The Beth Chatto dry garden is stunningly beautiful. The artistry of choosing and combining all those subtle colors and shapes is incredible. I also greatly appreciate the honesty in explaining that a gravel garden is NOT an easy maintenance garden. I suspected as much having observed how easily seeds germinate in gravel but somewhat this aspect is rarely touched upon on gardening shows. Thanks very much for the upload! Great video full of beauty and useful info.
Great advice linking the style of gardening to plants, maintenance and design. I often find it helpful to view my garden at twilight when the colour disappears and it is possible to simply focus on structure and space. You really make every word count in your youtube clips. This makes your work quite a pleasure.
Finally a dry garden with a bit of interest. So many dry gardens are just rosemary and thyme with some palm elements and this garden has shown that there are so many other options available. Very interesting video.
I recently redesigned my parent's front garden using many of beth chatto's principles and I'm super happy how it turned out. it is south facing, very sandy soil above sandstone and with the street giving off even more heat temperatures can rise above 45 degrees easily. using plants that cope with these conditions has already paid off, even in the current heat and drought watering is absolutely minimal. thank you for this video, as always, very informative!
Thank you, and interesting point about the street giving off even more heat - wonder if that's why there are quite a few gravel gardens in front gardens round here now.
Lovely garden! I saw some very familiar plants as I have a native plant garden in coastal Southern California. Thanks for the tour and really good advice!
I absolutely love the idea of imagining the garden in black and white! I’m about to go outside and take some photos of areas that need work and put a b&w filter on them - brilliant! Thanks for another great video!
I garden in the prairies of Colorado where our annual rainfall is about 15 inches with humidity hovering around 30 percent. It is very dry. I have had xeric gardens for close to 30 years, but do have to do supplemental watering because the combination of wind, sun, low humidity and low rainfall will turn these plants into crispy critters. 😁 Of course some do better than others. I have always admired the Beth Chatto gardens. They are truly beautiful. Thank you for the informative and candid interview Alexandra.
This was really interesting Alexandra - I fancy gravelling a part of my English Garden. Although I'm in the NW of England the soil is sandy and therefore very dry.
I would like more plants on that list... Also some trees and shrubs if possible to add to the list... Thank you for a very interesting and educational video... Would like more like that... Maybe a prairie garden in next video to come... Once again thank you... Greetings from Croatia!!!
Thank you for that, it was fascinating and I have learnt a lot and will be using that knowledge in my garden even though I live in a very wet part of the south west !!!
Very beautiful gardens. I love the gravel. It's also makes a soothing crunching sound when you walk on it which I love. I'm currently about to install gravel pathways in my garden. They are long overdue and the lack of division makes the beds look messy.
Oh I see my previous question here about the grass answered. Stipa, so beautiful, but not hardy to zone 6. I will find something similar. Thank you for another great video!
Lovely garden. I was just wondering how they distributed the plants in the borders when you mentioned the ikebana scheme. Thanks for another great video.
Great inspirational garden!! Will be checking out their website for more information. Thanks for connecting us to this once experimental - now successful - garden. A great exhibit of possibilities!!
Thank you Alexandra! What a great idea and so beautiful! I was trying to picture the gardens with brown gravel instead of the white. I never knew about Ikebana. Thanks so much ❤️
Thank you Alessandra as always very interesting ...I garden in a dry area of Italy and use a lot of wood chip as a mulch but was always wandering if a gravel garden would have been a better idea. Your video has put my mind at rest....apart from the fact that gravel is expensive the fact that it is always going to be a high maintenance garden encourages me to carry on as before
Thanks so much Alexandra! I loved this video. I love all your videos but this was my favourite. I would like more information on "sky," "earth," and human plant examples. I'm in N. Ontario. Translated, we have droughts most summers, minus 30 winters and heavy rains are frequent in spring and autumn but surprisingly many of your plant recommendations work for us.
Our average precipitation is 7-10 in. annually. I didn't see Rosa Rugosa in that garden, but it does really well here. Also Elderberries and penstemon grow wild.
The Beth Chatto look is very sophisticated. I’ve just ordered some this style of plant to plant in crushed sea shell mulch. Which is the video mentioned about leaving space in planting? Are there any more videos on the asymmetric triangle style of planting?
@@TheMiddlesizedGarden thanks. I find it difficult to find videos on how to plan planting schemes. Making allowance for height, width and all the various conditions plants like is a Mensa puzzle, let alone feeling confident that it will look good together too!
Oh dear....mind you a 'quarry garden' did win 'Best in Show' at RHS Chelsea Flower show a few years back, although I suspect it was more beautifully arranged ....
