by GillianPolley | Feb 18, 2020 | 2020, Amelanchier, April, autumn, autumn colour, autumn colour in the garden, back gardens, bees, bees and insects, blue, bulb planting for insects, bulbs, Colour, Colour 365 days a year in your garden, containers, Cornus, Cornus 'Midwinter Fire', Crocus, Design, designing your own garden, Edinburgh, February, front garden, Galanthus, garden inspiration, habitat for wildlife, insects, Iris reticulata, long flowering period, low maintenance plants, March, Mixed bulb planting, Narciccus 'Rijnveld's Early Sensation', Narcissus, Planting colour for Dreich February Days, Plants, Polley Garden Design, Ribes sanguineum 'Elkington's White', Ribes sanguineum 'White Icicle', Snowdrops, Spring, spring blossom, spring colour, windy conditions, winter, winter colour, Winter colour and cheer in the garden, winter scent in the garden, winter structure
As the year moves through February and March you can have another layer of colour and interest to your winter planting with additional shrubs and early flowering spring bulbs. Ribes sanguineum is a really tough early flowering shrub (March/April) usually seen with...
by GillianPolley | Jan 22, 2020 | 2020, Architectural Plants, back gardens, berries, Colour, Colour 365 days a year in your garden, colour in the garden, conifers, container growing, containers, Cornus, Cornus 'Midwinter Fire', December, Design, designing your own garden, driveway, Edinburgh, evergreen plants, February, focal points in the garden, front garden, front garden/driveways, Galanthus, garden inspiration, gold, Grasses, gravel, Hamamelis, Hellebores, herbaceous perennials, holly, Ilex x altaclerensis 'Golden King', Iris reticulata, January, ornamental grasses, Pinus mugo 'Mops', Pinus mugo 'Winter Gold', Plants, Sarcococca, Sarcococca confusa, Sarcococca hookeriana var humilis, scent, Skimmia japonica, Snowdrops, spring colour, stalwart garden plants, windy conditions, winter, winter colour, Winter colour and cheer in the garden, winter scent in the garden, winter structure
January is not my favourite month and some years it seems longer than 31 days. But as the month pushes forward it is cheering to see the day light lasting a little longer each day. In my own front garden I am determined to add to the cheer by planting colourful,...
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 | Jun 6, 2017 | 'Lelystad' bulb mixture, 2016, 2017, Anemone, April, bees and insects, bulbs, Colour, colour in the garden, Design, Edinburgh, focal points in the garden, front garden, front garden/driveways, garden inspiration, Holland, insects, JUB Holland, Keukenhof Park, long flowering period, low maintenance plants, Mixed bulb planting, Muscari, Narcissus, Narcissus Topolino, Polley Garden Design, scent, shrubs, Spring, spring blossom, spring colour
Inspired by my visit in Spring ’16 to Keukenhof Park just outside Amsterdam and seeing 7 million bulbs in bloom, last October we planted 1000 bulbs in a plant bed in our front garden under some deciduous shrubs. The bulbs we planted were a special mix called...
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...