Le Jardin Plume

January is all about reflection and resolution, so I am planning to share more of my ongoing projects with you this year as well as the trips and books that have been my inspiration over the last few months.

In July, I drove to the south of France calling on the way at two gardens that I had read about and was longing to visit.

The first was Le Jardin Plume, North-East of Rouen in northern france. It is a naturalistic, French-style version of Sissinghurst, I suppose. Artistically shaped hedges contain an explosion of perennials and grasses surrounded by beautifully converted barns. The effect from a distance is of a meadow, but from close up the borders display a matrix of fabulous plant associations.

There is also a ‘secret garden’ feel as you step through the gate in the hedge from the windswept Normandy landscape into the shelter of this magic space.

The heart of the garden is an orchard laid out in a geometric grid. Broad mown allees separate squares which have had bulbs and perennials…Camassias, Geraniums, Eupatoriums…..planted into the longer turf.

A cool, calm reflective pool pulls the sky down in to the garden. Try resisting your instinct to spend a while in one of the adirondack loungers, taking in the amazing detail surronding you.

The orchard

Stipa calamagrostis, Dianthus carthusanorium and verbena hastata A corner of the plume garden

Echinacea, Adenophora and Verbascum...fab colour combination!

Pennisetum, Digitalis parviflora and Stipa gigantea

Inspirational planting like this will be a big influence this year when I am devising naturalistic planting combinations for a two acre project that I am working on at the moment. Construction begins in two weeks so follow progress reports and photos on this blog over the next 6 months or so…….oh, and more on my trip to France and a fabulous Provencal garden and amazing B and B soon! 

So to find a garden that is actually at its best in February is quite unusual.Last weekend I visited Little Court in Crawley near Winchster and was delighted to discover a fabulous orchard garden planted  with carpets of  crocus, snowdrops and aconites.

 I was visiting my daughter who is at Winchester School of Art and had seen some very evocative photographs of Little Court in an article in February Country Living magazine. Wide swathes of naturalised Crocus lit up the Victorian orchard, while nearer the house bantams picked around amongst a carpet of Snowdrops.

Glowing, golden Aconites shone below tawney grasses and jewel Hellebores in the pale sunlight.

April will bring Anemone blanda beneath the venerable Copper Beech followed by the china blue of Muscari ‘Valerie Finnis’ and in the orchard the crocus are gradually overtaken by ‘White Lady’ narcissus. Snake’s head Fritillaries follow together with species Tulip. In the sumer the Orchard takes aback seat and broad herbaceous borders take a starring roll.

Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area. Crawley is a picture perfect English village with duck pond and thatched cottages. I really did expect Miss Marple to step out of her front door at any moment! Oh and as always when visiting a ‘Yellow Book’ garden open for the National Garden Scheme, the teas were delicious, served from the rather pretty village hall decorated with gingham tablecloths and tiny, fresh bouquets of miniature Daffodils. A real treat!

Here are the most recent photos of the completed walled garden, ready to supply a fabulous range of tasty home grown fruit and veg this summer!

Infact the winter is the best possible time to be planning a new garden or the overhaul of a mature garden. The process of planning and constructing a garden can take six months or sometimes longer with a large project. So the message is, if you are dreaming of relaxing in your beautiful garden on a summer’s evening with a glass of something chilled in your hand, then start planning now!

Landscape contractors often become booked up very quickly once the weather improves, the clocks go back and people start to look critically out of their windows at the garden. So it pays to be ahead of the crowd and commission a Master Plan as early in the year as possible. A Master Plan allows you to get quotes from Ladscape Contractors, confident that each will be quoting for the same job and knowing exactly what the finished garden will look like.

Here’s some things to think about before you call in  a Garden Designer to help with your garden:

• How do you want to use your garden? Relaxation, entertaining, growing tasty fruit and veg, children’s play or maybe a mixture of all of these?
• What do you like most about the garden now and what do you hate?
• Is low maintenance important or would you enjoy caring for your garden?
• Any special features that you would like to incorporate…… a summerhouse, a pond for wildlife, a wall fountain for the sound of trickling water for example?
• What styles of garden do you like?….it might be fun here to look at some magazines and books and stick post-it notes on the images that appeal to you.
• Favourite plants?
• How large will your table and chairs be? Do you like to sit in the sun or the shade?
• And finally, and this is the tricky bit, how much budget do you have for the project? As a very crude guide, investing in a new garden will be a similar cost to a new kitchen.

You are all geared up now to get the most out of your first meeting with a Garden Designer and that dream of relaxing with a glass of wine next summer in your own little Eden is one step closer!

Hellebore

Enjoying your garden in winter is an acquired skill. It is easy to scan the garden from the warmth of the house and miss out on all beauty that is emerging from the cold earth. You will need to wrap up warm and go out into your garden and really take a close up view . Tiny gems like Hellebores, Snowdrops, Aconites and Scilla would hardly be noticed if they flowered in May or June. They would be mobbed by the blowsy beauty of Peonies and Roses and pushed right out of view by lush foliage. At this time of year though, they shine like stars against the bare soil.

Once you adjust to focusing on the smaller picture; flashes of colour rather than broad brushstrokes, texture and form rather than flower power and architectural drama rather than luxuriant fullness provide the interest.

Snowy Sedum

 There does need to be a little planning and forethought for this to happen in your garden, otherwise you may well end up with wide sweeps of dull soil and sad bunches of twigs! All gardens need structure. This can be provided by paths, walls and pergolas; but should also be complemented by structural planting. A backbone of evergreens holds the garden together in winter. Evergreen hedging , topiary, shrubs and perennials will gradually emerge as the party that was summer in the garden slowly runs out of steam and autumn’s quieter beauty takes over.

Even if you don’t like the idea of having to go out into the winter garden , you can create a joyful winter border in view of a window or beside the front door. Plant Snowdrops and Scilla bulbs together with Helleborus orientalis beneath a Daphne odora ‘Marginata’ the latter providing evergreen structure and sweet scent sometimes as early as January. Concentrate the show in one area for real impact.

Snowdrops and winter sunshine