Unpredictability is the name of the game when it comes to British weather, but one old proverb certainly promises to ring true in 2019: ‘March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers.’ Whilst the warmth and vitality of May still feel a long way…
Some days and some jobs are just awkward. Some days some jobs are awkward and the next day they feel straightforward. Why? I don’t know. Perhaps it’s me, perhaps it’s the job; maybe it’s a combination of both. All I can say is that I…
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…
Before I begin, a heartfelt thank you to everyone who posted a comment following the garden’s appearance on Gardeners’ World last Friday. It’s been uplifting reading the many kind, appreciative messages that have popped up here and on other forms of social media. I am…
Friday March 8th 2019, 8.30-9.00pm, BBC2 When I look at my garden this evening, as it takes a battering from Storm Freya, I find it hard to recall how it looked that warm August day when BBC Gardeners’ World came to film. The outdoor kitchen…
Despite still feeling grotty, the opportunities presented by a weekend of unbroken sunshine were too good to miss. I had been waiting months for a spell of fine weather to start repainting my exterior woodwork, and here it was, in mid February, just when I…
One can be excused for inactivity during January – after all, Christmas is exhausting – but with the arrival of February the garden begins to demand one’s attention again. First of all there are the early signs of spring. Snowdrops are starting to bloom, tiny…
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 11th: Evergreen My garden goes into limbo during December. It’s trapped somewhere between autumn and winter, quivering in a chilled green aspic. All colour other than green has been drained by the cold and desiccated by the wind, leaving me with pots and borders…
The problem with owning a garden dominated by evergreens and tropicals is that I don’t really get to experience autumn colour at home. My garden morphs quickly from fabulous full summer to winter green, pretty much when I get around making it happen. This year,…
