tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post4176704676934692301..comments2024-01-19T10:38:38.041+00:00Comments on The Gardening Shoe: The Great Escape.... Gardener StyleSarah Shoesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-7900673213982310502015-09-15T09:22:49.669+01:002015-09-15T09:22:49.669+01:00We spent a week in East Anglia and Essex two years...We spent a week in East Anglia and Essex two years ago and visited all three of those very inspirational gardens.Brian Skeyshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04761762507159759619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-32470307332346735292013-09-29T12:52:16.899+01:002013-09-29T12:52:16.899+01:00Thank you! I agree with you about garden visits. A...Thank you! I agree with you about garden visits. After a lifetime of digging in their heels about visiting gardens, our older children are beginning to tag along without complaining. I am optimistic that they may be getting the garden bug at long last!Sarah Shoesmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-13590239347181721182013-09-24T12:56:36.124+01:002013-09-24T12:56:36.124+01:00Your farm-house garden looks awesome. Ah! visiting...Your farm-house garden looks awesome. Ah! visiting a garden, gardening sales and coming home with plants -- they have energy-boosting, intoxicating power that only a gardener will understand :-). KLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06737654325235566310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-6564743511281043942013-09-18T15:46:27.809+01:002013-09-18T15:46:27.809+01:00Thank you, Helene. The internet is a very comforta...Thank you, Helene. The internet is a very comfortable way to visit gardens. The best thing about a virtual garden tour is that you can visit in high summer when there is snow on the ground at home and you have plenty of time to make plans. Sarah Shoesmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-7944180633288491862013-09-18T15:40:14.851+01:002013-09-18T15:40:14.851+01:00Courtyard garden certainly beats boar pen, for tha...Courtyard garden certainly beats boar pen, for that it what it once was! You would be more than a little delighted by the sheer quantity of bare earth we have here at the moment. Every time I have a spare moment, I carve out another border. I am hoping to get them planted up before the weeds reclaim them. Sarah Shoesmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-71755795541180384642013-09-18T15:36:50.688+01:002013-09-18T15:36:50.688+01:00If only this worked for boring chores. It is such ...If only this worked for boring chores. It is such a shame that visit to a tidy cupboard doesn't whet my appetite for clearing out chaotic cupboards.Sarah Shoesmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-17673985299946898912013-09-18T15:30:35.753+01:002013-09-18T15:30:35.753+01:00You may not offer to help out, but I bet if you we...You may not offer to help out, but I bet if you were to see a weed going to seed on a garden visit, you would quietly remove it from the border. Sarah Shoesmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-37829239741128956422013-09-18T13:45:01.888+01:002013-09-18T13:45:01.888+01:00I would really like to visit Scampston Hall - it l...I would really like to visit Scampston Hall - it looks amazing! NGS/Red Cross/ Village Open Gardens are fabulous. It is lovely to trail around several plots in an afternoon, especially when the sun is shining; and since the gardens are open for charity, cakes and plants can be purchased without a shred of guilt.Sarah Shoesmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-59831928591696814132013-09-18T09:50:25.220+01:002013-09-18T09:50:25.220+01:00I would have liked to have attended that lecture. ...I would have liked to have attended that lecture. I haven't been to the Garden Museum for a while; I must see what else they have going on and visit it soon. Thank you for reminding me! Sarah Shoesmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-30150188664384484472013-09-18T09:47:53.539+01:002013-09-18T09:47:53.539+01:00Thank you. I can see your point about mature garde...Thank you. I can see your point about mature gardens. I like mature ones for their sense of history - that a child generations ago might have climbed an old oak tree for example, or to see the first plant grown after a plant hunter brought it into our country. Much as I hate graffiti, I do like to see old carvings in trees. I was examining a tree recently which had love hearts and carvings from 1930s/1940s and it was really very touching. That said, if someone were to carve their initials into a tree these days, I would be irate! Sarah Shoesmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-17385861777899348082013-09-18T09:36:50.862+01:002013-09-18T09:36:50.862+01:00Striving for greater things... and bigger gardens!...Striving for greater things... and bigger gardens! Sarah Shoesmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-11355522004400407952013-09-17T02:22:15.555+01:002013-09-17T02:22:15.555+01:00My imagination is certainly firing, I’d love a can...My imagination is certainly firing, I’d love a canvass as blank as your courtyard garden currently is!!