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| Classic Dutch landscape near Appletern Gardens |
There is no good news from the garden this week. The early summer perennials that were making a brave show in the front garden have been battered virtually horizontal by several days of heavy rain and some winds with more than a hint of October about them, which is a great shame as the oriental poppes were looking particularly fantastic.
It is tempting to give the whole lot a slightly belated 'Chelsey Chop' and see what comes back later...
I fear for the later summer perennials too, as the foul weather has made short-lived blue goo of my eco-friendly slug pellets, allowing the massed mollusc armies to feed mercilessly on Helenniums and Rudbeckias alike. They have also done for the second sowings of carrots, parsnips and swedes in the veg patch, the slimy little scumbags.
So let us turn our eyes from the catalogue of disasters on the home front and instead consider some gardens at the peak of perfection, returning to the Netherlands trip at the beginning of May and some pictures from glorious Appeltern.
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| Wonderful water feature |
Unlike the foul and filthy weather that battered us at the Floriade, we were blessed with warm sunshine for our visit to these fabulous show gardens. It was a shame, therefore, that after being frozen the day before I had erred on the side of caution and put on two pairs of socks!
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| Pergola and interesting shadow effect |
The various gardens at Appeltern showcased both innovative and traditional design styles and were beautifully planted, a contrast to several of the Floriade gardens.
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| Sculpture and simple design |
They are continually maintained and improved by the companies who use them to show off their hard landscaping materials, sculpture products or plants, so there were some areas under reconstruction, as well as an entire section of very avant garde schemes.
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| Great combination of black and blue |
There were also plenty of examples of the dense, naturalistic planting that characterises Dutch New Wave garden design, with the last spring bulbs dotted amongst emerging summer perennials.
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| Landscape in minature |
Many gardens made interesting use of water, sometimes mirroring the dykes that criss-cross the Dutch landscape.
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| The islands and pond are both slightly offset, giving this garden a more dynamic feel |
Ponds came in all shapes and sizes, but almost all had been colonised by noisy brilliant green frogs!
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| Amphibian residents |
There were some intriguing uses of certain plants as well. Bamboo, generally used as a tall, architectural plant for impact or screening appeared in several gardens as a low hedge or clipped into boxes.
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| Bamboo boxes |
Interesting effects using structurs and shadows were also visible thanks to the sunlight, that we would have missed on a dull day.
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| Sculpture and shadows |
It was easy to spend the six or so hours that we had exploring the many gorgeous gardens, but luckily there was also a superb self-service restaurant where a particularly delicious apple cake was available, so we could rest weary feet and discuss our favourite plants and gardens.
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This beautiful Cornus was a star of the show
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So, we've got the inspiration - we just need the weather to get out there and make it all happen!
