“Heaven Scent” – By Judy Fenyvesi – 29th June

I think that our sense of smell can be one of the most powerful senses and one that can stimulate our emotional senses too. The smell of baking bread, the smell of fresh cut grass, the smell of flowers and the emotional effects of aromatherapy can evoke memories deep within us all.

One of the biggest pleasures of a garden around this time of year is the scent of fragrant summer flowers. Scented plants will add another dimension to your garden and will help to create an uplifting mood.

When planing and choosing plants for your garden, take time to not only choose different plants that will give you all year-round interest but also to include scented plants. To enjoy the perfume of such plants, they are often best planted near your seating area, patio or pathway where you can enjoy them.

Consider a pergola archway, draped in Wisteria with its cascading fragrant lilac flowing flowers that bloom in May with its heavenly scent and for mid-summer fragrance and interest, add one of the many scented climbing roses. Such a combination is a delight to stroll by in any garden. For the ground, you could opt for a row of lavender to line a pathway to give lovely relaxing scent.

How about creating a relaxing seating area hidden in a corner of your garden; your very own private oasis where you can relax? Fragrant planting in such an area can really heighten the pleasure of such an oasis from where you can simply enjoy being in your garden. Choose a sunny spot, as most scent producing plants prefer that aspect. If the seat has a trellis pergola over it then go for a scented climber like the Honeysuckle or the richly fragrant Jasminum officinale to grow over it. Around the base of the seating area go for scented plants such as Rosemary, Violet and Pinks. For summer evening fragrance go for the Tobacco plant.

I really love the heady scent of Lilies, and I feel that they are best grown in pots as this will help keep them away from slugs and snails that like to chew at the new shoots. Also by having these plants in pots you can move them to other areas if need be.

Various shrubs can certainly pack a punch in the fragrance department like for example the strong perfume of the Mock orange, Philadelphus. One wall shrub, which I personally love, is the Cytisus battandieri with its delightful pineapple scented bright yellow flowers.

So go on, plant some fragrant scented flowers and enjoy the sweet aromas of summer.

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© Copyright Judy Fenyvesi

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Water Water Everywhere

Nowadays a water feature is more or less considered to be an integral feature of any garden design, whether it’s simply for a focal point, or a pond for wildlife, or being used for its ambient sounds of moving water for relaxation. Surprisingly water features have been used in gardens for longer than you may think.

Far back in ancient Egypt around 3000 BC we see the earliest records of gardens, and yes, these gardens did have water features, although most were used for practical purposes. Gardens where mainly enclosed in a courtyard fashion and water channels where formed to irrigate the crops and plants. Later in history, the Moorish gardens of Spain incorporated fountains into their courtyards where people could cool off and have some relief from the hot dry climate.

In Japanese gardens, running water served a practical purpose and water features were sited near to teahouses where the water was used for purification purposes before the ceremony itself, as guests would wash their hands before entering the teahouse. Other practical water features in Japanese gardens include the “deer scarer” where the bamboo pivoted arm collects water and then swings down against a stone with a loud clunk, thus scaring any deer or other wildlife away from the garden and crops.

Nowadays we truly are spoilt for choice with the variety of water features available, although I always suggest that the main consideration for any water feature is that of the safety of small children. If you do have children, then I would strongly recommend the type that has a sealed reservoir, like the cobble or millstone fountains. Other safe styles of water features are narrow and shallow rills or streams which are becoming quite fashionable.

If you are considering a water feature, you could opt for a formal type such as a raised brick one. The choice is endless and you’re bound to find a type to suit your garden, or even get someone to design one for you.

Alternatively, instead of a simple water feature, you may consider having a pond. If you are planning a pond, do remember that it’s best to locate it in an open site where daylight can get to surface-living aquatic plants. Also avoid water features near trees as not only will the falling leaves clog up the water, but tree roots may also damage the pond. There are several types of pond available, from concrete types which you can make yourself, to pre-formed fibre types, toughened plastic moulded ones, or butyl rubber sheet types.

