Amazing. The very first thing Paul said was spot on. This is my biggest problem. I have a big garden and I tend to go too small: paths too narrow, plantings too spotty, borders too narrow. This constant sense of inadequacy :) Thank you SO very much for this inspiring vid.
I always love it when Alexandra visits family in Australia! She finds the best garden experts to interview, and so much of what works there also works here in California. Another great interview!
He inherited…simple as that. Nearly no rich is really self made. But a lot of them like to tell this story. I inherited no wealth and grew up in relative poorness, but I was born in a great country, inherited excellent genes and was educated an attitude that helped me to build a little fortune. Far away from this property, but I’m proud, grateful and pleased.
Cob insulated or rammed earth insulated can be self built and cost less. Can do rooms as budget allows ...every few years. For plants can buy on discount for those that got damaged during shipping to gardening supply store.
The garden shown was planted over the last 20 years, and Paul was talking about the future of gardening rather than what he had necessarily done in the past. And although the movement towards native plants is an excellent direction, ripping out everything you've got to replant with natives wouldn't be a particularly environmentally friendly thing to do. There's a lot of research here in the UK which suggests that combining native plants and the right choice of plants from other places is the most resilient combination and offers wildlife the widest season of food.
I know what you mean, perhaps its because i like a freer look. Big garden designs are hard to visualize in a much smaller plot. Interesting interview non the less.
I thought the same thing about the lawns..they had a certain hew that made it look as if it's covered in dew. He said it was zoysia a Japanese grass that doesn't need mowing and is very hard wearing... Sounds great 😂😂😂 he also went on to talk about an artificial grass that was very good quality... Not sure what areas were what but beautiful gardens. Classical with that air of mystery at every turn....❤
Good afternoon Alexander, It is Easter Monday, I am watching this interview with this gorgeous landscaper/garden designer, good grief!!!, those hedges look like you have cut Styrofoam blocks, the lawns looks like velvet, those shaped hedges in the magnificent French/Italian urns, it is really magnificent. He is just a natural. I think this has been the most dynamic garden rooms ever seen on a gardening talk show, Chelsea has no foot hold here!! It was a real treat to view. Thank you for sharing with us and congratulations to Paul for sharing with us. Many blessings. Kind regards, Elize
Another great video, thank you both. Loved the photos of his designs, looking through a gateway or a circle in a hedge, his perennial beds in colours that suited the background shades. Must look at more of his designs.
I love Paul’s new book. Agree, it is very readable. His advice about buying local to reduce carbon footprint is well received. I grow many plants from seed and cuttings for this reason (as well as budget). Thank you.
Rhubarb is so delicious! I would like to have your opinion on something : I am in the habit of relocating plants which have self sowed in a place where there are destined to be mowed to a better place where I hope they will prosper. I do this in private gardens but also in the wild. For example last week I uprooted 1 primula and 2 baby hawthorns from a road bank. Yours thoughts on the matter ? However I never filch cuttings from gardens.@@TheMiddlesizedGarden
I wish you can come and design my garden. I'm building in South Africa, in the village, after 25 years in the usa and my gadern is a blank slate, 4 acres of blank slate with no trees, nothing! These gardens are to die 4. They are so beautiful omg.
I’m not a garden person but my mind is a garden My thoughts are healthy harmonious organic seeds . I love nature and I love contemplating the timeless mesmerising beauty of my eternal love Allah ❤😍.
Great interview Alexandra! Breathtaking gardens, helpful advice, dreams of what I would like my garden to be. I will be buying the book. For a while I have been conflicted about purchasing some boxwoods. There are so many varieties to choose from and I don't mind shaping them, but I if I have them in the garden will it be a given that I will then have to deal with pests and blight. I am wondering if the smaller leafed hollies would be a better choice. I am zone 6b-7, southern New England, USA.
The advice in the UK is do not buy box. And if by the smaller hollies, you mean ilex crenata, we've been disappointed by that, too. Nothing beats yew, in my view. We had a good look at this in this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QwTR7VjPokE.html
@@TheMiddlesizedGardenthe glitch with yew is that it is lethal! An arm's length will kill a horse in 45 minutes, so a child using it as a toothpick is quite risky, not to mention the insensible pets.. How about Pittosporum and globe conifers? Ad then there is this evergreen box-like Sarcococca that has more varieties these days and perfume that melts the heart..! Thank you for introducing new designers. That book looks interesting.. 🌿👒🐦
This was such a great video. Your video are so well done. Thanks for sharing all the great tips. I'll definitely be purchasing the book you featured here.
Excellent talk, and I couldn't agree more with the idea of using local materials and plants. There's nothing worse, in my humble opinion, than being able to travel from Ireland to Idaho and see the same ten plants being used in the landscaping because everyone's trying to jump on the latest trendy bandwagon. When I go to a different place, I want to feel like I'm in a different place, and only native plants and materials can do that. When we use mass-produced species and selected cultivars from huge nurseries, we are not only doing a disservice to our own corner of the world, but we're actually hurting the ecosystem in a huge way. All the talk about "climate change" might be hokum, but there's no denying that the 'fragmentation' of the local ecosystem by the introduction of millions of non-native plants has caused severe damage to the local ecosystem. Dr. Tallamy has compiled a good amount of data on this matter, and it's not an exaggeration to say that it's every bit as bad as the burning of the Amazon rainforests. The difference is that one's easily seen as bad while the other appears lush and green and healthy even though it's a black hole in the local food web and is the cause of the precipitous decline in insects and songbirds. When you refuse to use your native plants, you're destroying that "sense of place" that makes your area so wonderfully different from everywhere else. And as Roy Diblik famously noted, you can look at the bible and Shakespeare and marvel at the complexity of the two writings..... but forget that they are using the same 26 letters. It's all in how you arrange things. You might not think you have much wonder and beauty in your native plants, but it's all in how you arrange things.
