I love this prototype fold up greenhouse by the designer Daniel Schipper. It is made from recycled plastic and being frame less folds for storage. Its perfect for yards, balconies and roof gardens.
The shape I think makes it more than just a greenhouse with the wonderful angles on the ends creating a real sculptural effect. Not on the market yet but we can hope.
Spring in any garden is all about bulbs. They are the original convenience plant. They come ready packaged, containing all the food they need to sustain them until they finish flowering.
If you missed out planting your containers with spring flowering bulbs in the autumn, pots of pre-grown bulbs are now available in DIY stores and garden centres. They are a great no-risk item - sprouted ready to flower in a few weeks time.
I bet this is something you never imagined - a watering can + chamber pot combined to enable you to 'self fertilize' your yard!
Available from the Swedish suppliers www.guldkannan.se who see the 'Towa', as the can is called, as a practical way to collect and distibute your 'liquid gold'.
Cost approx 63 euro/83 USD
Image Flock-follies
These funky birds are made from the offcuts when making bird feeders. They are from www.flock-follies.co.uk where they are hand made so you never get two the same. Great for indoors or out and just come alive when the sun shines through them.
Starting at £5.50 each they are definitely going cheap!
Saw this bench just before Christmas on one of my favourite blogs www.urbangardensweb.com. The bench is from the Dutch studio of Floris Wubben.
Bench No.3 is made from polyropylene, wood and lacquered metal. The clever part though is how the mixture of man made and natural materials link to create a pleasing rhythm.
Made from English Ash, this simply stylish Branch bird feeder stand is from www.greenandblue.co.uk. Though at £165.00 +p&p it is a lot more expensive than the mass produced steel tube designs, it is well worth it for the visual pleasure it brings.
Heavy snow covered the yard this morning creating great features of the shaped evergreens.
The heavy frosts we've had in England this week has created amazing features. The combination of frost, the sun and the shading from the house had created this white arc on a neighbouring front lawn this morning.
Once winter bites most of the herbs I grow retreat for the winter but this year my Garlic Chives, having flowered late, are fighting the frost! Unlike the ordinary chives that have rounded foliage and purple ball shaped flowers, Garlic Chives have flat leaves and umbels of white flowers held high on slender stems. The flowers now dry, are covered in frost in the mornings creating a super architectual feature.
Garlic Chives are a great substitute for garlic in cooking as the leaves have a sweet garlic flavour. You can I believe, lift clumps in the autumn, pot them up and keep them growing on the kitchen windowsill to use throughout the winter. You can grow them from seed but its easier to buy plants in the spring.
Photo Philippe Perdereau
I just love this hedge! It may be a bit over the top for my small yard but it is a great image.
The garden was designed by the landscape architect Piet Blanckaert for a client in Belgium. The grass used for these amazing feathery hedges is Pennisetum alopecuroides Hamelm. Maintenance is easy, the plants are just cut down in spring with shears and then they will grow to acheive their full potention by the end of summer. Wow.
