Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
-
Easy budget makeover – from garage to garden room
Francine Raymond, Daily Telegraph gardening writer and author, recently turned her garage into a stylish garden room and potting shed. And she did it on a minimum spend, without losing its use as a garage. If she needs a garage again, she can take a few things out and drive the car in, without making…
-
Dying plants in your garden? Top tips on how to save them from the summer weather.
Is your garden full of dying plants because of this summer’s extreme heat or drought? My persicaria looks like a bowl of crisps, the Virginia creeper’s leaves are limp, the veronicastrum is flagging and many leaves have brown tips. So what can we do? I decided to ask an expert. I visited the beautiful Grade 2* Listed Borde…
-
North facing garden tips – how to make the most of your space
I’ve just visited a narrow north facing garden with some charming thin garden ideas and a wildlife friendly focus. It’s also on a slope – so the garden conditions could be considered challenging. Yet Richard and Jacqui Drew make the most of their shady garden. It’s full of inspiration for anyone who loves gardens. Richard and Jacqui…
-
Growing roses – expert tips from Hever Castle rose garden
Hever Castle is famous for growing roses. It has more than 4,000 of them. So I asked head gardener, Neil Miller for his best tips on growing roses in our own middle-sized gardens. Hever Castle is best known as the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s fated second wife. It’s believed he first saw her in…
-
Do you really need a perfect lawn? And is it sustainable?
The perfect lawn is now a surprisingly controversial issue in gardening. Some people want a smart, green surface with no flaws. Others say that such a lawn is an ‘ecological disaster.’ Sometimes we are urged to put our mowers away, either for the whole summer or just to mow less. Or we’re urged to do ‘No Mow…
-
Curved gardens are back in a big way
Curved gardens are back in a big way. That was my conclusion after going round the show gardens at the RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival. The Cancer Research Garden, designed by Tom Simpson, turns a rectangular space into an entirely curved one. It has a winding path, circling round, then down to a circular seating area and…
-
Where do you start with a neglected garden?
When Natalie and Mike Newman first saw their house, they were attracted by the neglected garden almost more than the house itself. It was probably laid out in Victorian or Edwardian times. At one side, massive overgrown conifers crowded into each other around a side lawn. Then there was a walled garden directly behind the house. Once…
-
Early summer gardening checklist
Here is an early summer gardening checklist, followed by suggestions on how you can make this as easy as possible. Weed paths and borders There is no doubt that more weeding early in the year means less weeding later on. Weeding is at the heart of your early summer gardening. However, all gardens and all…
-
How to connect your indoor and outdoor space successfully
Many of the most successful garden designs link indoor and outdoor space by using colour, materials and even furniture to create a seamless transition. Sometimes it’s called ‘blurring the boundaries’ between house and garden. Both Francine and Lisa are part of Whitstable Open Gardens, so you can see their gardens in person. They’re among the 12 Whitstable Joy…
-
Feeling overwhelmed by your garden? 11 easy, practical solutions
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by your garden, especially in late spring when plants and weeds are bursting into growth. The gardening to-do list at this time of year can seem endless. Of course, the first step is to make a list. But when it gets too long, that is overwhelming in itself. So it is…
Got any book recommendations?