RHS Malvern Spring Festival Garden

March 23, 2014 by Samantha Willis

RHS Malvern Spring Festival

ROSY and Victory Garden

100 years ago was the start of WW1. I have designed an Edwardian style garden with rooms and lawns. It is a celebration of an EnglishGarden inspired by Siegfred Sassoons poem ‘Victory’ when he was tired of reds and wanted to see blues and silvers.

“Return to greet me, colours that were my joy,

Not in the woeful crimson of men slain,

But shining as a garden; come with the streaming

Banners of dawn and sundown after rain.

I want to fill my gaze with blue and silver,

As you look up the path from the red garden you invited to the next room with your eye drawn to the silvers and blues leading you Betula jaquemontii representing the woods.

Like the soldiers thinking of England and home The ROSY charity helps sick children at home by offering respite nursing to terminally , acutely or chronically ill children and babies in their own homes.

Snowdrop Garden Cheltenham

January 29, 2014 by Samantha Willis

Snowdrop Season

I always enjoy Snowdrops in the garden.

Early blooms in the garden add joy to the dark winter months

Did you know snowdrop collectors are called Galanthopiles, taking the name of the snowdrop “Galanthus” meaning milk white flowers.
If you want to see one of the best snowdrop collections I recommend Colesbourne Gardens
near Cheltehenham. You can wander round the grounds and see swathes of snowdrops on the banks. Or for the keener Galanthopile see the collections closer to the house.

This is a garden to enjoy the snowdrops whether en masses or right up close.

When planning a garden these small winter bulbs can be forgotten but it is all year round interest that is exciting, what will be coming out and when if your looking for a Garden Designer please fee free to contact me for a chat.

Garden Borders for Windy Garden and Rabbits

December 5, 2013 by Samantha Willis

This garden is in a particularly windy spot I designed the garden borders for the windy creating shelter spots and plants that billow with the wind providing interest. This is also designed with troublesome rabbits proving that you can have rampant rabbits and lovely plants.

: Sedum, Garraya and Penstemon add a splash of colour to this garden in Oxfordshire

Cool and Shady

December 5, 2013 by Samantha Willis

This was a competition garden at the Malvern Show. We had to paint a picture in plants and I chose to replicate Cezanne. I was delighted to be people’s choice for this competition enabling me to win £1000 for our school garden.

: Planting at Malvern 2012

Formal front garden in Oxfordshire

December 5, 2013 by Samantha Willis

I mirrored some of the formal planting by the house and used the silver birches and curving borders to soften the planting and move away from the symmetry by the house. Creating a lush garden that can be viewed from the house.

A mature shade garden

December 5, 2013 by Samantha Willis

This lovely garden has some very mature trees casting shadow and absorbing water. We have slowly transformed the garden from barren borders to luscious shade loving plants in harmony with their surroundings.

A family garden in Northamptonshire

December 5, 2013 by Samantha Willis

A family Garden

This garden was a delight to build as it was an old pub carpark with masses of rubble. We transformed it to family garden that includes a small vegetable plot, a patio area, children’s play area and a gravel garden. The gravel garden takes you into the garden as enabling you to play hopscotch down the path to the rest of the garden.

: A summer flowering border with a hopscotch path to the house in this family garden

: Why can’t rhubarb be part of a garden

: Hopscotch path to garden

: Teak seating area in the sun

: Soft planting and lighting guides you through the garden

English Country Garden

December 5, 2013 by Samantha Willis

This was simply designing a patio area to suit the surrounding garden and work with the house and the new conservatory. Old reclaimed York stone works beautifully in this situation.

Malvern Show 2013 – Something for Everyone

December 5, 2013 by Samantha Willis

Joe Swift and Mark Diacono entertained us enormously in the Good Life Pavilion; in just 25 minutes Joe Swift showed us how to transform a rectangular garden into a lovely garden design, meanwhile Mark created cocktails using equal amounts of something flat and something fizzy, strawberries and a little grinding of the seed from the Schezuan bush. We all had a nibble of the seed and it had us all laughing as our tongues went numb and then exploded into a tingling sensation. My children rushed off to purchase the Stevia herb that was dropped into the cocktail as the leaves taste of sugar, ideal for adding sweetener to cocktails or a pudding, the low fat alternative to sugar.

Little packets seeds of all kinds were there to tempt children and adults. Pennard Plants packets had lovely illustrations perfect for little presents.

Strolling away from the pavilion we hit the largest vegetables I’ve ever seen, onions the size of dinner plates, cabbages, marrows, leeks etc.. James and the Giant peach came alive at this moment.

The autumn is always stimulating and walking around seeing so much blazing colour is as tempting to me as a sweet shop is to children. I walked away with my 20 plug plants from Chyrsanthemum direct, a vibrant collection of lime green ‘Green Mist’, reds ‘Quinty’ and ‘Misty Red’ and orange ‘Lexy’. Whilst I have always thought of Chysanthemums as an old ladies plant or a hospital bouquet this has changed over the years and I must confess I rather enjoy the blousy rush of colour that these plants give us in the autumn.

So inspired from the fabulous show I’m now off to plant my sweet peas, onions sets and garlic bulbs. My chrysanthemums I’ll pot up and nurture this winter and although they may not be quote as big and bold as the vegetables we saw they should bring me a vibrant autumn bouquet next year.

A quick & easy Christmas table decoration

December 5, 2013 by Samantha Willis

As a little preparation for Christmas, go out and buy the Narcissi ‘Paper White’, a multi head narcissi with a delicious scent, and plant then up in a pretty pot and place in a dark area 8-10 weeks you should have a beautiful table decoration.

Sarah Raven sprays some twigs with silver and places these between them for support which will give you an added festive look.