Terry asked "What we would rather have, if money was no object and we had unlimited space and energy."
I love this - has anyone read Russell Page's telling of his dream garden? It's great.

Terry, what would you druther?

I would start with an enormous greenhouse heated to 70*+ all year round and full of tropical plants including orchids and other epiphytes and of course lots of butterflies. In the centre of it I would have a large pond with tropical waterlilies and the fish we only usually see in heated aquariums.

Then as a complete contrast a small woodland area where I could watch the seasons change, but I would include in the planting lots of different Acers, not typically English woodland plants, but I wouldn't be able to resist them. Into this woodland I would add underplanting again with temperate woodland plants and bulbs from around the world.

Next an alpine garden in a real rocky outcrop running into scree with the plants in natural crevices just the way they grow in the wild. I would probably have to add an alpine house for the more choice species.

Finally a large natural looking pond planted and kept exclusively for native wildlife.

Perhaps I need to get out more and travel.

Remember I did say if you had unlimited resources.

I love my garden. It has been a lifetime fantasy come true, made possible over many years with hard work and frugal ways. But when you throw in the “money was no object and we had unlimited space and energy" bit, three things come to mind, all requiring more space, but not so much that I couldn’t still maintain much of it myself. First, I would want the shady oak bed to be somewhat larger and more secluded,,, like a little glen, large enough for a naturalized pond connected by a mini brook that flowed into a sunny pond and all of it brimming with water plants and wildlife. For more full sun gardening, I would want a gate in the back yard that led to a nice sized field, large enough to use a small tractor to plow the vegetable and cutting beds and where chickens could roam. And third, is highly amusing in light of Terry’s admission. I wrote several years ago that my biggest garden fantasy is a huge air-conditioned greenhouse/conservatory chock full of deep rich soil full of primroses, delphiniums, campanulas and such. I would play with the plants year-round and there would always be blue blooms to in waller in.

I would do all of the things ya'll have talked about. Except..... I would have the money to fly my garden buddies(even BJ) to England,China,Hawaii ETC....I would even spring for Terry and his better half and Nicola to all come over here and see our wonderful Gardens...(once mine has had it's face lift of course)....Would that work out for everyone?????

Sounds good to me David, so now I have two chances of winning the lottery.

You've opened up my garden dream now! Looking through the floor to ceiling glass windows of my log cabin I can see the tips of snow-peaked mountains in the distance. At the foot of my property there is a lake, close enough to watch the moose, geese, deer and other wildlife from my living room and the porch that surrounds the cabin. I can also see rose covered arbors with seating spaces for long reading sessions. The nooks and crannies of the rock garden beside the bubbling brook hold all those little mountain bulbs that won't grow in Texas but flourish in Colorado. In the spring the cabin is surrounded with wildflowers. Out back is the white conservatory that connects to the cabin (I know it would clash with the logs, but in my dream it DOESN'T). It's basically all Terry dreams of, including the fish. (I've had aquariums since I was 10.) Lots of song birds and an adopted hummingbird family keep company with the orchids. There's more to the gardens including Japanese maples, primulas, and hellebores.

And, beside me enjoying it all is Mel Gibson one week, the next it's Harrison Ford, the next is Nicholas Cage, and the 4th week of the month it's all mine! And the chef that is constantly on call in the kitchen.

Ok Gail time to wake up!!! If I can't see Julia Roberts, don't see why you get Mel Gibson. Love the rest of your musings, you paint a good picture.

Hey it's MY dream! I can invite who(m)ever I want!

And what's stopping you from having Julia Roberts in your dream?

Thank God, dreams are the one private place we can all have purple elephants and no one can stop them from marching if we desire. For that matter, there are no weeds marching through my dream garden either AND the temps are always between 60 and 70 degrees, except on the mountain tips where it's colder for the snow, of course.

You two make me look asexual. Ok, I'll throw in the French-speaking sushi chef and sax playing house cleaner. Yes, that was meant to an 'a' .
And I didn't specify it, but my grnhs would be 70* year-round too, Terry.
Loved David's generous offer! We'd better make that a private jet, to facilitate all our herbaceous smuggling. Trouble is, just visiting foreign growths in their nat hab only makes us lust all the more to live with them at home!

I'd love to come visit your mt top Gail, in summer,,, but I'd rather stay here the rest of the time to reap our 8 months of borders and winter flowering greenery. Otherwise, I'll spend the summer in my seaside thatch on the so of England while some hefty head gardener tends the summer garden here - keeping it safe till I return in Sept!

I checked in with Susan J forum friend in Seattle this week to wish her godspeed thru their earthquake aftermath. All is well with them and she reports that as usual, the news coverage carried isolated images, alluding to wider spread damage than there seems to be. I wanted to let you all know they are fine.

