Journal

17 November 2011

Autumn colours

I love the rich colours of this time of year.  The beech topiary at Allt-y-bela is looking stunning at the moment.  Following the unusually mild October, autumn colours have arrived late and suddenly, looking all the more spectacular against the green foliage of the woodland that is just turning yellow.

It was lovely to be able to enjoy the autumn glow this weekend and with my spring bulbs safely in the ground our attentions focused on chopping logs, raking leaves and making crab apple and medlar jelly and sloe gin.   We now have a log shed ready full of logs to stoke the fires inside the house throughout the winter.

I also got on with raking leaves for leaf mulch, which is one of my favourite jobs at this time of year -such a wonderful smell.  I emptied out my compost from last year onto the step-over apples in the kitchen garden and now there is plenty of space for the leaves.

Just before darkness and the frost arrived I gathered the last big armful of Dahlias from the cutting garden, which look so vibrant in the house.   Having collected those blooms I now feel like the garden can enter its winter sleep.

17 November 2011

November produce

William spent Sunday afternoon busy by the Aga cooking up batches of crab apple jelly and making sloe gin. Crab apple jelly is easy to make and absolutely worth it. It's a delicious alternative to chutney with cheese and cooked meats and I also love having a good stock to give away to friends.

At the same time as the jelly and the gin William prepared the most delicious fresh pasta dish for us and our houseguests.  This is how he did it.

William's Wild Mushroom Tagliatelle Recipe

Prepare the fresh pasta in a Kitchen Aid or Magimix by throwing in curly kale ripped off the stalk, with fresh Bantam eggs and strong flour. 

Keep adding the flour until it's ready to roll and then thread through a pasta maker until in strips of the desired size.

For the sauce simply roughly chop garlic, red chillis and wild mushrooms, toss through the pasta with extra virgin olive oil and serve immediately with freshly grated Parmesan.

30 August 2011

Blue palms in Miami

On a recent trip to Miami I found some amazing palm trees (Bismarckia regia) for an ongoing project in Kuwait. They have the most beautiful blue leaves with ebony seeds providing an arresting contrast to the blue. I never thought I could get excited about palms but I am discovering a completely new palette and really enjoying the challenge of working in a completely different climate with such exotics. We will plant Aeonium schwarzkopf beneath the palms, the foliage of the succulent leaves picking out the dark seed pods of the trees. I have a specimen thriving in a terracotta pot on my terrace table at home.

16 August 2011

Minnesota wild prairie planting

I always love to discover where the plants I use so often in planting schemes in Britain thrive in the wild. A recent visit to Minnesota showed favourite herbaceous border plants growing wild in prairie planting there. Baptisia and Echinacea were thriving and I saw Amsonia tabernaemontana growing four feet tall! All were found at the beautiful and surprising Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, situated about 10 miles outside Minneapolis. In addition to the native prairie and wildflower gardens, a series of wetland gardens connected by streams reveals a collection of the State flower of Minnesota, the lady's slipper orchid. The garden is both beautiful and exciting and the visit provided real stimulation with plenty of ideas to use in projects I have in progress.

Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

9 August 2011

Stefano on Schwartz

Stefano Marinaz, Designer and Project Manager at Arne Maynard Garden Design, reflects on the Martha Schwartz city park in front of the US Courthouse buildings in downtown Minneapolis. But it's what the garden conceals which he finds most interesting.

It's so refreshing to see an inner-city space landscaped to suit both the buildings around it - in this case the Minneapolis US Courthouse - and the people who use it. Martha Schwartz's established urban space in Central Minneapolis does just that - but the most interesting thing I found about the design was the car park it hides underneath it. Trees have been planted to great effect - native Minnesotan jack pines - despite the car parking space directly beneath the area - and the grassy mounds, which form the main design element, are intended as security features for the courthouse. So the effect is both beautiful and functional.

The park itself is well documented, having been designed in the mid 1990's by Martha Schwartz as part of the new US Courthouse development. Budget restraints meant that an area originally intended as a fountain is now a display for public art, and the simplicity of the minimalist design makes for easy maintenance, again, keeping costs low. But for me the grass, kept long for a lush and natural effect, gives this space unexpected life. Log benches provide welcome rest points and people are able to walk or lie on the grass meaning the space is well used by office workers at lunchtime. The sculptures pictured here are by Tom Otterness.

Our inner-city studio in central London creates magnificent garden projects for clients across the world - if only our urban surroundings were as inspiring and refreshing as those in Central Minneapolis.

Martha Schwartz

Minneapolis US Courthouse

Tom Otterness

3 August 2011

Dan's Cretan getaway

Dan Back, Designer and Project Manager at Arne Maynard Garden Design, recently returned from a sunny holiday in Crete with a surprising tale of cliff top wild flowers. He shares some of his holiday snaps and takes us back to Greece.

