In Kent, Nantawan Staples has mixed the garden styles of her Thai heritage with her love for English gardening. For the past 20 years she has shaped her plot into a place where friends and family can gather to eat, drink, play games - or just relax in the traditional Thai hut. Our judges loved how her garden is full of personality and charm, not least because Nantawan has added meaningful ornaments and plants that bring back special memories from over the years.
What was the garden like originally?
It was very bare and open when I moved here in 2003. But it was the size of the garden and the opportunity I could see that drew me to the house in the first place. The garden looked like it had potential and it was an opportunity for me to express my creativity. Originally there was a lot of open space, which didn't make it very cosy, and a harsh divide between the grass area and the hard paving. There was also a big pampas grass in the middle of the lawn, which dominated the garden and just had to go.
I had an extension built onto the property and as part of that I had some new paving laid at the back of the house leading onto the garden. My son built a decking area and a brick barbecue, so I had social areas in the garden to cook and entertain - something that is really important to me. He also built two traditional Thai-style huts (sala Thai) for relaxing in.
Did you have an interest in gardening when you moved here?
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 2022 من Gardeners World.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 2022 من Gardeners World.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
We love June
We're cruising towards midsummer: this is a month full of love and abundance. Wherever you look there will be something in your garden that lifts the spirits and makes you glad to be alive. We have colour to cheer us, we have leaves that still have the bounce and freshness of small puppies, we have the first berries fattening up, there are birds frantically parenting very demanding broods of chicks, the bees are all over the place, it's prime barbecue and picnic season, and we have lawns as lush and green as billiard tables. What a month to fall in love.
Your wildlife month
The female will usually lay one clutch of up to eight eggs
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YOUR PRUNING MONTH
The first few weeks of summer are a good time to get spring-flowering plants in shape. Follow Frances' guide for best results
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Stars of the show
Agapanthus is the perfect midsummer plant, flowering with spectacular blooms from June onwards and, as Monty explains, it loves to grow in a pot
