yardz

Worth waiting for

Just taken delivery of six Hosta White Feather, ordered in spring but suppliers ran out of stock. They produce amazing pale cream leaves in spring folowed by mid green streaks and pale lilac flowers. They're going to be planted under a cantelevered deck in the shade that they really like.

Alan Gardner Yardz Designer of the Year

Sutton Coldfield based Alan Gardnerhas been selected as Yardz designer of the year 2008. Having started his career training at Birmingham Parks Department, Alan left to become a freelance garden designer. The 90's saw him move from 'bog standard' garden layouts to enterprising display gardens at national garden shows. His style has evolved to become much more of a design statement than a functional garden. His display garden at the RHS Chelsea flower show this year, called 'Perspectum' , was classic 'gardner' only matched by Alan's show garden at Tatton Park for the British Coffee Association.

Alan's domestic garden work entails earth sculpturing and the use of strong feature hard landscaping. Planting is minimal but always a strong point in the design.

www.alangardnerdesign.co.uk

Urban Elements

Apta who have always led the field in contemporary containers supplied to garden centres, have introduced a stunning new range for 2008. Called Elements, the range has a clean contemporary look. Its round lines will soften hard landscaping and provide a strong contrast to achitectural plants.

www.apta.co.uk

Glory Glory

Vitis coignetiae, the Crimson Glory Vine, is a great achitectural climber for extreme small gardens. It is vast and vigorous, with large handsome, glaucous leaves that contrast well against brick walls. It explodes in autumn in rich colours of orange and red, before loosing its leaves and leaving a network of polished mahogany stems. In a micro garden use it as a main feature with no other climbers diluting its strong presence. Echo the shape of the leaves in container planting using plants such as Ligularia or Bergenia or contrast with strong 'spikeys' such as Phormiums or Stipas.

Above all use the changing growth of the climber to be 'garden art' throughout the year.

www.crocus.com

Lines

'Everything must be straight or the world will explode' Edward monkton

Amazing planters from www.urbanplanters.co.uk

Dark nights and bright lights

'Light' planters are the latest addition to the evergrowing range of outdoor lighting. Plants almost disappear in the darkness of winter nights as the strong shapes of the planters glow in a range of pastel and strong colours. www.designandlandscape.co.uk supply a wide range of these planters including the stunning tall Pisa. For a standard pot shape the Ambiance from www.elho.com is widely available and priced around the £40 mark.

Purple Haze!

Callicarpa's stunning violet coloured berries are a masterpiece of overstatement. No leaves in autumn just these glowing purple orbs - worth mass planting in a raised bed with nothing else and then waiting for the end of summer - WOW!

Callicarpa bodinieri 'Profusion'

www.crocus.co.uk

Amsterdam - a planter for a new age

Amsterdam by ELHO is a low planter in synthetic pottery. ELHO is a trendsetter in the field of colour and style for inside/outside plant containers. The Amsterdam is a versitile planter available in six colours for 2008 - white, black, fuchsia, metallic blue, metallic green and metallic purple.

Try planting white Cyclamen Miracle in a black Amsterdam for an art deco feel or deep pink Cyclamen Miracle in a fuschia coloured Amsterdam for an uncompromising statement. Both will provide style and colour to the smallest of spaces, the balcony, deck, etc.

www.elho.com

Welcome to the world of the Treepee

This exciting new design combines the timeless appeal of a 'tree house' with the thrill of weightlessness and aerial suspension. It really is quite a bizarre sensation!

The UV protected fabric means that, if hung at ground level it makes a fun and safe area for 'little ones' to play out of the sun.

There are pockets to store toys inside and a bag on a pulley so that supplies can be winched up through the opening window.

This is more than a child's play tent - great for your morning yoga - a retreat from the world and room enough for more than one!

The fabric is fire retardant, water repellent and UV protected. It comes complete with a bag & pulley, scramble net and a 1000kg safety strop for suspension.

www.livelifeoutdoors.co.uk

You can't get any fresher

The world's first 'smart' kitchen garden now makes it possible for anyone to grow fresh herbs, vine-ripened tomatoes , and more on the kitchen counter, all year round. It uses NASA-proven aeroponics to deliver the right amount of light, water and nutrients. Simple, foolproof and 100% guaranteed to grow.

www.aerogrow.com