http://fennelandfern.co.uk The stylish gardening blog Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:44:10 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en This image is not what it seems. Take a closer look. These pleached hornbeams are not growing atop a trellis: they are growing on trunks woven together. This practice, dubbed 'Treedome' or 'Arborsculpture' by creators Konstantin Kirsch and Richard Reames, blends together living matter to create stunning and surreal plant ... http://fennelandfern.co.uk/2010/03/11/weaving-trees/ Row 1: 'Ashbrook' from Dobies; 'Nymans' from Nicky's Nursery; 'Erika' from Nicky's Nursery; 'Bijou' from Mr Fothergill's Row 2: 'Revolution' from The Cook's Garden; 'Tom Thumb' from Seeds of Change; 'Dazzle' from Unwins; 'Lakeland' from Thompson and Morgan Row 3: 'Frillice' from Unwins; 'Delicato' from Mr Fothergill's; 'Multy' from Thompson and Morgan; ... http://fennelandfern.co.uk/2010/03/10/inspiration-board-potager-lettuces/ I've always found slighty odd things exciting. And plant hormones are just one of those things. I genuinely do think auxins are quite cool. I'm not expecting anyone else to jump on this bandwagon, but you could at least pinch out your sweet peas once you've finished groaning at me. ... http://fennelandfern.co.uk/2010/03/09/pinching-out-sweet-peas/ Patricia Fox's modern take on the potager, 'Freshly Prepped', went down a storm at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show last year. The designer decided to create a kitchen garden (which was also a kitchen in a garden), where every single plant was edible. But that wasn't enough - this isn't ... http://fennelandfern.co.uk/2010/03/08/designing-a-hot-plot-patricia-fox/ My client wanted to combine her love of food and flowers in some arrangements for a wedding anniversary party. As the event was to be held on St. David's Day, I chose to use a hand tie of Daffodils which were placed in a fishbowl vase. Double-sided tape was used to ... http://fennelandfern.co.uk/2010/03/07/think-outside-the-vase-march/ Image by Remy Erra. Before I begin the wrap-up this week, I've had a request from top garden photographer Rachel Warne. She is looking for gardens that are a bit lost and in need of restoration to photograph. They might be grand, or they might be teeny-tiny little city gardens. If ... http://fennelandfern.co.uk/2010/03/07/image-of-the-week-and-the-wrap-up-4/ ...these delightful recycled products from Hen & Hammock. Both this trug and planter are made from recycled tyres, and look fabulous to boot. I have to admit that normally I have a bit of phobia of trugs, and, at the risk of offending any readers, the women who carry ... http://fennelandfern.co.uk/2010/03/06/ff-loves-7/ Image by Michiteru Kodama. Chaenomeles x superba 'Crimson and Gold' likes to lie low in the garden. It creeps up to you in early spring and shouts 'I'm flowering! Pay me attention!' And you do. Soldier-red flowers with regal gold stamens make you sit up and look. And so do the ... http://fennelandfern.co.uk/2010/03/05/a-plant-to-love-japanese-quince/ Image copyright Nobu. I'm quite a fan of mixing purely ornamental flowers and veg, but sometimes I wonder whether this is rather silly, given the number of stunning flowers  which go on to produce fabulous edible crops. So before you plant up your patch with plants you can't eat, here are ... http://fennelandfern.co.uk/2010/03/04/the-hot-plot-flowering-veg/ Unless you have many rambling acres of gardens in which to grow your veg, chances are that like most F&F readers, you'll be trying to combine flowers, pumpkins and somewhere to enjoy the fruits of your labours all in one plot. And growing veg doesn't mean that you automatically sacrifice ... http://fennelandfern.co.uk/2010/03/04/introducingthe-hot-plot/