Garden Inspirations: Sissinghurst Gardens

Now that British summer has arrived it's time for the great outdoors. Finally we can use our balconies, gardens, patios, pretty them up, have friends over and talk late into the night, long after the sun has dipped down the horizon and the stars are out. People in the UK are keen gardeners and though I am not one of them {sadly} I love gardens. I mean who doesn't? But I am the type who made husband buy the annual membership of National Trust and drag him every other weekend to some garden or the other.  Recently we went to Sissinghurst Castle gardens. My husband thought it was an okay garden, I loved it. Sharing some photos of garden inspirations.

That view!

And this!

Check out this space! Isn't this absolutely gorgeous? Imagine sitting here with your morning cup of tea or entertaining guests here!

Now I am no flower expert, I tried to keep a track of the names, but soon gave up!

Can't get enough of these windows and the trailing flowers!

Fresh flowers for your home

This conversation started the other day. We were standing on the bus stop facing an artificial flower & plant shop. Now it was Kensington and the window display was beautiful. But if you looked a little  closely you could understand that those were all artificial flowers. We got talking about whether it makes sense to buy artificial flowers or  go for the fresh ones.

How do you like decorating your home ~ with fresh flowers or artificial ones? In hot countries like India where flowers spoil rather rapidly, I guess it makes sense to buy artificial ones. Now a days in the market there are such lovely artificial ones. I love those silk flowers, created with so much attention to detail. They look pretty darn real.
But if you buy artificial ones, you are stuck with that bunch and can't buy different varieties that you can with fresh ones.

Do you like buying seasonal flowers like tulips for spring or do you like sticking to the same flowers which you always buy?

Though I don't have a traditional brass urli, I like arranging flowers in an earthen pot once in a while. This one came from the sweet shop when we bought misti doi (Bengali sweet yogurt). Once the doi was over, I cleaned the pot and kept it for my flowers.

Fresh flowers can bring in a pop of colour and brighten up a space instantly even on grey and dull days.

You don't have to buy expensive flowers all the time, a few from your garden/pots in the balcony can make all the difference. I love picking up wild flowers and putting them in a jam jar.

By now you must have guessed we love fresh flowers, ah the sheer variety of them in the market and the different shapes and colours, not to mention the smells. Let us your preference.

Balcony Garden Inspiration

We are right in the middle of May and summer is knocking on our doors! I have a pretty long balcony which right now houses a couple of dead flower baskets and two rose plants. But come summer I have big plans of converting my balcony into a green space. Of having my morning tea in the green bliss, having summer parties, spending long summer evenings drinking Pimms and puffing on the hookah. Of course I have been looking at Pinterest for inspiration and I found oodles of it. If only execution was as easy, specially for a non gardener like me. Sharing some of the photos which have me totally hooked, I wish I could create something like this. Any suggestions on balcony makeover is more than welcome. But please remember I am a novice.

This one looks like a narrow Parisian balcony. What I like is the gorgeous sunlight of course, not too many plants overcrowding the narrow space, the blue furniture and the other blobs of colour. This looks doable. What say? Image source here.

Now this is a wow space! My dream balcony looks like this. Don't think I have the capacity to create something as beautiful as this. But it's worth dreaming, isn't it? Image source here.

These old wine crates seem all rage for planting. Lusting after them! Image source here.

How easy these guys make it look? I wish I could put up a green space as effortlessly! Image source here.

Ah to have such a nook in your house! Deep sigh! And utter longing! Image source here.

See the guy there in the photo I want to be him in my next birth. I am sure he is the gardener with a giant green thumb who used old pots and boxes to create a fabulous space like this and grows all his veggies there too. Image source here.

All the images are taken from Pinterest, on DID's Pinterest account we have a board called Balcony Garden Inspiration. The photos I have shared is just tip of the iceberg, there are loads more, do check it out and follow us on Pinterest. We are slowly and steadily building it up.
P.S. I have tried to link the photos to their original sites, but could not find the specific posts on which they were showed.