The life and loves of a time-poor plantsman
I’ve been getting increasingly frustrated with myself for posting so infrequently. Okay, so I no longer have a long commute to London and I can’t wait to get out from behind my laptop at the end of each working day, but surely there must be time to draft a post or two? Seemingly not. Then […]
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Late last summer we paid a flying visit to Dyson’s Nurseries at Great Comp near Sevenoaks in Kent. It was all rather unsatisfactory as we were short of time and had our pups Max and Millie in tow. We couldn’t take them into the garden (although I snuck in to use the loo, which was […]
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For the last three summers I have been growing airplants outside in the Jungle Garden. Secured to the branches of a tree in dappled shade, they’ve added texture and interest where otherwise there was little else to amuse. In spite of their small size they have always attracted comment: few people expect to see these […]
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We were all set to go to the rare plant fair at Tregrehan in Cornwall last Sunday. My train was booked months ago, the was itinerary planned and a wish-list written. Then two highly predictable things happened: I purchased a whole heap of plants elsewhere on Saturday (good ones too …. see below for details) […]
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I started this blog with a clear personal ambition to preserve what I already knew about plants and to encourage further learning. It was as simple as that. Looking back this sounds like a selfish mission, but there was always an intention to share that knowledge, otherwise I may as well have written my thoughts […]
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First of all, thank you for your patience whilst I have been away on holiday and taking a short break from blogging. It’s been many years since I’ve had a whole fortnight away from work, and I can heartily recommend it. It’s been almost as long since I’ve travelled long-haul for a holiday, and I […]
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In June this year I will have been blogging for seven years. I have completely forgotten most of the posts I wrote at the beginning of my blogging career, occasionally stumbling upon them when researching other topics I am writing about. When this happens it is rather like bumping into an old friend. I put […]
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Followers of The Frustrated Gardener will already know that I am an inveterate plant collector. If I’ve not seen or heard of a plant and it looks vaguely attractive I’ll want to try growing it. Once I’ve established that I am capable of doing so (normally a quick Internet search will suffice) and I have […]
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So I forgot. Today’s the day that the London Evening Standard publishes a feature on neon-coloured foliage and I am not even in London to pick up a copy. They say that if you want a job doing, give it to a busy person, but it you want something remembering, definitely don’t. I have […]
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My garden is so jam-packed with plants by early autumn that I can barely move around outside. Far from holding plants back, a spell of cooler, duller weather has encouraged exuberant growth and the appearance of lashings of fresh foliage. Flowers are in shorter supply, but there are enough to give the garden interest […]
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