How beautiful. With rising of unthinkable crime and murders in Australia, discovering sections in my own back yard just gives me a fear of what kind of maniac may be right there . Gardening loose all the point in a country of incompetent government.
Very informative interview, thank you! I’ve learned so much from your channel. I sold my house with huge yard and now live in a condo with a nice little patch of earth to still garden. 😊 I’m all for using as many natives in a garden as possible and natural materials for pathways. In my area we use a lot of decomposed granite. I use walkable mulch as a nice alternative, I replenish every few years. Lots of leaf drop, compost and mulch in the planters.
Great interview--I hadn't thought about making the scale large enough. I would add a trend in gardening is getting away from monoculture (which Paul seems to be doing with perennials). It's going to take a lot of time, money and work to replace all those box shrubs if the box tree moths arrive. Dutch elm disease took out entire canopies along streets in North America; now we plant a variety of shade trees along streets.
Stunning! As a habitat gardener, I love the focus on the future and resiliency - so critical, both to protect our investments in our gardens, and to help to heal the Earth in the little ways that we can! 💙
Have to point out a very important advice from Paul, “ Don’t PAVE over the whole area, allow for drainage, allow for rain to seep into the ground.” Oh how I wish those none gardeners could see this vid. Especially those new migrants in U.K. whom so used to live in concrete jungle; who thinks by paving up the entire garden area is a good thing. This really irate me. Sorry being abit political here. There are numerous ideas for low maintenance garden as well as alternative ground covers suggested by Paul.
The property seems a cross between Tuscan villa, English country house and the Alhambra (didn't Rosemary Verey design a similar water feature for Elton John?) The idea of using local plants to increase resilience to climate change may make sense in Australia, but it seems to me that in other parts of the world local plants, such as Fagus, are having difficulty adapting to heat & drought and non-native alternatives may be more resilient.
The research here in the UK suggests that it's hugely helpful to wildlife to plant native, but that adding in non-invasive non-native plants is also very helpful because it can extend the season or, as you say, cope with unusual weather.
Thoughtful general questions posed and very interesting answers. Something for everyone regardless of your growing zone or the size of your garden area(s). And, although Paul's garden situation is very, very diffent than mine will ever be, I am extremely interested in reading his book. Excellent interview! Thank you!
What a beautiful garden! Could you please tell me about the chair you are sitting in for your introduction. I’m becoming obsessed with wirework garden furniture and that looks like a good one. Thank you!
For my US 7a cold and hot dry climate, I use a mini clover for paths that doesn't need to be mown. It also adds nitrogen for the veg plants. A bit invasive so I weed eat the edges. And I use lemon balm for less trafficked paths but it gets tall and needs mowing. I've heard it holds up well being walked on but haven't tried it for heavily trafficked areas.
Wow, that garden is gorgeous. All that topiary must be a bear to manage, but it looks great. As a Brit living in S Florida, I understand about dealing with a hot climate.
I just love the restful feel of these gorgeous gardens. And as always, your interview provides insightful and thought-provoking listening for the rest of us. Thanks so much for taking us along. 👏
Hello and Happy Easter, Alex! Thanks for this profile and garden tour. I have a ton of weeding to do after many weeks away from the garden and needed this inspiration!
I’m in west Tx, USA, which has a dry, desert climate (zone 8b). We have a combination of Zoysia grass and Bermuda grass in our lawn, and we have an in ground sprinkler system since we get so little rain. I can say here in west Tx that it DEFINITELY needs mowing and DEFINITELY needs water to maintain a healthy, green lawn. I used to live in Perth, Australia for a few years when I was younger so I’m familiar with Australia’s different climates.
I garden in central Wisconsin, USA, but always can take away something from your great videos and interviews. The robin's egg blue teuteurs with Angelica gigas and Munstead Wood Rose was to die for. I froze the video and took note of the pink sanguisorba mingled in as well. Talk about big impact for my Wisconsin gardens!
Oh my goodness....thank you for interviewing Paul Bangay. I just watched your video and you asked him questions that I have always wondered about. You are amazing and I appreciate your channel....from one happy gardener!
Thank you, Alexandria, for introducing me to another wonderful designer - although his designs are incredible and far beyond my budget or capabilities, they are a feast for the eyes (as was that cake)! I love when you travel and interview designers and plant people, some who have become my favorites such as Stephen Ryan and Matthew Lucas, The Horti-culturalists.
Excellent interview, Alexandra! The book sounds as if it is a must read. I enjoy your visits to Australia - it is such a diverse geography and topography - much like the US. The gardens often provide a good demonstration of the beloved English style adapted to the same extreme conditions of the high plains where I live here in America. Excellent video. Thanks for sharing.
I’m re-doing my front garden and appreciate the note about scale, in particular. I’m trying to figure out how to create some mystery in a narrow bed directly in front of the house, about 8 feet deep and twenty feet long. Not a lot of places to fade off to, but I’m thinking perhaps a few pavers in a curve going to the back corner would maybe try to lead the eye around the side of the house. Any ideas are welcome!
Yes a curving path could work and can you make the planting area bigger at all? It's difficult to tell - I'm not a qualified garden designer. However these videos may help: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-HtsqXEMeocM.html and ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5kQQDGUOXlg.html