I've been thinking on this one

Of course I want a huge greenhouse - heated for year round use. Then I'd grow winter tomatoes and have flowers in bloom year round.

Next on my list would be some really pretty picket fences and fancy gates. With someone to put it all in for me and to keep it painted. Probably throw in some bench arbors covered in climbing roses and a gazebo too. Then all this leads to some nice stone paving to wind around the new flower beds that I'd have to have along the picket fence and gazebo.

This next item would require lots of money as my yard does not have the potential, but with $$$$$ who knows. Lots of trees with woodland plantings and paths and benches through out. With the trees coming right up to a big brand new deck where I could sit and watch the birds and small wildlife.

And I don't want to forget the trees to line the driveway. And someone out there standing guard so the deer wouldn't eat the little things - or if I have lots of $$$$$ I could just start with BIG trees huh?

I think these lists could go on and on as our imaginations go to work

Gail asks why I can't have Julia Roberts? Because I don't look or speak like Hugh Grant, that's also the reason I can't have Liz Hurley in there. Wait a minute I feel a dream coming on...so many safety pins so little time...Aghhhh too late woke up too soon.
Have you noticed that with unlimited wealth we all want to recreate a natural woodland area.
I have to add to mine after reading MK's wish list, that I would also want an area reserved for growing tasty organic veg.
Pleased to hear that Susan and co. are fine. I can put all your minds at rest, I haven't contracted foot and mouth, unless you count putting your foot in your mouth which i tend to do quite a lot.

About your 2nd sentence, T - that's not for you to judge ;-)
So sad about the f&m disease - for the farmers and animals (as well as yours ;). Are there foot traffic quarantines around your stomping grounds?

There certainly are Maggie, I'm sitting here on a beautiful sunny day again, not a cloud in the sky and every footpath into the countryside has a no access sign on it. I can just about see the woodland from my back garden, it's so teasing when you can see it but can't go there. Hope they get it sorted soon, got to have my springtime fix of bluebells.

Oh so sad. And I won't be able to enjoy your bluebell walks by osmosis this year either then

Hello everyone, just when you thought the forum was a safe and peaceful place…. she’s back! :-) I’ve been lurking around and have loved this dream garden thread.

While I was in hospital the only garden I was dreaming about was my own, I’d lay there making plans to move stuff around and plant new things, I even fantasised about getting an allotment and growing soft fruit. As things have turned out all those ideas have gone by the board and I am just frantically trying to think up ways to maintain the garden to a reasonable standard.

But what would I want if I had unlimited funds? mmmmm

Well, the first thing would be a competent labour force (they would have to look good in shorts too!) I love doing stuff myself but it’s great to have help for the heavy work.

Being impatient and lazy about starting something from scratch I suppose I would have to commandeer one of my favourite gardens. It has been really hard to choose, I narrowed it down to Lotusland in Monticito California, Lionel Fortescue’s The Garden House at Buckland Monachorum Devon (www.thegardenhouse.org.uk), Powis Castle at yes you guessed it...Powis Wales and East Ruston Old Vicarage Gardens, which is not in East Ruston…don’t ask it’s an English thing. (www.e-ruston-oldvicaragegardens.co.uk)

From those four I think it has to be East Ruston. It’s new, exciting and still has plenty of room for me to make my mark.

Now for decoration, no contest, Kevin Spacey, entertainment Eddie Izzard, conversation Graham Stuart Thomas and Carol Kline.

I’m waiting for you to win the lottery David; I’d just love an all expenses paid trip to see your gardens.

Hurray Hurray, the Gardengal is up to joining us today oxoxoxo Keep up the fight Nicola, we send you loving, healing energies daily.

Wouldn't it have been great if David had won last week's Texas lotto?!...an Austin couple won 51 million buckos! Darrrn, David,, you could have bought us all our dreamgardens come true, as well as the trips!

I like your idea of taking on a ready-made garden Nicola. First one that comes to mind for me is Cranborne Manor in Dorset ... with a full-time staff included of course! And your garden-conversation companions idea makes my heart pound ! I love nothing more than a dinner party chock full of garden historian/designers talk. Wish such could happen weekly - with living and returned-to-living garden characters at the table. We won't be able to hold a plant-swap party this spring, so maybe I'll just enjoy fantasizing garden-fanatic dinner invitations instead :-0 There are so many living gardeners I would wish to visit with, that it would fill the page and my want-list of the returned-to-life garden talkers would be likewise lengthy, and would include some brave botanic adventurers who traveled the treacherous unknowns to bag elusive wildlings that we now grow tamed. Oh such thoughts could keep me forever distracted. Behave wandering heart, back to work you fool.

I really must have missed a day!!! Good to see you in good writing and dreaming form Nicola...If men in shorts are featuring in those dreams I'm not surprised you burst your stitches. Hope you are knitting back together nicely.