Bravery
Reading time 6 minutes
I had ideas about going to the Great Dixter Spring Plant Fair this weekend, but it dawned on me that I should spend more time […]
Trees and Shrubs
Chelsea Physic Garden – Nick Bailey’s ‘Best in Snow’
Reading time 13 minutes
Early in February I went along to the Chelsea Physic Garden for one of their annual snowdrop days. I was lucky enough to bag […]
Bewitched
Reading time 3 minutes
No winter garden is complete without at least one witch hazel (Hamamelis spp.). These superb shrubs flower reliably during the harshest, bleakest of winters, scenting the […]
Getting the Heebie-jeebies
Reading time 4 minutes
It’s easy to overlook the humble hebe; it’s tough, resilient and goes about its business without any fuss or bother. That’s why idle landscapers […]
Daily Flower Candy: Echium candicans
Reading time 5 minutes
Travel agents report that the second week in January is the peak week for holiday bookings. This is hardly surprising given the short days, miserable […]
Birthday Blooms
Reading time 3 minutes
When one’s birthday falls in early January, one learns not to expect too much in the way of tropical heat or blazing sunshine. However […]
Daily Flower Candy: Rhus typhina
Reading time 3 minutes
The list of plants I’d like to grow if I had space is endless and trees would make up many of that number. I […]
Coming Home
Reading time 5 minutes
There’s nothing like a long spell away from home to remind you of what you take for granted …. and sometimes what you might do […]
The Topiary Thieves
Reading time 3 minutes
My regular trips to China offer few opportunities to observe nature up close. By and large I’m confined to big, ugly cities few people […]
Trebah Gardens, Cornwall
Reading time 10 minutes
On the steep sides of the Helford River in Cornwall lie two famous gardens, as similar in style as the two halves of a […]
Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, Cornwall
Reading time 12 minutes
Cornwall’s great gardens are, by and large, gardens that were created over 100 years ago and that have developed organically ever since. A handful have been rescued […]
Daily Flower Candy: Grevillea victoriae
Reading time 4 minutes
Just when you think the plant world has no more surprises in store for you (a silly thing to suppose anyway), along comes a […]