The life of a country gardener.

26th May. Monaco Grand Prix

My usual girls weekend away that takes place at this time of year while the boys do the Monaco Grand Prix has been credit crunched (well it is usually quite extravagant even by my standards). We're going to do something later in the year instead. 

So the boys took pity on me and invited me to join them in Monaco for the weekend. The weekend was mostly about cars, food and people watching, however even in the most unlikely of places can I find horticultural gems! 

On this occasion it was the planting at our villa in nearby Beaulieu that impressed me (not 'our' villa but a friends villa with whom we were staying). The gardens had recently been re landscaped with a stunning black infinity pool being the focal point (the stone having been imported from New Zealand!) and lush Mediterranean plants surrounding. There were some huge citrus trees that had been retained from the original garden, towering Stelizia and Brugmansias in pots dripping in huge trumpet flowers. None are going to do so well in an English garden but one planting combination that could easily be replicated in a sunny spot is the hazy mix of Gaura  with the silver leaves of Artemisia. Although not everyone will be able to enjoy the setting sun illuminating the flowers in the evening with the stunning view of the calm sea and St Jean Cap Ferrat beyond!        

May 20th. Chelsea week.

As usual I was up at the crack of dawn to get to the Chelsea Flower show yesterday. I wasn't disappointed! The one garden that stood out for me was the Laurent-Perrier garden designed by Luciano Giubbilei.  The garden was simple and elegant. I loved the stepped hedging of Yew and box, as well as the stunning perennials in this years in colour palette 'bruised'. You can recreate this look using Peonia 'Buckeye Belle', Irises 'Deep Black', 'Interpol', 'Paint it black', 'Superstition' and 'Black Swan'. Allium atropurpureum, Aquelegia vulgaris var. stellata 'Ruby Port', Astantia major 'claret and 'Hadspen Blood'. Grasses Deschampsia cespitosa, Foeniculum vulgare  and calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster' fill in the gaps. 

The other planting combination I loved was seen in the winning Daily Telegraph garden.  The silver leaves of Verbascum bomyciferum, Stachys byzantia 'silver carpet', lavandula silver sands' and Matthila incana with it's amazing scented white flowers rising above. This would work well in a dry sunny site. I shall certainly be finding a spot for this planting scheme!

May 5th. Open garden success.

It has been noted that I have been neglecting my blog readers lately. I've been neglecting little B too, he cried last week for his old Mummy back! Who'd have thought that you could feel guilty gardening! It's all been in aid of the National Gardens Scheme opening last weekend. It was a huge success with 500 visitors to the garden here across two afternoons. Thank you to everyone who came along and supported the event, with your help we raised £3000 for charity. If you missed it this time come along on June 14th or August 30th when the garden should be looking even better. 

Prior to the garden opening I had garden photographer Suzie Gibbons here for two days photographing the garden for next years magazines which is exciting. I haven't seen the pictures yet but she inspired me to get out there with my own camera to record what is in flower and where. The parterre (left) is looking pretty impressive at the moment with all the tulips out at once. It is particularly atmospheric on a misty morning very early or late evening when the tulips start to glow in the dark. The Yew shapes are only just getting going and will be quite impressive once they mature.

I love Cow parsley and leave it to grow in less formal areas of the garden. The sun in the picture below was just peeping over the hedge to illuminate the top of the flower heads whilst the rest remained in the shade. I love to gather armfuls of this and plonk it in a vase on it's own in the kitchen. 

10th Feb. First snow, now floods!

After the snow had thawed I thought we might be able to enjoy the first signs of spring now. No such luck. This photo was sent to me by a journalist taking pictures of crazy people attempting to drive through floods. The 'crazy person' here is the other half taking Little B to school this morning! No that is not a river he's in but the road that we travel up and down four times a day to get to the next village. As you can see if he had stuck to the road it would have ended in disaster! He chose instead to cut up the lovely grass verge that slopes up to a white picket fence. I hope there's not too much damage! Most people turned around and took a 15 minute detour, a few tried their luck and ended up being pulled out by the local farmer who popped back regularly on his tractor to see if anyone needed help. I think the husband was the only one to make it without writing off his car (just)!

4th Feb. Fun in the snow.

I managed to get little B back into school today and spent some time having fun in the snow with Archie. He has actually had days of fun playing out with the children, and strangely gathered balls of snow all over his underside which had to be pulled off him! 

Our old dalmation on the other hand was having none of it and wasn't about to leave his spot in front of the Aga for this!

3rd Feb. Last orders for Valentines Hearts.

I have stocked up on willow woven hearts - perfect for adorning your front door not just for valentines but all year round. They normally take two weeks to delivery, however I have bought some in for all you last minute gift buyers. 

They also make perfect gifts for Mothers Day and Weddings!

Hearts normally cost £110.00. I'll round it down to £100 for orders placed before end of Feb. 

Feb 2nd. The snowy garden.

I love gardens coated in a fresh layer of snow. They take on a new dimension. It doesn't matter that the grass is mossy or that there are weeds in the borders, all this is hidden for a few days while the structural element is highlighted. 

When I woke to find the snow this morning I had to rush around with my camera before the gardeners started clearing paths and shaking snow from the shrubs which would be weighed down and lose their shape. 

I hope all this cold weather will kill off this years pests and give us gardeners a break this year! 

Feb 1st. The Yellow Book out now!

I look forward to getting my new copy of The Yellow Book every year, thumbing through, making stars by gardens I'd like to visit. Then it usually ends up in the car so that when I'm on my travels I can have a quick flick through and see if there are any exciting gardens I can pop into en route.

This year of course I'm looking forward to the book more than usual as I'm in it! I haven't yet seen a copy and will have to wait until it hits the shelves (well until I get my box of them delivered) on Wednesday.

If you would like to visit us this year we will be opening on May 1st and 2nd, June 14th and August 30th. All proceeds from book sales and entrance fees are divided between many popular charitable causes. If you would like me to get your copy of The Yellow Book in the post to you click here.

6th Jan. New aquisition.

Today I have become the proud owner of this (pictured left)!!! Okay it might not look like anything special... that's because it isn't. It's a great big blight on the landscape that can be seen from my house. Which is exactly why I have bought it. It's a collection of five old derelict farm buildings on  a huge concrete hardstanding. They have to go. I don't know what will go in their place yet (if anything) but it has to be better than this. 10 acres (from a farmers field) have been purchased with them, all of which adjoins my garden so there's scope to do lots of things. Little B has already put in requests for a quad bike track, football pitch and skate board park. I was thinking more along the lines of woodland or wild flower meadow. Watch this space...

4th Jan. Aga Saga.

After dumping my cases it was straight into London for a cookery demonstration at the Knightsbridge Aga shop. I've owned an Aga for 9 years now. I inherited a two oven white one with the house, then, last year when the kitchen was 'done', replaced it with a new four oven cream version (see left). In all these years of cooking on an Aga I have never been shown how (I just kind of made it up as I went along). The demonstration yesterday was fantastic. Not only do you get to eat everything made, but I actually learned so much and discovered that I had been doing lots of things wrong! Like using the warming oven as a store cupboard for trays and pans! Of course I came home with lots of new bits and bobs to use in theAga.

And of course I couldn't drive past Harrods without popping in. The new seasons collections have hit the rails and as I'm heading for Miami soon (well six weeks but the wardrobe planning starts now)  started my spring / summer shopping.