Category: ornamental grasses

A Garden in December – Trentham – Part Two

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 5, 2015
4 Comments on A Garden in December – Trentham – Part Two

Back at the Trentham Gardens we moved into the borders designed by Tom Stuart-Smith. But first we passed through the formality of the Italianate borders with their strong structure of low box hedges. The view of these borders, which we get from the top of a flight of semi-circular stone steps is guaranteed to take our breath away. We looked forward to this moment every time we visited.

Seed heads were the stars here too with a mix of tall grasses and structural perennials. New growth was appearing promising colour to come in the spring.

Phlomis, having given bright sunshine coloured flowers in summer, were now starring again with their dark brown almost black spheres of seed heads spaced up the length of their straight stems.

The tallest stems were of a plant we did not recognise. Tiny seed heads hung like Tibetan prayer flags from gently bowing stems.

As we left the T S-S borders we looked back over them from the raised pathway. Dampness from earlier showers made the path surface glisten and reflect the blue of the sky.

On the lawned slopes by the glass fronted cafe giant snowdrops powered over our heads. We always love willow structures! These were made from willow, some stripped of their brownish green bark and were beautifully woven and shaped. They stood a good 10 feet tall.

After our compulsory coffee stop which, was much appreciated on this cold December morning, we wandered back through the borders towards the Rose Walk. Again my camera snapped away at the wonderful structures of the perennials and grasses.

Although most winter structure showsoff the many shades of biscuits and browns, silver seemed to dominate one area. Giant leaves of Verbascum hugged the cold ground in huge, soft, silver rosettes. The silver giants were the Onorpordum or Scotch Thistles which in winter take on strong sculptural shapes.

The roses still persisted, producing occasional buds in gentler colours than in the summer. There was an added subtlety about them which gave them extra charm.

The sculptures at either end of the Rose Walk were wrapped up snuggly against the ravages of the winter. The Japanese Acers along side the walk displayed their seeds like the rotors of helicopters. The Wisteria which had clothed the metalwork with blue racemes of flowers in the Summer was now showing buds and old seed pods.

As usual I took a few photos looking through the arches across to the River of Grasses.

We were amazed to see a clump of Delphiniums with fresh growth of foliage and strong flower stems with fattening buds. No doubt the weather will have the last say and bring them to a premature ending.

The team of Trentham gardeners were, as always, beavering away in the borders. We have enjoyed seeing what they are up to on each of our visits. They have always greeted us with a smile and a few words of welcome.

So there we have it – a year in the life of one of Britain’s best gardens! Even though we have made the effort to visit every month throughout 2014 it never seemed a chore. We loved every minute of the many hours spent here. And we shall keep coming back. It has to be our most popular garden destination.

Tags grasses, hardy perennials, new perennial gardening, ornamental grasses, perennials, phlomis, piet, Staffordshire, Tom Stuart-Smith, Trentham Garden, Trentham Gardens, willow, willow features, willow structures, willow weaving

garden design garden designers garden furniture garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials Italian style gardens ornamental grasses outdoor sculpture Piet Oudolf sculpture Staffordshire Tom Stuart-Smith Winter Gardening winter gardens

A Garden in December – Trentham – Part One

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 2, 2015
1 Comment on A Garden in December – Trentham – Part One

The final installment in my monthly series looking at how the gardens at Trentham change throughout the year.

The garden has gone full circle passing through the seasons. We began last January when the gardens were in the throes of winter and finish off in December in another winter.

As we crossed the River Trent on the suspension bridge we got a good view of the golden “River of Grasses” through the two trunks of a multi-stemmed Birch, our native Betula pendula. In all or our previous monthly wanders we turned right at the bottom of the bridge into this huge area of grasses. For our December wanderings we turned left partly because we fancied a change but mostly because we spotted a willow word.

The gravel path took us beneath tall, ancient trees both deciduous and evergreen. Up in one we were surprised again to find a fairy looking down at us watching our every move.

When we reached the willow NOEL we spotted a row of willow stars further along the path .

On one old trunk where a large bough had been cut off nature had been at work with her army of fungi to eat away at the rotting wood, and thereby creating a piece of relief sculpture. Can you spot a figure emerging?

