Gardening Around the World: The Top Ten Gardens to Visit – Part 1!

Gardening Around the World: The Top Ten Gardens to Visit – Part 1! by Floral and Hardy

As gardening is such a global pursuit, is important that those of us who hold an interest in horticulture should be encouraged to pursue the purveyors of the craft’s excellence – and to the ends of the earth if possible! With summer holidays approaching, we now have an opportunity to tailor any excursions we might be planning in order to realize this goal. So, we’ve compiled a list below, which in our opinion, best reflects the champions of green fingery around the world, based on the qualities of aesthetic, ambition, innovation and technique.

Although our list maybe different from yours, and yours from aunty Jane’s, we’ve tried to include the widest possible range of disciplines and cultures that best reflect the multinational art form that is gardening.

So in no particular order…

1. Le Château de Versailles (France)
Topping more or less every list going and the last word in French formal gardening, which prizes order over natural formation, and pristine and exacting symmetry, is prodigal designer Andre Le Notre’s masterpiece. Designed and constructed during the reign of King Louis XIV and unique for its use of foundations which litter the 800 acre site and whose original hydraulics are still in use today.

2. Katsura Imperial Palace (Japan)
It’s no secret that I’m a sucker for the Japanese garden style, but this bias by no means detracts from the majesty and grandeur that is the Katsura royal garden, designed over five hundred years ago by then prince Toshhihito, with the aid of a tea master-come-horticulturalist. It is the most famous and thorough representation of the Japanese water garden and has been asserted as the most complete example of the country’s culture anywhere.

3. Villa Lante (Italy)
The Villa Lante is probably Italy’s foremost example of renaissance gardening. Construction began around 1566 under the direction of Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola and later improved upon by Tommaso Ghinucci ,who oversaw the design of the gardens renowned fountains and water grottos. Another famous aspect of the garden is the progressively descending plateaus of water, serving as a fluid stairway, and it is for this reason that Ghinucci’s involvement was so paramount, as without his engineering expertise, the fluid perfection of the fountains could not be achieved.

4. Huntington Botanical Gardens (United States)
Henry Huntington procured the San Marino ranch at the turn of the century and successfully converted the land into a kind of a gallery of different garden designs, including a famous section devoted to lily ponds. It houses over 14,000 species of plants and its desert area is home to the largest collection of Aloe outside of its endemic Africa. Other themes covered in the garden are European formality and Japanese minimalism.

5. Stourhead (England)
Made famous by the 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, Stourhead really is a relic of English tradition. Originally established in the 18th century, it is also one of the largest sites on our list, at over 1000 hectares. It houses its own village, Palladian Mansion and forest. The real beauty of this place stems from its inspiration - as the scenes there depict, its designer took much from the pastoral poetry and art that was popular at the time and tried to evoke those themes by erecting circular temples and naming features of the garden for characters from the Greek tradition.

Tune in next week for more inspirational gardens from around the world!

Written by Joshua Ellison of Floral & Hardy Gardens, consulting in Garden Design Weybridge

Article Source: Gardening Around the World: The Top Ten Gardens to Visit – Part 1!

Helpful Hints: Planting a Garden

Helpful Information If You've Decided To Plant A Garden by chickie maxwell

Having decided to plant a garden, there are a few things to take into consideration. How much garden space is available? Is the soil prepared and ready to plant? How long is the growing season? What types of plants are desired to be grown? Is a garden hard to maintain?

Gardens come in many different shapes and sizes. The amount of space available to plant a garden will dictate the quantity and type of items to be planted. A garden could range in size from several acres of land to a planter located on the balcony of an apartment. Whatever space is available should be sufficient to plant a garden.

Soil preparation is very important before planting a garden. It is best to disc or till the garden spot in the fall, and then in the early spring add fertilizer and disc or till it again. For small areas a small garden shovel or hoe will be sufficient for working the soil. In very large areas a small tractor with a plow and disc may be more suitable. Eliminate any dirt clods after tilling by harrowing or raking the area to leave a smooth finish that is ready for planting.

Location helps decide what types of items to plant in the garden. The length of the growing season will make a difference in the successful outcome of growing some types of items. Research the average temperatures for the area, and decide how long the growing season will be. Some plants do better when the temperatures are cool and others when it is hot. One widely used technique is to start the seeds in containers indoors before temperatures are warm enough to plant outdoors. Although this procedure works very well in a greenhouse, it is not necessary to own one. A seed in a small cup of soil kept moist with water, and placed in a window sill, will sprout and begin to grow. Once the outside temperatures are sufficiently warm to not freeze the plant it can be transferred to the outdoor garden area.

