Issue No. 5
October 2012
Tips & Tutorials Newsletter
Pumpkin Carving: A Little Halloween Magic 
Pumpkin Carving
Ian Hatcher is a gardening friend of mine who lives close to me in Hampshire, Southern England. 
 
Ian is a Wiltshire boy who stated life as a printer, and then got into gardening, but I never really knew how. 
 
I knew that Ian had grown pumpkins, so I asked him to show me some pumpkin carving in time for Halloween.

I suppose what I had in mind was one of those little orange pumpkins you sit on your windowsill, instead he turned up with a 200 pound beast of a pumpkin; but then I suppose he was a champion pumpkin grower! 
 
The arrival of this enormous pumpkin prompted a few questions:
Autumn Colour
Here at home the rich tints of autumn (fall colors) are spreading gradually through the foliage of trees and shrubs, lighting up the hedgerows and breathing new life into gardens before winter strips them of their leafy canopy.  
 
I love this time of year, not only is it one of the longest seasons in the gardening year, but it also showcases some of my favourite fall colors: what I call the sunset shades. 
 
Flame, orange, purple-grey and rich gold: warm shades, more subtle than those hot colours of summer exhibited by some perennials and seasonal bedding plants.  
 
The light is kinder too, soft and somewhat reluctant, compared to the edgy fresh light of spring and heavy overhead rays of summer.  Read More>
Dark Colors

Dark delights: Plants with dark purple foliage, deep purple 'black flowers', red roses and guilty pleasures.

Last time I talked about colour I was saying how much I loved those fall colours: flame, orange, red and gold.  

I am drawn to these shades throughout the year, but sometimes they can be difficult to fit into the rest of the planting. That is unless you combine them with dark foliage.  

Plants with wine, plum, purple, almost black flowers and leaves are great mixers and have the power to accentuate any other colour they partner.
Read More>

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Garden Courses List
Flower & Foliage
Choosing & Using Shrubs in Garden Design 
 Choosing, Using & Planting Trees 
 David Austin's Growing Roses
 Flower Photography
 How to use Climbers & Clematis in Garden Design
 Planting Design with Grasses
 Planting Design with Hilary Thomas (Part One)
Planting Design with Hilary Thomas (Part Two)
 Planting Design with Perennials
The Veg Garden
 Edible Gardening Made Easy
How to Keep Hens in Your Garden
Kitchen, Vegetable & Allotment Gardening
Natural Beekeeping Courses For Gardeners
Organic Gardening
 Introduction to Herb Gardening
Garden DIY
Designing & Building Your Own Treehouse 
 Decorating Your Garden
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 Gardening for Kids
How to Get the Perfect Lawn
Pro Gardening
 Architectural Rendering for Landscape & Garden Designers
 Garden History Course 
John Brookes: An Introduction to Garden Design
Design your own Small Garden With John Brookes 
Design your own Large Garden With John Brookes 
Pond & Lake Construction for Contractors
 Irrigation Design & Installation
Choosing & Using Shrubs in Garden Design 
 Choosing, Using & Planting Trees 
 David Austin's Growing Roses
 Planting Design with Grasses
 Planting Design with Hilary Thomas (Part One)
Planting Design with Hilary Thomas (Part Two)
 Planting Design with Perennials
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