It takes a special garden to be a hit with the whole family. Father needs to see a variety of horticultural situations for inspiration to furnish a similar plot, his daughter (this gardener) would like to see innovative planting combinations and unusual plant forms, and his granddaughters require brilliant colour… Read More »Notes from a Head Gardener ~ Hunting Brook Gardens (a surprise multi-generational crowd pleaser)

Factual gardening books are not my usual choice for bedtime reading. Bedtime is normally reserved for escapism, intrigue and a leap into a different life for half an hour or so before (hopefully) a gentle drift towards my sweetest dreams. Yet the moment I picked up Dan Pearson’s Natural Selection:… Read More »Notes from a Head Gardener ~ A book Review of Dan Pearson’s Natural Selection: A Year in the Garden

Article published in The Wiltshire Gardens Trust Journal  For the next three years I will be juggling my work as a freelance horticulturalist with a busy family life whilst studying for The Royal Horticultural Society Master of Horticulture course. When I tell people that I am studying towards the MHort… Read More »

Rose pruning. Of all the garden tasks this is one of the most satisfying. I enjoy a puzzle. To take a jumble of stems and train them into a pleasing and ultimately floriferous form is immensely rewarding.  With every year that passes, my adoration of the rose multiplies.  A thorny… Read More »Notes from a Head Gardener ~ Chapter 9 ~ Tying knots with gloves on

All is quiet on the blogpost front and I have the most marvellous excuse. I am a Royal Horticultural Society Master of Horticulture candidate. In three years time, if all goes to plan, I will be able to put the letters MHort after my name.  Far more important than the… Read More »Notes from a Head Gardener ~ Chapter 8 ~ All is quiet at www.nicolahope.co.uk

South Wood Farm near Honiton in Devon is a pocket powerhouse of a garden. It appears to have a little bit of everything ~ a stunning 17th century farmhouse as a focal point, a setting in a lush and peaceful valley, fabulously colourful planting in a walled courtyard, a collection… Read More »Notes from a Head Gardener ~ Chapter 7 ~ The perfect garden…..almost