The year is flying. We’re already weeks past midsummer, the days are beginning to draw in and early morning mists have arrived. June whisked by so fleetingly, Hampton Court was upon me before I knew it and I didn’t have time for a review of that month, so I hope you’ll excuse a double shot in this post. And before you ask, no, my yoga practice is still non-existent. Though I have been leant a kettlebell, which so far I have carried from the car to the front room. That should do it.
Read moreA day in the life of... Gardens, Weeds & Words
A quick dash up to London for the opening of Petersham Nurseries' outpost in Covent Garden.
Read moreRHS Hampton Court Flower Show 2017 2/2
There’s a lot of ground and a lot of gardens to cover at Hampton Court, and usually a fair bit of weather of one kind or another with which to contend. Thankfully, respite is available among the many displays of perfect plants in the Floral Marquee, although for a plant nut such as myself, this will always be the true heart of the show. In the second of two blog posts, I’m sharing some of my highlights from the nurseries who make the RHS shows possible.
Read moreRHS Hampton Court Flower Show 2017 1/2
It’s RHS Hampton Court Flower Show this week. And also Wimbledon, which means it’s bound to alternately bake us to a crisp, and soak us to the skin. I spent Sunday helping Fibrex Nurseries setting up their show-stopping display of pelargoniums, and on Monday I had the opportunity to take in the show gardens. Here is the first of two blog posts with my highlights from this year’s show.
Read moreOpportunity in the public garden
Once again, I’m supremely pleased to introduce a guest post to the blog, this time from Lou Nicholls, a professional gardener for whose horticultiral knowledge I have a great respect (she’s also a tireless administrator on several gardening related online forums, a passionate advocate for horlticulture, and a source of encouragement and support for her peers). Here she writes of her experience of working in gardens open to the public – and it’s an eye-opening read!
Read moreThe beautification of weeds
You can be a long way into a game before you even realise that’s where you are. Who defines the field of play, the value of each piece, the manner in which one element should engage with the others? You might wonder what the Cinderella syndrome could possibly have to do with gardening, but consider how we designate certain plants as weeds, and all should become clear.
Read moreMay in the garden
May brought us sunshine and rain, burgeoning borders, a late frost and, of course, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. It’s the month of the gardening calendar when everything goes a bit bonkers – in a wonderful, exuberant way. Always quite nice to reach the end with your sanity intact, and your body parts functioning, though by the final week I was being reminded of the need of a good stretch, and that its about time I really ought to be getting some serious yoga practice in.
Read moreRHS Chelsea Flower Show - 2
Everyone who goes to Chelsea comes away with something slightly different, according to their own circumstances and where they are in their gardening journey. Here are my highlights from the 2017 show gardens.
Read moreRHS Chelsea Flower Show 2017 - 1
A Chelsea experience greatly diminished in terms of the number of sponsors and gardens, but the RHS are still managing to put on a top drawer horticultural event worthy of its heritage. Knowing how quickly this year’s tickets sold out, many visitors might even welcome the increased space to sit, relax and mull over what they’ve seen. Here are some of my first impressions of the show.
Read morePenshurst Place
I’d not intended to write a blog post on my visit to the gardens of Penshurst Place a couple of weekends ago. It’s scarcely a ten minute drive from my front door, and I’d popped out to take some photographs for Instagram. The thing is, I feel I’ve about exhausted everybody’s patience on that particular platform with images from the visit and so it seems they were destined for the blog all along.
Read moreApril in the garden
The sky threatens a downpour. Another four weeks of dry weather, and once more, just as the calendar flips over to the new month, the longed-for rain arrives – this time, to dampen the May Day festivities. But before we get to the glory and abundance of May, I’m taking a few moments to review April. Pour yourself a cup of tea and join me.
Read moreThe Great Dixter and Sissinghurst Double
For a gardener, I live in an enviable location. 45 minutes by car to each of Great Dixter, Sissinghurst, Wisley, and a little further round the M25 to Kew. Four world class gardens in easy reach – and how often do I find myself at any of them? Not often enough. This week, I resolved to go at least some way to rectify the situation.
Read moreMarch in the garden
While the garden enjoys a drizzle of much needed rain after a glorious start to April, I’m taking a look back at March through my Instagram gallery.
Read moreThe Joy of Squash
Every gardener has a favourite or two. Something that, left ungrown, would render the season incomplete. Given I have limited space, mine should have been chillies; compact, pretty plants bearing bright, spicy jewels. Or tomatoes – you can shove an alarming number of those in a greenhouse. and the taste of a warm, sun-ripened tomato is hard to beat. But no, for me it’s squash.
Read moreDreaming of dahlias
Spring has sprung, the air is thick with the sound of lawnmowers, and wherever you look in the garden something is calling for your attention. It’s easy to get lost in busyness, but whatever you do, don’t forget to make time for dahlias. You’ll thank yourself for it later in the year.
Read moreFebruary in the garden
As trailed in my previous post, I’ve decided to start a series on the blog using highlights from my Instagram gallery to chart the garden through the year. And so, without undue ceremony, let me welcome you to the first post in that series. This week, as we get ready to leave winter behind, I'm taking a look back at February 2017.
Read moreInstagram and the garden blog
The demise of blogging is pronounced with such extreme regularity that the patient must long ago have entered the realms of the undead. But while reports of its death are greatly exaggerated, by far the most burdensome weight of accusation for hastening its end is laid at the door of other forms of social media, notably microblogging apps such as Twitter and Instagram.
Read moreThe handsome hellebore
As snowdrops grab the headlines after Christmas, the hellebores quietly assemble while the attention is focussed elsewhere. Frankly, I think a hellebore is much more fun than a snowdrop, though neither are as innocent as they might at first appear.
Read moreWaiting for snowdrops
January can be a miserable month, so a few weeks of bright, dry weather make for a welcome start to the year. Refreshingly chilly conditions in which to while away the garden hours until the first flowers of spring appear.
Read moreResolution 2017
I’m not big on new year’s resolutions. To my mind, every day brings with it an opportunity to do better – why wait till January to make them, and then spend the remainder of the year berating yourself for breaking them? With something seasonal, like gardening, however, it makes sense. But I’m still limiting myself to one.
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