Well that’s it for this week and next week I’ll be looking at scented gardens.

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© Copyright Judy Fenyvesi

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The Joys Of June…

Gardens are now getting into their peak time and for us gardeners were into our own busy time for gardening tasks. Hopefully, with the weather warming up and the days getting even longer, where better to be than pottering about in the garden. If you haven’t got your own garden then go and visit other peoples’ gardens that are open under the National Gardens Scheme.

If you haven’t done so, then now is the time to plant out greenhouse-reared cuttings, annuals and seasonal bedding plants for summer colour interest. Half-hardy annuals from seeds can also be sown outdoors, but ensure that you keep them watered in any dry spell.

Around this time of the year also make sure that you keep an eye out for those horticultural hooligans; slugs and snails. Given just half a chance, they will quite happily munch away at fresh new shoots and your new plants could end up as little leafless stumps. The best time to find these pests is in the morning and early evening and you’ll be surprised as to how many you’ll find. How you deal with slugs and snails is a matter of choice, but I prefer the organic approach.

Want to grow your own crops? Then now is the time to sow directly into the soil and broad French or runner beans, cabbage, beetroot, broccoli, carrots, lettuce, peas and turnips are a great choice.

The grass is now growing rapidly so regular mowing will be needed and if your lawn needs perking up then treat it with some lawn fertiliser to keep it lush and green.

Now is also the time to prune early flowering shrubs such as forsythia, philadelphus, pieris and weigela. Remember to prune out to one-third of the old growth and also pruned back to the size and shape required.

Everything is growing rapidly now in the garden and that includes the weeds, so stay to top of the weeding by hoeing or hand weeding them out. Hoeing is best done in the morning so the hoed out weeds will dry and die off in the heat of the day and can’t get their roots re-established in the soil.

Other ways to cut down weeding is by mulching the ground with bark chipping or with the chocolate scented Cocoa shell, which is a by-product of the Cocoa bean. Remember, that the more plants you have in your border, the more shade you will have and therefore make it harder for weeds to germinate.

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© Copyright Judy Fenyvesi

June… Just June…

If May is my favourite month, then June has definitely got to be my second favourite. With the days at their longest and the garden blooming, spending evenings relaxing outside with various scents wafting in the air is a joy to experience.

The glory of the garden really gathers pace now as we enter the summer months and all the gardening work we’ve been doing should now be paying off.

The nation’s favourite flower, the rose will now be blooming and flower borders can now be full with campanulas, delphiniums, dianthus, irises, oriental poppies and violas. To keep your borders flowering all summer long, just take a walk around your garden in the evenings and deadhead any flowers that have gone over and past its best.

One of my favourite flowers blooming around this time of the year is the Oriental poppy with its showy tissue paper-like flowers.

Poppies are quite easy to grow, as they are not too fussy about soil but grow best in full sun and a must for any flower borders. My front garden is a ‘hot border’ of bright colours, and I have double flowered bright orange poppies which really set of the design quite nicely.

As for my own back garden, I have designed it with a soft pastel colour scheme including some soft sugar pink coloured poppies.

Black coloured flowers are becoming increasingly fashionable and I must admit that I find this colour stunning and elegant in a garden.

One particular such plant is the black viola ‘Molly Sanderson’ with its small yellow centre that looks super. Alternatively, you might prefer the Viola tricolour with purple and yellow flowers and a happier face, or ‘Irish Molly’ with its lovely burnt orange coloured and golden yellow flowers.

Hardy geraniums are super to use for any well-drained sunny border and they’re such a versatile plant to use as fillers between the other plants and as ground cover if you have some spaces in your garden now.

Several varieties of hardy geraniums have long flowering periods such as the Geranium G. x riversleaianum ‘Russell Prichard’ with its bright magenta-pink flowers.

