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Category: Garden Design

Design, landscaping construction and layouts. Special types of garden and notable design features

Absence of War or Peace Gardens

Absence of War or Peace Gardens

Peace is not just the absence of war it can be a reflection of a personal inner tranquility. To many gardeners peace may be a state of harmony with nature. It is a theme of several ‘hard landscape’ projects and sculptural works as shown by the selection of Peace gardens below.

The World Peace Garden Network
You can join this consciousness raising network of gardens simply by declaring that your own garden, patio, balcony, or subject to appropriate approvals your local public park or garden be made into a World Peace Garden  Bristol Communal Gardens Group & Clifton Gardens Society was designated a World Peace Garden in 2001.

20th Anniversary of Gardens for Peace
This organisation seeks to designate and develop the garden as a place for meditation and a symbol for peace throughout the world. Stron in the USA there is scope to nominate a UK garden via the link above.

The Sheffield Peace Gardens
Are part of Sheffield Heart of the City project, a project that has been connected with the City’s economic and cultural regeneration since it began in 1998. Originally a temporary garden within the church walls was named St Paul’s Gardens. However, the name changed to the Peace Gardens after WWII and a desire for a return to peacetime. The gardens occupy an area of 0.67 hectares with sculptures and fountains.
The Peace Gardens form the central part of a spectacular walk, the emerging Gold Route, taking visitors from Sheffield Railway Station through a series of exciting new developments each with their own distinctive lighting, public art and water features. More information about the Peace Gardens’ History.

St Thomas’ Peace Garden
This is an example of a small public park in Birmingham – designated as a monument to peace and a memorial to all those killed in armed conflict.

The International Peace Garden
It lies along the world’s longest unfortified border and encompasses a 2,339 acre Botanical Garden. Between the State of North Dakota and the Province of Manitoba this garden is a well frequented site maintained jointly by USA and Canada. It was dedicated in 1932 and devoted to World Peace.

Sri Chinmoy Peace Garden – San Diego

 

A former vacant lot in San Diego, this area has been converted to a peace garden, with statue of Sri Chinmoy.

At Yelp, there are many reviews of the healing powers of this meditation garden

“This is one of my favorite peaceful places in SD. I’m blessed to live in this neighborhood and to see this little piece of peace on my afternoon walks.  I don’t know exactly who keeps this garden groomed but who ever does a big thank you.  Sometimes I don’t have enough energy for a power walk but at least I make it to this garden and give myself the gift of meditating for at least 5 minutes. I would say it has magical powers because I always leave feeling at peace and relaxed. If meditating is not your thing, it has a couple of benches so you can sit and enjoy the scenery”

sri-chinmoy-peace-garden-plaque

Gardeners Tips Peace Gardens.

  • Find your own Peace in a garden or let us know about other ‘Peace Gardens’ you have visited.
  • Many hospitals believe in the healing power of nature and the serenity it can provide.
  • An old cemetery in the heart of Barnsley has develop it into a cleaner, safer environment for the local community.
  • A guide on how to create a Peace garden from the International Catholic Movement for Peace

You can visit the Garden of Gethsemane with a perimeter of  a collection of olive trees, some very old, in single file. The interior of the garden is off-limits and may be subject to security features during the current war and conflicts.

Monastic and Medieval Christian Gardens

Monastic and Medieval Christian Gardens

Romans were were enthusiastic gardeners (not just for the grapes) but when the empire fell gardening collapsed. Then in around the 9th century AD the gardening skills were revived and every town was encouraged to grow herbs, fruit and nut trees.
The formal gardens of the middle ages had an atmosphere of tranquillity rarely equaled and were thought of as ‘Heaven on Earth’. Fountains Abbey Yorkshire

Features of a Christian Garden

  • With many features in common with Islamic gardens the Christian monks took inspiration from a revived interest in gardens.
  • Boundaries and square structures were the most common with stone walls used in castles and cloisters.  Hedges, wattle fences, palisades, trellis and ditches were also used as boundaries by the less well to do. The effort was made to make them safe as they were a place of retreat and protection from evil.
  • Simple paths were used to divide up a rectangular space.
  • A medieval garden could be a microcosm of paradise and seen as ‘a recreation of good things’.
  • Raised beds of simple geometric shapes accentuated the impression of symbolically clean lines and at the same time helped drainage for herbs.
  • Covered walkways and arbors created enclosed spaces within the already enclosed space of the garden.
  • Seating was important to facilitate contemplation and prayer.

