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Welcome to English Gardening
What is an English Garden
like and how does it differ from an American Garden? The English
Garden is more of an "Outdoor room" an extension of the house that should
be just as attractive and comfortable as a room in the house. It is seen
less as somewhere to "produce" things - food, flowers for cutting, but more
as an outdoor living space. As you delve deeper you will discover
information and advice on how to achieve this effect. There are also some
rather esoteric corners to maintain
the English reputation for eccentricity (we have to keep up appearances)
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Spring -
Plum blossom in my back garden. This is a
Victoria
Plum and is always one of the earliest trees / shrubs to flower in the
spring and looks magical against all the bare twigs at the time. It also
worries me in case there's a frost which kills the flowers, it makes the
difference between 6 plums or 60lbs of plums. |
Summer
- White Lilies - An absolute summer favourite
and must-have. What's the point of having a garden,
or even just a window box, if you don't take the
opportunity to grow pure white wonderfully scented
blooms that are often up to 6 inches or more across?
Plant them somewhere near the house so you can
easily see and smell them whenever you walk past. |
Fall -
Iris foetidissima ripe seed pods. "Stinking Gladwyn" is the other
name by which this iris goes. The flowers are fairly small and insignificant,
but it is later in the season that this plant excels, when the large seed
pods split open to reveal these jewel-like contents. It's also one of the
few plants that actually does pretty well in dry shade. |
Winter - Teasel seed heads
against a winter sunset. St.Ives (Cambridgeshire) church spire can be just made out at
the bottom right. Many plants produce seed heads that if left, can add
interest and structure to the garden in winter, they look particularly
good with frost on them. |
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