We visited BBC Gardeners’ World presenter Carol Klein’s garden at Glebe Cottage in Devon \u2013 a garden she has been shaping for almost five decades. Here, every corner is packed with plants, productivity and personality. During a stroll through the garden, Carol shared some of the ideas and habits that shape how she gardens. Here are four things we learnt from our visit.<\/p>\n
We visited Carol\u2019s garden in summer, and it was bursting with flowers, which means there\u2019s always something to do to keep it looking its best.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything\u2019s in full flower at the moment, so there\u2019s lots and lots of deadheading to do,\u201d she says. Alongside that, she\u2019s planting up gaps, taking cuttings and tackling a bit of pruning. Sometimes the garden grows so exuberantly that she jokes she might need \u201ca machete in some parts of my garden\u201d just to keep up.<\/p>\n
For Carol, one of the loveliest daily rituals in the garden is harvesting sweet peas. Their colour and perfume capture everything she loves about the season.<\/p>\n
Runner beans<\/a> and sweet peas<\/a> scramble up supports in her garden, and Carol takes pleasure in picking them regularly. As she puts it: \u201cIt\u2019s a daily privilege to go out there with a pair of scissors and cut those sweet peas and bring them into the house.\u201d<\/p>\n Carol\u2019s veg beds show that edible gardening doesn\u2019t have to be purely practical. She happily combines vegetables and ornamental plants in the same space.<\/p>\n Her main vegetable area is packed with parsley<\/a>, peas<\/a> and tomatoes<\/a> alongside flowers, squashes<\/a> and sweetcorn<\/a>. \u201cWhy not mix the two of them together?\u201d she says, proving that productive beds can also be colourful and full of interest.<\/p>\n Some areas of Carol\u2019s garden have a personal story behind them. Two terraces are inspired by her daughters and planted with their favourite colours.<\/p>\n \u201cOne is Alice\u2019s garden,\u201d Carol explains, where the planting reflects Alice\u2019s taste for \u201clots of white, lots of pink, crimson.\u201d Just beyond it is Annie\u2019s garden, which has a more dramatic palette of magenta, purples and blues, filled with roses<\/a>.<\/p>\n Watch the full video now:<\/p>\n
\n3. Mix flowers and vegetables for a beautiful, productive garden<\/h3>\n
\n4. Inspiration can come from everywhere<\/h3>\n
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