How to grow wildflowers | Alys Fowler

They’re sorely missing in British landscapes, so start by sowing your own

Everything you’ve heard about Transylvania’s wild flower meadows is true. It’s not just the remote side of the mountains or the lesser-worn passes– every roadside, every field is full to the brim with flowers. The one thing that no one mentions, I discovered on a recent trip there, is how hard it is to get to sleep in such a landscape. By dusk the symphony of insects starts and by midnight it is a full climax of fluttering moth wings and crickets. This is the roar of small things. This is the sound of what we are losing.

These kinds of meadows are now considered one of the richest habitats on Earth. Per metre squared, these botanically diverse spaces contain more species than a tropical rainforest. These pastures have changed little since the middle ages. They are rich for many reasons: they are not fertilised with chemicals or treated with pesticides; they are still mostly cut by hand, with a scythe.

Continue reading...

from Home And Garden | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2NWsSak
via IFTTT

Gardening tips: plant western mugwort

Then read a history of the English garden and give your tomatoes some TLC

Plant this With its aromatic silvery leaves, western mugwort (Artemisia ludoviciana) is adapted to harsh sunlight and parched soils. Put it in full sun in a gravel garden, or a bed with sharp drainage, and team with achilleas, sedums and cistus. ‘Valerie Finnis’ has the best foliage: height and spread: 60cm x 60cm.

Read this The Story Of The English Garden by Ambra Edwards is the National Trust’s new book celebrating the ha-has, glasshouses and parterres that made our horticulture famous. Edwards traces from medieval enclosures to Georgian parks to modern gardens. Lavish photography, engaging read.

Continue reading...

from Home And Garden | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2wOOFKv
via IFTTT

How to handle a long, narrow garden

This Edinburgh terrace has it all: patio, veg patch, raised beds, seating and shed

Eton Terrace, in the heart of New Town, Edinburgh, is an elegant curved street; as a result, one garden sits at a sharp angle to the house, coming to a point at the far end. It isn’t a shape that lends itself readily to any obvious design, and fitting in all the features without ending up with a jumble was always going to be a challenge. Plonking a shed down one end and creating a straight path up the middle was never on the agenda. Instead, the owners decided to make the most of every inch: they wanted flowers, vegetables, a seating area and raised beds.

Designer Carolyn Grohmann’s plan is based on a sectional slice of a flower, with petal-shaped raised beds radiating out from a patio, which anchors the garden to the house. It’s a bit of alchemy that reveals itself only from an upstairs window.

Continue reading...

from Home And Garden | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2wWDAa8
via IFTTT

How to grow wildflowers | Alys Fowler

They’re sorely missing in British landscapes, so start by sowing your own

Everything you’ve heard about Transylvania’s wild flower meadows is true. It’s not just the remote side of the mountains or the lesser-worn passes– every roadside, every field is full to the brim with flowers. The one thing that no one mentions, I discovered on a recent trip there, is how hard it is to get to sleep in such a landscape. By dusk the symphony of insects starts and by midnight it is a full climax of fluttering moth wings and crickets. This is the roar of small things. This is the sound of what we are losing.

These kinds of meadows are now considered one of the richest habitats on Earth. Per metre squared, these botanically diverse spaces contain more species than a tropical rainforest. These pastures have changed little since the middle ages. They are rich for many reasons: they are not fertilised with chemicals or treated with pesticides; they are still mostly cut by hand, with a scythe.

Continue reading...

from Property | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2NWsSak
via IFTTT

Gardening tips: plant western mugwort

Then read a history of the English garden and give your tomatoes some TLC

Plant this With its aromatic silvery leaves, western mugwort (Artemisia ludoviciana) is adapted to harsh sunlight and parched soils. Put it in full sun in a gravel garden, or a bed with sharp drainage, and team with achilleas, sedums and cistus. ‘Valerie Finnis’ has the best foliage: height and spread: 60cm x 60cm.

Read this The Story Of The English Garden by Ambra Edwards is the National Trust’s new book celebrating the ha-has, glasshouses and parterres that made our horticulture famous. Edwards traces from medieval enclosures to Georgian parks to modern gardens. Lavish photography, engaging read.

Continue reading...

from Property | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2wOOFKv
via IFTTT

How to handle a long, narrow garden

This Edinburgh terrace has it all: patio, veg patch, raised beds, seating and shed

Eton Terrace, in the heart of New Town, Edinburgh, is an elegant curved street; as a result, one garden sits at a sharp angle to the house, coming to a point at the far end. It isn’t a shape that lends itself readily to any obvious design, and fitting in all the features without ending up with a jumble was always going to be a challenge. Plonking a shed down one end and creating a straight path up the middle was never on the agenda. Instead, the owners decided to make the most of every inch: they wanted flowers, vegetables, a seating area and raised beds.

Designer Carolyn Grohmann’s plan is based on a sectional slice of a flower, with petal-shaped raised beds radiating out from a patio, which anchors the garden to the house. It’s a bit of alchemy that reveals itself only from an upstairs window.

Continue reading...

from Property | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2wWDAa8
via IFTTT

How to grow wildflowers | Alys Fowler https://t.co/RRUNDvaDBg Solicitors & Estate Agents In One Just £899 + vat .. https://t.co/GmjoJxU3bM

How to grow wildflowers | Alys Fowler https://t.co/RRUNDvaDBg Solicitors & Estate Agents In One Just £899 + vat .. https://t.co/GmjoJxU3bM (via Twitter http://twitter.com/conveyandmove/status/1038368630092836866)