There are two or three varieties of the European, or bloodtwig dogwood Cornus sanguinea that pack a considerable punch…

Thank heaven for creeping woodsorrel (Oxalis corniculata). Not really for any intrinsic value the plant possesses…

That’s the thing about self-seeding plants – you can’t rely on them to self-seed themselves where you want them to…

It’s as well I serviced my secateurs recently (the little black rubber bumper that acts as a shock absorber had gone AWOL)…

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of being given a second chance…

There’s a magic about mistletoe (Viscum album), one that’s not entirely comfortable…

The leaves of stinking iris Iris foetidissima certainly have a characteristic smell…

Winter strips away distractions and, while the skies might seem more vast and the landscape more open…

Under the leaf litter, the growing goes on – unconcerned with Christmas and tax returns…

December dashes on, and the berries are out on the ivy. You find them held just proud of the foliage…

A walk through the London streets in the run up to Christmas, yielding me perhaps the most unlovely garden detail…

Last one standing, tall stems of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) keep me company in the soggy December veg garden…

I think it might be a good year for holly berries. Not the best, but better than the last…

I’m not entirely sure anyone knows the exact age of the espaliered pear tree in the Blue Garden at Great Dixter…

Winter now. We’ve been preparing to accept the colour bleeding gradually from the world outside…

There’s been big brown bag lurking about in the courtyard for far longer than I care to admit…

While the wisdom of allowing moss to colonise your garden steps might be questionable…

Nobody forgets their first meeting with a gunnera (Gunnera manicata) in all its glory…