Monastic gardens

Generally monastic gardens consisted of  several different types of gardens for different and specific purposes. A monastery would typically have a physic garden, plus a secluded garden for contemplation and meditation. There would also be community facilities for separate vegetable and fruit gardens, orchard or cemetery gardens, as well as fishponds and dovecotes.

As recorded on the behalf of St Hildegard Germany’s greatest mystic and God companion  ‘The medieval garden, as with any garden, is a work of love. Gardens are instruments of healing, a means to provide sustenance and health, and reminders of our connectivity with the natural world.

 

The Tea Garden and Tea House

The Tea Garden and Tea House

Modern tea gardens may seem to be a contradiction but since the 15th century the wabi tea ceremony has influenced the tea gardens purpose and design. Originally when tea plants (Camellia sensi) were introduced into Japan from China in the 6th century they were the prerogative of the ruling classes and used expensive ingredients and equipment.

The  subsequent simplification was started by Zen monk Shuko Murata. It led to the tea-room’s interior being reduced in space to the bare minimum needed for the contemplation of the relationship between people and things.

Tea House Tatton Park

Key Features of a Zen Tea House

  • As a location for the tea ceremony the core attribute is providing a support for humility. ‘We can’t focus on what is important if our egos get in the way’. Thus the entrance to a tea house is generally so low that you must crawl to pass through it.
  • The tea house should provide the best views for meditation.
  • The objective is to create a hut that emphasises the rustic and humble.
  • The approach to the tea house is through the tea garden. To sharpen the mind and senses the path should consist of a series of detailed views.
  • Stepping stones help to slow your pace  to a speed suitable for meditation and contemplation.
  • Outside the door of the tea room is a stone basin to wash your hands and mouth before the tea ceremony begins.
  • There should be a light or lantern to guide you in the dark.

 

Other Quotes about the Tea Ceremony

  • “Tea began as a medicine and grew into a beverage.” –Katkuzo Okakura
  • “The Way of Tea cannot be taught in any book…It is a state of mind. Tea is a living
    tradition.” –Professor Kimiko Gunji,
  • “Holding a bowl of tea whisked to a fine froth…
    Such a simple thing: yet filled with a spirit that
    Reaches back more than a thousand years.”–The Urasenke Tradition of Tea
  • ‘Show them who wait
    Only for flowers
    There in the mountain villages:
    Grass peeks through the snow,
    And with it, spring.’ Fujiwara no letaka

Korean Tea and Tea Garden Guide

For anyone wishing to learn more about Korean culture, enjoy Korean tea, visit beautiful tea gardens or become an expert in Korean tea, this photo-filled, comprehensive guide to Korean tea and tea gardens is a sumptuous seasonal gift. Yang Seok Yoo  Co-author Esther Yoo 

 

A Trio of Purple Leaves

A Trio of Purple Leaves

It is hard to ignore plants with leaves as stunning as these in a Parks garden. The purple is from one of the Sumachs or Rhus family. Selecting plants that contrast in colour shape or form is part of the skill of gardening but starting with plants like these is a good beginning.

Purple is one of my favourite leaf colours of the moment and the Lamium below is called Perilla fructenscens. I am putting several plants in one area of my garden and will see how well they get on with one another.

This Heuchera below surprised me growing in a wall cleft with thin soil. I do not remember planting it in what I thought would be a hostile location. It must have been self sown but I have not got any other plants except the parent.

