last year I was the lucky recipient of the gift of a Workshop at Naturally Beautiful near Forres. (Thank you F & L!) They offer a variety of workshops mine was one for willow weaving. It’s amazing what you can do in a few hours without any prior training. This is a lovely sculptural object to have in your garden and a Clematis is now slowly making its way to the top. It’s also super sustainable.
Have you noticed the birds singing? It’s well worth going out into the garden to just wonder about… Last week when we had some rays of sunshine the birds seemed to wake up too. It’s so lovely, a real balm for the soul to hear them sing.
Planting in groups? or drifts? Or dotted for a multitude of colour – it’s your choice. You’ll often hear people talk about planting in 3s or 5s or 7s – this is for a harmonious garden, especially if this is repeated throughout the garden. It restricts the amount of different varieties you can use which can be a bonus (you’re not buying more plants) or a disadvantage (no space for new plants!). Drifts look really natural in a garden, this is often used in prairie planting which tends to peak in late summer/early autumn. Or you can create an ornamental meadow. Here it’s about different colours, flower/leaf shapes and a bit of a wilder feel. It doesn’t have to be as varied as on this picture – but you get the idea. The main thing is: Do what feels right in YOUR garden and ENJOY it!
In some gardens I have assistance from the residents!
Isn’t it lovely to see colour in winter? Hellebores are such a bonus with their lovely coloured flowers. Good doers too – though they take a while to get established. My tip is to put the brighter colours to the back and darker to the front – unlike in the garden on the first picture. That way the darker flowers will pop a bit more. Mind you I find the (almost) black ones a bit fickle, not all of them survive. Another point to notice are the nicely speckled leaves that will give you year round interest on some cultivars. (Rodney Davey marbled group for example.) But whichever you grow – give them a good spot where you can see them in winter – they brighten up our days! ENJOY!
the days are getting longer
the colours are starting to pop in the garden
ENJOY!
a front lawn turned into a journey through a plant aficionado’s garden
Testimonial: I loved working with Konia to transform my labour intensive front garden to a beautiful low maintenance wonderland! Konia has exceptional botanical knowledge and was always on hand to advise and develop ideas. It was a super fun project. I highly recommend Konia and I’m looking forward to seeing the garden develop and the ‘wave’ hedge planted for the final flourish. Thank you Konia xx – Charlotte McI.
Hard landscaping by Alan Coe & co
Isn’t it great to see spring (in between the snow showers) returning! The colour does your soul good and the beasties love it too!
Lovely project in Culloden. The first picture shows the garden before the makeover, the second one last autumn. And it will get better and better! I really enjoyed this project with very hands-on clients. I can’t wait to go back and see how it progresses.
