A British Rainforest

* I was invited to the Gardeners’ World Live show and provided with a pair of tickets to the show, therefore all my posts will be marked as 'Ad’ though as usual my views and opinions are very much my own.

Given the amount of rain we’ve had this year I thought it topical to share this garden designed by Chris North, as the title caught my eye as I was scrolling through my photos of the gardens that I still want to share from the 2025 show.

It was a fascinating garden, or Beautiful Border, and it was easy to see why it was awarded Platinum.

Chris said that his border ‘encapsulates a regenerating rainforest, underplanted with native British flora’ and aims to ‘raise awareness of these magical woodlands and the need to protect them.’

Temperate rainforests are globally important habitats found in mild climates with particularly high rainfall and humidity. They’re rarer than their tropical counterparts but are rich in biodiversity which supports populations of ferns, mosses and liverworts. Though the remaining rainforests in western Britain are threatened by deforestation and overgrazing.

Alongside the planting, I particularly liked the iron fern frond sculptures inserted into the space, and I would happily have left the show with a couple of sets of these had I seen them. I didn’t get a chance to speak to the designer either as both times we visited the border he was being held deep in conversation by someone else, and the same someone else, which was a little frustrating! We waited both times, but it was clear the conversation wasn’t ending anytime soon, so I left with just the pictures - and wondering how MOH could replicate these, I do like to give him a challenge!

I do love a fern or two, and it’s something we don’t have in our garden here. After having so many growing, and self propagating, in our previous garden now that I think of it it seems odd for us to have none at all. I’m sure though, that’s something I can correct!

These sculptural mushrooms also looked right at home in the garden, I’m not sure they’re something I’d go for, and if I did I’m not sure I could make them look this natural either. At least not in the timescales required for the build for a show.

Isn’t it an amazing space, and doesn’t it make you think differently about the lush green plants that are native to where we live?

* With thanks to Gardeners’ World for inviting me to Gardeners’ World Live, it was quite a show! I’ll be sharing more from my visit to this year’s show throughout the year - I hope you enjoy them as much as I did the show.

Inspired by Edna, embroidered birds by Kiara Johnson

In this second graduate showcase post from those I saw at the Harrogate Knit & Stitch show, I’m sharing the work of Kiara Johnson who was inspired by her great granny Edna and a box of vintage treasures found in the loft. The box contained bird guides and intricate embroidery patterns and Kiara said she wanted to use her great granny’s lens to explore both craft and nature but with her own modern twist using machine embroidery and beading. And the results are stunning.

Kiara said ‘birds stand out in her collections and symbolise freedom, connection and fleeting beauty’ but can also evoke unease and signal loss, which are ‘elements that echo the love and loss of my granny’s life.’

But her work also draws attention to the reduction of birds in our gardens, and so she wants to observe the uniqueness and beauty of all British birds ‘from the pigeon to the lesser spotted woodpecker’.

I wish I’d got more photos, and clearer ones at that, but trust me the detail on each of these pieces is absolutely amazing.

The Nectary, inspired by beekeeping

* I was invited to the Gardeners’ World Live show and provided with a pair of tickets to the show, therefore all my posts will be marked as 'Ad’ though as usual my views and opinions are very much my own.

I was reminded of this garden as I put together my top 10 posts of last year, as my roundup of the show featured on that list, and instantly I was transported back there and once again being intrigued by the seed swap cabinet, and more.

In fact I was so intrigued by this compilation of ideas that I abandoned my usual structured approach of reading and photographing the garden’s info first. As I discovered when I was editing the photos for this garden, that was the last thing I did - there was just so much to see!

The garden was designed by Kate Patrick, The Messy Allotmenteer and was awarded a Silver Merit Award, so it seems I wasn’t the only one fascinated with this space.

On the info board, when I read it, I learnt that the garden is a ‘sustainable space celebrating connections between skilled artisans, local businesses which features nectar-rich blooms, heirloom vegetables and UK-grown, wildlife-friendly plants.’

If you look closely you can see the stained glass in the greenhouse, which aims to blend colour therapy and plant growth while the handcrafted willow and recycled emphasises sustainability.

There were opportunities to learn about bees from the beekeeper along with a demonstration hive, watch the willow weaver creating garden art and the coppersmith making metal flower teams. That’s not all though the coppicing team were demonstrating cleft oak work and the moss balls held by macrame also had a demonstration area next to the garden.

There was so much effort and output in this garden, and if none of the crafts were your thing then you could join the discussion on how to encourage biodiversity and introduce wildlife habitats into small spaces. Or you could just enjoy the beauty of the whole space and take time to breathe.

I don’t know about you but a taking a look back at this garden was exactly what I needed on a gloomy January day!

* With thanks to Gardeners’ World for inviting me to Gardeners’ World Live, it was quite a show! I’ll be sharing more from my visit to this year’s show throughout the year - I hope you enjoy them as much as I did the show.