Hardy geraniums come in a wide variety of colours from white, to all shades of pink and blues. One particular nice one is ‘Johnson’s Blue’ with its lavender-blue coloured flowers and these really add a special touch to any garden.

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© Copyright Judy Fenyvesi

Accessible Gardening…

Gardening, not only for people with disabilities but also in general can have wonderful results both in improving motor skills and in reducing stress.

Just a relatively short amount of time in the garden pottering about, watering and generally tending to plants produces measurable feelings of calm in both body and in mind.

It may not be too surprising that gardening as a therapy was introduced following both World Wars. Hospitals made increased use of gardening as therapy in the treatment and re-education of soldiers disabled in the war.

As a therapy, gardening is one of the few hobbies where interaction with a living medium is used. With gardening, people with disabilities get a hands-on connection with the natural environment and life cycle. With gardening there is always something to look forward to, something to plan, something to learn from, and where they may be an emotional disability, a hobby such as gardening can prove invaluable.

Let’s have a look at some things can make a garden more accessible to everyone.

Raised Beds For Easy Wheelchair Access: There are so many designs available for such raised beds, however the best designs are those where the raised beds are supported on legs or columns at regular intervals. With these types of raised beds, knees and front wheels can actually get under the bed and so provide generally better wheelchair access.

Hanging Baskets: The ideal solution would be such baskets with a pulley system whereby the baskets can be lowered easily for watering – or even perhaps using mechanically-timed watering system.

Visual Aided Planting: Planting against contrasting colours, one example being planting tomatoes against a white fence background which makes it easier to see when the fruits are ripe.

Paving Access: Naturally careful consideration should be given to such walkways, with perhaps handrails needing to be added. Ensure that such walkways provide grip and ease of use in all weathers.

Adapted Tools: These are now relatively easy to obtain. Such adaptations can also easily done to existing tools; longer / shorter handles, brightly coloured handles / blades, etc.

Creating Rest Areas Within The Garden: Throughout my website I like to reinforce the idea that a garden should be enjoyed and there are times when we should just “be” in the garden. A restful place in any garden is a welcome addition.

Selecting Plants For Fragrance Colour And Textures: The garden is a veritable world of sensations for anyone; smells, sights, sounds and so on. Also most gardeners enjoy getting hands dirty and feeling their garden, particularly when planting and pruning. Make your garden a feast for all the senses.

Having Edge Guides On Paths: Not only for wheelchairs, this is a particularly good idea to prevent feet getting onto slippery soil. Bear in mind that such guides must be safe themselves to prevent tripping.

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© Copyright Judy Fenyvesi

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May It Always Be My Favourite Time Of The Year…

Undoubtedly May is my favourite time of year in the gardening calendar. It is the loveliest month in the garden as a lot of plants are putting on a splendid show of new growth, blooms, scent and colour.

With lovely warm long days everything is really doing well, but if you still find you have gaps in your borders or you simply want to add more colour to the garden, then around this time of year you have a wide range of wonderful colourful bedding plants to chose. For example, how about adding Geraniums, Busy Lizzies, Salvias, Petunias and Pelargoniums to really brighten up any gaps in your garden?

If you have woodland near you, then take a visit and see nature’s blue carpet of bluebells, which is so beautiful around this time of year. Also see the stunning Rhododendrons and Azaleas with their incredible range of colours from vivid pinks, purples, vibrant reds, oranges and yellows to softer pinks and lilacs. If you are tempted to buy a Rhododendron from the garden centre then remember that it favours acid soil, so it would be best to keep it in a large pot or container with ericaceous compost.

One of favourite climbers is the wisteria, which you will find blossoming now with its cascading waterfall-like pendent fragrant flowers in lilac-mauve or white. Grow this climber on a sunny wall, on a strong pergola or into a tree to give support to this showy climber.

One shrub that has a gorgeous pretty blue colour this time of year is the Ceanothus.

