I love what you write about, and am really interested in learning more. Is there a course you know of that is sympathetic to the kinds of planting and design you talk about?
Hi Emma, thank you. I've created an online course on the Wild Way for £26/year with the core lessons available here: https://www.wildway.info/p/wilder-way-garden-design-guide and I'm planning on taking a couple of workshops out to gardening clubs from later this year.
Great, thank you, I just subscribed as I realised I owed you that for all the information you so generously share. I will look at the course with great interest.
Brill, thank you :) you don't owe me anything! But I am glad to have you on board - if you have any questions please do let me know. There's the chat for paid subscribers and I always reply to every question in the comments of specific articles.
Though for me it's a matter of availability (and sometimes laziness), I call my patch wild design! I do pull weeds from some beds, but other than that, they're more than welcome.
Lovely read as always. I visited Great Dixter for the first time this weekend and was very pleased to see that they seem to have this similar kind of free approach there (probably perfectly planned I suppose?). There are of course some very purposeful, structural, ornamental plants but among all of that they seem to be letting the self seeding wild flowers roam about. It made me feel super relaxed. Much more so that a super structured and formal ornamental garden does.
Ah yes, Great Dixter has always absolutely nailed it in terms of the relaxed feel, I love it there and it remains my favourite. Too far for us to visit easily now unfortunately but I'll go back whenever I can. It does make me feel relaxed too, though I've known a few people say it can feel chlaustraphobic in the height of summer - I love the big planting though.
Love this approach. It took a bit of selling, but I allowed the end of garden (reasonably large, not as big as yours!) to rewild like this over a few years. Now we have a fairly full self seeded canopy of cherry and birch trees, and several beautiful lilacs that were hidden behind brambles when we moved in.
I love your path though, it’s so aesthetic. My dogs trample anything tall, alas…
Thanks Alex, I kinda did the path as temporary thing but actually it just feels right for the space, I've grown to love it as well. I think the approach definitely takes seeing it first hand to believe it works, so a test patch like yours is perfect. I do recommend having a mown path or strip to help make it look intentional and also to make it accessible to us walking in to look at it. For dogs I find taking the approach but using shrubs is the way! :)
I love what you write about, and am really interested in learning more. Is there a course you know of that is sympathetic to the kinds of planting and design you talk about?
Hi Emma, thank you. I've created an online course on the Wild Way for £26/year with the core lessons available here: https://www.wildway.info/p/wilder-way-garden-design-guide and I'm planning on taking a couple of workshops out to gardening clubs from later this year.
Great, thank you, I just subscribed as I realised I owed you that for all the information you so generously share. I will look at the course with great interest.
Brill, thank you :) you don't owe me anything! But I am glad to have you on board - if you have any questions please do let me know. There's the chat for paid subscribers and I always reply to every question in the comments of specific articles.
Thank you!
Though for me it's a matter of availability (and sometimes laziness), I call my patch wild design! I do pull weeds from some beds, but other than that, they're more than welcome.
That's one of the big benefits isn't it, that you can be more relaxed and allow the garden to not takeover ours lives
Lovely read as always. I visited Great Dixter for the first time this weekend and was very pleased to see that they seem to have this similar kind of free approach there (probably perfectly planned I suppose?). There are of course some very purposeful, structural, ornamental plants but among all of that they seem to be letting the self seeding wild flowers roam about. It made me feel super relaxed. Much more so that a super structured and formal ornamental garden does.
Ah yes, Great Dixter has always absolutely nailed it in terms of the relaxed feel, I love it there and it remains my favourite. Too far for us to visit easily now unfortunately but I'll go back whenever I can. It does make me feel relaxed too, though I've known a few people say it can feel chlaustraphobic in the height of summer - I love the big planting though.
Love this approach. It took a bit of selling, but I allowed the end of garden (reasonably large, not as big as yours!) to rewild like this over a few years. Now we have a fairly full self seeded canopy of cherry and birch trees, and several beautiful lilacs that were hidden behind brambles when we moved in.
I love your path though, it’s so aesthetic. My dogs trample anything tall, alas…
Thanks Alex, I kinda did the path as temporary thing but actually it just feels right for the space, I've grown to love it as well. I think the approach definitely takes seeing it first hand to believe it works, so a test patch like yours is perfect. I do recommend having a mown path or strip to help make it look intentional and also to make it accessible to us walking in to look at it. For dogs I find taking the approach but using shrubs is the way! :)
I’m working so hard to keep my garden alive in our 98F this week in North Carolina. At least we are on well water. Lushness is just a dream right now.
I guess you have to roll with what works locally to you - is that excessive or normal for your temperatures at this time of year?