Villa Hanbury Ventimiglia
Wednesday, 09 August 2017
by caroline
Villa Hanbury Ventimiglia, Italy is yet another fabulous garden. Plants from all over the world are able to acclimatise in the shelter afforded by the proximity of nearby mountains, and by the proximity to the sea. Thomas Hanbury purchased the land, together with the ancient ruins of ‘Palazzo Orengo’ with a fortune acquired in china from
- Published in Gardens Visited
Jardin Exotique, Eze
Wednesday, 09 August 2017
by caroline
http://www.jardinexotique-eze.fr/en/The Exotic Garden of Eze is located on the site of a medieval fortress, perched 429 metres above the Mediterranean Sea. The panorama from the garden offers one of the most spectacular views of the French Riviera extending all the way to the Esterel Mountains and the Golf of Saint Tropez. Today the south facing
- Published in Gardens Visited
Villa Ephrussi Rothschild
Wednesday, 09 August 2017
by caroline
http://www.villa-ephrussi.com/en An exceptional villa and garden – quite extraordinary Béatrice was the daughter of the baron, Alphonse de Rothschild, a banker and renowned art collector. At the age of 19, she married Maurice Ephrussi, a Parisian banker of Russian origin, 15 years her senior, and a friend of her parents. The marriage quickly turned sour
- Published in Gardens Visited
Serre de la Madone garden, Menton
Wednesday, 09 August 2017
by caroline
http://www.serredelamadone.com This garden was designed by the same man that designed the garden at Hidcote Manor in England, Major Lawrence Johnson. Between 1924 and 1939 he acquired seven hectares of land which he created into his ‘earthly paradise’ – a unique exotic landscaped garden (juxtaposition of different compartmental areas referred to as ‘green rooms’)
- Published in Caroline's favourite flowers, Gardens Visited
Cantilevered benches in Wandsworth
Sunday, 09 July 2017
by caroline
This was a typical small fairly overgrown garden. And considering it was small it had a mass of heavy large mature shrubs in it all which had become overgrown and ‘woody’. It was time for a change so with a very simple garden design we created an immediate sense of space, clean lines and good
- Published in Caroline's favourite flowers, Contemporary Planting, Gardens Designed
Raised bed planting in Wimbledon
Sunday, 09 July 2017
by caroline
This garden in Wimbledon had two long raised beds on either side – one side receiving a mass of sunshine and the other side fairly shady so the planting had to reflect that. Here are some of the plants we used: The colour palette was whites/greens, pinks, soft purples, bright and soft blues: lavenders, nepetas,
- Published in Caroline's favourite flowers, Contemporary Planting, Gardens Designed
Pretty garden in Wandsworth with garden office
Sunday, 09 July 2017
by caroline
This is a lovely long garden with herbaceous borders on either side. The garden is located in Wandsworth. Parts of the garden are in heavy shade a lot of the time and so this had to be taken into account when planting. The owner wanted to retain an English country garden effect but also wanted
- Published in Caroline's favourite flowers, Gardens Designed
Complementary and matching plant colours!
Friday, 15 July 2016
by caroline
Sanguisorba and Knautia macedonica – matching plant colours! I’ve decided this summer that I like the look of matching plant colours in perennials… cut out the contrasts and get a lovely block of colour using different plants but same tones. The combination that I like most at the moment is Sanguisorba officinalis, Knautia macedonica and
- Published in Caroline's favourite flowers
Small London gardens simply improved
Thursday, 14 July 2016
by caroline
Here are some tiny London gardens that have been quickly improved and enhanced by simple use of good paving, raised beds, painted fencing, horizontal trellising. As you can see they are only just finished so in most cases have not even been planted. See the before and after shots in each case: Streatham garden design,
- Published in Gardens Designed, Gardens in Progress
Chelsea orange and arid
Monday, 30 May 2016
by caroline
The Chelsea Flower Show this year was dominated by an arid look. Desert, gravelly, dry and hot. Most of the gardens had pebbles, dry river beds, palms, grasses and succulents to give this effect and the colours were orange, white and some purple; the main colour was orange. And the geum plant appeared in 5
- Published in Gardens Visited
An Italian garden in Clapham
Sunday, 22 May 2016
by caroline
Italian garden in Clapham This was a hard landscaped garden which was not only uncared for but also had suffered the rigours of an Alsatian puppy’s activities throughout the Spring! It was really looking more like a back yard! The owner wanted to transform it into a lighter, more private and welcoming space – in
- Published in Contemporary Planting, Gardens Designed
Classical AND contemporary garden in Wandsworth
Sunday, 01 May 2016
by caroline
This garden really only needed a facelift, but it had to be done in a sympathetic way to fit the beautiful York paving already in place and the high brick wall at the end of the garden. We built the right hand side wall and the raised beds at the front of the garden making
- Published in Gardens Designed