March
2013: The Welly Shop
-as winter continues to wear on with snow in many parts of the
country, we think this is a must see resource, with wellington
boots of every shape size and colour, and with gift ideas from
£15
June
2012: Chelsea Fringe
-running until 10th June is the alternative to the Chelsea Flower
Show, with a range of events across London. Events range from
performance at the Old Vic Tunnels to Living Medecine Workshops.
The festival ends with Open Squares Weekend on 9th/10th March.
May
2012: Mel Bartholomew
-in the anticipation of some good weather, do browse this blog
by the inventor of the square foot garden, and whose book is
apparently the biggest selling gardening book ever. The blog
is a little random in arrangement, but there is loads here so
just dip in and see what you find.
April
2012 Naturewise
-community group established in London in 1990 to raise environmental
awareness and support sustainable urban livelihoods, they have
developed the first urban forest garden and run permaculture
courses in London and West Wales.
March
2012 Charles Dowding
-the leading exponent and auther of 'no-dig' gardening, Charles
runs courses from his farm in Shepton Montague in Somerset. The
site contains a wealth of useful information on vegetable growing
-learn how to save effort and grow fantistic crops.
December
2011: Westonbirt
Arboretum -at the end of the International Year of Forests
we feature the Arboretum for a second time, Home to Britains
National Tree Collection they have one of the finest collection
of trees to be found anywhere, At this time of year, as the Autumn
walks give way to winter, they put on their enchanted Christmas
illuminated trail through the old Arboretum.
November
2011: Jill Fenwick
-designer contemporary gardens that are organic and low maintenance.
Her gardens reflect a deep interest in sustainability, maximising
bio-diversity, using local or recycled garden materials and by
creating fruit and vegetable gardens to lower food miles and
increase the garden's productivity. Jill has a close link with
The Centre for Alternative Technology in Mid-Wales where she
has a Show Garden designed for sustainability.
October 2011: Trees
for Cities: an independent charity first established
in 1993, which inspires people to plant and love trees worldwide.
Trees for Cities expounds the social and visual benefits of tree
planting, community-led design, education and training initiatives
in urban areas. As well as managing projects in the UK and Ireland
they work internationally in Addis Ababa, Nairobi and Ica, Peru.
Together with Time Out they jointly publish Great Trees of London.
September
2011: Ecocentrus
-originally conceived of as a University project by web-developer
Alistair Macdonald and landscape gardener Matt Morton, this is
an online project to monitor biodiversity by sharing garden data.
Sign up for a free account to register your garden -you can upload
photos of your garden and the species you sight.
August
2011: Willowbank
-specialists in living willow structures -create a living screen,
den or dome for the kids. Grow for a windbreak or simply use
for firewood. They even run courses at their farm in gloucestershire,
or bespoke courses on your own site.
July
2011: Swim Natural
-eco swimming pools that blend with the landscape. They do not
use chlorine or other chemicals, but rather rely on a natural
ecology to balance the water -imagine swimming at eye level with
dragonflies and water lillies.
June 2011: London
Wildlife Trust -a charitable organisation dedicated solely
to protecting the capital's wildlife. They manage
more than fifty London reserves and campaign to save important
wildlife habitats through access to nature reserves, volunteering
programmes and education work. They publish a monthly magazine,
Wild London, past editions of which are available for free download.
May
2011 -The Balcony
Gardener -a beautiful range of ready made container gardens
for delivery to your home. A variety of themes include large
and small gardens, screening plants, edible garden, English country
garden and evergreen garden.
Our pick of the best from the past:
May 2008 -Wiggly
Wigglers -just about everything you can imagine to do with
composting, wormeries and gardening with wildlife -they even
do their own podcast on the subject of natural gardening.
April 2008 -Patrick
Whitefield Associates -Patrick and Cathy Whitefield run courses
in Permaculture based in Gloucestershire and Somerset.
March 2008: Woodland
Improvement and Conservation Ltd -has possibly the largest
selection of trees for sale in the UK, with a very good illustrated
guide to selecting the right tree for your situation as well
as planting and caring for trees.
February 2008: The
Monty Project -Growing Out of trouble -Monty Don began this
project in 2004 with West Mercia Probation Service and the West
Mercia Trust help drug addicts reintegrate and conquer their
addiction by working with the natural world.
January 08: Old
Garden Tools -a fabulous collection of traditional garden
tools -generally available for hire by tv companies.
2007
December 07: LILI
-Low Impact Living Initiative are a non-profit organisation whose
aim is to help people reduce their impact on the environment,
improve their quality of life, gain new skills, live in a healthier
and more satisfying way, and have fun, and save money!
November 07: Room
in the Garden -bespoke 'rusted' iron trellises, pergolas,
fruit cages and gazebos hand crafted in Sussex by Jan Howard.
