# My Real Gardens

Welcome to My Real Gardens, where I share 30 years of garden making know-how as a multi-award-winning garden designer. I'm here to share what honestly works in real gardens – proper advice without the jargon to help you grow.

By Ann-Marie Powell

· Over 4,000 subscribers

### Knepp’s Walled Garden

[Is this rewilding, renaturing, or just very brave gardening?](https://myrealgardens.substack.com/p/knepps-walled-garden)  
Jun 19 • [Ann-Marie Powell](https://substack.com/@annmariepowell)

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### The Longest Day Is Almost Here (And I’m Not Ready.)

[Late sowings, a Tuesday drenching, and what to plant, what to compost, and what to blame the weather for before the solstice arrives.](https://myrealgardens.substack.com/p/the-longest-day-is-almost-here-and)  
Jun 12 • [Ann-Marie Powell](https://substack.com/@annmariepowell)

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### Edimentals: the border plants you didn’t know you could eat

[What they add to your garden. How I grew to adore them. And right now, the chefs at Borde Hill are cutting plants from my edimentals scheme for…](https://myrealgardens.substack.com/p/edimentals-the-border-plants-you)  
Jun 5 • [Ann-Marie Powell](https://substack.com/@annmariepowell)

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### Most Popular

[RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026: My Very Honest Preview](https://myrealgardens.substack.com/p/rhs-chelsea-flower-show-2026-my-very)  
May 15 • [Ann-Marie Powell](https://substack.com/@annmariepowell)

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### RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026: My Very Honest REVIEW

[What I saw, what I loved, what I’m still thinking about](https://myrealgardens.substack.com/p/rhs-chelsea-flower-show-2026-my-very-3e7)  
May 22 • [Ann-Marie Powell](https://substack.com/@annmariepowell)

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### Pricking Out (Not, Sadly, a Euphemism)

[Thirty years in and I still hate it. Ten tips that genuinely help. Plus: live session this Sunday.](https://myrealgardens.substack.com/p/pricking-out-not-sadly-a-euphemism)  
May 8 • [Ann-Marie Powell](https://substack.com/@annmariepowell)

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### Forde Abbey: What I Saw, What I’m Stealing

[A visit with Joe Swift, fifty thousand tulips, and a meadow I’d have paid the entry fee for alone.](https://myrealgardens.substack.com/p/forde-abbey-what-i-saw-what-im-stealing)  
May 1 • [Ann-Marie Powell](https://substack.com/@annmariepowell)

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### Composting, honestly.

[The secrets of success (and my dirty one too), four systems, a hotbin’s contents that once fell on my head, every niggly question answered and an…](https://myrealgardens.substack.com/p/composting-honestly)  
Apr 24 • [Ann-Marie Powell](https://substack.com/@annmariepowell)

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### Six Months In…

[I miss my husband desperately, but I am not desperate. There’s a difference. A big one, actually. And the garden knew that before I did.](https://myrealgardens.substack.com/p/six-months-in)  
Apr 17 • [Ann-Marie Powell](https://substack.com/@annmariepowell)

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My Real Gardens