by Sarah Johnson | Jun 8, 2019 | Plants
The glorious Peak district hills of Derbyshire make a fitting setting for a grand house like Chatsworth. And what an amazing location for an RHS Flower Show. On Wednesday I set out to examine the best and the rest on the first day of the 2019 show. Show garden... 
by Annabel Bridge | Oct 11, 2018 | Plants
A friend recently had his Ceanothus die on him. It was over 10 years old and all three trunks had spilt. Ceanothus_red_brick_wall In May it was a sea of blue flowers with a contented buzzing cloud of bees all over it. Through it he’d grown two varieties of clematis... 
by Annabel Bridge | Mar 22, 2018 | Plants
Plants are living organisms and all of them contain some level of toxin for defence. After all, they cannot run away from their predators, so nature has developed several different ways of protection. Some have spikes, some a sting (think how painful a handful of... 
by Annabel Bridge | Nov 30, 2014 | Plants
At North Leeds Garden Design we’re often asked to design a garden with year-round appeal from the planting. Many of our customers obviously think it’s quite a challenging ask to have plants of interest in the garden in winter as well as summer. But I have to say that... 
by Annabel Bridge | Aug 6, 2013 | Plants, Tips & Tricks
I love garden makeover shows. There, I’ve said it! I marvel at the way difficulties are overcome – cranes lift garden rooms in over the neighbour’s lawn, truck-loads of plants miraculously re-assemble into the perfect garden, and even butterflies and hedgehogs... 
by Annabel Bridge | May 20, 2013 | flowers, Plants
Many gardeners and garden designers find it difficult to make successful borders in the shadier parts of the garden. While it’s true that a lot of the showier plants you can buy at the garden centre are sun-loving, actually there are hundreds of great flowering plants... 