I reluctantly returned from a wonderfully sunny two weeks in Crete to the Central London design studio with a surprising tale of Greek cliff top wild flowers. Yes, a holiday is supposed to give you a break from the day-job but when you love and work with plants you can never quite escape. And, to be honest, there's only so much beach bathing and sea fishing one man and his son can indulge in before heading for the hills!

So, we found ourselves taking a brisk and refreshing hill walk, setting off from our beach-side hotel and heading up and over the cliffs. The views were breath-taking but even more amazing were the wild plants I found growing there. Native Cretans must surely never tire of seeing the caper plant (Capparis orientalis) flower, particularly when they find wild alliums and giant thistles growing alongside. I also found sea-holly (Eryngium maritimum), sea-lavender and a brilliant wiry, ground-hugging plant calledLaunaea arborescenswhich creeps over cliff top rocks and among other plants giving everything a silvery sheen. Its silver blue foliage is the perfect complement to an azure blue seascape.

28 June 2011

Chelsea calling

I am really very excited to have been announced by Laurent-Perrier as their designer for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2012, the bicentenary year of the iconic champagne house. Having thought about a design for the show for several years now I am very pleased to have this opportunity to work alongside such a brand. I spent a few days at the show this May to start to choose plants for my design. I always enjoy Chelsea, particularly the time I spend wandering round the floral marquee. I never tire of it. The nursery displays are what make Chelsea so special.

Also exciting of course was seeing this year's show gardens. Cleve West's garden for the Telegraph was indeed beautiful as was Luciano's for Laurent-Perrier. My congratulations go to both of them for their gold medals.

I always find inspiration from the show and this year was no exception. I thought the planting scheme on Anne Marie Powell's garden for the British Heart Foundation was particularly lovely. Red is very hard to use in a colour scheme but its use in this garden, cooled considerably by the green palette of plants, was incredibly inspiring. I certainly hope to borrow and reinterpret ideas from this garden.

When visiting any show or nursery I can't help but spot plants I would like to introduce to my own garden. Rosa 'Natasha Richardson', introduced by Harkness Roses, is a beautiful clear pale pink scented rose and Avon Bulbs showed an amazing new crushed mulberry coloured opium poppy, Papaver somniferum 'Chartreuse', both of which I have ordered for Allt-y-bela.

www.laurent-perrier.fr/uk/

www.rhs.org.uk/chelsea

27 June 2011

Britt escapes to the country

Britt Willoughby Dyer, Office Manager and in-house photographer at Arne Maynard Garden Design, recalls a beautiful early summer day taking photographs at Woottens Plants near her childhood home of Southwold.

A few weeks ago my office was transformed from its usual EC1 studio to a wonderful early summer day in the open countryside of Suffolk - what heaven! Arne asked me to join him at Woottens of Wenhaston to photograph irises. By mid morning I found myself standing in endless acres of stunning irises listening to heavenly bird song - a lovely change from the usual noise pollution of traffic congestion on Old Street.

I arrived early enough to get cracking on taking a few photos before Arne arrived - I knew I'd be distracted by his enormous enthusiasm and excitement as soon as he got there.  Together we walked the fields, drinking in the colour and scent of every iris, making notes of each of his favourites. Pictured here are some that we both found rather beautiful and elegant.

Iris 'Black Swan', Iris 'White City', Iris 'Benton Susan', Iris 'Thornbird', Iris 'Ginger Snap' and Iris 'Spuria Medallion'.

We couldn't bear to go home empty handed and purchased some of Michael's other treasures at his nursery including scented pelargoniums - an iconic heady summer perfume.  Michael's own herbaceous garden was overflowing with warm summer colour and scent inspiring us both to get home and get planting.

Woottens Plants, Blackheath Road, Wenhaston, Halesworth, Suffolk IP19 9HD

www.woottensplants.co.uk

23 June 2011

Home for June

We have enjoyed some great summer garden courses over the past couple of weeks. I have loved sharing the emerging garden at Allt-y-bela with a really lovely combination of people who have all contributed to a fabulous two week celebration of plants. Some of our visitors like to come to at least one of my courses each year and it is through their eyes I have been able to see the garden here this month. I see it almost every day and so I don't always notice the changes - but it has developed enormously this year and so it has been encouraging to hear the great response it has received from visitors.

People make a garden come alive and no more so than when using it to learn and create. I thoroughly enjoy sharing my knowledge and experience with the people who visit us for our garden courses.

Now that our June events are over I look forward to spending a few months visiting clients and enjoying some time in my own garden over the summer.

20 June 2011

Cottage garden gems

Having spent four full years laying out and planting up the land around the house at Allt-y-Bela, I have found that this is the first year it is turning into a garden. The fruit and cottage garden looks amazing this month - some of my favourite plants have been flowering since early May.

Paeone 'Molly the Witch' opens early with my incredible black tulips Tulipa 'Black Hero' and T. 'Queen of the Night'. These have finished now and have been replaced by black Geranium phaeum and shortly the alliums will join in. Lupinus 'Masterpiece' has been exceptional this year and I have recently put in a new soft pink dahlia (Dahlia 'Naples') which I am looking forward to starting its flowering period next month.