After this little diversion from our usual route we retraced our footsteps to explore Piet Oudolf’s River of Grasses. Here a few seed heads stood against all odds having withstood the ravages of early winter.

I have enjoyed seeing how the Betula nigra are looking on each of our monthly visits. The texture and colour of their peeling bark catches the light whatever the time of day or time of year.

By passing through the avenue of Birches we found ourselves in Piet Oudolf’s prairie style borders, where so many different seed heads stood strong and proud.

We enjoyed seeing how the gardeners had tied up some of the tallest of the old stems. We decided there and then to give it a go in our own patch.

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Where some of the herbaceous plants had been cut back by the gardening team, new growth of the freshest green has burst through and waits patiently for the Spring to come along. The cut down grasses however remain dormant, but without doubt within their sheaths new spears of green are making moves.

Tiny vestiges of colour remained to surprise us, please us and amaze us.

Before we left the prairie borders we looked back for the final time in 2014.

We discovered new things at Trentham even this late in the year – a set of beautifully crafted wooden garden benches complete with meaningful phrases composed by local writers from Stoke-on-Trent’s past alongside a couple from the two great garden designers involved in Trentham Garden’s rebirth, Piet Oudolf and Tom Stuart-Smith.

Read and enjoy P O’s words of wisdom – words which express the power of these amazing gardens.

And reflections on the gardens from Tom Stuart-Smith ……….

“What was once a scene of decay is now a breathtaking panorama of beauty.”

There are two phrases from Arnold Bennet, a local 19th Century writer,

“You can turn over a new leaf every hour if you choose.”

“It is easier to go down hill than up but the view is from the top.”

The final two phrases were written much earlier by Capability Brown, 18th Century landscape designer and his contemporary John Bing, Viscount Torrington who owned Trentham at that time. John Bing wrote

“My old friend L Brown is to be traced at every turn……………. and a judicious former of water; the lake, here, is very fine”

Brown himself wrote,

“………. from its edges “quite round, making them everywhere correspond naturally with the ground on each side.”

A new phase of work is just starting to restore some of the early Capability grounds.

The old formal Italianate gardens that link the two main gardens had been replanted with seasonal bedding plants.

In part two of our posts sharing our December visits to the wonderful gardens at Trentham, we move on to the gardens designed by Tom Stuart-Smith and see how they look as the year ends.

Tags grasses, hardy perennials, Italian garden style, new perennial gardening, ornamental trees, Piet Oudolf, prairie gardening, prairie planting, Staffordshire, Tom Stuart-Smith, Trentham Garden, Trentham Gardens

flowering bulbs fruit and veg gardening grasses grow your own ornamental grasses spring bulbs trees

Out with the old in with the new!

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date December 30, 2014
7 Comments on Out with the old in with the new!

No, this isn’t a New Year post! It is about fruit trees. We have had a row of cordon grown plums along our central path since we first created our garden about ten years ago. They fruited well to start with but in the last few years they have struggled to produce just a handful of plums each or at worst none at all. Hence it was time for out with the old and in with the new.

The new trees arrived by courier all the way from Devon bare rooted and packed beautifully in the same way my Father used to receive his plants back in the 1950s. It is amazing how small a package of 4 trees looks. We ordered them from Adam’s Apples also known as Talaton Plants, a firm we have used to purchase all our fruit trees from for home and the allotments for many years now. We have never had a tree fail! As the photo below shows they arrived with top quality root balls. Without a good root ball a tree will not thrive so we were delighted with these.

First job was the hardest, getting up the old trees. Luckily the soil was soft and easy to dig. We chopped the trunks down leaving just the right amount to act as a lever.

Luckily the task of digging out the roots was not as difficult as anticipated.

We then improved the soil structure by adding in the compost from the old “growbags” in which our tomatoes had spent the summer. Then we added some wood ash from our woodburning stove and open fire to encourage blossom and fruit next season.

We placed the new trees to check they would look okay and then planted them, adding daffodil bulbs to the planting holes for colour in the spring.

We then tied the new trees to their canes training them into fans. We used soft plastic covered wire to tie them in as this allows us to keep the branches away from the canes and supports.

The final touch was to plant small ornamental grasses between the trees to add interest and some ground cover. We chose different varieties of Carex for their different leaf colours and textures, because they stay small and because they are evergreen.

