April 2011 Malmesbury Abbey Gardens

During a weekend away in Avesbury we took the opportunity to visit Abbey House Gardens in Malmsbury http://www.abbeyhousegardens.co.uk/

I have to say this place ranks in my top 6 gardens ever, and we've visited a lot of gardens! The gardens are extensive but show a real artistic love and devotion by the owners. There was fantastic displays of Tulips, Camellias, tree Peonies when we went but I think in Summer it must be awesome with the vast range of shrub Roses planted throughout. I definately want to visit these gardens again.

My favourite gardens so far are...

Beth Chatto's

Great Dixter (but havent been since Sir Christophers death)

Fairhaven Gardens on the Norfolk Broads

Trebah Gardens in Cornwall

Chauffeurs Flat in Tandridge Surrey, NGS - highly recommended artisans garden

Abbey House Gardens

May 2011

May is a month where the garden looks fantastic and yet I have precious little time to notice it.

The garden changes every day, aquilegias that have cropped up every where really show their worth. Drifts of comfrey abound with bees but the greenhouse groans with its full inventory of seedlings, dahlia tubers and cuttings and over wintered plants.

Sometimes I forget about all the outstanding work and see the garden for what it is, mostly I think 'needs weeding' but every now and then I'm struck by how beautiful it is. I think as gardeners sometimes we should force ourselves to sit and look and to resist the temptation to 'just weed that', 'stake that' etc.

A weeks holiday this month coupled with the fact that we havent had rain for 6 weeks has made things particularly difficult. So much time watering the garden and allotment is wasted when theres a myriad of things I'd prefer to be getting on with. I much prefer watering by hand so that I can check on each of my charges as I water, but that will have to wait.

Coming back from holiday made me desperate to see the garden again, even though we got back at 2am I still wanted to check around but could see very little. The following morning made me wonder time and time again as they Roses had come into flower whilst we were away and everything had seemingky doubled in size.