Ground Cover for Formal Gardens

Ground Cover for Formal Gardens

Vinca ground cover

Formal gardens generally rely on geometric shapes and repetition and so you may not think about ground cover in these situations. Balance and proportion are also key features of a formal garden and generally have fewer species of plants than may be found in in informal gardens.

With the structure of a formal garden in place from paths and symmetrical beds in squares, oblongs or circles you can then consider appropriate plants. The ground cover should complement the focal plants in colour, leaf-shape and height. They should also be manageable and not prone to take over or the formal effect may be lost.

  • Liriope spicata or Lily turf  is evergreen with neat, low, grassy foliage. It can be left undisturbed for many years to form low-maintenance ground cover in beds of its own, or in light shade beneath trees or shrubs.
  • Sempervivum tectorum and Hens-and-Chicks are small scale spreaders that may combine with Aremria maritima to create clear outlines in concentric shapes within a formal layout.
  • Saxifraga umbros or London Pride is apt to wander over path edges but is an easy to grow and gives prolific, spreading ground cover.
  • Hellebores and Hostas can also work well or Barbara Ellis in her book ‘Covering Ground’ recommends Tiarella cordifolia the Allegeheny foamflower.

Colour may not be the key issue in ground cover for a formal garden but Blue grass Festucu glauca can be massed planted so that clumps join together. Other grasses to consider include Hakonechloa macra or the lower growing sedges Carex pensylvanica.

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Vivid Ground Cover Plants and Ideas

Vivid Ground Cover Plants and Ideas

A colourful carpet of ground cover plants may be a creative, low maintenance alternative to a lawn. Alternatively a pattern of coloured stone or chippings with feature plants in containers may be your preference.

Collection of Low Growing Plants

  • A mix of flowers and shrubs can include conifers like Golden Juniper Juniperus x media ‘Golden Sovereign’, Juniperus horizontalis, Juniper squamata ‘Holger’ and Picea pungens ‘Glauca Prostrata’ all around one foot tall with varying spreads.
  • For colour in summer you can’t beat some Petunia multiflora and vibrant Busy Lizzie Impatiens. Try the ‘accent’ series from Thompson Morgan
  • Bulbs of Dutch Iris, Cyclamen, Crocus and Muscari can provide spring and autumn colour.
  • Fillers and good doers include Bugle Ajuga reptans, Pinks Dianthus Indian hybrids, Geranium, Sedum and Vinca.

Design Features

  • Wide flat rocks can break up the verdant space and give the gardener a place to stand and weed.
  • Think in terms of 8-12″ as the average height with accent plants if required.
  • Create a backing or edging with taller uniform plants. Roses box or taller Conifers may suit.
  • Plant in bold blocks of colour with annuals close together for maximum effect.

Patterns of Gravel

  • Ground cover of pebbles, chippings or gravel can add colour. I like plum coloured slate chippings.
  • The covering can be used to stand elegant containers perhaps containing trailing plants like lobelia or geraniums.
  • Make sure you have a weed barrier under the gravel.
  • Gravel should be comparatively low maintenance but keep it spruce and moss free.

Similar rule apply when planting ground cover that grows taller. Select a height 18-24″ in this case and plant appropriate plants in the designated area. Tree ferns have been used as accent plants in this design.

hay-093

Ground cover plants ‘beat weeds’ and many of the plants recommended below will flower year after year. Plant healthy young plants from pots or modules about 12 inches apart and the fast growing ground cover will produce a dense carpet of colour for many years.

Ground Cover Selection

Helianthemum grows strongly in my garden with bright orange flowers. Reds and whites are available.

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My Ground Cover Ideas

My Ground Cover Ideas

Ground cover plants are designed to do what they say in the title. They can cover the ground by design, happy accident or conscious neglect.

