by GillianPolley | Feb 18, 2020 | 2020, Amelanchier, April, autumn, autumn colour, autumn colour in the garden, back gardens, bees, bees and insects, blue, bulb planting for insects, bulbs, Colour, Colour 365 days a year in your garden, containers, Cornus, Cornus 'Midwinter Fire', Crocus, Design, designing your own garden, Edinburgh, February, front garden, Galanthus, garden inspiration, habitat for wildlife, insects, Iris reticulata, long flowering period, low maintenance plants, March, Mixed bulb planting, Narciccus 'Rijnveld's Early Sensation', Narcissus, Planting colour for Dreich February Days, Plants, Polley Garden Design, Ribes sanguineum 'Elkington's White', Ribes sanguineum 'White Icicle', Snowdrops, Spring, spring blossom, spring colour, windy conditions, winter, winter colour, Winter colour and cheer in the garden, winter scent in the garden, winter structure
As the year moves through February and March you can have another layer of colour and interest to your winter planting with additional shrubs and early flowering spring bulbs. Ribes sanguineum is a really tough early flowering shrub (March/April) usually seen with...
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 24, 2018 | 're-wilding', back gardens, Colour, container growing, containers, Design, design balance, Edinburgh, evergreen plants, fire pits, front garden, garden inspiration, herbaceous perennials, herbs, indoor plants, insect habitat, insect hotels, insects, meditation, outdoor kitchens, pizza ovens, Plants, Polley Garden Design, Potager, Potager gardens, Raised wooden beds, safe haven, shapes, shrubs, sustainability, Top garden trends in 2018, Vegetable growing, wildlife, wildlife habitats, winter colour, winter scent in the garden, winter structure
‘Haven’ is often a word associated with our gardens. Studies have shown people are healthier and less stressed when they are close to nature, and people are using their gardens to enjoy family life, relax, exercise and mediate in. This trend...
by GillianPolley | Aug 28, 2017 | 2017, A Day Out, Alitex greenhouse, art in the garden, August, bees and insects, Christopher Lloyd, Colour, colour in the garden, Design, Dumfries House, Edinburgh, Exotic Garden at Great Dixter, garden design, Grasses, Great Dixter, Green house, herbaceous perennials, long flowering period, National Trust, ornamental grasses, Piet Oudolf, Plants, Polley Garden Design, Potager gardens, Prairie planting, Queen Elizabeth Walled Garden at Dumfries House, Roses, sculpture in the garden, seats in the garden, shrubs, Sissinghurst, sissinghurst castle, Vegetable growing
I always enjoy visiting gardens and here are some images from visits so far this summer. To kick off – a second visit to a garden with great style – Sussex Prairie Garden. If you want to see beautiful prairie style planting over several acres this is...
by GillianPolley | Feb 17, 2017 | 1930's house, 2017, A Linear Focus, Acer, Acers, arts and crafts, arts and crafts garden design, Arts and Crafts style house, box balls, Colour, Design, design balance, drainage, driveway, Edinburgh, evergreen plants, front garden, front garden/driveways, garden inspiration, garden transformation, Grasses, Hellebores, herbaceous perennials, Japanese gardens, low maintenance plants, O-Karikomi, outdoor furniture, Plants, Polley Garden Design, Pulmonarias, scent, shrubs, Sir Robert Lorimer, SUDS, winter colour, winter scent in the garden, winter structure
Designing front gardens and driveways is often challenging. Never mind the practicalities of a car parking space or manoeuvring space for the car or cars (it often takes more space then you think) and access routes from A to B and Sustainable Urban Drainage issues...
by GillianPolley | Dec 6, 2016 | 'Lelystad' bulb mixture, 2016, autumn colour, back gardens, bees, bees and insects, bulb planting for insects, bulbs, Crocus, Edinburgh, front garden, Holland, JUB Holland, Keukenhof Park, long flowering period, Mixed bulb planting, Muscari, Narcissus, Plants, Polley Garden Design, shrubs, spring colour, Tulipa fosteriana Orange Emperor, windy conditions
After my flying visit in the spring to the Keukenhof Park just outside Amsterdam, inspired by seeing 7 million bulbs in bloom. I wanted to add more bulbs to my own garden – albeit in a much smaller way! Packing a very big punch were large borders of mixed bulbs,...
