Category Archives: England
Stourhead – a great utopian masterpiece
The Enlightenment masterpiece of Henry Hoare, Stourhead has an aura of calm serenity. Here Robin Powell recounts her recent visit to one of the Stour Valley’s garden treasure We’ve seen this image thousands of times. It’s surely one of the…
The Hampton Court Flower Show Sisters
The biggest flower show on earth is held in July, in southwest London in the grounds of Hampton Court Palace. The sizzling temperatures of the Royal Horticultural Society summer show are matched by the steamy hot floral displays. You see,…
Lost in a tamed wilderness
Words & images by Colin Barlow Nestled on the border of England and Wales in Stapleton, Herefordshire lies a hidden gem, an Arts and Crafts garden where romance and formality meet the ‘wild garden’. I should have known that something…
Happy Birthday Capability
Robin Powell would like to wish a happy birthday to the grand architect of so many of our favourite English landscapes. This month marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. He’s the man responsible for the…
Chelsea Flower Show Highlights 2016
The London sun came out shining for the 103rd Chelsea Flower Show. And what a wonder it was! We entered through the Bullring Gate giggling like schoolgirls under a floral tribute to celebrate the Queens 90th birthday. We never get…
Australian garden wins Silver Gilt at Chelsea
Let’s take a stroll around the Australian show garden designed by our friend Charlie Albone (from Selling Houses Australia). We were thrilled when Charlie took our group through the threshold into the heart of his garden where we could get…
A garden fit for a king, Hampton Court Palace
Graham Ross heads to the southwest of London to the palatial gardens of England’s most flamboyant king, King Henry VIII, and interviews the head gardener about those infamous yew trees and a great living treasure known as the Great Vine.…
Country Life
A romantically pretty country garden, on the edge of the city. That’s the dream of the owners of The Old Vicarage in London’s Petersham. Find out how they made it a reality in this excerpt from Great Gardens of London.…