Knowledge of the various types of plants desired will help in the decision of what to plant and when to plant it. Become familiar with the specific types of vegetables and/or flowers to be grown. Learn how long it takes to go from planting the seed, to how long it takes vegetables to reach harvest, or for flowers to bloom. This is as easy as reading the information found on the back of most seed packets.

Maintaining a garden requires continual weeding and watering of the plants. Too many weeds, or the incorrect amount of water, and the plants will suffer. Keep the soil soft to prevent weeds, and watch for wilting or yellowing leaves which indicate the incorrect amount of water.

To plant a garden takes some effort and thought, but will be very rewarding. With sufficient space, soil that is prepared for planting, an acceptable growing season, an understanding of what plants are desired, and appropriate maintenance, a beautiful garden can be obtained.

MyReviewsNow offers information regarding how to plant a garden. To learn more about how to plant a garden, visit our website at MyReviewsNow.net.

Article Source: Helpful Information If You've Decided To Plant A Garden

Top Ten Gardens to Visit- Part 1

Gardening Around the World: The Top Ten Gardens to Visit – Part 1! by Floral and Hardy

As gardening is such a global pursuit, is important that those of us who hold an interest in horticulture should be encouraged to pursue the purveyors of the craft’s excellence – and to the ends of the earth if possible! With summer holidays approaching, we now have an opportunity to tailor any excursions we might be planning in order to realize this goal. So, we’ve compiled a list below, which in our opinion, best reflects the champions of green fingery around the world, based on the qualities of aesthetic, ambition, innovation and technique.

Although our list maybe different from yours, and yours from aunty Jane’s, we’ve tried to include the widest possible range of disciplines and cultures that best reflect the multinational art form that is gardening.

So in no particular order…

1. Le Château de Versailles (France)
Topping more or less every list going and the last word in French formal gardening, which prizes order over natural formation, and pristine and exacting symmetry, is prodigal designer Andre Le Notre’s masterpiece. Designed and constructed during the reign of King Louis XIV and unique for its use of foundations which litter the 800 acre site and whose original hydraulics are still in use today.

2. Katsura Imperial Palace (Japan)
It’s no secret that I’m a sucker for the Japanese garden style, but this bias by no means detracts from the majesty and grandeur that is the Katsura royal garden, designed over five hundred years ago by then prince Toshhihito, with the aid of a tea master-come-horticulturalist. It is the most famous and thorough representation of the Japanese water garden and has been asserted as the most complete example of the country’s culture anywhere.

3. Villa Lante (Italy)
The Villa Lante is probably Italy’s foremost example of renaissance gardening. Construction began around 1566 under the direction of Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola and later improved upon by Tommaso Ghinucci ,who oversaw the design of the gardens renowned fountains and water grottos. Another famous aspect of the garden is the progressively descending plateaus of water, serving as a fluid stairway, and it is for this reason that Ghinucci’s involvement was so paramount, as without his engineering expertise, the fluid perfection of the fountains could not be achieved.

4. Huntington Botanical Gardens (United States)
Henry Huntington procured the San Marino ranch at the turn of the century and successfully converted the land into a kind of a gallery of different garden designs, including a famous section devoted to lily ponds. It houses over 14,000 species of plants and its desert area is home to the largest collection of Aloe outside of its endemic Africa. Other themes covered in the garden are European formality and Japanese minimalism.

5. Stourhead (England)
Made famous by the 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, Stourhead really is a relic of English tradition. Originally established in the 18th century, it is also one of the largest sites on our list, at over 1000 hectares. It houses its own village, Palladian Mansion and forest. The real beauty of this place stems from its inspiration - as the scenes there depict, its designer took much from the pastoral poetry and art that was popular at the time and tried to evoke those themes by erecting circular temples and naming features of the garden for characters from the Greek tradition.

Tune in next week for more inspirational gardens from around the world!

Written by Joshua Ellison of Floral & Hardy Gardens, consulting in Garden Design Weybridge

Article Source: Gardening Around the World: The Top Ten Gardens to Visit – Part 1!