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 | Feb 17, 2017 | 1930's house, 2017, A Linear Focus, Acer, Acers, arts and crafts, arts and crafts garden design, Arts and Crafts style house, box balls, Colour, Design, design balance, drainage, driveway, Edinburgh, evergreen plants, front garden, front garden/driveways, garden inspiration, garden transformation, Grasses, Hellebores, herbaceous perennials, Japanese gardens, low maintenance plants, O-Karikomi, outdoor furniture, Plants, Polley Garden Design, Pulmonarias, scent, shrubs, Sir Robert Lorimer, SUDS, winter colour, winter scent in the garden, winter structure
Designing front gardens and driveways is often challenging. Never mind the practicalities of a car parking space or manoeuvring space for the car or cars (it often takes more space then you think) and access routes from A to B and Sustainable Urban Drainage issues...
by GillianPolley | Apr 24, 2016 | 2016, A Day Out, Anemone, April, bees, biodiversity, bulb planting for insects, bulbs, Colour, colour in the garden, Crocus, Design, designing your own garden, early summer, Edinburgh, February, focal points in the garden, garden inspiration, garden transformation, habitat for wildlife, Holland, Hyacinthus, insect habitat, insects, January, JUB Holland, Keukenhof Park, long flowering period, low maintenance plants, Muscari, Narcissus, Plants, Polley Garden Design, spring blossom, spring colour
Spring planting is all about Colour, Colour, Colour from the subtle to the eye watering. After a long, wet, grey winter, colour in the garden is what we all need to pep us up and spring bulbs do it in spades. A flying visit to Keukenhof Park just outside Amsterdam...
by GillianPolley | Aug 11, 2015 | 2015, Acer, Acers, Architectural Plants, Buxus, Design, evergreen plants, front garden, garden inspiration, garden transformation, Japanese gardens, O-Karikomi, O-Karikomi gardening technique, Plants, Polley Garden Design, shrubs, trees, winter structure
Design ideas come from everywhere and everything, sometimes you immerse yourself in an idea, work at it and develop it, then it sits in the back of your mind and simmers slowly. I find the ‘simmering time’ vital as you take the idea, push and pull it...
by GillianPolley | May 18, 2015 | 2015, Design, designing your own garden, dogs, Edinburgh, garden transformation, Gardener's One Line A Day Diary, London, May, Polley Garden Design, setts
As I write this paving, setts and sand are being craned over our front hedge, (much to the excitement of our dog) ready for construction. The designs have been done, specifications written and costs agreed. The die is cast. My thoughts...
by GillianPolley | Feb 28, 2015 | 'Home Ground: Sanctuary in the City", 2015, Acer, Dan Pearson, Design, designing your own garden, driveway, Edinburgh, February, front garden, garden transformation, March, Polley Garden Design
After spending 12 years designing client’s gardens, I am finally designing my own front garden and driveway and I get to please myself. Now this is a great feeling, but it is also slightly scary. Garden designers find it notoriously difficult to design their...