Thanks for this! So much to consider. We're in central California, zone 9b, and are planning to tear out our front lawn and put in a native California landscape (dry garden). We've been planning for LOTS of rock/gravel, but now I'm feeling worried about the weeds. We get just about all of our rain in the winter and in spring have carpets of weeds that spring up, seemingly overnight. Back to the design drawing board?
I'm in the same boat as you. Wanting to convert 2100' of grass to a garden with meandering paths. Feeling overwhelmed. Totally agree about our sheets of spring weeds!
Very interesting video, I would appreciate to know how many inches deep is the gravel layer used? Here, in central Chile the Mediterranean climate is drier than in your garden, so some watering is required to keep plants alive… best regards!
I'm sorry to say that I don't know - and I do know you're dealing with an exceptionally dry climate as I spent several years growing up 'at the other end' of your desert, living in Lima, Peru. Everyone tried to do English-style lawns so they needed such a lot of irrigation. I would think that there is now enough of a garden design movement around dry gardens and gravel gardens for you to find someone local to ask or follow on social media as there may be some key differences. But if you just want to try and see what happens, I'd suggest a couple of inches of gravel. Good luck!
Thanks for the reply. I read somewhere else the recommendation to install 4- 5 inches gravel layer to better avoid weeding, although it seems like a lot of gravel to keep in place…
Im going to go look at that plant list. In israel 6 to 7 months i dont get rain. Im assuming this garden gets its rain scattered thru the year. Is that true? I love your videos. Its wonderful to see what a low garden can look like!
I think you’ll have to do some research and adapt the list of plants to your climate. Probably you can afford a lot of plants that are not hardy enough for the uk. Furthermore I suspect that “dry” in the uk is a relative term and anyway summers there are definitely cooler (= less water evaporation from plants and soil) than in the southern Mediterranean.
If it is just gravel - ie with no soil beneath it, then experiment with grasses, lavender and any of the Mediterranean plants that are happy with dry, poor soils. If there is soil under the gravel any of the plants in this video could be good, which includes hardy succulents. It would be worth looking at the Beth Chatto website for their dry garden plants, even if you live out of the UK, that will give you ideas for plants www.bethchatto.co.uk/conditions/plants-for-dry-conditions/?page=1-41
Hi I have done a gravel garden border with decorative stones ontop of the weed control fabric I was wondering if tropical plants and evergreens can grow with stones around the base or would it be better just soil around.any help would be appreciated thank you
The weed control fabric will stop plants spreading, so it's fine for trees and shrubs which stay in the hole you planted them in, but many perennials spread over time, so they won't like it. I'm not sure whether stones would make any difference, I don't think it would.
I try to add subtitles to as many of my videos as possible so I will do this- there is a glitch on the sub titles at the moment which has made it quite slow to do, but do return in a few weeks and I hope it will be sorted
I did give this video a thumbs down. Only because I would have liked to have seen other parts of the garden instead of just the one view. All other middle sized videos I have given a thumbs up because I like the honest way Alexander presents.
Thank you for another wonderful video. I never thought to look at a garden in black and white just to see what that reveals.
It's a great tip, isn't it?
The Beth Chatto dry garden is stunningly beautiful. The artistry of choosing and combining all those subtle colors and shapes is incredible.
I also greatly appreciate the honesty in explaining that a gravel garden is NOT an easy maintenance garden. I suspected as much having observed how easily seeds germinate in gravel but somewhat this aspect is rarely touched upon on gardening shows. Thanks very much for the upload! Great video full of beauty and useful info.
Thank you so much!
Great advice linking the style of gardening to plants, maintenance and design. I often find it helpful to view my garden at twilight when the colour disappears and it is possible to simply focus on structure and space. You really make every word count in your youtube clips. This makes your work quite a pleasure.
Thank you - and I think the viewing at twilight is an excellent tip
Finally a dry garden with a bit of interest. So many dry gardens are just rosemary and thyme with some palm elements and this garden has shown that there are so many other options available. Very interesting video.
Thank you!
I recently redesigned my parent's front garden using many of beth chatto's principles and I'm super happy how it turned out. it is south facing, very sandy soil above sandstone and with the street giving off even more heat temperatures can rise above 45 degrees easily. using plants that cope with these conditions has already paid off, even in the current heat and drought watering is absolutely minimal.
thank you for this video, as always, very informative!
Thank you, and interesting point about the street giving off even more heat - wonder if that's why there are quite a few gravel gardens in front gardens round here now.
Lovely garden! I saw some very familiar plants as I have a native plant garden in coastal Southern California. Thanks for the tour and really good advice!
