The Mill Ruins

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

In a strange quirk of fate I’m back today talking about mills. Yesterday it was sculptural woven tapestries inspired by a textile mill in West Yorkshire, and today it’s a garden inspired by the remnants of Lancashire’s historic mills. I’d like to say I planned it this way, but I didn’t - though I wish I had!

This garden on the APL Avenue was the first garden we saw at this year’s show, and it was a very good place to start. The garden, designed by 3DG explores a quiet moment where industry gives way to nature.

As I previously said it’s inspired by the remnants of Lancashire’s historic mills, reclaimed brick, Corten steel and weathered oak echo the fragments left behind as the landscapes regenerate.

The Corten steel arch is definitely the eye catching entrance a show garden could hope for, but this garden is so much more than that. The path winds around layered planting and a shallow reflective pool, plus spotting those yellow red hot pokers in my first garden of the show is always going to be a win for me.

The rain chain introduced sound, and was a subtle nod to the water than once powered the mills.

The majority of planting in this garden is native to the UK, and selected for its biodiversity and to soften the architectural forms. And while we might not all have these architectural elements in our gardens, unless we’ve added them of course, we can take inspiration from the planting.

The Mill Ruins is a garden about renewal, where structure fades, and nature quietly takes back control - and I love that for it, and I love this garden. I knew when I saw this garden that it was going to be a good show, and it certainly was.

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

Threads of Life

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

The theme for this year’s Beautiful Borders was “Once Upon a Time” and it’s one that the garden designers really embraced, in fact I don’t think it’s been more evident what the theme has been from a wander around the garden. Perhaps that’s because we all love stories, and love to retell them and I definitely think that’s part of it.

It was great to chat with Jan O’Brien about this garden and how it came about by reflecting of fifty years of lived experiences, with chapters still unfolding, and how it became the an invitation to tell her story, and the importance to her of its support for MND awareness. There’s so much more that I could say about this, but instead I’ll share a link to Jan’s SubStack so you can read her words for yourself.

But just looking at my photos of the garden you can see how much love, thought and hard work has gone into it and it’s clear to see that it’s inspired by sewing and textiles - the planted sewing machine and workbox were definitely eye catchers.

As we were talking and Jan explained the journey and inspiration for the garden, and how that everything there held meaning, I suddenly saw that the uprights throughout the gardens were in fact large scale needles and my mind was once again blown at the level of detail she’d incorporated into a garden which is small, and yet full of space.

It really was a beautiful garden, and Jan was equally as generous with her time so it was great to cheer her on when she was awarded Platinum for this garden, which she wanted to give people hope. I think it gave people just that, with a huge dollop of joy too.

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

Greenhouse Noir

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

I do love a contemporary garden, and I do love a black background and so it was no surprise that I was drawn towards this garden, so much so that it was the first one we saw. And I knew then that we would be in for a good show, and I wasn’t wrong. This garden, designed by Matt Bettison really does show how a small space can have impact.

The black backdrops really show off the planting, or as the information board said ‘create a gallery-like setting allowing the planting to stand out’. It also has a real usable feel to it, and could become quite a garden sanctuary for its owners.

I recently saw a social media clip where Frances Tophill was asked her most controversial gardening view, and that turned out to be not liking fences painted soft greens and greys, much preferring the look shown in this garden. Same Frances, same - I’m a big fan of the dark backgrounds too, though I didn’t realise it was so dividing.

This would absolutely be the perfect place for a glass of wine after a busy day, wouldn’t it?

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