Beauty is to be found in the chaos of nature and this year, in the struggle for life amidst the perennials and shrubs in my gardens. A drier than average spring followed by a totally dry summer in which a hundred days passed without any significant rainfall in a country famous for its canals; I …
Dutch Perennial Gardens in the Dry and Hot Summer of 2018 Read More »
My last post showed the garden three weeks ago just after I had knocked down all the perennials with the question “would you want your garden looking like that?”. Well, as promised, the perennials have reappeared rapidly to cover the ground level debris and the shrubs are bursting into flower. This is how it was …
Not everyone would want their garden looking like mine does at this moment. However, what I see is a clean slate; the garden’s perennials have all been broken into small pieces and dropped on the ground where they will rot down over the coming year. After the winter the dead perennial’s stems are brittle and …
The naturalistic style of planting popularised over the past twenty years by Dutch garden designers, including myself, places great importance upon perennials that look good throughout the winter by retaining their form either as dead skeletons or by way of their distinctive seedheads. At this time chaos threatens and the urge to tidy away …
This was my garden ten days ago wearing its late winter clothes of dead grass “stems” and perennials with their seed heads. Normally I try and tidy the garden in late winter (February) as it catches precotious cool-season grasses and other perennials before they starts growing. Such an early start is also important as it …
As a keen gardener I am always making mistakes and learning from them, but invariably gardening books only tell us the correct way to do things and only show perfectly composed photographs of gardens to which we must aspire. Looking at your own gardens is different than looking at those of others. When I see my …
Healthy soil is the foundation of any perennial meadow planting I have already written about my decision to mulch newly planted perennial meadows following initial planting in order to suppress weeds. Time and again I am amazed just how much work it saves and the fact that we don’t have to walk in amongst the …
Soil Management for Perennial Meadow Planting Schemes Americans mulch and Europeans don’t and arguments rage between those that do and those that don’t. Like many generalisations there are more exceptions than truths, but apparently an over reliance on bark mulches in American landscaping has triggered a knee jerk reaction against them. In a recent book …
Late Summer Sensations In the Perennial Meadow Garden Although I have had to neglect my trial gardens on the edge of Amsterdam this year following a decision to move house and all that involved, it is surprising just how well they have grown and how little work it has been to keep them looking good. The key …
My trial gardens on the edge of the city of Amsterdam have taken a back seat in my life this year following the decision to move house. After months of viewing properties, packing and unpacking boxes of possessions and endless trips to furniture showrooms it is finally time to return to gardening and assess how well, …