by GillianPolley | Jan 21, 2014 | art in the garden, back gardens, bees, berries, Birds, Cambo House, Colour, colour in the garden, community gardens, conifers, Design, Edinburgh, front garden, garden trends 2014, heathers, insects, Plants, Polley Garden Design, Potager, RHS, sculpture in the garden, seats in the garden, shapes, shrubs, urban green spaces, Vegetable growing, winter scent in the garden
Trends come and go, in 2014 navy blue is the new black I am told. I guess I have always taken such predictions with a pinch of salt. In garden terms heathers and conifers have been out of fashion for years, but I don’t dismiss any plant so easily. So here we go for...
by GillianPolley | Dec 16, 2013 | Birds, Chimonanthus praecox, Christmas, Colour, Edinburgh, Hamamelis, holly, Jobs to do in the garden, Noel Kingsbury, Piet Oudolf, Planting - A New Perspective, Plants, Polley Garden Design, Prairie planting, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, scent, shrubs, Viburnum bodnantense 'Dawn', winter colour, winter scent in the garden
The season of Advent is here and it is great to concentrate on the beauty of the winter season and fun things to do outside: – wrap up well and visit winter gardens and enjoy winter walks on good weather days – you will always find something in flower at...
by GillianPolley | Dec 5, 2013 | advent season, back gardens, berries, Christmas, christmas carols, Colour, December, Edinburgh, focal points in the garden, Hedges, holly, Ilex x altaclerensis 'Golden King', Plants, Polley Garden Design, shrubs, trees, winter, winter colour
The Holly is the plant linked to the Christmas season and we celebrate it in many advent carols. It is a great evergreen and bright plant for a garden border with seasonal berries. I have also used it in a design to surround part of a sitting area to add a focus and...
by GillianPolley | Nov 6, 2013 | Acers, autumn colour, bare root plants, Birds, bulbs, Colour, Edinburgh, Grasses, Green house, Hedges, herbaceous perennials, insects, Jobs to do in the garden, Plants, Polley Garden Design, Roses, shrubs, Snowdrops, Spring, trees, wind rock, winter colour
As I write this, it is raining hard, the wind is blowing strongly around our garden and autumn leaves flying everywhere. The first frosts of the season are about to arrive, the clocks have gone back and it is time for hearty autumn and winter soups to warm you up...
by GillianPolley | Oct 24, 2013 | Acer griseum, art in the garden, Colour, containers, Denmans Garden, focal points in the garden, John Brookes, Plants, Polley Garden Design, Ronald Rae, scent, sculptor, sculpture in the garden, seats in the garden, sundials, trees
I was at a talk yesterday given by the Sculptor, Ronald Rae about his work, which was both fascinating and inspiring. If you live in Edinburgh you may remember his huge hand carved granite sculptures of animals exhibited in Holyrood Park. His Lion sculpture is...
by GillianPolley | Oct 11, 2013 | autumn colour, Bailey, bulbs, bulbs poisonous to dogs, Colour, containers, cyclamen, dogs, Edinburgh, garden gifts, Grasses, heathers, herbaceous perennials, Jobs to do in the garden, Lawns, October, Plants, Polley Garden Design, shrubs, winter, winter colour
Autumn is is finally here this week, after a last blast of summer warmth. The clocks will go back at the end of the month which I loath – all that lost time in the garden! So it is time to begin work on putting the garden to bed for the winter whilst the...