Thank you!
The gravel give a neat and peaceful look, but I have to say my love is still cottage gardens. Thanks for sharing 👍❤️😊
Thank you!
I hope to use a few of these tips in my garden in Spain! Many thanks.
Glad it was helpful.
I absolutely love the idea of imagining the garden in black and white! I’m about to go outside and take some photos of areas that need work and put a b&w filter on them - brilliant! Thanks for another great video!
Yes, that was a great idea.
I went straight out to photograph my own garden in black and white, parts stood up quite well, others didn't.
I garden in the prairies of Colorado where our annual rainfall is about 15 inches with humidity hovering around 30 percent. It is very dry. I have had xeric gardens for close to 30 years, but do have to do supplemental watering because the combination of wind, sun, low humidity and low rainfall will turn these plants into crispy critters. 😁 Of course some do better than others. I have always admired the Beth Chatto gardens. They are truly beautiful. Thank you for the informative and candid interview Alexandra.
Thank you!
This was really interesting Alexandra - I fancy gravelling a part of my English Garden. Although I'm in the NW of England the soil is sandy and therefore very dry.
I love the look of a gravel garden, but think I will stick with soil...but tempting...
I agree - but just an itsy bitsy teenie weenie part gravelled could expand the interest.....
THese garrdens are very beautiful.
I would like more plants on that list... Also some trees and shrubs if possible to add to the list... Thank you for a very interesting and educational video... Would like more like that... Maybe a prairie garden in next video to come... Once again thank you... Greetings from Croatia!!!
There is a prairie garden I would love to feature, so I hope so at some stage.
you can also check out the website for beth chatto gardens, they have published lists.
Thank you, Alexandra, for another very interesting and relevant video. Some great tips.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for that, it was fascinating and I have learnt a lot and will be using that knowledge in my garden even though I live in a very wet part of the south west !!!
I'm so glad, I think it does help to know about different gardens, I found Asa's tips very useful.
Many questions answered! Wonderful garden
Many thanks
Fabulous episode! Asa is GREAT. Thank you.
Thank you!
Very beautiful gardens. I love the gravel. It's also makes a soothing crunching sound when you walk on it which I love. I'm currently about to install gravel pathways in my garden. They are long overdue and the lack of division makes the beds look messy.
Hope it all goes well.
Oh I see my previous question here about the grass answered. Stipa, so beautiful, but not hardy to zone 6. I will find something similar. Thank you for another great video!
Thank you!
Lovely garden. I was just wondering how they distributed the plants in the borders when you mentioned the ikebana scheme. Thanks for another great video.
Thank you. I loved the Ikebana idea.
Thank you for a great episode.
(- Särskilt tack till Åsa.)
The gravel garden is amazing!
Thank you!
Great inspirational garden!! Will be checking out their website for more information. Thanks for connecting us to this once experimental - now successful - garden. A great exhibit of possibilities!!
I'm glad you enjoyed it, I thought it was so beautiful.
Excellent tips!
Thank you Alexandra! What a great idea and so beautiful! I was trying to picture the gardens with brown gravel instead of the white. I never knew about Ikebana. Thanks so much ❤️
You are so welcome!
Thank you Alessandra as always very interesting ...I garden in a dry area of Italy and use a lot of wood chip as a mulch but was always wandering if a gravel garden would have been a better idea. Your video has put my mind at rest....apart from the fact that gravel is expensive the fact that it is always going to be a high maintenance garden encourages me to carry on as before
Glad that has helped!
Thanks so much Alexandra! I loved this video. I love all your videos but this was my favourite. I would like more information on "sky," "earth," and human plant examples. I'm in N. Ontario. Translated, we have droughts most summers, minus 30 winters and heavy rains are frequent in spring and autumn but surprisingly many of your plant recommendations work for us.
It's amazing how resilient many plants are. And thank you, I'll think about that.
Our average precipitation is 7-10 in. annually. I didn't see Rosa Rugosa in that garden, but it does really well here. Also Elderberries and penstemon grow wild.
Very interesting. Thanks for showing
Glad you enjoyed it
This was so informative!! thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
Wonderful video!
Thank you
The Beth Chatto look is very sophisticated. I’ve just ordered some this style of plant to plant in crushed sea shell mulch. Which is the video mentioned about leaving space in planting? Are there any more videos on the asymmetric triangle style of planting?
Not at the moment but I'll keep an eye out.
@@TheMiddlesizedGarden thanks. I find it difficult to find videos on how to plan planting schemes. Making allowance for height, width and all the various conditions plants like is a Mensa puzzle, let alone feeling confident that it will look good together too!