On a recent visit to Watermeadow Nursery I bought a really lovely Super Poppy (Papaver 'Medallion') which I have added to this area. It builds its colour slowly and fades beautifully with no brown edges to spoil the effect. I would highly recommend it.

Watermeadow Nursery, Alresford Road, Cheriton, Alresford SO24 0QB

www.plantaholic.co.uk

20 June 2011

Star-cross'd lovers

We were thrilled to welcome the Willow Theatre Company to the garden at Allt-y-bela on 18 June. Over one hundred guests enjoyed al fresco dining around the garden before a thoroughly entertaining performance of William Shakespeare's famous tragedy Romeo and Juliet. The atmosphere was beautiful, not in the least bit dampened by a typical Welsh shower mid way through the first half. Umbrellas were brought out and the true British spirit prevailed bringing everyone together in a show of solidarity for the fantastic actors, who improvised brilliantly through the rain.

The second half enjoyed glorious evening sunshine and at the end of the play the appreciation of the audience abounded. We all dried off in front of a roaring fire and enjoyed a warming tipple before stumbling home to bed! It was a real treat - a magical evening which we will certainly be trying to replicate next year. My huge thanks go to the Willow Theatre Company - I am already looking forward to next time.

The Willow Theatre Company

7 June 2011

Haddon Hall revisited

I am really excited to be able to talk about our latest work at the glorious Haddon Hall estate in Derbyshire. Lord Edward Manners is meticulously and sympathetically restoring the beautiful medieval fortified manor house, which is open to the public for much of the year. Having already designed his private garden here I have been asked by Lord Edward to design the areas around the main Hall.

We have started work apace this year - made possible by the filming last year of a feature film, starring Dame Judi Dench, of Jane Austen's Jane Eyre due to be released in September. The Fountain Terrace is now planted with the herbaceous borders already settling in well. Meadow planting under the reinstated topiary in this area has been really well received by visitors and serves to reconnect this formal garden with the magnificent Derbyshire countryside surrounding the estate.

I will be writing much more about this project over the coming months and will be posting more pictures so do come back to find out more.

Haddon Hall, Bakewell, Derbyshire DE45 1LA

www.haddonhall.co.uk

6 June 2011

Peter Beales Roses

I absolutely adore old-fashioned roses. Their heavy open blooms hang down from the plant offering both scent and colour. Seeing the field-grown roses at Peter Beales nursery in Norfolk is an incredible experience and one I would heartily recommend any plant enthusiast sees. When you see them growing together you are able to differentiate growth habits and colour variations and in my case, choose colours that work well together.

Two fabulous roses surprised me on this particular visit, ones I would not normally think to use. It is so important to see them flowering  - a photograph just doesn't show the clarity of colour you get when seeing a flower close to. Rosa 'Twice in a Blue Moon' is a smoky lilac coloured variety which will work brilliantly in a planting scheme including Monarda 'Elsie's Lavender', Veronicastrum virginicum 'Lavendelturm' and silver artemesia.

Rosa 'Sir Paul Smith' is a big blousy crushed velvet coloured rose with big heads which hang down. It will look brilliant trained over the top of a wall and I have already found a spot in the garden for it - it will grow wild in the grass up and over the wall that borders the cottage garden.

Peter Beales Roses, London Road, Attleborough, Norfolk NR17 1AY

www.classicroses.co.uk

3 June 2011

A chat with The Foodie Bugle

William and I were recently interviewed by the online food magazine The Foodie Bugle. We had a lovely morning chatting about Allt-y-bela and enjoyed a freshly picked lunch from the bursting beds in the kitchen garden here.

I am passionate about fresh, seasonal produce and have strived to create a kitchen garden which offers us year-round food for the table at Allt-y-bela. So it was a pleasure to speak to Silvana from The Foodie Bugle, who shares our passion for food and is committed to raising the profile of artisan producers and local growers.

You can read the article in full here.

1 June 2011

Watermeadow Nursery

When the poppies are in flower I love to visit this nursery.  (It holds the National Collection of orientale poppies.) This time I managed to combine the visit with a new job I needed to see which made the trip even more worthwhile. The Super Poppies, which Watermeadow grow and sell, are fantastic - they stand upright without the need for stakes and they flower for longer than their cousins.

As with so many plants I choose either for my own garden or for clients, I need to see them in flower and in season before I can settle on a colour or habit. In this case, and by happy coincidence, I found Papaver 'Medallion' - a beautiful dusky pink Super Poppy - in flower with a smoky purple wild comfrey. The contrast in flower size and the repetition of their furry leaves made for an unexpected but lovely planting combination.

I left the nursery with the familiar feeling that nature had, once again, transpired to inspire my work.

Watermeadow Nursery, Alresford Road, Cheriton, Alresford SO24 0QB

www.plantaholic.co.uk