Go Dutch!
Finding English oak planks
In deepest Wiltshire, looking for two top rails for a pair of important oak gates, where the grain hopefully would follow the curve of an old...
A Genius!!
Joanna came to Oxford to give a talk and she was so brilliant, interesting, supremely eloquent, razor sharp and wittier and more elegant than ever!
York stone
Here are three photographs from a fabulous quarry I recently visited near Bradford in West Yorkshire. Wonderful, friendly, warm hearted people made...
Layers of time
In an off-the-beaten-track corner of Rome a week ago, I realised that the layers of living, shown here by the excavation, have a quality which is...
A National Treasure!
I was just looking for some really good reclaimed slates and then Mark was on the end of the phone, and the next day I met him! He has been buying...
Too Much! Ouch!
For whatever the reasons, this is just too much! Nature left on its own makes a perfect shaped oak tree that we can wonder at and admire. What...
Colour, colour, colour!
A visit to the old Tate a few days ago, found us standing in front of so many wonderful paintings by Turner. I still haven't recovered and don't...
Light is the magic!
This was the High Street in Oxford this morning, Wednesday. Yesterday was grey and raining, and tomorrow is forecast grey and raining. But today,...
Beauty beyond words!
Such colours, such luxury, such style, such opulence, glamour, joy, and then such scent as well! Beyond dreams, beyond belief, imagination, beyond...
Seasonal Posts
Traditional terracing
Traditional terracing using local stone sits effortlessly on the steep hills behind Portofino. And the air was alive with glorious fragrance and birdsong. We love working with craftsmen to help create timeless designs in the garden.
Iris Fields
A glorious Bank Holiday morning – the air was balmy, brimming with birdsong and the soft powdery scent of Irises. Almost 200 varieties of iris are available to see and purchase at Wootten’s Nursery. Iris ‘Empress of India’ really sang to me – very healthy and a...
National Garden Scheme
Such a wonderful idea to raise money for nursing charities by kind owners opening their garden gates. I love reading ‘The Yellow Book’ in the winter months to try to work a visit to an open garden with other commitments. Rose and I have just visited two spectacular...
A top 10 garden
I don’t care for rankings or ratings much... comparisons are indeed odious. However, the gardens at Great Dixter were in the realms of sublime beauty at my visit last week and are definitely now added to my top 10 British gardens list. It rained throughout my tour...
Perch Hill
Lunch last week was with Sarah Raven. Gosh she is brilliant and so generous with her knowledge and time. Her bunches, all picked from the garden, usually contain “6 ingredients”. This one includes Tulipa ‘Victoria’s Secret’, T. ‘Helmar’ and T. ‘Royal Acres’ with...
English Bluebells
In larger gardens with damp woodland, we often plant thousands of our native bluebells Hyacinthoides non-scripta. More refined and elegant than their invasive Spanish cousins, H.hispanica, their scent is subtly exquisite yet travels far. Towards the woodland margins...
