easier in Oxford ,compared with London!Itmust be hard to find what you want in a new country? Unless you ARE Belgian.
The Korean garden, did it win best in show? I know it won something. I was surprised at the accolade.The politic context seemed out of place in Chelsea.
But having access to land is a political issue, but not for here, not for me.
So changing the subject...I am giving my non weeds a better chance against the weeds by applying Nemaslug to kill my slugs and snails.
These wedds have had thousands of years to evolve and I guess the closer to the native the pants are,the easier it will be to grow stuff.
I am going tolook at your photos now ,Obelix and maybe put some up myself!
Its the age-old concept of the right plant in the right place. To Obelixx - 'exotics' means any plant not native to the UK, not just tropical plants. To Organiclinda, the Korean garden won a gold but best in show was Cleve West's Brewin Dolphin garden.
Obelixx actually thinks exotics are anything a bit wussy about cold temperatures and native is from Europe, given that she lives in Belgium now.
The Korean garden won the RHS president's award for best garden because of the concept and execution but that doesn't make it something you want in your own back yard. Cleve West won Best Garden from the judges, Diarmuid got Most Creative garden but a silver gilt medal and the People's Choice was Thomas Hoblyn's Arthritis garden.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Ah! a rounder viewof gardening! Its certainly good for my soul. I caught the end of bbcs' coverage suggesting rthat the Korean garden was dedicated to all the lost soldiers?.
Posts
Hi Obelix
Yes I again agree with what you say. And in fact I have a similar garden/ approach.Especially the 'tapestry' approach. My front garden is yellow and pink themed with grasses, pink lavender, green red hot pokervarious ground cover such as erigeron karavinskensis and ajuga reptans, anddark and yellow foliage
And I didn't see the 'weedy' gardens! It probably doesn't come across on tv! Mind you I leave my dandelions in places- the bees love them and they survive the wet and cold.
Which brings us back to the weather. It has been a shock coming from thr shelter of a London garden- small, shady with some sun and relatively warm to Oxford Sunny but windy and dry and verging on sand.
So, while I get to know what thrives here- irises, papaver orientale,centaurea macropetala, cosmos, but NOT my heleniums(why?), I'll be very tolerant of weeds1 so then I have something for the wildlife and me!
You can see my photos here - http://s211.photobucket.com/albums/bb262/Obelixx_be/1205%20Chelsea%20Flower%20Show/ but I didn't take photos of the weedy gardens as they neither interested nor excited me. I saw a baby blackbird in the Korean war and peace garden but there were more insects and birds flitting about in the other gardens.
Good luck with your new garden. Sounds like it needs truck loads of garden compost.
I have moved from an acid, clay soil in Harrow to an alkaline but fertile loamy soil in central Belgium and much harder winters which have been deadly these last 4 years. Bit of a shock to me and a lot of my treasures.
Thank you! I decided to concentrate on the front. And this year I've put some strawberries and beans in the front garden as I think it will be easier to waterand feed.
I found a free source of manure which I think is easier in Oxford ,compared with London!Itmust be hard to find what you want in a new country? Unless you ARE Belgian.
The Korean garden, did it win best in show? I know it won something. I was surprised at the accolade.The politic context seemed out of place in Chelsea.
But having access to land is a political issue, but not for here, not for me.
So changing the subject...I am giving my non weeds a better chance against the weeds by applying Nemaslug to kill my slugs and snails.
These wedds have had thousands of years to evolve and I guess the closer to the native the pants are,the easier it will be to grow stuff.
I am going tolook at your photos now ,Obelix and maybe put some up myself!
Its the age-old concept of the right plant in the right place. To Obelixx - 'exotics' means any plant not native to the UK, not just tropical plants. To Organiclinda, the Korean garden won a gold but best in show was Cleve West's Brewin Dolphin garden.
Obelixx actually thinks exotics are anything a bit wussy about cold temperatures and native is from Europe, given that she lives in Belgium now.
The Korean garden won the RHS president's award for best garden because of the concept and execution but that doesn't make it something you want in your own back yard. Cleve West won Best Garden from the judges, Diarmuid got Most Creative garden but a silver gilt medal and the People's Choice was Thomas Hoblyn's Arthritis garden.
Ah! a rounder viewof gardening! Its certainly good for my soul. I caught the end of bbcs' coverage suggesting rthat the Korean garden was dedicated to all the lost soldiers?.