I like to highlight special books on this blog. One of this year’s most beautifully-written and visually stunning is England’s Gardens, A Modern History.
Stephen Parker gives us a modern-day tour and an update on the history of some of the most iconic, enduring, and influential gardens across the country.
The book highlights well-known sites such as Sissinghurst and Great Dixter, and also covers other special and unique gardens such as Prospect Cottage and The Laskett. “It’s a celebration of England’s gardens in all their glorious diversity, sublime beauty, and exuberant eccentricity,” says the press release. I couldn’t agree more!
Sissinghurst case study The new Mediterranean-inspired Delos garden Piet Oudolf’s Hauser and Wirth Lowther Castle case study Painswick Rococo Garden case study Shute House case study East Ruston Old Vicarage in Norfolk, which is being handed over to the Perennial charity The Homewood case study Derek Jarman’s Prospect Cottage case study
There are 20 case studies in all, with well-written accounts of the stories behind the gardens, the people who made them and the legacies they leave behind. This is another highly recommended publication from the well-respected Dorling Kindersley stable. Some quite remarkable books have arrived on our shelves this summer from DK. This one by garden historian Stephen Parker takes us on a fascinating and joyful journey around Britain. And I enjoyed every minute of my excursion!
I had a lovely invitation to visit a friend’s garden for an instagram meet-up and afternoon tea. This is the first view of the garden through the fold-back doors from the kitchen. Isn’t it gorgeous. Worthy of a front cover on a gardening magazine, I think.
Jane Wilson has created some beautiful viewing points. This path leads to the garden shed – which is no ordinary shed, having been made from recycled materials, stained glass windows, and painted a lovely shade of green. The path is made from tiles which used to be the kitchen floor! Nothing is wasted here, if it can be repurposed in the garden. The pale pink peony is Sarah Bernhardt and the rose planted over the arch is Eden. A pale pink rose, May Queen, was planted 25 years ago.
The covered seating area next to the shed is a cosy place to have a cup of tea. There’s so much detail here it takes a while to take it all in. At night there’s fairy lights to add atmosphere. I love all the throws and cushions which make it a comfortable place to sit back and survey the planting.
This is the view from the sofa. Topiary and weeping trees, plenty of foliage for structure, and bright, cheerful peonies which are thriving in Jane’s garden.
Peonies do particularly well in Jane’s sheltered back garden .
We had a bit of competition for the sofa from Jane’s gorgeous greyhound, Harry, a rescue hound, who’s really found a heavenly home with Jane and the family. After staring at us for a while, we felt guilty, and got up to make room for him. It’s clearly his favourite spot in the garden! Isn’t he beautiful. A truly graceful creature, deserving the best seat on the patio!
Jane decorated the seating areas with jugs of fresh flowers picked from the garden. I love this sunny buttercup, pink campion and cow parsley posy.
Jane made the tablecloths and cushions for this second seating area. She’s very talented with sewing and upholstery – as well as gardening.
Another home-made summerhouse in the opposite corner of the garden. There’s a stream running in front of it down to a small pond.
There are several ponds in the garden. This one is in a shady spot and is surrounded with ferns, bamboo and London Pride.
A larger pond has this rain chain which drips down, making a lovely trickling sound. Jane says you don’t have to spend a fortune on garden ornaments; this one came from Aldi and wasn’t expensive.
Views through the planting. There’s a beautiful white-flowering Crambe cordifolia in the centre of this bed. Huge dark green leaves are as architectural as the sprays on tiny white flowers on tall stems. It’s a good plant for adding movement and drama to a planting scheme.
Scented roses are looking healthy and full of flower buds. This one is a David Austin Rose, Gertrude Jekyll, one of many planted in this beautiful garden.
Another beautiful bloom – and now I can’t decide if it’s a rose or a peony! I’m sure Jane will let me know when she reads this post.
Had to give Marv a cuddle. He’s the same age as my cat Monty and as you can see, long-haired too.
Jane’s daughter Sophie made this cake for the garden party. We had a lovely spread of savoury and sweet food and plenty of cups of tea!
Mirror and ‘finds’ displayed in the garden
Thank you Jane for inviting me to your garden party. I loved every minute of it. It must have taken a lot of effort to organise the event, but it was truly appreciated. It was great to meet up with your other Instagram friends too… Mandy, Sue, Elaine, Jenny, Anna, and Julie, Pat, Tracey and Nick. I felt as if I’d known them all for years, and yet only met most of them that same afternoon. It’s good to meet up with fellow gardeners and have a good catch up.
You can see more photos of Jane’s garden on instagram at janewilson5352 .
There’s also a link to the wilson family’s fund raising page :
Have any of you taken part in a bloggers or instragram meet up? It’s lovely to meet people you’ve followed for years, especially if there’s a shared interest such as homes and gardens, wildlife and growing flowers and veg. I had a great time visiting Jane and meeting all her friends, and I hope you enjoyed seeing her garden too, through the photos on this blog post. Have a great gardening week everyone.
Bramble Garden 