And that was it – job done! If you are wondering which cultivars we chose here are their labels.

Tags carex, fan trained trees, fruit and veg, fruit and veg growing, fruit and vegetable growing, fruit., grasses, ornamental grasses, plums

autumn autumn colours colours garden design garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs RHS trees winter gardens Yorkshire

Autumn at RHS Harlow Carr – Part One

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 28, 2014
1 Comment on Autumn at RHS Harlow Carr – Part One

We visit the RHS garden, Harlow Carr situated just outside Harrogate, at least once each year. We do this simply because we love the place whatever time of year and whatever the weather. On our latest visit we wanted to see it in the autumn.

As soon as we arrived we realised there were a few things going on to celebrate the autumn. In the entrance foyer there were clues that a Willow Trail had been set out for children to follow.

Beautiful pure white stems of Betulas welcomed us into the garden.

Recent high winds had stripped the leaves off many of the trees so on this visit it looked as if we were not going to be seeing much of the autumnal hues we thought we were going to enjoy. The garden was already showing signs of winter. Long views across the gardens afforded us views of tree skeletons combined with just a few orange leaved shrubs and the deeper greens of the conifers.

The Winter Garden soon proved itself to be a brilliant place in the autumn too. Berries gave the strongest colours closely followed by the remnant leaves of shrubs.

The whisps of the ornamental grasses appeared white at first glance but close up we realised they were the subtlest of biscuit shades.

There were still plenty of surprises to be found including the bright colours of late flowers in the perennial meadows.

As the days get shorter more and more of these perennials dry to shades of biscuit, ginger and brown.

This little corner was probably my favourite part of the garden with the slender trees showing off their coloured trunks and the shrubs beneath them displaying brightly coloured stems.

Although still late autumn when we visited some of the scents of winter were already pervading the air. The pink flowered Viburnums emitted the strongest scent of all.

In part two of our visit to Harlow Carr we will explain what else this exceptional all-season garden had to offer us.

Tags autumn, autumn colours, autumn gardens, autumn leaves, foliage, garden photography, gardening, grasses, Harlow Carr, ornamental trees, RHS, RHS Harlow Carr, winter, winter gardens, woodland, Yorkshire

autumn autumn colours climbing plants colours garden design garden photography gardening grasses hardy perennials light light quality ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs roses Shropshire

Aiming for an all year round garden – our garden in November

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 20, 2014
4 Comments on Aiming for an all year round garden – our garden in November

The penultimate posting in my monthly look at how well our Avocet garden is looking is already here. We are aiming for an all year round garden so we hope this series will help us check up on how we are progressing. The first week of November has been so changeable with bright, mild days, windy chilly days, nights with near freezing temperatures and cloudy dull days. We can still get in the garden to potter but we have to be ready to grasp any opportunity.

As usual we shall begin our tour by the gateway at the end of the drive and take a glance into the garden where it borders the lane. Our newly planted boxes are now well-established. From the lane berries dominate in the shrubs and trees and below them leaf textures capture our interest.

The Beth Chatto garden lights up in the low autumn light and makes the Tulbaghia and Verbena flowers glow.

Leaves have been stripped from many of the shrubs and trees leaving skeletons of coloured stems and seed heads above grasses and coloured foliage of evergreen perennials. Fungi on the lawn are definite sign of the season.

The most colourful tree must be the Liquidamber. With luck it will keep its leaves until the new year.

As we pass the shed on the way into the back garden this little alpine Erodium catches the eye. But it is the much more fiery colours that draw us in for a closer look as we turn the corner and see the Shed Bed. The bright yellow petals of the Welsh Poppy, Meconopsis cambrica bring out the palest hues in the palmate leaves of the Ricine Plant, Ricinus cambriensis. The Ricinus is such a garden worthy annual, interesting in every possible way. Flowers, fruit, buds, leaves and stems. The heavily textured leaves begin life orange and metamorphose into the deepest bronze through every shade of red.

In the Tropical Border the white flowers show up well against the Persicaris deep purple foliage. By the pond in the Rill Garden the seedheads of this Clematis are just as white. Walking down the central pathway there are plenty of out of season blooms to spot. Rosa Teasing Georgia clambers over the arch with late flowering Sweet Peas and alongside the path an orange flowered Primula which is normally a late spring flowerer is performing now. In a pot alongside the path a Dahlia has produced a very late and very pink bloom.

