And so we come to the last of my Christmas wish lists, and this is the big one - the one that would require us to move house, win the lottery and be someone else completely!
A Garden Holiday (3 per year would be nice!)
I started well this year with a garden holiday courtesy of my Mum to glorious Florence in May. It was lovely, packed with garden visits and sightseeing with like minded people, in fabulous surroundings. Sadly I didn't follow it up with any more this year - very remiss of me! This one looks lovely to the hidden gardens of Morocco and would give you a bit of warmth too, but there are lots to choose from - South of France, Italian Lakes, Germany, Holland (best in spring). More realistically next year I think we may opt for a home grown garden holiday based around the Somerset/Dorset/Wiltshire area, that's if I can get it past the rest of the household!
My very own wildflower meadow
This would be so lovely to walk through, lie in and generally stare at, and it would have to be organic so I could feel positively eco-saintly. Sadly, most of us don't have the space for a proper meadow, or time for the mowing/ploughing required, so have to make do with a wild flower bed which isn't quite the same. I think the nearest I will get is this lovely book The Meadow by Barney Wilczak, a stunning photographic record of a year in the life of one of the oldest meadows in England.
A wonderful wildlife pond
Due to the size of my town garden and the steep slope that it is on, a decent size pond is not an option. I would love to grow lush marginal plants and lovely water lilies, not to mention frogs and newts, but it isn't going to happen. Perhaps I should have a waterfall down the slope, then I could grow watercress which needs moving water, but that's not quite the same. I would love some meandering rills leading into pools, but again fitting it all in without visitors being forced to wade to the front door would be a problem. I think the closest I'm likely to get is a small container pond like the one below, or maybe I could have a few different size ones grouped together, then it might even start to look like a decent pond and I expect the wildlife won't mind. Now there's a project for 2014!
A show garden at RHS Hampton Court
Now as a garden designer a show garden is what we all aspire to, and I've chosen Hampton Court because I think it tends to be a bit more adventurous and avant guarde than Chelsea (although obviously if we're offered Chelsea we won't turn it down!) The idea of having a clear space, a decent budget (that's another part of the deal) and the chance to do anything we want is quite mind-blowing. I suspect it's unlikely to happen in 2014 so the closest we could get is tickets for Chelsea, which would be quite a good pressie in it's self. The Daisy Duo could make a weekend of it, take in a bit of the Chelsea Fringe and generally soak up horticultural London! Now there's another plan for 2014!
Funnily enough this pie-in-the-sky dream list turned out to be less ridiculous than I thought. Some of these things are quite achievable if not on the scale that I had originally planned.
What would you like for Christmas, or what are you giving for your horticultural friends/family? We always like to hear other people's recommendations and ideas. Here are some ideas I had last year, hmmm… some of them are strangely familiar!
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