Vale Garden Flowers

24/04/2026

Small garden report Spring 2026.
It's almost exactly a year since we moved to this ten year old house on the edge of a development in a lovely large village with all the facilities you could ever need within easy reach. We've seen quite a lot of the (excellent) doctors' surgery, spent a lot of time in the Sainsburys three minutes away and generally enjoyed living here but most surprisingly, really love this little garden. It took me a while to adapt. I've got used to large gardens with greenhouses, polytunnels, a mini flower farm but I'm now revelling in the discipline of making a small space glorious. The hard landscaping can't be changed and anyway, it's pretty well done, but we have carved up the lawn, created a large flower bed and redesigned the planting. The (sort of) Japanese bed is coming on nicely, and the two trees I've squeezed in are doing well. And to all those people who think a South facing garden is the best thing ever, think again. It's more complicated than that. This garden is north facing but we have a little sun trap in the corner and now the sun is higher, plenty of sun elsewhere. Most excitingly, our efforts to get the birds in are paying off...Mrs Blackbird was having a splash around in the new bird bath this morning!
And the seedlings? That's a whole other story...🌱

16/01/2026

Spent the morning gardens this morning, getting ready for our wassail event tomorrow evening. It looks like it's going to be quite a celebration of the trees but as it's fully booked I can't invite you to come along. Sorry.
But I can invite you to Snowdrop weekend, Saturday 31st January and Sunday 1st February. I've had a lovely time wandering around the plots today looking for snowdrops. What a joy!
But the last picture is something different. It's a big bed and I shall be filling some (possibly all) of it with cut flowers for drying this year. They will all be grown from seed by me. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to this project and the seed packets are beckoning...💚🌿🌾🌱

04/11/2025

👨‍🌾Our Gardeners and volunteers are busy winterising the gardens
And, as such, we’re closed for general admissions until the New Year
😍HOWEVER, we have a beautiful bunch of Special Events for Nov & December!
Come along and experience amazing events in Warwick’s historic Gardens!
👉More information here: https://hillclosegardens.com/community-and-events/events/

03/11/2025

November.
It's a very good idea to keep a record of your garden as the months go by, particularly if you're replanting it. In some ways I'm a very patient gardener...I will happily buy small/young plants (to save money) and enjoy watching them grow over several seasons. I will sow seeds and know they won't be flowering for months. But this business of waiting a whole year, A WHOLE YEAR, before you do anything? Well, that makes no sense to me. It might be an age thing!
So I'm planting lots of young perennials and there may be one more young tree to come. I'm working on the view from the kitchen window and who doesn't love a bowl of violas (white is my favourite colour in the winter months). I see a bit of a "container corner" emerging and my new clematis are settling in well. I'm loving the bright purple callicarpa berries and that dear little hellebore is flowering its socks off. What we can't see yet are all the (many) spring bulbs and I know, if I've planted the right plants, it will look very different by next summer. So much to look forward to 💚

01/11/2025

👉Tomorrow! Sunday, 2nd November, it’s our 🎉FREE ENTRY COMMUNITY DAY🎉
🏡Explore autumn in our 16 restored Victorian Gardens – for FREE!
🕚From 11am to 4pm: Discover the National Plant Collection of Hardy Chrysanthemums • 70+ historic apple trees • The Gardens’ part in Warwick’s social history • and so much more!
😍Plus: Family activities • Eye-Spy Trail • Apple Trail • Free guided tours at 11am & 1pm 📍At Hill Close Gardens • Bread & Meat Close • Warwick • CV34 6HF | Just by Warwick Racecourse
Love Warwick Warwick Visitor Information Centre Warwick Town Council Unlocking Warwick About Warwickshire

20/10/2025

Many thanks to Paul for these swiftly delivered seeds. Buying them fresh from a British flower grower is the best way to find unusual varieties and the freshest seeds. And such fabulous packaging!
But what are they for? Some of my flower growing friends will know...Can you guess?
There's a little plot gardens earmarked for a new project for 2026 💚🌿🌱🌺

11/10/2025

19/09/2025

Well, it's been quite a week one way or another. The lawn "redesign" is underway rather sooner than I'd expected (Bodgeit Bob, my OH, couldn't wait to get going..). I don't have any glorious garden pictures to share yet, just muddy work in progress. The rotavator arrives on Monday and some new turf next Wednesday. My positive covid result arrived two days ago 🫣
Not ideal since I'm supposed to be doing half the work and our grandson's birthday was yesterday.
In other news, something has eaten most of the leaves on my newly planted and rather expensive clematis Jingle Bells but one of my new little hellebores is already flowering. Probably a little confused, like me. I'm looking forward to planting lots of things very soon, including the glorious nandina domestica I couldn't resist at several weeks ago.
But most of all I'm looking forward to visiting the Malvern Autumn Show next weekend as an ordinary punter. I hope to come home laden with plants. Anyone else going?
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11/09/2025

The season has definitely shifted. I know this because I've been reaching for socks and jumpers and only just resisting. It's been quite a summer one way and another and I'm looking forward to Autumn more than usual. It is, after all, the best season for gardening...plants can be replanted, seeds can be bought (and in some cases, sown), plans can be made and plants purchased. I've spent so much time planning how I'm going to change our new garden and saying, out loud, that we can't do all the work ourselves. Well, guess what...The spade beginning to dig up the very sad lawn may give you a clue about what's going on now.
In other news the grapes are pretty impressive and actually edible! But the final picture shows my only attempt at very small scale vegetable growing this year. Oh dear...

31/08/2025

Let the end of summer planting begin! For those who don't know, this garden is our smallest for many a long year but it will be beautiful and full of glorious plants. My aim is to prove that a "woman of a certain age" who loves plants, loves growing stuff but knows she won't have the capacity to do the heavy lifting for ever can still have it all. Even the odd tree. So there.
I'd like to say I placed the bench with the yellow cushions directly below that yellow climbing rose on purpose but no, it's a happy accident. Which much of gardening is, however experienced you are.
The little bed outside our kitchen door is going to be full of spring beauties and I'm beginning with hellebores. Thanks to for the young hellebore plants, much the best and most economical way to buy them. The heuchera have done sterling service in pots since last autumn and can now get their feet down into the soil.
I'm itching to go and buy a load of spring bulbs but have to wait till September. Hang on...that's tomorrow! 💚
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