Mike's Bio

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 its 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. 

Based on your blog's archives and custom navigation labels, you have visited a vast selection of prominent English gardens over your tour years (spanning 2012, 2014, 2016, 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2024). Here is the comprehensive list of English gardens and major floral landmarks you have documented visiting:

Prominent Estates & Manor Gardens

• Barrington Court (Somerset – visited in 2014)

• Beth Chatto’s Garden (Essex)

• Biddulph Grange Garden (Staffordshire)

• Blenheim Palace (Oxfordshire)

• Borde Hill Garden (West Sussex)

• Broughton Grange ( Oxfordshire)

• Chatsworth House (Derbyshire)

• East Lambrook Manor House (Somerset – visited in 2012, 2016, and 2022)

• East Ruston Old Vicarage (Norfolk)

• Gravetye Manor (West Sussex)

• Great Dixter (East Sussex)

• Hestercombe House & Gardens (Somerset)

• Hidcote Manor Gardens (Gloucestershire – visited in 2014)

• Iford Manor Gardens (Wilts)

• Kiftsgate Court Gardens (Gloucestershire)

• Levens Hall (Cumbria)

• Mottisfont (Hampshire)

• Nymans (West Sussex)

• Rodmarton Manor (Gloucestershire)

• Rousham House & Garden ( Oxfordshire)

• Sissinghurst Castle Garden (Kent)

• Stourhead Landscape Gardens (Wiltshire)

• Studley Royal Water Garden (North Yorkshire)

• The Courts Garden (Wiltshire)

• The Garden House (Devon – visited in 2016)

• Trentham Gardens (Staffordshire)

• Waterperry Gardens (Oxfordshire)

• Wollerton Old Hall Garden (Shropshire)

RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) Gardens

• RHS Harlow Carr (North Yorkshire)

• RHS Hyde Hall (Essex)

• RHS Rosemoor (Devon – visited in 2012 and 2016)

• RHS Wisley (Surrey)

• RHS Bridgewater (Greater Manchester)

Unique & Coastal Gardens

• Derek Jarman’s Garden / Prospect Cottage (Dungeness, Kent)

Flower Shows & Public Highlights

• RHS Chelsea Flower Show (London)

• Sheffield - Grey to Green (Urban landscape project)

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(Note: Your archives also track broad geographical regions you've explored on these tours, including extensive stops across the Cotswolds, East Anglia, London Gardens, The Midlands, Northern England, South Eastern England, and South Western England, alongside nursery destinations like PanGlobal Plants and Special Plants.)