The Cotswolds’ Finest Gardens

The first day of Spring! How wonderful, how magical!

There's a warmth in the air, and the buds are swelling magnificently...

Buscot Park Gardens

In just a few short months, garden-visiting season will be upon us. If you live in the Cotswolds, or simply fancy a fantastic day out in this beautiful part of England, then grab yourself a copy of The Cotswolds' Finest Gardens by Tony Russell and get day-tripping. Each page or so is devoted to one of the gardens I've described here, with information, photos galore, and full contact details....

Barnsley House Gardens 

There are so many incredible gardens in this area; we're unbelievably lucky.

Hidcote Manor Gardens 

Hidcote Manor Gardens 

Living here, it's hard not to take it for granted that tucked away around every corner of every street, there's seemingly an incredible garden waiting for you.

Iford Manor 

Iford Manor 

Even on a grand scale like this, there's plenty of inspiration to be had, plenty of ideas for you to take away....

Snowshill Manor Gardens on Modern Country Style

Snowshill Manor Gardens on Modern Country Style

Whether its a particular pergola style, or a certain heavenly-smelling rose, you'll want to leap straight into your gardening boots the moment you come home!

Sudeley Castle Gardens 

Sudeley Castle Gardens 

Sudeley Castle Gardens 

Because the amazing part is: all of these gorgeous gardens, and many many more, are open to the public at various times of the year! That's what's soooo good about books like The Cotswolds' Finest Gardens (published by Amberley). The stunning pages are not just there to tease you but to entice, to lure, into a reality that can be very much yours.

What are you waiting for?!!

Take Care Until Next Time,

Sarahxx

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The Thoughtful Gardener by Jinny Blom: Book Review on Modern Country Style

Remember last time, I shared one of the legendary garden designer Jinny Blom's beautiful gardens? Today, I want to show you a book that you're going to absolutely love. The Thoughtful Gardener by Jinny Blom herself has fast catapulted into my top ten gardening books. 

First off, the photographs are absolutely stunning. Image after image of Jinny Blom's designs fill every page, including sneak peeks into her own garden. Each of them will have you scrutinising every single detail, trying to work out how you can bring such beauty, such magnificent understatement into your own garden.

But Jinny Blom doesn't leave you there, drooling over her work. She very generously takes us through her whole design process: from initial examination of the site for clues of any historical or architectural features which can be incorporated into the design.... 

...through the stages of putting thought into action, and then tonnes of advice and inspiration about the planting itself.

Jinny Blom describes herself in The Thoughtful Gardener, which is published by Jacqui Small, as 'unmoved by fashion' but, somehow, whatever she does is absolutely at the forefront of what people love to look to for inspiration. Her timeless, soft planting, combined with her love of introducing a contemporary nod in the form of topiary and hard landscaping, make her one of the very best Modern Country Garden Designers around.

Take Care Until Next Time,

Sarahxx

Images via Jinny Blom

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Book Review: The Layered Garden

I'm on the hunt for seriously inspirational garden books to inspire me while we do the hard raft in our home. And when I find a corker, I love to share them with you... Have you heard of The Layered Garden by David L Culp? It's the book I'm sharing with you today and it's a cracker!! It's sub-title is Design Lessons For Year-Round Beauty From Brandyvine Cottage.

Don't we all want a garden which appears to be at its best through every month of the year, from 'the first snowdrops...to the last branches, berries and bark of winter'? This is the essence of the thinking behind layering in your garden.

By carefully choosing the right plants for your space, David Culp argues that it is possible to draw out the very best from each space in your garden to produce layers of interest in each season.

And the thing I most love about The Layered Garden is that the author, along with his partner, have created the most fantastic garden, at their home, using these principles, which they share, along with mountains of generous details, on every page.

The 'Layered' of the title, not only applies to maximising interest at each time of year but also to making the very most of all heights in your garden. Take a look at this fantastic Before and After of their Ruin Garden and you'll see what I mean:

Isn't it incredible what they've achieved with such an uninspiring space?

The Layered Garden (published by Timber Press) is one of those very best kind of books that makes you want to devour every page, squeeze out every last drop of knowledge and then get cracking on your own!! 

Take Care Until Next Time,

Sarahxx

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TWO Book Reviews: Shades Of Grey And New Small Garden

Have you been good this year?!! Are you looking for Christmas present ideas? Here are my last two Modern Country book recommendations for your Christmas list this year.. I have one for inside and one for outside!

