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The (British) National Plant Show

Two inspiring British gardens to visit

Martyn Cox,London,garden,small garden. Image: ©Martyn Cox.Two inspiring, but relatively small, private gardens – one in the city and one in the country – are opening for charity in Britain this coming Sunday (27 June).

 There are not many garden writers who open their gardens to all comers. But Martyn Cox, who writes a weekly column for one of Britain’s best selling Sunday newspapers, The Mail on Sunday, is opening his tiny London garden on Sunday. And it really is tiny – just 30ft x 15ft - but thoughtfully designed and with so many plants squeezed in it’s a wonder there’s room for the family. If you have a small garden, you’ll surely find it inspiring. Martyn Cox,London,garden,small garden. Image: ©Martyn Cox.

And, of course, being a writer, he wrote a book based on what he learned designing and planting his tiny garden: Big Gardens in Small Spaces - Out-of-the-Box Advice for Boxed-in Gardeners. It’s my guess that if you took the book apart and spread out all the pages the book would probably be bigger than the garden!

Read about the garden
Check details of the opening
Go to Martyn's website

Foxtail Lilly,Tracie Mathieson,country garden,shop. Image: ©Tracie Mathieson. Meanwhile, round the corner from our British base in East Northamptonshire, Tracey Mathieson is again opening her intriguing country garden. This is not a country garden with long vistas, yew hedges and topiary that demands a full time team of two just to keep it all trimmed. This is real.

It’s a fascinating combination of an imaginatively planted, manageable garden featuring perennials and annuals attached to a family house – plus a cutting garden, plus plant sales, plus Foxtail Lilly - the barn shop where you can buy exquisite hand-tied bouquets and antiques with Foxtail Lilly,Tracie Mathieson,country garden,shop. Image: ©Tracie Mathieson. floral themes. There’ll be tea and cakes, too. And lovely views over the meadows.

Tracey’s garden has been featured in both The Garden, the Royal Horticultural Society’s monthly members’ magazine, in the Daily Telegraph, and in the next issue of top selling Country Living magazine.

Read about the garden
Check details of the opening
Go to Tracey's website

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