Post Comment Love 22 - 24 March

Hello there, and welcome back to this week’s #PoCoLo - a friendly linky which I co-host with Suzanne, where you can link any blog post published in the last week. We know you’ll find some great posts to read, and maybe some new-to-you blogs too, so do pop over and visit some of the posts linked, comment and share some of that love.

Please don’t link up posts which are older as they will be removed from the linky, and if older posts are linked then please don’t feel that it’s necessary to comment on those. If you were here last week it was great to have you along, if you’re new here this week we’re pleased you’ve joined us.

I’m not sure where the time has gone this week, it’s flown by. We’ve been busy in the house - our new bed was finally delivered, and I’ve got some pinboards up in my craft room which I can’t wait to share here, so perhaps that’s it and we’ve also had a night out in Nottingham - this time to see The Stranglers - and it’s when I took the photo I’m sharing this week. I love how it’s lit up against the twilight sky.

I’m hoping to plan my time better in the next few weeks - wish me luck though as with Easter on the horizon (how already?!) we’re meeting up with friends and family. We’re also taking a two week break from our fabulous linky, so we’ll see you back here on 12 April, and in the meantime have a great Easter.

The Path of Renewal

* I was invited to the press preview for and provided with a pair of tickets to Gardeners’ World Live so I’m marking posts from the show as 'Ad’ - as usual my views and opinions are very much my own. Be sure to check out all of my posts from the show.

One of my favourite show gardens was this one designed by David Negus which had the main aim of ‘challenging people’s perspectives on materials’ as well as to ‘inspire them to see the potential for reuse and repurposing by showcasing the beauty and benefits of reusing items’. The garden does indeed provide a visually stunning backdrop for the plants - as planned - but also provides spaces for wildlife too.

Scaffold planks stacked horizontally and vertically to provide structure to the edge of the seating area - the seat itself looks like an old radiator on top of scaffold poles. Sleepers are used to frame the decking area h

For me it was this scaffold plank structure that caught my eye as a clever way of adding something that would give height and structure throughout the year. I loved the detail of turning some planks vertical provided a nook for all sorts of paraphernalia, but mostly because every garden needs somewhere to put your cuppa, doesn’t it?

I’ll admit though I was less keen about it being full of bugs and spiders, though I can see their attraction in such a space!

Wooden uprights of varying heights in the foreground, the borders and decking are behind

What this garden did help highlight for me is that gardens need height. And that doesn’t always need to come from plants. While we won’t be adding anything as near as grand as the scaffold plank shelving to our garden, I think we will be adding something with height - partly for privacy, but also for interest. These simple uprights above show it doesn’t have to be something elaborate, which is food for thought indeed.

A red workman's stop sign bottom right, the light stone path above edges the beds edged with sleepers and iron railway parts

The STOP sign made me smile, as I’m also quite partial to a sign in my garden - though my ‘pool’ sign hasn’t yet found itself a new home here, yet!

A wider angle of the same garden showing the paths, borders and decking area - with the scaffold plank structure in the background

It still blows my mind at how much is achieved by those that build these gardens in such a short space of time, and how ‘at home’ every garden looks too. And then after the show, it’s taken away again though often the gardens find new homes in alternative locations, so very little is wasted.

It’s bonkers though when you think of it like that, but I’m actually glad that it happens and that I’ve been fortunate enough to see many inspirational gardens like this one first-hand.

* With thanks to Gardeners’ World for inviting me to Gardeners’ World Live, it was as fabulous as ever!

Post Comment Love 15 - 17 March

Hello there, and welcome back to this week’s #PoCoLo - a friendly linky which I co-host with Suzanne, where you can link any blog post published in the last week. We know you’ll find some great posts to read, and maybe some new-to-you blogs too, so do pop over and visit some of the posts linked, comment and share some of that love.

Please don’t link up posts which are older as they will be removed from the linky, and if older posts are linked then please don’t feel that it’s necessary to comment on those. If you were here last week it was great to have you along, if you’re new here this week we’re pleased you’ve joined us.

It’s been great this week to be outside without a coat - briefly that is, you know when you take the bins out and you don’t have to sprint there and back, yes that sort of foray outside. Though as it’s been milder I’ve been encouraged to stop and take a few pictures, but somehow I missed this.

MOH noticed it and isn’t it gorgeous?

I think it’s a nectarine tree - just a small one, and one that dad gave me last autumn. It’s been potted on, as it was outgrowing the pot it was in, and it seems happy enough. We’ve had it against the wall since it arrived in Nottinghamshire to test out if it likes it there - as my plan is to site it alongside the wall, and train it espalier style, though I still need to get the canes sorted out for that.

It’s looking like that plan could come together - and that makes me happy!