I wish my neighbour would take some tips! He has dumped huge amounts of gravel and has dotted a few native plants about but it resembles a quarry!
Oh dear....mind you a 'quarry garden' did win 'Best in Show' at RHS Chelsea Flower show a few years back, although I suspect it was more beautifully arranged ....
Thanks for this! So much to consider. We're in central California, zone 9b, and are planning to tear out our front lawn and put in a native California landscape (dry garden). We've been planning for LOTS of rock/gravel, but now I'm feeling worried about the weeds. We get just about all of our rain in the winter and in spring have carpets of weeds that spring up, seemingly overnight. Back to the design drawing board?
I think Asa's advice was to go for plenty of ground cover plants so that the weeds don't get much chance. Very exciting project.
I'm in the same boat as you. Wanting to convert 2100' of grass to a garden with meandering paths. Feeling overwhelmed. Totally agree about our sheets of spring weeds!
Very interesting video, I would appreciate to know how many inches deep is the gravel layer used? Here, in central Chile the Mediterranean climate is drier than in your garden, so some watering is required to keep plants alive… best regards!
I'm sorry to say that I don't know - and I do know you're dealing with an exceptionally dry climate as I spent several years growing up 'at the other end' of your desert, living in Lima, Peru. Everyone tried to do English-style lawns so they needed such a lot of irrigation. I would think that there is now enough of a garden design movement around dry gardens and gravel gardens for you to find someone local to ask or follow on social media as there may be some key differences. But if you just want to try and see what happens, I'd suggest a couple of inches of gravel. Good luck!
Thanks for the reply. I read somewhere else the recommendation to install 4- 5 inches gravel layer to better avoid weeding, although it seems like a lot of gravel to keep in place…
Im going to go look at that plant list. In israel 6 to 7 months i dont get rain. Im assuming this garden gets its rain scattered thru the year. Is that true? I love your videos. Its wonderful to see what a low garden can look like!
I think you’ll have to do some research and adapt the list of plants to your climate. Probably you can afford a lot of plants that are not hardy enough for the uk. Furthermore I suspect that “dry” in the uk is a relative term and anyway summers there are definitely cooler (= less water evaporation from plants and soil) than in the southern Mediterranean.
@@pansepot1490 yes. I realize that. I am going slowly, and doing research.
Thank you, and yes, this garden roughly gets rain scattered through the year, though it feels very dry in August.
Answered my question of membrane below gravel Y/N: answer is No. Many thanks!
It is definitely No!
Comment from the future. 😂 This gravel garden is ideal for Las Vegas.
Ideal for South East England, too, it's so dry here.
What an amazing garden! Thanks so much for sharing.
What plants would be recommended to plant into 95% gravel? Hardy succulents like hens and chicks?
If it is just gravel - ie with no soil beneath it, then experiment with grasses, lavender and any of the Mediterranean plants that are happy with dry, poor soils. If there is soil under the gravel any of the plants in this video could be good, which includes hardy succulents. It would be worth looking at the Beth Chatto website for their dry garden plants, even if you live out of the UK, that will give you ideas for plants www.bethchatto.co.uk/conditions/plants-for-dry-conditions/?page=1-41
Hi I have done a gravel garden border with decorative stones ontop of the weed control fabric I was wondering if tropical plants and evergreens can grow with stones around the base or would it be better just soil around.any help would be appreciated thank you
The weed control fabric will stop plants spreading, so it's fine for trees and shrubs which stay in the hole you planted them in, but many perennials spread over time, so they won't like it. I'm not sure whether stones would make any difference, I don't think it would.
Thank you for your reply I will probably have to remove the decrotive stones as I wanted to plant a phew perennials in that border.thank you
Keep up the good work! #Gardening
Thank you!
I live in Zakynthos Greece, I would love to make a garden like this for a client…the soil is sandy silt and very hot. Would it be possible. .?
I think it would be very appropriate - much of the inspiration for this kind of gardening comes from the Mediterranean.
I wanted to see the wetland area too.
I hope to cover that as a separate video one day.
lovely garden.Is it me or does she need sub titles?
I try to add subtitles to as many of my videos as possible so I will do this- there is a glitch on the sub titles at the moment which has made it quite slow to do, but do return in a few weeks and I hope it will be sorted
I did give this video a thumbs down. Only because I would have liked to have seen other parts of the garden instead of just the one view. All other middle sized videos I have given a thumbs up because I like the honest way Alexander presents.
Thank you for letting me know. I thought there was more than one view...but I will look again.