About Stephen Griffith
I have been the Horticultural manager/Curator for Abbotsbury SubTropical Gardens since taking over after massive storm damage back in 1990. The gardens trustees wanted a fresh new 10 year development plan to revive this historic yet overgrown and neglected garden, to improve the plant content, infrastructure, interpretation and tourism aspects – Prior to Abbotsbury I have been designing and restoring landscapes and gardens in diverse places such as Saudi Arabia, South of France, Sark C.I, Cotswolds and the New Forest. I also lead garden tours world wide, write articles and the odd book. Professional bodies – I am a member of the RHS woody plant committee, M.I Hort, International Camellia Society.
A last blast of flower power
Well so far so good, Christmas only a couple of weeks away and not a frost to speak of, so that's given us time to put the garden to rest for the winter. By that I mean protecting our tender succulent plants and lifting some plants to be stored under glass until…
October Floodlights and autumn jobs
Floodlit "Bamboo Walkway"The 'flood lights and candles' are back in the garden illuminating the autumn colour and architectural leaf shapes. To walk in the woodland at night is a real special atmosphere when the garden takes on another dimension. The job list gets ever bigger, and now and then all…
At last summer has arrived….in early autumn !!
It's 20.C and rising, warm air is circulating in the early morning sunshine, spiders webs glisten with the dew and late summer herbaceous plants are providing a real show to talk about. Nerine bowdenii produces attractive umbels of flowerheads on stiff stems. A native to the Drackensburg mountains of South…
It’s August and ‘School’s out for Summer’
There were families queuing to come into the garden the other day and I overheard children moaning about wanting to go to the beach. Half an hour later I passed them running down the woodland path with shrieks of delight as they searched for fallen Pine cones, dead leaves and…