<br />I used to go to gardens and always got very inspired, these days I ‘travel’ through other people’s blog and watching TV, and I always see things I could use in my own garden. Good luck with your project!HELENEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16112289914239038835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-78019312956606261982013-09-16T16:15:39.137+01:002013-09-16T16:15:39.137+01:00There is nothing so thrilling to me as bare earth!...There is nothing so thrilling to me as bare earth! My mind start whirling with ideas, and much of the inspiration does come from other gardens I have visited, as well as those I have seen in books and on the web. I especially enjoy talking to other gardeners and hearing their experiences. I look forward eagerly to watching your courtyard garden develop. Just the name of it excites me. debsgardenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15656883577922890561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-52628690934663927972013-09-16T13:11:34.735+01:002013-09-16T13:11:34.735+01:00Gosh - now I am wondering which, if any, of the ga...Gosh - now I am wondering which, if any, of the gardens I visited a decade or two ago have changed so dramatically! Holkham Walled Garden is not so formal now - there is still a kitchen garden, but the Arena of Plants has a completely different feel to it. Sarah Shoesmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-51333847498420928402013-09-16T13:06:53.451+01:002013-09-16T13:06:53.451+01:00I like the way you are already planning your trip ...I like the way you are already planning your trip home in such detail! I hope you get to the beach at Holkham too - when we visited, there were some amazing drifts of Sea Lavender in the dunes.Sarah Shoesmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-53776742861641593582013-09-16T13:02:08.466+01:002013-09-16T13:02:08.466+01:00We are very fortunate indeed to have so many garde...We are very fortunate indeed to have so many gardens which are open to the public and also to have so many generous gardeners who open their private gardens for charitable causes. At least blog posts give us a view of gardens around the world. Since blogging, Pennsylvania has entered my wish list of places to visit for this very reason. Sarah Shoesmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-9686147961538575882013-09-16T12:57:44.086+01:002013-09-16T12:57:44.086+01:00We must both exercise patience on the courtyard fr...We must both exercise patience on the courtyard front! Sarah Shoesmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-91149775292092277412013-09-14T23:50:09.059+01:002013-09-14T23:50:09.059+01:00You're absolutely right, there's nothing l...You're absolutely right, there's nothing like seeing another garden to get you really excited about doing something in your own. Margueritehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14377516887669269657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-30423295432199943692013-09-14T19:06:30.146+01:002013-09-14T19:06:30.146+01:00One of my favourite things is to see other gardene...One of my favourite things is to see other gardeners gardening in other gardens. I love watching someone else doing all the work for a change. I seem to spend all my time toiling in my own garden that getting out and seeing other people at it is almost a form of therapy. The thought of perhaps helping out never enters my mind (perhaps that's a bit selfish). Sunil Patelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17998062749546109287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-36952814215825221402013-09-14T14:06:04.214+01:002013-09-14T14:06:04.214+01:00I was lucky enough to visit Scampston Hall and see...I was lucky enough to visit Scampston Hall and see Piet Oudolfs beautiful garden there. I really prefer the NGS Open Gardens though as I get to see smaller garden design and planting. I visited Galmpton Village Jubilee Open Gardens Day last year with 15 local gardens open. I cam back full of inspiration (and several plants), such an enjoyable day out.SeagullSuziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15857680854262709165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-75155962697998497912013-09-12T15:24:59.783+01:002013-09-12T15:24:59.783+01:00You'll have plenty of inspiration after visiti...You'll have plenty of inspiration after visiting those gardens! Being London based, I was able to get to the Garden Museum last week to hear the lecture by Piet Oudolf and Dan Pearson. As slides were shown of their work, they each spoke of how they sourced and chose plants - there was so much to learn from them, I could easily have sat through it twice! I adore Piet Oudolf's work and I really must visit Pensthorpe. I'd come home with more than a few plants though! Carohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11317388242574705433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-75976460762507871132013-09-12T02:35:25.229+01:002013-09-12T02:35:25.229+01:00Good luck with your new project. I usually like t...Good luck with your new project. I usually like to see mature gardens, so I can imagine how my plants will grow (and how large). But, you are right about new gardens being fun to watch as they put in new areas, and the anticipation of how a section will turn out. Like you, I like to see other gardeners gardening - I am always curious if they are doing something in a different way, and maybe learn from them.HolleyGardenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14892421871044249940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-27276307235764889302013-09-11T13:16:49.035+01:002013-09-11T13:16:49.035+01:00I agree - visiting other gardens may seem like a b...I agree - visiting other gardens may seem like a busman's holiday, but it actually revitalises your own ideas and work. It can often be a tiny snippet of planting - a combination of colours or textures . It also stops any smugness which may begin to creep in - all those lovely gardens just leave you striving for greater things !! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-62048971299470585202013-09-11T12:50:13.906+01:002013-09-11T12:50:13.906+01:00Oh please do! I will even get the kids to bake a c...Oh please do! I will even get the kids to bake a cake!Sarah Shoesmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-16554588176360187282013-09-11T12:49:30.184+01:002013-09-11T12:49:30.184+01:00Virtual garden visiting with cake is an excellent ...Virtual garden visiting with cake is an excellent concept. Unfortunately, the kids (aka our resident bakers) have returned to school now, so there is no cake in the tin. <br /><br />I like the idea of your front garden being a "vast expanse of opportunity". I shall adopt this phrase whenever I wade across our muddy, tractor-riven farmyard. Sarah Shoesmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.com