Throughout the borders to the left of the central path grasses put on a strong performance in the autumn light. The cerise of the Lychnis coronaria looks brighter than ever. It has been in flower for months now.

Moving across the central path we can see the Chicken Garden and the Secret Garden, where there are still plenty of flowers to put on a colourful show.

When we take the path alongside the Spring Garden it is the fruit and berries that give extra interest for ourselves and for the Blackbirds and Thrushes. The Blackbirds seem intent in finishing off the Crataegus berries. The yellow berries of the Cotoneaster rothschildiana will last much longer. They are low on their list of favourites.

I shall finish my November look at our garden with these two photos both featuring yellow. On the left a very out of season Oxlip is flowering strongly while on the left the last of the Gazanias has dropped its petals to reveal a brightly coloured central boss. Next month I shall be considering our Avocet garden in December and my look at the garden in 2014 will have come full circle.

Tags autumn, autumn colours, autumn plants, changing colours, colour, garden in autumn, late autumn, November, ornamental grasses, ornamental trees

autumn autumn colours climbing plants colours garden design garden designers garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials Italian style gardens light light quality ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture Piet Oudolf sculpture Staffordshire Tom Stuart-Smith trees

A Garden in October/November – Trentham

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 12, 2014
1 Comment on A Garden in October/November – Trentham

We have now reached the penultimate posting in this series where we have been looking at how Trentham Gardens in Staffordshire have changed through the months during 2014. Since our last visit in September Autumn has taken a strong grip on the gardens. Many leaves have taken on their auutmn hues and many have fallen. But it is amazing how much colour there still is to enjoy, colours in late flowers, dried stems and seed heads.

We always cross over the gently arching suspension footbridge over the River Trent full of anticipation. On our visit in early November we were presented with a sea of yellows, where Piet Oudolf’s River of Grasses had been transformed by the passage of time into a river of liquid gold.

We wandered along the gravel path as it cut through the line of River Birch, Betula nigra in search of Oudolf’s prairie borders. These beautiful trees had already shed all their leaves but still drew our eyes as their bark was peeling and curling decoratively away from their trunks.

Once in amongst the prairie planting we immediately noticed that seed heads in every hue of brown and beige and bright patches of late colour had joined the lemons, mustards and golds of the grasses. Pale purples glowed in the dull light of autumn. This glow is their secret weapon to attract moths and other night flying pollinators.

The gardening team were hard at working replanting a section of one of the borders. It must be a never ending task. I suppose it gives them the chance to keep improving things as well as keeping the gardens in top condition.

Deep pinks and cerise of the Persicarias and the Knautias catch the eye of every visitor. They look so good against the neutral shades that dominate gardens in the autumn.

This lovely old Tulip Tree caught our attention. It is the oldest of its kind we have ever seen and a notice close by warned of the danger of falling branches. It must be susceptible to winter storms but should it fall it would make a wonderful natural bridge over the Trent. The dome of Hornbeam over a bench is now a golden dome.

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We made our way towards the formally planted Italian Parterre Garden, passing through an archway of Hornbeams on the way. Sunlight penetrated the coniferous plantings casting long shadows and creating bright patches. It lit up the little low box hedges of the knot garden.

The summer bedding in the parterre has been consigned to the compost heaps and winter/spring plants has taken their place, primulas and a deep red Bellis perennis.

We always enjoy our first look out over the Tom Stuart-Smith gardens. We were not to be disappointed today.

The autumn light emphasised the texture on this bronze sculpture and on the much newer tunnel archway which marks the way into the display gardens. It gave an all new look to the low slate walls around one of these gardens too. It again emphasised the texture but brought out extra colours too. The light similarly added colour to the plants and to the glass panels featured in another of the display gardens.

A wander back through the Stuart-Smith gardens gave us the chance to see the planting in a different light. As the afternoon had progressed the sun dropped down lower and was back-lighting the plants, giving a very different perspective.

