hannah gardner

early start for Skomer . I haven’t seen puffins since I was at university in Scotland ( yep that’s a while ago) - there are no rats on the island ( just a hop by ferry off the tip of south west Wales ) which allows large seasonal populations of puffins , Manx shearwaters ( who both burrow ) to thrive , guillemot and razorbill’s and do many more species breed on the cliffs and feed in the fish rich waters - and then the seals , the bluebells, sea campion , the stone traces of prehistory - it was a heavenly day just totally slowing down and tuning into nature . @wildlifetrustsww

Just a bit of April before we sprint into May

A recent visit to the Heemparken ( Home park) in Amstelveen - specifically known as Dr J.P. Thijssepark it is well known as an early example of a public park with a dramatic emphasis on the wild plants of the region ( the Netherlands ). It’s not just designed with native , local plants but the planting primarily uses swathes of a few local species suited to the ecology of the land and natural processes dictate practices of daily work . There are varying intensities of intervention and when you look carefully you become aware ,as a gardener of the constant hand of man whether the area is a peaty heath , a marsh or an open woodland glade . The paths are beautifully varied and very interesting too, it’s in town but it is somewhere to re-find yourself.

Easter weekend - started off with coffee and the latest brilliant copy of @gardens_illustrated which featured lots of interesting gardens with native/ wild/ local flowers - including my piece on primula which explored cowslips , oxlips , primroses and their more distant cousins . Followed by simnel cake production line and tulip / blossom appreciation . 🌞☀️🌞

In my garden - just some of my favourite narcissi equally at home and persistent in gravel , containers or grass.

📷 @jasoningram @gardens_illustrated . Especially enjoying the article on Rohuna Morocco.

Honestly I’m not done with sharing the buzz from the South Wales alpine garden society show . It’s just been a busy few days (always) … and still raining , but I was in awe of the growing expertise and totally inspired by the alpine adventuring and borderline obsessions on display. also brilliant for sourcing plants - I returned with three very interesting hellebores and a free cyclamen rotundifolium as I had carelessly run out of cash . @alpinegardensoc

Made up of a series of ridges and swales to replicate the sandbanks and flood channels of the nearby River Loire, slow-show garden Le Tourbillon de la Succession in the Gualoup permanent area of @domainedechaumontsurloire is designed to demonstrate how plant communities in contrasting habitats adapt and transform over time. . The garden has been created by landscape architects and horticulturists @cassianschmidt , @bettinajaugstetter , and @annalena_hahn , who collaborated as a stellar design team committed to creating visually compelling, dynamic plant communities that adapt and transform over time. As Cassian explains, ‘The model for this work is the sandbanks and wet depressions or flood channels of the Loire, which can be seen very clearly from the top windows of the castle.’ The layout features a radial mosaic of undulating, free-draining sand ridges and low-moisture-retentive troughs, and a gravel path meanders through the stylised riverscape to provoke an immersive experience and enable close observation. At the centre, the ground gently falls away to create a wet zone that is the green heart of the garden. The ‘Tourbillon’ in the name of the project suggests a kind of vortex or whirlwind and picks up on the garden’s themes of water and the dynamics of succession. Interestingly, the design also nods to the previous installation that inhabited this plot: Chris Drury’s Carbon Pool (also a vortex) was dismantled but the charred timber he had used in that creation has been retained and reimagined as driftwood within the swales of Cassian, Bettina and Anna’s design. . Words penned by writer & Horticultural Consultant @astrantiarose . Garden & Drone Photography by me @andreajonesgardenphotography . . Un grand merci à @colleudumond for kind permission to photograph and nobly facilitated by @l8max and team. As published in the January/February 2026 issue of Garden Design Journal (Society of Garden + Landscape Designers, sgld.org.uk). @sgdlandscapes With grateful thanks to Editor, Arabella StJohn-Parker for the commission. Further images available from my archive @gardenexposures . #gardenphotography #garden #jardin #landscapedesign #gardendesign

Regenerated Post industrial landscape in the heart of Manchester . we arrived as the sun slowly awoke ( I know … Manchester and it didn’t even rain !) . Two gardeners doing a little gentle management and birds singing . Really interesting to look at the detail of the planting and the layout , the materials - what was working well and in a few places not so well inevitably. the flood plain by the Medlock , the trees 🍂hearing Andy Burnham later in the day telling us that the investment in green space was easily ‘ redeemed’ ‘offset’ by the greater value of surrounding business developments and housing and the very real uplift in people’s everyday lives . @wildinggardens @mayfieldmanchester

le Tourbillon de Succession @chaumontsurloire_fetedujardin .Having cycled there especially for this newly planted garden last August I loved writing this piece up for the January/February issue of Garden Design Journal - published by Society of Garden and Landscape Designers @cassianschmidt @bettinajaugstetter @annalena_hahn . Images by @andreajonesgardenphotography

Dreams of the Everyday - brings together the paintings of Winifred Nicholson and Andrew Cranston, who I was intrigued to find out was knocking around studying in Aberdeen the same years that I was . On until 11th Jan , I just loved it ALL , such a breath of fresh air . @andrew.cranston @holburnemuseumbath

October , head down and spent mainly outside …. drinking in the glory of it all before the year draws in. Nothing taken for granted .