Grow it with a pink Clematis montana next to it or even scrambled through it and you’ll find that this pretty comnination will certainly give colour to any bare part of your garden.

If it’s scent you want for around this month then the heavenly rich fragrance of lilacs is fabulous. This shrub and tree comes in a variety of colours; from white, pink, almost red to magenta, lilac to purple or blue. If you only have a small garden then there are some species that will not grow too big such as the neat habit of the Syrina mircrophylla ‘Superba’.

The Peony is a favourite flower found in many old gardens, and this flower always reminds me of traditional English gardens. They are grown for their large showy blowsy blooms, which are often sweetly scented and have interesting foliage.

This is certainly the month for getting out and about, not just in your garden, but also visiting public gardens and woodlands for a display of nature’s abundance around this time of the year.

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© Copyright Judy Fenyvesi

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Making “Sense” Of Your Garden

I thought this week we’d take a look at a Sensory Garden – a garden which can literally delight the 5 senses… a garden which is just a joy to be in…

So. let’s first take a look at some things to delight the visual senses…

I’d opt for plants that have bold bright coloured flowers or plants with bold architectural foliage such as Fatsia japonica, Yucca or Verbascum olympicum with its large woolly leaves and candelabra of yellow flowers.

The heavenly scent of the lovely perfumes of flowers and the delicious aromatic smells of herbs will elevate the emotions and certainly stimulate the olfactory senses. For scent in the garden, Lavender and Rosemary are a must. I also love the fruity aromatic smell of the Phlomis fruticosa when you rub its foliage.

For strong winter scent go for the Winter Box, Sarcococca confusa and Wintersweet, Chimonanthus praecox.

The relaxing sounds in a garden, like the gentle rustling of leaves, water flowing in a pond, the sweet song of birds and the soft hum of a bee can be really soothing.

Natural sounds in a garden are a good way of being distracted from the hustle and bustle of the outside world. Plants that can provide the gentle rustle of foliage are large ornamental grasses such as the Pampas grass or Zebra grass. Bamboos too are also very good for providing natural sound in the garden.

Different textures of leaves or the interesting surfaces of tree trunks can be used for the sense of touch. Number one on the list for foliage texture has to be the Stachys byzantina otherwise known as Lamb’s Tongue or Bunnies’ Ears with its wonderful woolly foliage.

There’s nothing better to stimulate the sense of taste than wonderful fresh fruit from a garden, or the full flavour of home-grown vegetables. Don’t forget herbs, such as traditional Mint or Rosemary and Sage to flavour home cooking.

So, the next time you’re planning your garden, see what plants and features you can add to awaken your five senses with such safe and interesting plants.

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© Copyright Judy Fenyvesi

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May… Busy May…

May is usually the busiest month in the gardening calendar. With the weather warming up and the days getting noticeably longer it’s a pleasure to be outdoors in the fresh air.

By the end of the May, when hopefully the threat of any frost has past, bedding plants can be planted out and hanging baskets can be prepared to give fabulous splashes of colour to the garden.

Hardy annuals flowers from seeds can be sown into prepared soil around this time and is a good way of getting a mass of colour in the garden for just the cost of a packet of seeds.

A useful tip is to sow the seeds in rows about 4″ apart so that when they start to germinate, you can easily tell which are your germinating flowers and which are the weeds.

Also by sowing this way, you’ll have enough room to hoe the weeds away between your rows of plants. Another good way of getting plants cheaper is to buy plug plants.

These are small plants that can be potted up, grown on and then planted out when they are bigger and stronger.

To help make plants go further; you can divide existing overcrowded perennials clumps and replant them elsewhere in the garden.

If you fancy growing your own tasty organic vegetables, then now is the time to sow crops such as beans, beetroot, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, lettuce, peas and radish.