The Rose Walk was still remarkably colourful with Roses, Cleomes and Verbena bonariensis still putting on strong performances. Butterflies and bees were still busy here too, the blooms having attracted them as they emerged hunting for sustenance as the temperatures rose slightly in the afternoon sunlight. You can see our long shadows cast across the border.

From the long metal pergola we looked back over the Oudolf gardens and at the shrubs nearby and the butter yellow leaves of the Wisteria climbing over the framework.

Now we can look forward to our final visit to Trentham for this year in readiness to publish the final episode in this series of posts. So far we have determined that gardens at Trentham are worthy of a visit any month of the year. Let us hope our December visit confirms it.

Tags garden design, garden designers, ornamental grasses, ornamental trees, Piet Oudolf, prairie gardening, prairie planting, prairies, Staffordshire, Tom Stuart-Smith, Trentham Garden, Trentham Gardens

autumn autumn colours flowering bulbs garden design garden photography gardening grasses hardy perennials light light quality ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture photography roses shrubs

Aiming for an all year round garden – our garden in October

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date October 22, 2014
1 Comment on Aiming for an all year round garden – our garden in October

We are now into autumn and the trees are looking very undecided about what to do with their leaves. Some trees are already showing their Autumn hues but some are still displaying their summer greens. The wind as usual blows hard in October and snatches coloured leaves off all too early but does make colourful “carpets” beneath.

Off into the garden with camera in hand in a break in the gloomy light I shot a series of photos to give you an idea of what is going on in our garden in October.

I have decided to single out one plant which has started flowering just the last few days whereas its cousins flowered months ago. It is a Toad Lily – Trycirtis hirta variegata. The flowers are much paler than our other varieties of Trycirtis but they do still have the lovely marking typical of the family. Flowering this late does mean though that the flowers are viewed against foliage that is not at its best, with the gold edged variegation looking very faded.

The best way for me to show you our October garden is probably via a gallery. So please just click on the first shot and navigate with the arrows. And enjoy!

Tags autumn, autumn colours, autumn leaves, garden in autumn, grasses, October, ornamental grasses, ornamental trees

garden design garden designers garden photography gardening gardens hardy perennials meadows National Garden Scheme ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs The National Gardening Scheme" Tom Stuart-Smith Yellow Book Gardens

Post 500 – Tom Stuart-Smith at Serge Hill

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date October 17, 2014
2 Comments on Post 500 – Tom Stuart-Smith at Serge Hill

As promised for the third in my week’s posts celebrating my 500th post we go down to Hertfordshire to explore Tom Stuart-Smith’s garden designs at his own home and the home of his sister. The family home at Serge Hill is surrounded by mature planting. The new gardens designed by T S-S are within its grounds. When these gardens open they are very popular with thousands of visitors making an appearance. It looks very busy and taking photos is difficult as the gardens are only open for one day each year as part of the National Garden Scheme, so people find it in the famous Yellow Book. The friendly herd of Guernsey calves greeted every visitor. We wandered through the gardens around the house which had been there a long time but the influence of T S-S can be seen.

In the gardens at Tom’s and his sister’s, both designed to suit their particular needs, we felt we had found the nearest to perfection in meadow planting, prairie planting and courtyard planting. Come with us and see what you think.

Firstly I shall share my photos of the courtyard at The Barn. It has an atmosphere of such calm. Those loungers must provide a wonderful place in which to relax and be content with the world. The rectangular corton steel pools with their sheets of water dyed black for extra reflection mirror so clearly the moving clouds and any overhanging plants. Looking into them it appears as if they are bottomless.

The planting is so simple but effective. Every plant has its place and complements its partners perfectly. Chartreuse and purple flowers and bracts work together so well against their background of grasses and coloured foliage.

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Reaching the prairie we found fellow garden fellow visitors exploring every pathway that were winding throughout.

Close by a huge area had been planted as a native wildflower meadow which provided a wonderful contrast to the more vibrant prairie. We shall look in greater detail at the prairie and meadow as well as Tom Stuart-Smith’s sister’s garden in the next post.

