by GillianPolley | Apr 11, 2014 | April, art in the garden, arts and crafts, BBC, British Gardens in Time, Christopher Lloyd, Colour, colour in the garden, Design, early summer, Edinburgh, focal points in the garden, garden inspiration, Great Dixter, Hedges, herbaceous perennials, Plants, Polley Garden Design, summer
If you can find an hour to yourself over the Easter weekend and you want to put your feet up and relax and be inspired by a garden, then catch up on the BBC iPlayer with the new TV series ‘British Gardens in Time’, episode one on Great Dixter. A...
by GillianPolley | Mar 26, 2014 | colour in the garden, Edinburgh, front garden, March, Plants, Polley Garden Design, Rhododendron 'Praecox', RHS, RHS Award of Garden Merit, shrubs, Spring
For a really early blaze of spring colour, consider Rhododendron ‘Praecox’. These Rhododendrons has been flowering their cotton socks off in the established gardens in my local area. But you don’t seem to see them often in new gardens, which is a...
by GillianPolley | Mar 10, 2014 | 'garden tree', Architectural Plants, Cloud pruning, Design, Edinburgh, evergreen plants, focal points in the garden, Nikwaki, Plants, Polley Garden Design, shrubs, winter structure
Evergreen structure in the garden helps to hold a garden together especially in the winter – think of it as the backbone running through a garden. A few weeks ago I visited Architectural Plants in Horsham with a Sussex client with this in mind. Saw some great...
by GillianPolley | Feb 21, 2014 | Colour, colour in the garden, Cornus, Edinburgh, February, focal points in the garden, Plants, Polley Garden Design, Spring, winter colour
Is your garden looking rather drab and tired today at the end of winter? Then add some colour with Cornus or dogwoods, a varied and good value group of plants. They are tough useful shrubs and trees, many shrubs with strongly coloured stems in coral red, orange,...
by GillianPolley | Feb 5, 2014 | bulbs, Cambo House, Cambo House Gardens, Design, February, Galanthus, Plants, Polley Garden Design, Scottish Snowdrop Festival 2014, Snowdrops, Spring, winter colour, winter scent in the garden
If you want confirmation that spring is on the far horizon, seeing snowdrops in flower is a good sign. To see a mass of snowdrops on a roadside bank or in a woodland is a magical moment. To find out where you can see them near where you live, go to the website below...
by GillianPolley | Jan 28, 2014 | berries, Colour, colour in the garden, containers, Design, Edinburgh, evergreen plants, January, Plants, Polley Garden Design, Sarcococca, Sarcococca confusa, Sarcococca hookeriana var humilis, scent, shrubs, winter colour, winter scent in the garden
For 8 months of the year, I would not blame you if you walked past this shrub without a second glance, it is not a showy plant, but from December to March you may well back track, as you notice a heady vanilla scent on the air. So it is an excellent plant to consider...