Creeping Jenny

Benefits of Ground Cover

  1. Treasure the ground cover plants that clothe the soil and rocks with leaves or stems preventing wasteful moisture loss.
  2. Ground cover reduces weed seed germination as the seed can’t reach the soil. Any weeds that do grow will likely be smothered or hidden from view.
  3. Most ground cover will flower and even foliage only plants are more aesthetically pleasing than bare or patchy ground.
  4. Ground cover is useful on hard to access land such as scree or steep slopes.
  5. Ground cover may creep or mound but most will grow lower than one feet high and be ornamental.
  6. They are easy to maintain with an occasional clipping after flowering or an edging trim to keep them in control.
  7. Ground cover can support wild life and help create a special habitat.

Hart’s tongue fern Asplenium scolopendrium

Selected Ground Cover Plant Species

    1. Ajuga reptans like plenty of water to produce purple-green leaves and spring flowers of blue spikes.
    2. Erigeron karvinskianus has small white flowers like lawn daisies. A copious self seeder.
    3. Lysimachia nummularia also called creeping jenny for reasons you will discover as it moves around your garden. In summer it has numerous smal,l yellow flowers.
    4. Sedum acre or Stone crop is a popular low growing succulent for ground cover.
    5. Stachys byzantina has grey wooly leaves on 6″ high stems. They look like Lamb’s ears hence the common name.
    6. Often excluded from ground cover plant list is lawn grass. I guess meadow achieves a similar purpose.

Saxifraga

Happy Accidents

Many times a garden will develop its own style with a series of what I call ‘happy accidents’. Looking at ground cover I would include the semi-evergreen strawberry with its habit of forming runners in my list of accidents. Other ground hugging evergreen plants include a range of recumbent or prostrate dwarf conifers such as Juniper horizontalis or Juniper squamata blue carpet.

Whilstnot planted as ground cover I notice saxifrage, Euonymus, Bergenia and even clumpy Dianthus are all fulfilling the cover role. The special evergreens have the edge over plants that loose there leaves in winter but I have some great covering clumps of cyclamen at the moment. Ivy, I would not consider a happy accident more a gardening disaster.

Pink Flowered Strawberry Lipstick

Conditions for Good Ground Cover

  1. There are plants for most circumstances and conditions. Problem areas of poor soil and poor access are often the drivers of the decision to plant ground cover.
  2. Heaths and heathers are good for soils with acidic ph and will cope with a comparatively low top soil on top of stone or rubble. Some ferns may be suitable in these conditions.
  3. Flowering ground cover generally appreciate full or partial sun with a soil that retains some moisture.
  4. Damp conditions offer there own challenges and plants from the primula, iris, polygonum or marsh marigold families may suit.
  5. Once the ground is virtually covered you may not want lush growth and for that a reason I do not apply extra fertiliser as it is not required.
  6. Delineate the boundary of the ground cover to give a smart appearance.
  7. If you are happy with an informal aspect allow several varieties to inter-mingle.

 

My Ground Cover

When I moved into my new house in 2004, I dug up a lot of grass to increase the size of the borders. However, having done that I found I had less time for gardening than I expected. This meant it has felt hardwork keeping on top of the weeding. Therefore I have come to really appreciate the role of ground cover plants. The best thing about ground cover plants is that they reduce the time of weeding and prevent weeds from seeding. When you are ready to plant specific plants these ground cover plants are easy to cut down and replace. But, it is much better to have these ground cover plants than leaving blank soil. Blank soil is an invitation to nature to send some weeds along!

  1. Comfrey. The plant pictured here is comfrey. It really is an excellent plant and worth growing for its own sake. It has nice delicate flowers which attract bees. It also helps to make excellent compost, you can regularly cut down its leaves to add as accelerator layer to your compost and it will quickly grow back. As you can see from its dense coverage, it is also an excellent weed suppressor.
  2. Geraniums. Great at low growing ground cover. Just cut back after flowering
  3. Pulmonaria officinalis: Lungwort
  4. Mahonia aquifolium: (oregon Grape) shrub
  5. Hosta species as long as they don’t provide cover for slugs..
  6. Campanulas
  7. Strawberries
  8. Peltaria alliacea: Garlic cress
  9. Sedums
  10. Lamiums
  11. Winter heathers
  12. Ivy – though can become invasive

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Rooted in Nature

Rooted in Nature

Mankind has proved to be adaptable at least enough to survive as one of nature’s multitude species. However there are warning signs that for the long term all is not well in our environment. As one small contribution to a ‘rooted in nature movement’ we should consider the gardener as a key player and influencer.