Tags garden design, garden designers, garden designers gardens, Hertfordshire, meadows, prairie gardening, prairie planting, prairies, Tom Stuart-Smith, wildflower meadows

architecture buildings colours garden design garden designers garden photography garden ponds garden pools garden seating gardens gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials light light quality meadows ornamental grasses outdoor sculpture Piet Oudolf reflections sculpture Tom Stuart-Smith water garden water in the garden

Post 500 – Part Two – a further visit to the “Oudolf Field”

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date October 15, 2014
2 Comments on Post 500 – Part Two – a further visit to the “Oudolf Field”

As promised I am returning to the beautiful county of Somerset where Jude and I spent a day exploring the exciting new “Oudolf Field” and the gallery buildings at the Hauser and Wirth’s Durslade Farm.

We left off as we were looking at the pool and giant clock. This is the first time we have seen any water designed into an Oudolf designed garden and indeed the first one to include a giant clock. The pool afforded clear reflections of the trees surrounding the site and was only planted around the margin closest to the buildings to give the maximum area of reflecting water.

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The tall clock towers over the pool and its white face stands out against the brightness of the blue sky. I would imagine it would look great against black clouds too! It casts a beautiful lollipop shadow across the golden gravel. Its face looks like a big circular disc but it is in reality asymmetric in design, which causes the minute hand to move out into clear air as it moves into the narrow side.

Although the planting is lower than in his previous gardens Piet Oudolf still uses many of his favourite plants such as Sanguisorbas, Echinaceas, Verbenas and Heleniums.

We had a break for coffee and to look around the galleries before wandering the gardens again as the sun dropped slowly in the sky and the light gave the meadows a fresh look.

We were enthralled by a gallery where a display of Oudolf’s garden designs helps reveal how this garden designer’s mind works. We loved the designs and working drawings and “idea jottings” of this garden here in Somerset as well as those from the New York High Line and the Wisley Garden.

Moving from gallery to gallery each courtyard space is softened by more of Oudolf’s plantings, featuring trees underplanted with grasses and perennials. The sculptural pieces sit comfortably among the old farm buildings with their richly textured surfaces.

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Enjoy the gallery of photos taken in the sparkling late afternoon light. It is amazing how different plantings can look as the light changes within just a few hours at this time of year.

The next post in my 500 Celebration series will find us over in Hertfordshire where Tom Stuart-Smith lives. We had the privilege of visiting his own garden and the one he designed for his sister.

colours garden design garden designers garden furniture garden photography garden ponds garden pools garden seating gardening gardens gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials meadows ornamental grasses Piet Oudolf reflections Tom Stuart-Smith water in the garden

Post 500! A look at two garden designers.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date October 13, 2014
5 Comments on Post 500! A look at two garden designers.

To celebrate reaching 500 posts in my Greenbenchramblings adventures I thought I would create a week of posts about my favourite garden designers, Piet Oudolf and Tom Stuart-Smith. I have featured examples of their gardens several times already but these are special gardens. The Piet Oudolf garden here is his latest creation in Somerset and the Tom Stuart-Smith gardens are his own garden and the one he designed for his sister who lives just yards away.

The garden, called the Oudolf Field sits within the grounds of the Hauser and Wirth Gallery in the Somerset village of Bruton. This 1.5 acre garden was only planted this year so we visited in its very early stages. The garden is better described as a perennial meadow than his usual tall prairie. The plants are generally shorter so that more of each border and the garden as a whole can be seen at one go. The meadow is designed to feel soft and loose and the style is reflected in smaller gardens all around the farm buildings. Unusually for his gardens he has included a pool here.

So let’s start on our tour beginning as we leave the restaurant in the old renovated farm buildings. A grassed area with widely spaced trees contains unusual seats in which to relax and view the garden, sit and enjoy a coffee or read a book. These “Eye Benches” are made from black Zimbabwe granite.

The meadow style borders themselves contain over 26 000 plants and winding paths invite the visitor to view each border from all different angles. Unusually for Oudolf he has designed most of the planting to be low enough to look over it and view most of the garden. Jude the Undergardener is unconvinced by this as it all seemed so low and I have to agree to an extent. I much prefer his taller plantings but time will tell. After all this garden is just a few months old.

Come for a wander and see the “field” through the lens of my camera. Just click on a shot and follow the arrows to navigate.

A giant clock is visible from every part of the garden. It towers over the pool. I shall continue my tour of Oudolf’s new garden and the buildings that it adorns in the next part of this 500 post celebration week.