Blooming Botany

Blooming Botany An independent and expert horticultural consultancy, specialising in sustainable design and ongoing horticultural mentoring to domestic clients.

This is delivered with experience, a desire to educate, and to protect our natural resources.

02/06/2026

And the rain finally arrived! 🌧️

After a prolonged dry spell, the overnight downpour was a welcome sight here in Oxfordshire, settling dusty borders and providing much-needed moisture for the gardens. And it's exciting to think that this week, in the rain, we are doing tours of the Flood Resilient Garden at Howbery Business Park.

Designed by Dr Ed Barsley and his team for the Chelsea Flower Show 2024, and funded by Flood Re, this innovative garden was created to demonstrate how landscapes can adapt to extremes of weather. Conditions like these - a lengthy dry period followed by heavy rainfall - are exactly what this garden was designed to handle, by helping to slow, store and manage water while reducing flood risk.

This morning, I visited the garden in the rain to captured this short video. The sight and sound of water moving through the landscape was a delight.

If you'd like to learn more about how flood-resilient planting and design can help create more sustainable places, join us this Thursday for a FREE guided tour of the garden with:
• Dr Ed Barsley – co Designer of the FloodRe Flood Resilient Garden for Chelsea 2024
• Stephen Packman – Environment & Innovation Manager for Nurture Landscapes who look after the garden now.
• Me, Alison Quantrell of Blooming Botany! Talking about the amazing plants and how they can work for you in your flooded garden.

The tour will be followed by a cream tea, and if it rains you'll see the garden as it was designed to be. When else will you get a tour around an actual Chelsea garden?!

Book your free place here:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/flood-resilient-garden-tours-tickets-1987989151066?aff=oddtdtcreator

I recently went back to a garden I designed last year, and have written a lot about. It's just stunning and I thought yo...
31/05/2026

I recently went back to a garden I designed last year, and have written a lot about. It's just stunning and I thought you would like to see some more "after" photos...!

This will be a case study on my website soon, so keep checking in....

While we are slightly melting in this heatwave, many plants are actually coming into their stride, and in my garden it's...
27/05/2026

While we are slightly melting in this heatwave, many plants are actually coming into their stride, and in my garden it's the bearded Iris (Iris x germanica).

Bearded Iris are a huge range if plants resulting from the crossing of 2 Iris species, (Iris pallida and Iris variegata), both native to the Dalmatian coast and Southern Med. They are commonly found growing wild throughout Italy and the southern Europe, and they all love this dry heat. They don't blink in our cold winters, as long as they don't sit wet, and the sun baking the rhizomes on days like today makes them flower even stronger the following year.

When we first moved into our project house 10 years ago, the only plants left in the garden was a HUGE bed of Iris pallida. The gentle fragrance was magic, and clearly my south facing, chalky soil was perfect for them. Since then I have been dividing the clump and giving them away, and still they thrive. So I decided to embrace!

I now have some lovely bearded Iris in the collection, and they have responded surprisingly well to being constantly moved when the whim takes me (Although Iris 'Golden Alps' hasn't flowered for me this year, so this is a stock photo).

So while we melt, the Iris shine. Enjoy, and let me know if you have any favourites!

Working on this project back in 2023 was an absolute delight. A significant building project provided the perfect opport...
23/05/2026

Working on this project back in 2023 was an absolute delight. A significant building project provided the perfect opportunity to bring the clients’ dream garden to life. The Arts and Crafts architecture of the house inspired a garden that balances formal structure with abundant floral richness.

Preserving the existing old fashioned roses was a must, and they now define and complete the garden, perfectly capturing the essence of a Gertrude Jekyll-inspired design. The careful creation of the brick paved area to hold a firepit was a labour of love, and provides a great focal feature away from the main seating area immediately around the house.

The latest photos show the garden entering its third growing season. What began as a blank canvas has grown into a fully realized, flourishing space, and a testament to thoughtful design and careful ex*****on.

Do join me for a tour around our local Chelsea garden!
21/05/2026

Do join me for a tour around our local Chelsea garden!

What a delightful afternoon of open gardens in Brightwell. Huge congratulations to each and every gardener who has put t...
17/05/2026

What a delightful afternoon of open gardens in Brightwell.

Huge congratulations to each and every gardener who has put thought, dedication and hard work into their gardens. Each one different, with different goals, bone structure and planting; and each one clearly loved by their owner.

Well done Brightwell!!

Really looking forward to the open gardens in Brightwell this afternoon. Do come if you can, the sun will be out ☀️☀️
17/05/2026

Really looking forward to the open gardens in Brightwell this afternoon. Do come if you can, the sun will be out ☀️☀️

This week I re-visited a garden I worked on with Ness and Clare of The Oxford Horticulturist. Planted up in November las...
09/05/2026

This week I re-visited a garden I worked on with Ness and Clare of The Oxford Horticulturist. Planted up in November last year, this growing season is starting off very well.

But what is making this garden work at a higher level is our brilliant client. This garden was always about saving as much as possible and working with what we have. So with our guidance, she has been leaving the ground covering chick w**d and creeping speedwell to retain moisture in the soil where the new plants are yet to cover, and removing those w**ds that will compete for light and nutrients with the new plants. Using the natural seedbank to her advantage, the new plants are thriving in this dry weather. This is curation, not blanket w**ding.

Looking particularly lovely are the Tulip 'Cairo' and Narcissus 'Barret Browning', plus Geum 'Mai Tai and the new purple leaves of the Cotinus 'Grace'.

See the before and after images...

**dshelp

08/05/2026

Happy 100th Birthday to David Attenborough!!

What an amazing man! He crosses the age divide with his endless enthusiasm and knowledge of the wonderful world around us. I have particularly enjoyed his recent "Secret Garden" series with the BBC, looking at our own back gardens and the dynasties and diversity just outside our backdoors, not to mention the Planet Earth, Blue Planet, and Frozen Plant series over the last 25 years.

He has been broadcasting and educating since the 1950s, and I wonder how many of us have been inspired to enter our biodiversity and conservation careers because of his influence. I was!

Thank you David!

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