Are you committed to gardening and gardens and does gardening continue to be the gift that just keeps bringing horticultural enjoyment and satisfaction? Or is the opposite true; you really want to get to grips with the garden but struggle to find your way in or are foiled by a lack of design or horticultural knowledge? It’s certainly true that some take to gardening easily while others want to experience its joys but are held back by a lack of confidence or a history of expensive plant failures. Whichever position describes your experience there are many ways to either increase the gardening pleasure you currently enjoy or to find ways of gaining that all important sense of understanding and control.
In my experience, people’s motivation for gardening comes from a combination of any of the following three sources:
- An unbridled, unselfconscious sheer enjoyment
- A thirst for horticultural knowledge
- A desire to make an attractive garden
Even for an individual with a long history of gardening and a deep knowledge of horticulture it can be rewarding, exciting and inspirational to see the subject expressed beautifully through someone else’s understanding of it. For those lacking the confidence or knowledge there is no better course of action than to invest some time learning while getting to grips with those parts of the garden that don’t seem too intimidating. Listed below are the tried and tested ,quality sources of garden inspiration that over the years have served many a novice and experienced gardener alike.
Magazines: – Gardens Illustrated, BBC Gardeners World, the Royal Horticultural Societies’ The Garden, the Society Of Garden Designers’ Garden Design Journal
Garden visits: – Top quality garden inspiration can be found by visiting the many significant gardens in and around Gloucestershire that are open to the public. Usually associated with A Big House these gardens always have design and planting ideas that fit neatly into more modest or indeed tiny spaces. Don’t forget to take lots of photographs.
Gardening clubs and societies:- Cirencester and its surrounding villages are blessed with a wealth of freely available horticultural knowledge. The same goes for allotments; flower and veg growers seem incapable of not wanting to share their enthusiasm, skill and knowledge.
The Library:- A gateway to horticultural and garden design books, magazines, journals and on-line information.
Open Gardens:- The National Gardens Scheme www.ngs.org.uk gives access to thousands of private gardens who’s proud owners are very keen to impart their nuggets of garden wisdom.
Short Courses/One off talks /On line learning:-