Lest we forget nature is essential to provide our current and future sustenance, health and wellbeing. Food and shelter are axiomatic to the survival of the human race and us as individuals. In a small way gardeners can root each of us in nature and provide a significant contribution to our understanding and appreciation of our natural surrounds. Enough of the overview now a few words on a micro perspective.

Helping Nature One Potato at a Time

  • The hippocratic oath has a useful phrase ‘first do no harm’. Thinking about this in the garden can be a good starting point. Consider e,xcess chemical use, limited native species, plastics galore, food mile products failure to consider cause and effect.
  • Helping nature should help the gardener and local environment. There are many healing, mood enhancing and medicinal plants to grow beyond the humble potato. Colourful and scented plants are just some examples.
  • Designing and operating a garden in a ‘rooted in nature’ manner  is very therapeutic helping develop emotional and wellbeing. Calming water features and contemplation space may be inspirational for mind, body and soul.
Rock On With My Garden

Rock On With My Garden

Dwarf Conifers in a Rock Garden

For over 25 years I have gardened a rockery or rock garden on a triangular patch of poor soil. I progressively scrounged and collected a range of granite, limestone and sandstone rocks and added them piecemeal. I aspired to growing alpine plants and recognised good drainage and shelter from winter wet weather would be key but that is as far as my planning would go. For the first couple of decades I was busy at work and wasn’t able to put in the effort of looking after small but hardy alpines.

One of the consequences of this lack of time was that I took the easy way out and planted ‘Dwarf and slow growing conifers’ that were a popular fad at the time. I also supported many alpine nurseries with my often ill chosen plant selections in attempts to buy a ready made garden feature. Latterly I joined the Alpine Garden Society and took advantage of shows and seed exchanges.

Then a latter stage crept up on me. The 10-20 year old conifers started to take over in scale and dare I say interest. Firstly dwarf can be a misnomer just because a conifer is small when planted it may very well just be a slow grower that has higher ambitions. I true dwarf conifer is a genetic feature of some species and are worth seeking out at the expense of other mass grown shrublets. Over time I dug out the larger and more boring specimens but still the alpines became less significant. I now have 20+ conifers of varying forms, colours and species taking over the alpines. The highest is 6 feet tall and may be the next for the chop one is low growing but spreads 5 feet wide and a favorite on mine is only 9 inches high. The space is still approximately 200 square feet but is extending into and adjacent bed past the crazy paved path.

Ideas for Rock Garden

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Protect Your Garden from Wind

Protect Your Garden from Wind

windbreak

Specimen tree sheltered by High Hedge

A windbreak can make a big difference to a garden creating safety and an improved micro climate. After we reduced a large conifer by half many plants got flattened by the wind which was now able to flow over the shorter windbreak.

Top Windbreak Tips

  1. Hedges, gorse and natural planting will help break-up the flow of wind. Banked up soil with a hedge on top often features in large windswept gardens.
  2. Solid barriers such as walls can create eddies and vortex effects that cause more damage than they protect.  This was forcefully demonstrated to me with lost greenhouse window panes after a big blow.
  3. Plan a first line of defence to break the winds full force followed by a second line. Design both together to be complementary. I prefer natural breaks of trees as the prime windbreak but for ground level protection I use smaller shrubs.
  4. In really wind areas windbreak trees will grow lower or be stunted so bear this in mind when planning the number and proximity of plants needed.

Mixed Shrub Secondary Windbreak

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