Garden visit: Ventnor Botanic Gardens

I have a few snaps from my recent visit to Isle of Wight.
Here's the first batch, of the botanic gardens.

Garden visit: High Beeches

High Beeches Gardens, near Handcross, West Sussex, are looking amazing at the moment. This is definitely the best time to see them.

Garden visit: Furzey (New Forest)

This weekend is the last chance to see a lot of gardens before they close for winter.
Yesterday I found myself, once again, in Hampshire with time to kill.
I decided to take a trip to Furzey, a garden hidden deep in the New Forest.

High Beeches in the snow

I was lucky enough to get a sneaky peak around High Beeches gardens during the snow.
Many of the evergreen trees were groaning under the weight and rhododendrons that had bloomed after the balmy January weather were also buried.
Here are some of the photos I took this afternoon...

Garden visit: High Beeches autumn colour

The riot of colours at High Beeches gardens only got going in the final couple of weeks before the gardens closed at the end of October.
Here are a few photos I took on my last visit.

Garden visit: West Dean

This afternoon we made an unplanned visit to West Dean Gardens near Chichester.
Despite the cooler weather, we managed to see some late summer blooms in the walled garden, not to mention an unrivalled variety of pumpkins and squashes, peppers and chillis.
As it had been an unscheduled visit, I hadn't taken a camera, but here are a few pictures I took on my phone...

Garden visit: Wakehurst

Here are some long overdue photos of my last visit to Wakehurst.
Every time I go there I see something new - one this trip I discovered a forest of carved tree stumps, some beautiful paths through the woods and some late summer blooms in the walled garden.

Garden visit: Sussex Prairies

I have just returned from a private view at a garden I didn't even know existed until a couple of weeks ago.
Sussex Prairies at Morland Farm, near Henfield, is a well kept secret - partly because it was only planted in 2008.
One of the nicest things, if you're thinking of going, is that you can enjoy a drink on the cafe terrace overlooking the entire garden - something a lot of visitor gardens are unable to offer.
Here are a few photos I took of my visit.

Garden visit: Parham House and Gardens

It's rare for me to have free time these days but today was one such occasion.
I spent the afternoon at the stunning Parham House and Gardens before having dinner in the Red Lion in Ashington - I highly recommend both.
These are some of the photos I took of my visit today.
If you do visit Parham, be sure not to miss the beautiful greenhouse and the marvellous long room on the top floor of the house.

Gardens visit: 'My' Italian gardens

After Blogger's critical outage, I am now able to post again.
So, in true Monty Don style, I've got some pictures of Italian gardens from my recent trip to Italy.
Included is the Roman Forum in Rome - while not strictly a garden, it does contain a formal area of hedging and water features. You will also see pictures of Catania's Villa Bellini public park, the Villa Giulia public park in Palermo and the botanic gardens in both of those cities.

Gardens visit: Borde Hill

While I expect many of the National Trust gardens are full to bursting with visitors over the Easter holiday, privately owned Borde Hill was pleasantly quiet.
Here are some of the photos I took on my visit today.

Gardens visit: High Beeches

A lot of seasonal gardens have reopened this month - High Beeches in Handcross is one.
Here are some photos I took on my visit there this weekend.

Is this the cheapest greenhouse?

A few weeks ago I bought myself a portable plastic 'greenhouse' to grow a few salad crops but after a conversation with my mum, I decided to take it back.
Although it was only £17, I decided it was false economy. There was only room inside to grow a few things and the plastic on my mother's greenhouse had perished and subsequently ripped to shreds in only one season.
I decided instead to buy myself a greenhouse.
I looked at quite a few on eBay but they were not much cheaper than buying a new one. Sellers were also asking people to come and dismantle the frame and collect it themselves. It just didn't seem worth the money and hassle for something second hand.
After a hunt around I discovered Norfolk Greenhouses who are selling a 6'x4' budget greenhouse for £69.
The description says, instead of glass or polycarbonate, the steel frame is covered with PVC sheeting, supplied on a roll. The sheeting is buried in the ground, anchoring the greenhouse and preventing the sheeting from being blown away - a common complaint of people with plastic clear-as-glass panels in their greenhouse.
I imagined the PVC on a roll to be semi rigid like a coke bottle so ordered the thing.
Norfolk very kindly contacted me after I had made the order to clarify I knew exactly what I was buying and offered to send me a sample of the PVC before processing my order.
The plastic is not semi-rigid as I had imagined, but completely soft. Having said that, it is very strong, so I decided to get it anyway. Norfolk also offers a polycarbonate conversion kit so, if at a later date I am feeling a bit more solvent, I can upgrade.
The only health warning on the reviews I have read of this greenhouse is that it's a nightmare to construct.
Watch this space to find out how I get on.

Spring has sprung

Here are a few snaps I took this morning when it was misty and damp. A few rhododendrons and daffodils are out. There are plenty of snowdrops too.




Tweet