Sofias Country Gardens

This summer I went all in with Allium giganteum, and what a show it was! Last years bulbs returned, and the ones I planted in autumn completed the border. This border is only on its third year, so in the beginning of June it still has gaps in the planting. (Yet what are gaps except an opportunity to fill it up with more spring bulbs next autumn!) The giant onions are originally from central and southwestern Asia, but have been cultivated in many countries and are widely used

Last autumn my wonderful godfathers sent me a survival pack from Holland, and of course a Dutch survival pack contains nothing but the most wonderful bulbs. I had never seen the root of a Foxtail lily before, and my first instinct was that I had received a bunch of alien octopus. Although the dried roots are planted in autumn and came with the autumn bulbs, they are not really bulbs but perennials. The foxtail lily stems from arid mountain desert conditions in Central Asia, a

One of the great pleasures in life is travelling in springtime. Travelling is mostly wonderful, but I find that travelling in spring is even more pleasurable than at other times of the year. Perhaps it is the joy of basking in sunshine after a long, dark and cold winter, or perhaps that people everywhere seem to be in a better mood than some months ago. Either way, it makes me feel blessed to be alive. This week I spent a few days in Paris with my oldest son who is studying t

During the last decades there has been an alarming decline in bee populations caused by a combination of climate change, habitat loss, pesticide use, draught and nutritional deficiency. I emphasise the word alarming, because without domestic and wild bees we humans will have a very hard time producing our food since 70% of our top food crops are pollinated by bees! Imagine a world without fruit or vegetables, beans or nuts and you see the problem. The solution would be to ban

Ever since I first started gardening while in my twenties, I have always gone down the organic route. As I had the choice, I decided to follow a life sustaining approach and do my best to create a healthier environment rather than deplete it. While gardening in England I was of course much more affected by what happened around my two acre garden, and there was no way I could control pollution or pesticides seeping in from the surrounding area. But on my own farm that lies on

Cawdor Castle dates from the late 14th century, when it was built as a private fortress by Thanes of Cawdor. It lies in the pictures parish of Cawdor in Narinshire, Scotland. The castle itself is a category A listed building, and the gardens are listed in the national listing of significant gardens Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland. The gardens are well known, and extensive. Closest to the house is the flower garden, which was laid out around 1710 by Th

One of the great joys of being in the country is observing the wildlife, and I have a never ending fascination with how interlaced the whole ecosystem is. I find that encouraging biodiversity in my gardens reduces the need for pesticides and invasive control systems, as it mostly evens itself out. I am for example often asked how come I don't have a snail problem, which I by all accounts should have with the amount of lovely tasty plants and vegetables there are. I believe it

While travelling through the Sacred Valley in Peru, we spent a delightful day visiting Maria and Josef del Pilars wonderful corn farm Sarapampa, at Casa Hacienda del Maiz. The farm was established three generations ago by Josefs grandfather, and is still today a thriving family enterprise consisting of some 40 hectares of cornfields and land, as well as a wonderful farm to table experience for travellers. It is situated some 20 km from the village of Pisaq, with easy access a

I love to visit botanical gardens when I travel, and actually it is a hobby of mine to collect botanical gardens from all over the world. Well, of course I can't take them with me, but I can take pictures that will inspire me for years to come in my gardening endeavours. One of my all time favourite botanical gardens lies in Amsterdam, and I always go there no matter what time of the year I happen to be visiting. Last year, just before Christmas, I went to see my godfathers w

As far as garden inspiration goes, I think that hotel gardens are a vastly underrated source of ideas and inspiration. I guess we take for granted that when we stay at nice hotels, the surrounding gardens should enhance the experience. However, there are few settings that are as challenging to design as a hotel garden. It needs to provide a beautiful backdrop to the amenities, both hiding and enhancing the surrounding buildings. A well designed hotel garden has many of the el

In late October last year I went for a long weekend to see my friends Didi and Marc in Suffolk. They live in a lovely house with origins in the 15th century in Brandish, Suffolk, England, with their children, dogs and geese. The gardens are vast and wild, a mixture of large trees, lawns and shrubs framed by an old moat that circles the house and barns. The driveway is lined with beautiful old round stones, that have been on the farm for ages and ages. Some of the old barns ha

Last summer I went for a weeks holiday to Sweden. It is one of my favourite travel destinations, and I always take a day or two to enjoy Stockholms archipelago in summer. It is known for the beautiful old wooden villas dotted along the seaside. I feel they sit like gem stones in a necklace along the coast, pleasing to the eye and bringing joy to the heart. One such villa is Villa Gustafshäll that belongs to my friend Magnus, and last summer he kindly invited us to spend an af