Tag: gardening for kids

Love Your Garden episode 2 – Get the garden look at home

We love showing you how to make over your garden. The transformation is always incredible, and it’s great to see people finally enjoying it.

But I know the prospect of a revamp without a team of experts can seem daunting, so I’ll show you the insider secrets to get the look at home. It really is doable.

And I’m not just saying that – I really do want you to Love Your Garden!

Potager veg garden

Potager is a traditional French kitchen garden that mixed veg, fruit and ornamental flowers in the same beds. It’s a great way to jazz up a veg plot and harmonise it with your other garden beds.

Start with espaliered fruit trees at the back – apple and pear thrive in Britain. Espaliered trees are high-yield because they have so many fruiting side branches, so they give loads of fruit without taking up too much space.

Then in the beds below we mixed rhubarb, beans, chard and lettuce with flowering plants like cosmos, alliums, lavender and calendula. Check the spacing for each veg crop to make sure it has room to grow into.

Herb wheel

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]

A circular herb wheel is a great addition to a veg plot

These were traditionally planted in old cartwheels laid on the soil, though ours was on a bigger scale. Again we added blooms like sunflowers and nasturtiums for extra colour.

Try a mix of chives, sage, basil, rosemary, lemon thyme and French tarragon. We also added Pineapple mint, but you have to keep an eye on mint plants because they spread quickly!

For the circular paving, use small carpet stones to get a round look, and add a central focal point like our mosaic. Arches or wooden wigwams covered in climbers will add height to such a low-growing feature.

Flowering hedge

[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]

Escallonia looks great in flowering hedges

If you want to cover a new fence, or just try something other than an evergreen hedge, use flowering shrubs! The key is to use varieties that flower at different times mixed in with evergreens. Shrubs that produce berries are great for winter colour too.

We used Lilac, Osmanthus, Ceanothus, Escallonia and Viburnum opulus. If you want a long hedge, repeat the shrubs for more cohesion. Prune them just after flowering for the best regrowth.

Child-proof planting

[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]

Mexican feather grass is football-proof and has great texture and movement

I always think footballs come with a homing device for prize blooms! Embrace the danger with tough plants that will survive the occasional crushing, or that respond well to hard pruning when bits get broken off.

We used Mexican feather grass (Stipa tennuissima) and Japanese Holly (Ilex crenata) throughout the garden. Box, lavender, Alchemilla, Choysia ternata and Salvia ‘Ostfriesland’ are also fantastic options. Good shrubs include lilac, Cotoneaster and Euonymous.

Looking for the garden features? Check out the Love Your Garden blog for our amazing suppliers and the products we used.

[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
July 2, 2014
Love Your Garden episode 2 – five things we learned this week

It was another great show for series four – here’s what we learned this week.

1 Gardens aren’t just for children

It can feel like the kids’ play area is taking over the whole garden, but there are ways for the grown-ups to reclaim the space. If you have enough room, make two separate areas. This way you have your own space, but you can still keep an eye on the children.

If not, make their play area a feature! Choose fixed structures that fit in with the garden design – for example, choose wood that matches your fencing or garden furniture.

You can also hide it from view with some clever planting! Trees and evergreen shrubs can be used around the structures, or nail in a trellis panel and grow plants through it to act as a shield.

2 Awkward shapes can still work

People think that odd-shaped gardens are difficult to design, but the trick is to let the shape define the areas. Separate it across natural angles and break points to create different areas. Then use shapes within it, for example circles and curved beds to soften angular corners.

It’s also important to work out how the garden looks from each of the main viewing points. These include patios and seating areas, but don’t forget kitchen and bedroom windows too! Add in a few strong focal points and use plants to disguise any eyesores.

Read about how to get the look at home!

3 Anyone can create a perfect circle

Patio stones are nearly always square or rectangle, which means people build square or rectangular shapes. But you can make a circle with them! The trick is to use smaller blocks, which give you more flexibility.

In the show I used carpet stones, which are rows of blocks that have been linked together. You simply lay the ‘roll’ and cut it to shape! It saves so much time on placing individual stones, and helps keep your spacing regular too. Find out about the planting here.

4 Mixed planting is better

Flowering hedges look fantastic, but you don’t want a whole row of the same plants. Mixing the varieties means you have different types of interest all year round. Try combining evergreen shrubs with species that flower at different times.

Choosing shrubs that also offer berries mean you’ll get colour well into the winter season, plus birds will love you for it.

5 You can eat lilac flowers!

We’ve got Katie to thank for this little gem. Apparently they taste a little bitter and a bit like cucumber. Katie also recommends that you put some in a gin and tonic to add an extra flavour – now that’s my kind of gardening tip!
July 2, 2014
Campaign for school gardens: Get your grown-ups growing

The Get Your Grown-ups Growing (GYGG) initiative has launched for the second year, and I’m delighted to be a part of it. This year I’m going to visit one of the events to meet the teachers, pupils and grown-ups.

I’m a proud supporter of the RHS Campaign for School Gardening, and I believe every child should have access to a garden. Read my article on the importance of gardening for children here.

What is GYGG?

Get Your Grown-ups Growing is a fantastic campaign to involve adults from the local community (including parents, carers, grandparents, friends) in the school garden. Grown-ups can help build new beds, sow seeds and plant bulbs, or even take part in fundraising events and fruit and veg tastings.

For schools that do not already have a school garden, extra help from the grown-ups could help to establish new gardening facilities.

How do I get involved?

The events are held in October, but schools can sign up now and start making plans. The RHS has 3000 GYGG packs to send out in September, including free seeds, stickers and posters. Register here.

I had great fun meeting staff and pupils at Cranberry Academy, who had won GYGG 2013. I presented them with their prize: a Hartley Botanic Wisley 8 greenhouse worth a whopping £4000. Another greenhouse is up for grabs for the best event this year too, so get planning now!

Last year over 1900 schools across the UK got their grown-ups growing. I hope even more schools (and grown-ups) will join in this year. Find out how to get involved here.
May 9, 2014