Stourhead Landscape Gardens

June 01, 2012

Stourhead Landscape Gardens

This garden is arguably the best examples of the 18th century garden style known as English Landscape Garden. This is made of a hugh man-made lake, temples, picturesque views all created from scratch.

The dead oak is makes this view so amazing. That's a centuries old English oak decomposing in a dignified manner. So beautiful.

Both Frank & I have a book on English Gardens with this exact view on the cover sans a peacock.

Although we saw some outstanding displays of Rhododendrons of every color, there wasn't any long perennial beds or other annuals apart from the Meadows.

My Path

Garden Fluffer, Personal Gardener, Fine Gardening, Market Gardener these are some of the names I have toyed with as my official title or job description. Most would classify me as a maintenance gardener. But i do things much different than your basic gardening crew. It is all about the process or procedures that I use to make my green spaces.

Simple things, done well. A gardener’s influence on a space is through control. Pruning, thinning, dividing and moving plants around to create an authentic natural look. But this is far from Nature. Step lightly and preen like a large herbivore. Leave all clippings around its source to replenish and shade the soil, creating a good environment for seeds to germinate. Only remove weed seed heads, diseased material and anything sharp like rose thorns, all other green material is made into compost either in a formal pile or as a light mulch. Nothing looks more authentic than a plant mulched with it’s own leaves and twigs. That is my gardening process. Simply well.

This is on top of picking the right plant in the right place. When I am looking to fill a void, no matter if it’s an annual or perennial, tree or shrub, evergreen or deciduous; I start with California and Western US native plants. If nothing fits my requirements (exposure, water, form and floral timing, client preferences) then I look at plants from the other Mediterranean regions of the world.

This blog is my chance to show my work and those things that inspire and influence.

MUG | Mike's Urban Garden | MUG

June 01, 2012

Stourhead Landscape Gardens

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