October 07: Bristol
Street Trees: campaigning organisation that aims to stop
the felling of large trees in our streets, and lobbies for the
replacement of felled specimens
August 07: Postcode
Plants Database -find tailor-made lists of local plants,
hospitable to wildlife and suitable for gardens within your postal
district.
July 07: Design
to Grace -beautiful, elegant outdoor art from RHS Silver
medal winner Natasha Webb.
June 07: MyLandscapes
-site of Amir Schlezinger, designer of contemporary gardens and
roof terraces in London -Islington, Clerkenwell, Shoreditch,
Chelsea, Fulham, Wandsworth -some very nice clean elegant designs.
May 07: The
Natural Gardener -specialists in biodegradable and natural
gardening products -peat free compost, seaweed granules, biodegradable
pots, plugs, natural pest controls.
April 07: Blue
Forest -an amazing range of bespoke treehouses and eco-lodges
-this is just the site to dream of childhood fantasies.
March 07: Heligan
-the fascinating story of Tim Smit's restoration of the Lost
Gardens at Heligan, now open to the public after years of neglect.
February 07: Clear
Water Revival -Bristol based company specialising in the
creation of natural swimming pools and ponds to support wildlife
habitat.
January 07: Federation
of City Farms and Community Gardens -charity that supports,
promotes and represents city farms and community gardens throughout
the UK -members range from organic community orchards to pockets
of urban space saved from development to well-established city
farms.
2006
December 06: Alternative
space -a family run business specialising exclusively in
the design and construction of high quality Garden Rooms using
environmentally sustainable materials.
November 06: Green
Gardener -specialise in the natural biological control of
slugs, vine weevil, aphids, leatherjackets and chafer grubs -also
offer a range of wormeries, worms for the garden, home composters
and wildlife products.
October 06: The
Treehouse Guide -huge amount of practical advice and information
on building treehouses, with lots of examples from around the
world.
September 06: Chelsea
Physic Garden -founded in 1673, as the Apothecaries' Garden,
this 'secret garden' is a centre of education and relaxation,
as well as carrying out research into the properties of 5000
species of medicinal plant.
August 06: Odd
-makers of Odd's Old Rocker -a traditional garden swing seat
inspired by the maker's Great Aunt Trix's ancient upholstered
swinging sofa -just the thing for those long summer evenings.
June 06: Mark
Bolton -we chose the website of Bristol based photgraher
Mark Bolton for its clean, simple and elegant presentation of
Mark's beautiful images.
April 06: Modern
Garden -designer furniture for the garden and poolside.
March 06: British
Trees -the definitive guide to British tree species from
the Woodland Trust and donated by Bill Unsworth in 2004.
February 06: William
Pye -a fantastic site to find inspiration on using water
in the landscape, with animations of many of the sculptor's water
features.
Jan 06: Veddw
Garden -the garden in Devauden, Monmouthshire created by
writer Anne Wareham and garden photographer Charles Hawes is
a great place to find inspiration.
2005
Dec 05: Natural
Driftwood Sculptures -based in Bournemouth, Colin Harding's
business specialises in importing large items of natural driftwood
from British Columbia for use as garden sculptures.
Nov 05: The
Garden Escape -timber garden offices, featured in Grand Designs
Magazine and Channel 4's Property Ladder.
Sept 05: Breeze
House -award winning hand made garden shelters inspired by
the African continent.
May 05: Alan
Titchmarsh -the website of the presenter of Ground Force
-gardening advice, pictures and personal profile.
April 05: Westonbirt
Arboretum -the National Arboretum in Gloucestershire is renowned
worldwide both for its tree and shrub collection and beautifully
landscaped grounds. Today the collection contains around 18,000
numbered specimens covering some 600 acres of Grade 1 Listed
Landscape.
March 05: Timber
Decking Association -everything you need to know about decking,
including Diarmuid Gavin, of BBC TV's Home Front in the Garden,
answering some Frequently Asked Questions on timber decking.
Feb 05: Urban
Jungle -based in Norfolk, this nursery specialises in exotic,
tropical, rainforest and desert plants.
Jan 05: Rosetti
Design -unique bespoke timber designs based in Sidmouth,
Devon -their specialist joinery range includes a green oak half
timbered playhouse., hand made arches, arbours and playhouses.
2004
Dec 04: Reckless
Orchard: a design lead garden design consultancy based in
the Wye Valley with a deserved reputation for community design
projects.
Aug 04: Henry
Doubleday Research Association -the site for organic gardening
-everything dedicated to researching and promoting organic gardening,
farming and food.
May 04: Sensory
Garden -a photographic virtual guided tour of a specially
designed garden aimed at the local and worldwide Multiple Sclerosis
communities, people with other disability or chronic illness,
elderly people, their carers and people who are interested in
various aspects of Natural Health. In addition the unique fundraising
initiative brings together communities who are also interested
in Art & Craft, Music, Peace, Organic Gardening & Wildlife
and generates funds through donations, events and sponsorship.
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