And so, here we are, on the eve of a new decade; Farewell 2010s, All Hail the 2020s! With the world as it is, there seems relatively little to look forward to on a macro scale, so I am choosing to focus on things that…
With its brightly-coloured, star-shaped bracts, the poinsettia is one of the most recognisable symbols of Christmas in the world. We find it in supermarkets, garden centres and florists, as well as emblazoned on Christmas cards and wrapping paper. At once cheap and cheerful, celebrated and…
And relax! After several weeks of intensive preparation, another National Gardens Scheme open weekend lies behind us. Rather like Christmas there’s an almighty build-up and then the event itself is over in the blink of an eyelid. In total we welcomed 440 visitors to The…
This winter’s weather is turning out to be a bit of tease. We experience a short spell of cold, then it’s back to mild again. When it does get cold, my garden escapes the frost, even if cars in the street are encrusted with ice.…
December 15th: Poinsettia On at least five occasions this month I have strayed over to the fresh flower section at my local supermarket, picked up a poinsettia and then promptly put it back down again. I want to like them, but I just can’t. I…
December 5th: Let There Be Light During the next month or so, those of us in Northern Hemisphere will be experiencing our darkest days of the year; not emotionally, one hopes, but in terms of daylight hours. Many of us respond negatively to lack of…
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,…
You would not believe the ideas I have for this blog. They are stored up in my head and occasionally committed to paper. They come to me in the shower, on the train, in the garden and as I go to sleep at night.…
Over the weekend we welcomed over 300 visitors to The Watch House, breaking records and surprising us all. At times it was a challenge to fit everyone in whilst offering an enjoyable experience in the garden, but there were no complaints, at least that…
When a plant does well in my garden, I want to grow more of it. As a gardening strategy, this makes perfect sense. So often we struggle on, trying to grow things that are not best suited to our conditions. Then we ask ourselves…