The first is Shades of Gray by Kate Watson-Smyth (published by Ryland, Peters and Small). Now I have to be honest and say that when I first heard of this book, I was tempted to roll my eyes: Not another person getting on the grey bandwagon....but then I actually saw it for myself and was utterly converted! Please give it a try!

Imagine all your favourite Modern Country Style interior photos in one place, with specific paint ideas, advice and inspiration....that's Shades Of Grey in a nutshell. 

There's very little boring grey in here (which is what initially worried me) but there is LOTS of gorgeous, subtle greyed hues. Plus plenty of description of real paints, leading you to want to read every last word to make sure all inspiration is squeezed from the pages.

The second book is utterly lovely Amazon bestseller New Small Garden by Noel Kingsbury (photographs by Maayke de Ridder). This is published by Frances Lincoln who have produced so many completely gorgeous gardening books. 

New Small Garden has all you'd expect in a book about gorgeous small gardens - plant list, top tips, stunning photos.....BUT what I think marks it out from the crowd is the quality of the ideas. Noel Kingsbury's knowledge is vast and he shares it very generously.

There are so many tips I'll be taking and using as we plan and design our own garden. There are charts comparing plants' seasonal performances, for example, helping you to minimise the amount of time you have deteriorating foliage on show. Then are masterclasses to teach you about plants' structure over time. 

In a small garden, it's vital that you make every square inch count and New Small Garden really takes that idea to the next level by teaching you how to effectively layer plants. 

Shades Of Grey and New Small Garden are two very different books but both utterly Modern Country. Click through to Amazon now - You'll love 'em!!

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Book Review: The Garden Source by Andrea Jones

I first came across The Garden Source by Andrea Jones in a local bookshop and I seriously struggled to put it down! 

This book is a little different from anything else I've seen (and much the better for it!) so let me try to explain...

The Garden Source (published by eightbooks) is divided into four sections, which is each further subdived:

Connect: Lawns, Gates, Steps, Sightlines...

Divide: Walls, Seating, Pots, Trees...

Space: Rural, Small, Walled, Vegetable...

Style: Country, Formal, Contemporary, Rose....

Each of the sections is basically gorgeous photos after gorgeous photo but by curating them in this way it's so easy to find bountiful inspiration and to search very specifically.

It's a little like the Pinterest board of all the best gardens in the world, with each image carefully described, all collected in one stunning place, and in glorious book form!

Andrea Jones is one of the world's foremost garden photographers and seen thousands of different gardens to be able to draw ideas from. The Garden Source is a wonderful sneak peek into the crevices of her beautifully organised archives.

The Garden Source is currently taking pride of place on my pile of bedside books, and I know it'll be one of my go-to book for years to come.

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The English Country House Garden and Designing Gardens: Book Reviews

Hello, my scrumpets,

Today I have two last book suggestions for your Christmas wish-list before we crack on with some real Christmas action...

The first is The English Country House Garden by George Plumptre and photographs by Marcus Harpur (published by Frances Lincoln) which shares with us a whole gamut of gorgeous spaces, most of which (is that angels singing?!) are open to the public in one way or another, the National Trust, NGS or simply open their gates.

We're taken, chapter by breathtaking chapter, through some of the most beautiful, I think its not too blushingly unEnglish to say, world-class gardens: Sissinghurst, Great Dixter and Hidcote (termed The Essentials) are all here, natch, but also, twenty other beauties, each every one of them jaw-droppingly stunning.

Yet The English Country House Garden isn't just pretty pictures; in his highly readable and educational text George Plumptre reveals the Unfolding History, the Country House Garden Ideals and Personal Creations in subsequent chapters, showing that England really does do gardening very well indeed....which leads me nicely onto my second choice...

Arabella Lennox-Boyd's Designing Gardens: this is one of those wonderful books that manages to inform and inspire at the same time. The first part of the book expounds garden design principles: structure, planting, planning and schemes, while the second part shares a huge range of gardens designed by Arabella.

That's the basic premise in a nutshell but I feel it stops seriously short of revealing what an incredible resource this is. Arabella Lennox Boyd has been extremely generous in sharing so much of her hard-earned knowledge.

I love it that she's very honest about the challenges she faces in each plot, and the solutions she finds, whether it can be measured in acres...

...or centimetres.

It's easy to taste the passion in each page of Designing Gardens, some of these gardens have been worked on for nearly thirty years - that's commitment for you!

{Tell Santa to click through on the links for each book!}

Now then....the festive season is calling....let's get Christmassy.....

Images by Marcus Harpur and Andrew Lawson

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