Amanda
Last Lady Gardens for BBC Somerset!
I am feeling sad! I’ve come to the end of an era… I’ve been broadcasting pretty much monthly for BBC Somerset for around 8 years and today was my final outing on these particular airways; the reason being because I’m moving to Sussex. For existing and new clients in the West Country, don’t worry, I’m not [...]
A garden of two pergolas
I’ve just been back to visit a garden I finished earlier this year, and thought you might like to see. Before I started, the garden had some uncomfortable slopes, with a 4m drop from top to bottom, and also a drop from one side to the other of nearly 2m; added to which the neighbours had built [...]
Open Garden, RNAS military cemetery, Yeovilton
As part of the Society of Garden Designer’s 30th Anniversary celebrations, 30 gardens across the UK have been selected to showcase the best of British design and I’m delighted to say that my design for the extension to the military cemetery at Yeovilton (see portfolio) has been selected as one of these gardens. The Open Garden [...]
John Makepeace’s garden of grasses, Dorset
I had a bit of a busman’s holiday last Sunday, visiting the eminent furniture maker John Makepeace’s garden in Beaminster. It’s always interesting seeing how a craftsman in one medium transfers ideas and concepts into another, and the Makepeace garden is no exception. I suppose it’s no surprise that there are few straight lines, given that [...]
update to Taunton garden
I’ve just been back to visit the garden I designed at Trull, near Taunton in Somerset, a year after completion. You can see pictures of this garden as it’s being built (and as it was before) in my blog archive for February 2010. If you remember, the box knot was already in place, and it gives a [...]
Chelsea flower show 2011
I’ve just come back from two days at the show – lucky me! You can catch my Monday morning broadcast for BBC Somerset during the next week on their website’s Listen Again feature (see ‘things I like’ for link). This is my 11th successive visit to Chelsea and one of the most interesting things over the years has [...]
national award for my Bruton garden!
I’m thrilled that the garden I designed in Batcombe, near Bruton http://www.amandapatton.co.uk/portfolio/batcombe/ has won its category in the Association of Professional Landscapers (APL) awards for 2011. These major awards celebrate the outstanding skills and craftsmanship that go into making the very best gardens and I’m delighted for Original Landscapes that this is the third year in [...]
why I love winter
As I’m writing this, it’s lashing with rain, the wind is thrashing my black bamboos against the window and it’s not exactly warm, so why, you might ask, is this a season to enjoy? I realised a while back that while we all think spring and summer are lovely, there are just as many summer days [...]
the delights of fading flowers
When I was an impoverished art student, I took to painting dead flowers. I don’t think it was the fact that I couldn’t often afford to replace any flowers I bought that led me to paint them, more that there was some intrinsic beauty in them that captivated me. This painting (below) was one of [...]
contemporary cottage garden design near Sherborne
For many years I’ve admired a very pretty thatched cottage that’s on a small lane I occasionally use, so was particularly delighted when the new owners asked me to look at the garden for them! I think they were quite pleased that I not only knew their house but (in the nicest possible way) have coveted it for some [...]