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creative garden maintenance, with noel kingsbury and annie guilfoyle
IF I SAY garden maintenance, you probably think of work—of getting out the pruners and hedge trimmers and such, and subduing any overenthusiastic plants, getting them back into bounds. But what if we thought of maintenance as an expression of creativity, instead of merely restraint—as part of the art of garden-making? What if we figured it into our design decisions right from the start? Particularly as our gardens shift in a more ecological direction and become more naturalistic, that adjustment and approach seems especially important. Ongoing creative maintenance is our topic today with Noel Kingsbury and Annie Guilfoyle, hosts of the popular Garden Masterclass series of workshops and webinars. Annie…
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7 Gravel Garden Ideas: Design, Planting and Maintenance
A gravel garden that doesn’t require much watering is an attractive idea for many. But gardeners aren’t getting into gravel just for its resiliency. When covered in a patchwork carpet of alpines, sedums and drought-tolerant beauties, gravel gardens can look fabulous too. They are ideal for sunny spots where you can create a Mediterranean style space with minimal watering required, but you can also make them work in shade. The advantages of a gravel garden As drought and hosepipe bans become more common, gardeners across the UK may have to embrace the practice of xeroscaping (a style of landscaping which reduces the need for irrigation), which is common on the…
