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

Enter your email address:

to subscribe to Modern Country Style

Modern Country Garden Designer: Jinny Blom

I've got a bit of a fangirl double whammy for you here...

Two words:

Jinny Blom

Have you heard of Jinny? She's a Garden Designer Extraordinaire

and I'm a little bit in love with her gardens.

Jinny Blom designed this gorgeous garden which is based in Gloucestershire. The home is called Temple Guiting and is based in the heart of the Cotswolds.

These walls were built from Jinny Blom's plans. haven't they done a completely fantastic job at blending new with old? 

Pleached hornbeams like the ones below are such a fantastic way of providing privacy but still letting through plenty of light. Look at all that sunshine? Wishing we had a bit more of that right now!!

This is just classic Modern Country gardening at its best. Gorgeous soft planting combined with firm contemporary structure. It's utterly delicious.

Oh Jinny, Jinny, Jinny. If only you had a book we could devour; something we could learn from, to be guided by your experience, in order to make little pieces of heaven in our own back gardens...

But wait? What's this I see before me....

Jinny Blom HAS written a book!

And a full review is coming your way very soon indeed....

Hold onto your seats, my sweet peas, it's a beauty.

Take Care Until Next Time,

Sarahx

Images via Jinny Blom

Enter your email address:

to subscribe to Modern Country Style

Small Garden With A Circular Lawn!

I have a real thing in gardens about circle-shaped lawns. Will you just look at the shape of that lawn.... I hesitate to use the word sexy for what is basically a patch of grass but feast your eyes on those lush curves, baby....

{You want more loveliness like this? Yes! I've FINALLY joined Instagram! If you haven't come to say 

hello to me (I'm Modern_Country_Style) 

I'd LOVE to see you there!}

This circle-shape works especially well on grass in smaller town gardens, where there are very often the harsh straight lines of other nearby houses to content with. Drawing your eye with soft, flowing lines does so much for reducing the impact of the rat-race going on all around you.

Bring a slice of Country into Modern living?

Yup, that's Modern Country Gardens for you!!

;-)

Take Care Till Next Time,

Sarahxx

Image via GAP

Enter your email address:

to subscribe to Modern Country Style

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

Enter your email address:

to subscribe to Modern Country Style

Alliums And Lavender: Modern Country Garden Companions

I've just come back from the perfect late winter's walk - crisp but with more than a hint of Spring in the air! - and I was, again, reminded how completely scrumptiously exciting this time of year is garden-wise. What better opportunity could there be to share another of my favourite Modern Country Garden planting companions. And today's star turn is the Megan Markle and Prince Harry of any Modern Country Garden: alliums and lavender. 

The glamorous, firecracker nature of the aliums sets off the soft, country timlessness of the lavender.

Can you see that aliums show off lavender so completely perfectly: in colour, in form and in height: just feast your eyes on these fabulous examples!

I'm particularly jiggly this year because we've come to the end of the back-breaking digging out of our own garden. Can you feel my relief? I hope it's almost tangible through your screen! It's been unbelievably hard work - hundreds of years of concrete and large stones - and we've done it ourselves in order to save money to put into a new kitchen!

Which means it's VERY nearly time to bring in the top soil, bring in the grass and then...to get planting!! 

Can I get a MASSIVE Hallelujah, please?

{Cue angels singing}

I've visualised our beautiful space outside for so long that, in my head, it's become a place to escape to already in my head! I can almost smell the lavender wafting on the balmy evening breeze...

beautiful things make me happy

I think it's time to put what's in my head out into the real world!

And will this pefect Modern Country Garden partnership of aliums and lavender feature in our new garden? 

You betcha!

Take care until next time,

Sarahx

Images via Belderbos, skwellsphoto, Claire Potter Designs, Beautiful Things Make me Happy, raddlesiddeley, arne maynard, unknown

Enter your email address:

to subscribe to Modern Country Style