The Garden at Dalemain

We visit the Lake District a LOT… we’re less than an hour away so it’s very easy to drive to. We enjoy weekend jaunts to visit beautiful places we have’t seen before and of course we love relaxed lunches in welcoming county pubs! Even so there are some areas we haven’t explored yet and there are gems to uncover.

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See Through Plants

Verbena and Comma WebBorders are usually arranged with tall plants at the back and shorter plants towards the front. If you want to see all your plants that makes sense. Shrubby plants often create a solid mass of foliage as they grow which acts as a good screen or windbreak behind other plants. But sometimes it’s more interesting to have taller plants at the front…

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Hornbeam Hedge

Hornbeam ThumbnailDespite the cold wet weather the garden is full of life. I tried to photograph a lovely woodpecker feeding on peanuts today but they are very shy birds and it flew off as soon as it spotted me. I wandered down to the pond and birds in the hedge caught my eye. Once again they were off before I could take a decent picture… so here are some photos of the hedge which couldn’t get away!

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How to Design Your Own Garden

Create a Mood BoardGarden design is a complicated business.
Good designers know about plants, design and construction. They have the vision to see how your garden will grow and develop over time and if they’re really good they will exceed your expectations and give you the most beautiful garden that you can imagine. It takes designers years to study and learn everything there is to know about this subject. You couldn’t possibly design your own garden could you? … Or could you? I think that you can… Here’s why:

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