Some crops may need to be started off under a cloche in order to give them some more warmth. You can easily make your own cloche tunnel with strong wire or metal coat hangers bent into arches and covered with strong plastic sheeting. On warmer days remove the plastic sheeting, but cover the young plants at night.

Around this time of the year lawns need a bit of looking after if you want to keep it looking good. So treat your lawn with moss killer and then rake out the dead moss to help keep the lawn healthy.

If your lawn is small enough, then you may be able to weed by hand, but if it’s larger then you may need to use a lawn weed-killer. To encourage the grass to grow stronger you can also apply a high nitrogen fertiliser to feed it.

With the weather warming up, remember to water pots and start watering the garden, especially fruit and vegetables if the weather is going through a dry spell.

Around this time of year we are often too busy outdoors and easily forget about our indoor plants, so remember to check if any indoor plants have outgrown their existing pots and check to see if any need to be re-potted into bigger pots.

Make the most of the better weather around this time of the year and enjoy the onset of summer in your outdoor room.

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© Copyright Judy Fenyvesi

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Designs On Your Garden…

One question that I ask my clients before designing their gardens is, “How much time would you like to spend maintaining your garden?”

More often than not the response I get is, “I hadn’t thought of that.”

When you think about it, it really does need some thought, doesn’t it?

Although most people generally at first say that they would prefer a garden with as little maintenance as possible, it is only after careful consideration that they come to the decision that they actually would like something to do in their newly designed garden… even if this just means “pottering around”.

After all if you’re going to be in your garden when it’s been re-designed, then why not do something while you’re out there – something that can help you build a “relationship” with your new garden.

A well designed garden can have this “maintenance-factor” built into it by an experienced garden designer – even if it’s as simple as providing small hedges which the owner can themselves trim and prune now and then. They can still however leave the more horticultural maintenance aspects to the professional gardener.

Perhaps this might be something for you to bear in mind as you develop your own garden.

Maybe you would really like a garden where the time you spend working in it is different to what you are currently doing.

Perhaps you really would prefer neat trimming and tidying instead of hacking through unkempt bushes, or perhaps you really would prefer “gentle weeding” on a nice balmy summer’s days as opposed to hacking through wild tangled weeds.

Think about it carefully and I’ll bet that you really would prefer to spend more time in your garden – but only doing the things you really want to do.

In a well designed garden… you can!

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© Copyright Judy Fenyvesi

Inspired…

One of my regular New Year resolutions is to make time during the year to get out and about as much as I can to visit some of the lovely public gardens and wonderful gardening shows.

The Royal Horticultural Society is Britain’s gardening charity organisation and has many wonderful gardens that you too can take time out to visit. The aim of the Royal Horticultural Society is to inspire, inform and to educate those who are interested in horticulture and gardening. Even if you haven’t got green fingers, a day out in the fresh air, taking in the atmosphere surrounded by plants can be very therapeutic and a great stress buster.

Many of the RHS gardens have their plants labelled, so if you see something that you find really attractive then you can simply make a note of the name and the have a go at growing it for yourself. By visiting these gardens you can also get ideas for planting schemes and exciting planting combinations. It’s also worth taking a camera so you can take photos to use for reference.

As well as gardens to visit, the RHS also arranges superb seasonal gardening shows, with the highlight of the gardening year being the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show. You can catch the Chelsea Flower Show next month between the 20th and 24th of May.

If you can’t wait for Chelsea then here are some additional dates for forthcoming gardening events where you’re sure to find inspiration like I always do

Hampton Court Flower Show – 8th – 13th July 2008
Click here for more info at the RHS website

Tatton Park Flower Show – 23rd – 27th July 2008
Click here for more info at the RHS website

Even if you’re not a gardener, visiting these shows is great fun for all the family and who knows… you might even get green fingers!

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Join Me Every Weekend For My Garden Designing
And Horticultural Styling Tips
And During The Week For My Home & Garden Ideas
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© Copyright Judy Fenyvesi

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