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The first Gardeners' World

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  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,052

    Been too busy to see this week's GW just yet but do love grasses as long as they're used wisely.  I've seen a huge bank of them used as ground cover on a slop and it's all to samey and boring but grouped here and there as contrast of form and to give movement they're great.

    Stipas, pennisetums and the red grass are too nesh for my garden but miscanthus forms do well as do briza, carex, molinia and hakonechloa which makes a great edger on a damp bed I have next to my terrace.

     

    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)."
    Plato
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,034

    Fetch me my angrry trousers!

    Obviously it is perfectly acceptable to not like Monty Don or to like his garden, it is sad and reflects badly on the writer not to recognise his skills. His garden has been lovingly created over many years, it is no quick makeover for TV. His hedges and trees were all grown from saplings and many other plants from seed or cuttings.

    I would thoroughly recommend to any open minded gardener his book the Ivington diaries. Not only is it beautifully written and encapsulates why many of us garden much more eloquently than most people who write on the subject, but it also documen ts the development of the garden from a bare field.

    I have also found it very useful as a what to do when sort of book.

    I love the debates that often occur on this site and a little bit of controversy is also welcome. However uninformed vituperative ranting has no place.

    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • figratfigrat Posts: 1,619
    Thanks for that, Punkdoc. I'm a great fan of Monty Don, but have only read his newspaper articles. Just had a browse through the Ivington Diaries, and it looks enchanting - as you say, beautifully written, eloquent and reflective.

    I think I'll have to treat myself!
  • Thanks, Punkdoc. I echo figrat's comments. Love the humour, too and the phrase 'uninformed vituperative ranting'. Got to agree! And I enjoy a rant (with humour) as much as anyone!

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,109

    image


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,034

    Thanks Verdun. Yes the trousers are orange and pink just like some of my planting arrangements. Of course they have lots of pockets and zips which are very useful in the garden. The rips however can lead to painful experiences.

    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 23,975

    When I said Monty's garden looked expensive I didn't mean he shouldn't have it or he doesn't work for it. I couldn't afford it, but we can adapt bits of it to suit our own needs.  3 or 4 raised beds using something like scaffolding planks could be within reach. I was just stating a fact. I like all the presenters and I enjoy their enthusiasm, but I don't have to share their tastes in gardens.image

    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
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