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In this opening episode of season 4, we wander down the intertwining hedgerow paths of May Morris’s 1893 Arcadia wallpaper design, featuring a passage from her book Decorative Needlework beautifully read for us by Milli Proust.
That sense of wild, magical, yet familiar garden space leads us directly into the work of this episode’s guest: French illustrator Margot Réverdy.
Read moreSpring is well and truly here, and so is garden designer and writer Jack Wallington, who joins me for the last episode of this mini series of the podcast celebrating the ideas behind his book, Wild About Weeds.
Read moreWinter’s not yet done with us, but there's always something to do in the garden. Delving back into Jack Wallington's Wild About Weeds to find out how to manage these rebel plants. And thinking about how the picture perfect garden fits
Read moreNovember is no time for reticence or squeamishness, at least, not when it comes to pelargoniums…
Read moreNow that we can officially declare that winter is over – I'm not quite sure that I would, though, notwithstanding the backing of meteorologists everywhere…
Read moreSomeone could live here. Days are drawing out, and thoughts inevitably turn to spring, I can I feel the urge to get involved with the wintery detritus…
Read moreWinter presents the ideal opportunity for getting to grips with the brambles, but who really belongs more in the garden – the weeds, or the gardener?
Read moreWinter strips away distractions and, while the skies might seem more vast and the landscape more open in the absence of abundant leaf cover, I find myself drawn to the small details…
Read moreWe’re so used to tracing the passage of the seasons by the signs we observe out of doors – what the trees or the leaves or the sky is doing…
Read moreNot much of a looker, and kind of patchily bald in winter. But you plant winter honeysuckle for its scent, rather than its looks…
Read moreEveryone loves a dazzling floral display in summer, but those plants that can maintain interest through the colder seasons are greatly to be prized…
Read moreThere’s a moment just as the sun rises on a clear, cold winter’s morning, when the growing light still has the blue tinge of night about it…
Read moreI think William Morris would have approved of the evergreen, Daphne bholua ‘Limpsfield’, seeing as how it manages to be both useful and beautiful…
Read moreI don’t know why winter gets such a bad rap for being a time of inactivity…
Read moreMarch 2018 – what the heck was that? Just as we were beginning to enjoy the first signs of spring, the Beast from the East brought snow and cold weather from Siberia. Twice. Thankfully for us, rumours of its return at the end of the month proved to be groundless, though our friends in the north were less fortunate. We just got very wet instead.
Read moreFrom a dull grey start to a bitter, snowy end, winter has been topsy-turvy, and is now in the throes of a tantrum at being asked to go home. We may struggle to keep up; the garden, of course, takes all this in its stride.
Read moreTo the uninitiated, hashtags are probably the most confounding aspect to social media. But a little delving reveals them to be a powerful tool for cutting through the online flotsam and plucking related content out from the relentless flow of global chatter. As winter turns to spring, I’m launching a hashtag to encourage Instagram users to share their seasonal images.
Read moreIt’s new year’s eve, but I’ll leave the annual gardening retrospective for others. For me, that doesn’t feel right till winter’s done and sowing seeds can begin in earnest, and we’re not quite there yet, although the seed catalogues are beginning to look well-thumbed. But I’ve not yet had a chance to look back through November and December in the garden as seen through my Instagram feed, so I hope you’ll join me as I review the past couple of months.
Read moreAs 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 moreJanuary 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.
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