My Secret Garden by Alan Titchmarsh: Book Review

Welcome, all Modern Country gardeners.

Warning: Your book collection is about to feel very incomplete.

Alan Titchmarsh's My Secret Garden(by Ebury Publishing) is quite simply the most inspiring gardening book I've ever read. Hold onto to your boots, you're in for a ride!

Alan Titchmarsh's garden is Modern Country Garden perfection, by which I mean a blend of soft planting and topiary. This combination makes a garden design appear timeless, elegant and classic. It has the formal structure with more than a nod to the current Modern trend of formal design to carry it through these dull winter months but is juxtaposed by gentle Country pleasures of Cottage Garden delights.

Here's an excerpt from the wonderfully personal introduction...

To be honest, mine is not so much a secret garden as a private one, and that’s a bit of a novelty really. Having used our last garden at Barleywood for filming and photography for 20-odd years, I promised my wife and family when we moved, back in 2002, that the next garden would be just for us.

I struck a deal with Mrs T. The deal was that Jonathan Buckley – a brilliant photographer who has, over the years, become a good friend – would record our progress and I would share my garden in the form of a book. That way the garden would still be private and I would have the pleasure of progressing at my own pace, rather than fitting in with the hectic schedule of filming.

This book is the result. It encapsulates my own passion for gardening and my love of line, form, scale, perspective and colour. It will give you an idea of my tastes and predilections, my whims and fancies, as well as being a soapbox for me to expound a modest amount of my personal garden philosophy.

My Secret Gardenis divided, by season, into four delicious sections.

We get to look around, at lazy length, Alan Titchmarsh's spectacularly beautiful four acre garden. This is clearly not a garden built for television but an intimate, private joy. It's impeccably designed, yes, but for Alan's own particular pleasures, rather than to placate a nation of avid Gardeners' World viewers.

My Secret Garden gives us plenty of personal information about the design, inspiration and building of the garden, as well as faascinating glimpse into his mind by his sharing the frustrations and ongoing transformations behind the scenes, plus it features details on Alan Titchmarsh's favourite flower choices...

It shows progression; trial and error on the way, revealing his attitude on the making of a garden as a journey, an exploration, rather than one final static product.

From early spring...

through to summer...

autumn...

and then deepest winter...

...along with collections of images comparing shots of the same part of the garden at different times of year...

My Secret Gardenby Alan Titchmarsh is a Modern Country Garden must-have. 

Colour canvases of Mexico...

True to it's name Rang Decor presents the colours of Mexico;-)
If walls could be art, Mexico is a museum! A visual post follows.

(Images by Arch shot in Puebla and San Miguel de Allende and are copyrighted)

Make your own deliciously bespoke pen pot!

On these bleak January days, it's lovely to have a plethora of crafty ideas to while away long afternoons indoors with or without children. Here's my idea for one such project - your very own gorgeously bespoke pen pot- that is quick, easy and adorably effective. 

All you need is:

A sturdy cardboard pot (step in Whittards Hot Chocolate!)

A strip of delicious wallpaper of your choosing

Spray adhesive

Scissors

For the wallpaper, I've used Laura Ashley Roses in Cassis. It's a lovely Modern Country update on one of my favourite Laura Ashley patterns. Soft, country roses have been given a fantastic modern twist with the introduction of grey. Yum!

{and, shhh!, it's now half-price in the sale!}

Here what you need to do...

Cut a strip of paper about half an inch taller than your pot....

...and with enough length for about an inch overlap, folding over the top edge by half an inch. This isn't strictly necessary but gives a lovely finish. .

Following instruction on the can, spray on your adhesive (leaving the top half-inch untouched, if possible) and carefully apply the paper to your pot, with the excess above the rim. Snip down into the paper to a smidgen above the rim of the pot..... 

...this allows you to neatly tuck down the paper without any ugly creases. Give it a quick spray of adhesive and press each tab inside your pot.

Cut another strip just shorter than the height of the inside of your pot, with enough room for a little overlap, remembering to fold over the top edge.

Spray it with glue and place on the inside of the pot.

Pat yourself on the back! 

You've created a completely unique Modern Country pen pot!

Doesn't this Laura Ashley Roses wallpaper make you hungry for a review of the best garden book in the world EVER? 

Coming right up!

Talavera Pottery, Puebla | Mexico.

While planning our trip to Mexico, Puebla was a destination that had to be part of our itinerary as this is where the famous Talavera Mexican Pottery originated.

As we walked the streets of Puebla, it was evident that Talavera was used extensively in the exteriors of heritage buildings. The creamy White background and the Indigo blue are characteristic Talavera but other colours are also widely used.

The wall of heritage building with Talavera and brick. What a stunning contrast!

Vintage Talavera Tiles…

The street numbers and names in Talavera.

Beautiful patterns and designs adorned the outer walls...

The exteriors of building with Talavera tiles used in various styles…

The Mexican post office...

So we headed to Uriarte Talavera to find out more about the history and the process of making these tiles.

Uriarte Talavera was founded in 1824 by Dimas Uriarte. It is the largest exporter of Talavera in Latin America and also a place which attracts skilled artisans from the region.

The entrance of Uriarte Talavera…

Talavera is a type of Majolica pottery that was brought to Mexico by the Spanish. Puebla soon became a hub for the production of these tiles because of the availability of fine natural clay in the region and the demand for these in the building of cathedrals and monasteries.

Talavera pottery reached it's golden period in the mid 17th Century but has struggled since the Mexican war of Independence in the 19th Century with fewer workshops. 

Efforts by collectors and artists has revived the tradition and now Puebla has a a extensive collection of Talavera pottery.

A huge Christmas tree with Talavera ornaments:-)

Further efforts have been made to preserve and promote the craft with the introduction of new decorative designs and the passage of the Denominación de Origen de la Talavera law to protect authentic, Talavera pieces made with the original, 16th century methods.

Uriarte Talavera is part of the Certification Board and is working with the Talavera Regulating Council AC. 

Tile work at the Uriarte Talavera…

The Virgin of Guadalupe tiles...

A display of the various stages of the Talavera Pottery….

All pieces are hand-thrown on a potter's wheel. The glazes contain tin and lead, as they have since colonial times.  There are only six permitted colors: blue, yellow, black, green, orange and mauve, and these colors must be made from natural pigments. The painted designs have a blurred appearance as they fuse slightly into the glaze. The base, the part that touches the table, is not glazed but exposes the terra cotta underneath. 

An inscription is required on the bottom that contains the following information: the logo of the manufacturer, the initials of the artist and the location of the manufacturer in Puebla.

Click here to see a video clip about the process of making Talavera Pottery.

The various designs available…

Talavera Tableware...

Galeria  Talavera Armando… Another beautiful store.

A wide variety of designs...

Hope you enjoyed the post as much as I loved re-living our memorable trip to Puebla. 

Have a great day, while I sip my Talavera mug of Ginger Tea on this cold Minnesotan winter afternoon!

( Images by Arch and are copyrighted. References Uriarte Talavera, Wikipedia)