Last October I left my cool temperate garden (USDA Zone 9, UK hardiness H2(ish)) on coastal Anglesey. I have moved to a garden at 330m altitude on the edge of moorland in the South Pennines.
The garden has issues- not just in its altitude and exposure but the terrain is very steep- I have a drop of 5m in 10m. It has not been a garden previously - it was rough pasture -and there is very little topsoil. This winter we have 7 separate coverings of snow.
On the other hand I was happy to move to the house-which is a newly renovated stone barn with plenty of insulation and ground source heat pumps to keep the inside warm without destroying the planet. It is conveniently situated close to many interesting natural and man made things.I look out onto open country in all directions, but I can be in centre of the cities of Manchester or Leeds in much less than an hour.
I will use this blog to describe the development of the garden. There will be 3 major themes:
Transculturance- following my interest in Japanese garden art and history, I will apply what I know and find interesting in this South Pennine environment - a garden that has a bit of Japanese style in its soul but is true to its location.
Naturalistic Planting Design - proceeding from what I have learned from the European garden teacher/designers over my years of gardening - Christo Lloyd and Beth Chatto; Piet Oudolf and Noel Kingsbury; and perhaps most relevant to my current location the work of Nigel Dunnett and Jim Hitcthmough
It will be my garden - my playground. A place to explore those cultural clashes, responding and enriching local ecology and trying to push some boundaries of what is possible in these conditions and by no means least- taking advantage of what the site has to offer.
