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 27, 2019 | 1930's house, 2019, Acers, autumn, autumn colour, autumn colour in the garden, back gardens, box balls, bulbs, Colour, Colour 365 days a year in your garden, colour in the garden, container growing, containers, Copper Mango Ltd, Copper Mango Photography, cyclamen, December, Design, design balance, designing your own garden, driveway, Edinburgh, Euonymous alatus 'Compactus', evergreen plants, February, Festive plant container, focal points in the garden, front garden, front garden/driveways, garden inspiration, garden transformation, garden views, Grasses, gravel, Hellebores, herbaceous perennials, Iris reticulata, January, Japanese gardens, long flowering period, low maintenance plants, March, Mixed bulb planting, O-Karikomi, O-Karikomi gardening technique, October, outdoor furniture, Polley Garden Design, Sarcococca, seats in the garden, shapes, shrubs, Spring, spring blossom, spring colour, summer flowering plants, winter, winter colour, winter scent in the garden, winter structure
How many plants do you have in bloom in your garden in January? You will be astounded to know Tresco Abbey Gardens in the Scilly Isles had 289 on the 7th January. Aah – to have their climate. But even as winter is upon us, in Scotland it is possible to have...
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 | Oct 11, 2013 | autumn colour, Bailey, bulbs, bulbs poisonous to dogs, Colour, containers, cyclamen, dogs, Edinburgh, garden gifts, Grasses, heathers, herbaceous perennials, Jobs to do in the garden, Lawns, October, Plants, Polley Garden Design, shrubs, winter, winter colour
Autumn is is finally here this week, after a last blast of summer warmth. The clocks will go back at the end of the month which I loath – all that lost time in the garden! So it is time to begin work on putting the garden to bed for the winter whilst the...
by GillianPolley | Apr 8, 2013 | April, Bailey, Chaenomeles, dogs, Edinburgh, Forsythia, heathers, herbaceous perennials, Jobs to do in the garden, Lawns, March, Plants, Polley Garden Design, Vegetable growing, winter
In my March summary of jobs in the garden I said “…winter can still have the last word…”. Unfortunately, I was proved right. It feels the garden is still in hibernation and just waiting for some warm weather to burst into spring. So many of...
