Meadow Making

I'm currently reading 'Making Wildflower Meadows' by Pam Lewis who owns a wonderful plot in Dorset called Sticky Wicket, I haven't been but have been inspired by some wonderful images of her garden and meadow. http://www.stickywicketgarden.com/

I share many of Pam's views on the importance of preserving our wonderful flora and fauna and with disappearing hedgerows, over ploughed fields, over developed land, the over use of nitrogen high chemical fertilisers to create high yields and EU banishing 'set-a-side' farming policy its not a surprise that our wildflower meadows are few and far.

What's surprising is that herbal content in meadow grass is an important element in the well being of grazing animals, which have been eradicated by the over ploughing and polluting with herbicides and therefore affecting the chain further. Now that's dumb....

There is nothing more delightful than a meadow full of butterflies, bees and hover flies, crimson poppies, nodding ox eye daisies and rattle blowing in the wind.

Greencube have designed and installed 2 meadows for our clients so far:

http://www.greencubelandscapes.co.uk/portfolio/portfoliosevenoaksII.html
A small patch in Sevenoaks, Kent on clay soil we stripped back the nutrient high topsoil which we re- used on the formal garden and sowed a mix of:

Birdsfoot Trefoil, Corn Poppy, Cowslip, Lady's Bedstraw, Lesser Knapweed, Ox-Eye daisy, Wild Carrot, White Campion, Yarrow, Yellow Rattle, Sorrel all mixed with the grasses: Browntop bent, Crested Dogstail and Sheeps fescue

It's been a great success and a delight to our clients, who walk through the formal gardens, down the steps and into a contrasting wild meadow surrounding our clients 'Art studio' a great inspirational setting and sanctuary. The first two years have been dominated by Ox eye daisies but we will be entering our third year and so the other perennial wildflowers will  now be established, hopefully offering a more developed, diverse and successful meadow. I will return this June to take some photos.

http://greencubelandscapes.co.uk/portfolio/portfoliotunbridgewells.html
Our second meadow and orchard has been successfully implemented in our clients garden in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, a much larger plot but similar set up, formal gardens around the house, terraced and large steps leading down to the orchard and meadow, this was only completed last year. A sandy soil with seams of clay we sowed the following mix:

Meadow cranesbill, Birdsfoot trefoil, corn poppy, Meadow buttercup, dark mullein, musk mallow, white campion, yellow rattle, Self heal, sorrel, ribwort plantain all mixed with the grasses: Browntop bent, Crested Dogstail and Sheeps fescue


 and now its time for my own garden to be transformed, we have been working on my own patch for the last year which has included ripping out inherited leylandii and replacing with a manageable prunus rotundifolia hedge,  a lavender field, ornamental grass and perennial garden, a kitchen garden and greenhouse. Our last phase will be the terrace out at the back of the house enclosed by beech hedge and meadow with additional topiary specimens. I'm very excited about this phase of work and my husband will be delighted that he doesn't have to transport tonnes and tonnes of green compost and top soil as I think he's a little worn out with my energetic plans and schemes!

There is nothing better than trialling in your own garden, you learn so much more and understand a plants life cycle on a day to day basis. Our rear garden looks out onto a small holding with occasional horses and alpacas grazing, it would be good to see the seeds floating in the wind and onto their patch beyond, successfully distributing the wonder that is a wildflower meadow.

Keep an eye on our blog, I will post updates on this throughout the spring and summer and I'll return to our clients gardens to take photos.

Frozen Garden

A busy week in the office, with numerous tasks including going out to tender on a garden in West Wickham, measuring up a garden that requires approval from the council in Sevenoaks and designing a large garden with a difficult terrain in Grassy Lane, Sevenoaks.

and so I thought I would get out and enjoy the sunshine yesterday with gorgeous blue skies but bitterly easterly wind I wrapped up warm and took my camera into the garden.

The frozen daisies look great, I always believe in leaving some of the perennials to overwinter to create wonderful skeletal structures in the border, this Aster is a great example

The frozen ivy that's growing on the side of garage where the wren nests every year caught my eye. The icicles were catching the low, soft, winter light.

The Calamagrostis x acutiflora ' Karl Foerster' is still adding winter structure in the large border adjacent to the topiary box cubes Buxus sempervirens. I purchased the Calamagrostis from Beth Chatto's nursery about 6 years ago and started with 5 plants, I have since split and divided the clumps several times over the last few years and now have in excess of 25 plants. 

They are a good choice for creating great vertical structure and movement, they grow much faster than Miscanthus in the spring, with a gorgeous fresh spring green colour followed by the oat coloured panicles. I need to get out this month and cut them to the ground ready for SPRING! along with the Miscanthus and Pennisetum grasses.

This task always makes me happy an event that marks the end of winter and the start of spring, lets hope the garden thaws out next week.

Cyclamen coum - winter colour

Another favourite for January is Cyclamen coum, we have planted 400 of these to colonise under some large deciduous oak trees, giving winter colour en masse in our Tunbridge Wells garden, follow link:
http://greencubelandscapes.co.uk/portfolio/portfoliotunbridgewells.html

If you are going to have this plant in your garden you must plant lots, creating a dramatic effect, this photo was taken at RHS Wisley. You can normally buy them in 9cm pots and so relatively inexpensive.

Winter flowering Sarcococca confusa - sweet box

Plant of the week

One of my favourite plants for dry shade is the robust, glossy and winter flowering Sarcococca confusa an amazing plant that tolerates a very dry position where little else would survive. An evergreen glossy plant that can be clipped into an informal hedge. If I stand under my pine tree in my garden adjacent to my neighbours conifer hedge (i.e incredibly dry, shady and sandy soil) I can smell sweet vanilla scent from the Sarcococca flowers. The flowers are followed by a black berry. When our clients say "You'll never find a plant to grow under there, it's far too dry" we know we can !

Exciting Garden to be built in Collier Street, Kent

I have just completed a design for a lovely couple moving into a refurbished cottage in Collier Street. I have teamed up with Nik at Langdale Landscapes who will be completing the construction. This design includes large sculptural steel balls, a reflective pool, a stainless steel water wall, a cool pod (garden room) at the end of the garden, a log wall, some wonderful built in seating with storage and a very contemporary layout and design. Looking forward to working with Nik on this one.

Fireplace, Granite paving and deck boards

I've been out on site visits all week, delivering 4 designs, going out to tender on another job and checking progress on our Tunbridge Wells Job which is coming along nicely, the granite paving looks great, the fireplace has been built and is almost ready for its strip light gas fire, the cantilevered seat is on order and the deck boards are down. Creative Landscapes are doing a great job. Looking forward to seeing this job complete, greencube are planting this garden in the spring.

Capping on wall

Paul at Rock Unique did a superb job on the capping on the curvy wall. Templated and cut accurately. Clayton returned to lay the capping and now we need to prepare for the lawn, drive and kitchen garden.