by admin | Jul 7, 2021 | 'garden tree', 2021, apples, architectural structure, back gardens, bare root fruit trees, bees, bees and insects, berries, biodiversity, cooking apples, Copper Mango Photography, Design, designing your own garden, fences, focal points in the garden, fruit cordons, fruit trees, garden design, garden relaxation, Gardeners' World Magazine, habitat for wildlife, insect habitat, July, pears, Plants, plums, Potager, Potager gardens, Raised wooden beds, RHS Garden Hyde Hall, Scotland's Gardens Scheme, shapes, soft fruit, spring blossom, spring colour, Stepover fruit hedge, Stepover fruit trees, trained fruit as screens, trained fruit trees on walls, Trained fruit: think design as well as taste, trees, winter structure
Imagine wandering through your own orchard, enjoying spring blossom and the buzz of bees, the laughter of children playing amongst the trees, picking ripe fruit in the autumn. Lovely as it sounds, most of us have much smaller gardens, but you can work them hard and...
by GillianPolley | Jan 22, 2020 | 2020, Architectural Plants, back gardens, berries, Colour, Colour 365 days a year in your garden, colour in the garden, conifers, container growing, containers, Cornus, Cornus 'Midwinter Fire', December, Design, designing your own garden, driveway, Edinburgh, evergreen plants, February, focal points in the garden, front garden, front garden/driveways, Galanthus, garden inspiration, gold, Grasses, gravel, Hamamelis, Hellebores, herbaceous perennials, holly, Ilex x altaclerensis 'Golden King', Iris reticulata, January, ornamental grasses, Pinus mugo 'Mops', Pinus mugo 'Winter Gold', Plants, Sarcococca, Sarcococca confusa, Sarcococca hookeriana var humilis, scent, Skimmia japonica, Snowdrops, spring colour, stalwart garden plants, windy conditions, winter, winter colour, Winter colour and cheer in the garden, winter scent in the garden, winter structure
January is not my favourite month and some years it seems longer than 31 days. But as the month pushes forward it is cheering to see the day light lasting a little longer each day. In my own front garden I am determined to add to the cheer by planting colourful,...
by GillianPolley | Jan 28, 2014 | berries, Colour, colour in the garden, containers, Design, Edinburgh, evergreen plants, January, Plants, Polley Garden Design, Sarcococca, Sarcococca confusa, Sarcococca hookeriana var humilis, scent, shrubs, winter colour, winter scent in the garden
For 8 months of the year, I would not blame you if you walked past this shrub without a second glance, it is not a showy plant, but from December to March you may well back track, as you notice a heady vanilla scent on the air. So it is an excellent plant to consider...
by GillianPolley | Jan 21, 2014 | art in the garden, back gardens, bees, berries, Birds, Cambo House, Colour, colour in the garden, community gardens, conifers, Design, Edinburgh, front garden, garden trends 2014, heathers, insects, Plants, Polley Garden Design, Potager, RHS, sculpture in the garden, seats in the garden, shapes, shrubs, urban green spaces, Vegetable growing, winter scent in the garden
Trends come and go, in 2014 navy blue is the new black I am told. I guess I have always taken such predictions with a pinch of salt. In garden terms heathers and conifers have been out of fashion for years, but I don’t dismiss any plant so easily. So here we go for...
by GillianPolley | Dec 5, 2013 | advent season, back gardens, berries, Christmas, christmas carols, Colour, December, Edinburgh, focal points in the garden, Hedges, holly, Ilex x altaclerensis 'Golden King', Plants, Polley Garden Design, shrubs, trees, winter, winter colour
The Holly is the plant linked to the Christmas season and we celebrate it in many advent carols. It is a great evergreen and bright plant for a garden border with seasonal berries. I have also used it in a design to surround part of a sitting area to add a focus and...
by GillianPolley | Feb 15, 2013 | Acer griseum, berries, bulbs, clematis, cyclamen, Edinburgh, February, garden design, Hamamelis, holly, Plants, scent, shrubs, Spring, trees, Viburnums, winter colour
I have been working this week on a planting plan for a driveway and front garden. The client has asked for evergreen structure with year round interest and colour and I have used a number of the shrubs and plants I have written about, starting with my first...
