* 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.
This morning I’ve been looking through and editing more of my photos from Gardeners’ World Live last June, with everything else that’s gone on in the past year I seem to have been even worse than normal at keeping up with this. It’s been an ideal task for today as we’re waiting in for multiple deliveries - some of which are more exciting than others, but as we’ve grouped them to arrive on the same day where we can, it doesn’t feel like time wasted. It’s also a good time of year for me to do this (though it’d be better to do it throughout the year!) as I’m not a big fan of January, which I agree seems to go on forever, plus the weather so far hasn’t been great for getting out into the garden either.
So what better way to get my garden fix. I had to smile to myself though when I saw the name of this beautiful garden - SubAqua - it almost sums up the dire weather we’ve had this winter, where there’s been a lot of water about. Either the day of rain we had with Storm Babet back in October, or the more recent Storm Henk, thankfully there wasn’t quite so much rain with Storms Isha and Jocelyn, but the wind was something else.
I’m sure many of us can relate to the wet conditions around the country and beyond this winter, the weather has felt never ending and times, and seeing the disruption and damage it’s brought to villages across our local area is sobering. I’m hoping that we won’t continue on this record breaking storm season for much longer, and I’m very much looking forward to more spring-like weather.
Despite this introduction though this isn’t about the storms, but a beautiful and tranquil garden which incorporates a pond into its space in an unexpected way. And as you can see the pictures are from a much warmer summer’s day, you can just feel the warmth.
The garden is designed by Joshua Fenton who acknowledges that ‘most people can’t afford to give up too much space in their garden to house a large pond despite knowing that it brings a tranquil quality to a garden and brings many benefits to the local wildlife.’
And so in this garden the seating area outside the garden room is suspended above a pond, which not only allows for the space to be fully utilised but also enables planting and provides that oh so calming sounds of water.
Clever, hey?
But it’s more than just the pond, just look at the planting.
It also incorporates my favourite corten steel planters, and with the plants tumbling over the edge towards the coolness of the path - well, it just makes you want to pull up a lounger and relax.
And what a space to relax in.
For me this is one of those gardens you could escape to, and while I admire it and the work behind it, it’s not something for our new garden, though I would be very tempted to have an area/bed planted with similar plants - but I just need to work out how, and where - and how it would fit into the overall design - something we’re not even close to properly considering, yet!
Now that I’ve made a good start on editing my photos from last year’s show, I’ll start to share them here more regularly - with the hope that I’ll get through them in time for the show this June - well, that’s the plan anyway…
* With thanks to Gardeners’ World for inviting me to Gardeners’ World Live, it was as fabulous as ever!
