Knoll Gardens & Neil Lucas

Grass man Neil Lucas is a joy to listen to. Interesting and humorous and incredibly knowledgable about his topic...GRASSES of course.

About 20 'garden designers' and hangers on followed him and his assistant Luke around the glorious Knoll Garden this afternoon soaking up the knowledge and even asking one or two pertinent questions.

The gardens look spectacular at the moment and apparently will do so long in December. If you haven't been GO GO GO. The Euonymus make it worth while and that's before you set eyes on the sweeping grasses and trees.

Managed to escape with no more than 3 plants which is an achievement.

Panicum Heavy Metal,  Molinia arundinacea 'Karl Foerster' and Miscanthus nepalensis with it's frothy bronze fronds...of course division will be taken from a friends hoard of 4 grasses, so in reality there are 7 new additions to be squeezed in come spring!

was inspired by the Paperbark Mulberry

and the pruning techniques

Waterperry Gardens, Oxfordshire

After a minor panic about the soft landscape portfolio images for Autumn I rearranged my schedule on the weekend to visit Waterperry Gardens in Oxfordshire.

From 2009-10-10

Recommended for it's borders by CH, wife of Principal D, in her 'Garden of the Month'.

Weather was mixed but thankfully good enough for some dead images certs for the folio. Bumped into at least 2 fellow students, SE and her gorgeous family, TR and saw from a distance NC. We were all out to make the most of our last few autumnal weekends.

The herbaceous borders are all but done although the gone over Eupatorium pupurea and Solidago's were looking as good deceased as they would have full of life set off by the somewhat lively Wisteria which was looking remarkably verdant for this time of year. The simple scale of the borders and plantings was very satisfying.

Rounding a corner or two the grasses (Miscanthus malepartus and Carex ???) alongside Sedum 'Autumn Joy' and Phlomis saria looked equally striking and offered good views back across the aster filled herbaceous borders.

An interesting if odd mix of combinations and as an autumn garden certainly well worth the 90 min trip.

Oh and 2 people go free on and RHS card :)