Autumn Spice
Reading time 3 minutes
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 […]
Weather
Last Vestiges
Reading time 5 minutes
I returned from China to a garden clinging valiantly on to the glories of summer. It was a heart-warming homecoming, but the gift […]
An Extraordinary Autumn
Reading time 8 minutes
There comes a moment every autumn when I leave home and return again under the cover of darkness. Since I have been living full […]
Hunting Brook Gardens, County Wicklow
Reading time 14 minutes
It was raining as we arrived at Hunting Brook; a light, steady drizzle filtering through opaque air. The lanes leading to the garden […]
It Ain’t Half Hot Mum
Reading time 8 minutes
I write this post, naked from the waist up, basking in the sun at The Watch House. It’s not a pretty sight, but only […]
Chatsworth Flower Show 2018: The Show Gardens
Reading time 12 minutes
Tuesday in Derbyshire dawned grey and dank. I had only packed my Man from Del Monte outfit, so arrived at Chatsworth looking a […]
Whatever the Weather
Reading time 8 minutes
The elements just keep on giving this year. In the space of three months we’ve had record cold and record […]
Trewidden, Cornwall: Anything But Magnolia
Reading time 4 minutes
It’s been a cruel winter for spring flowering shrubs and trees. Today at Trewidden in Cornwall we witnessed the impact of subzero temperatures and […]
The Late Late April Show
Reading time 7 minutes
Spring is arriving in slow motion at The Watch House. I’ve been watching a single bud of Narcissus ‘Golden Ducat’ striving to open for […]
Living in the Moment
Reading time 7 minutes
The changing of the clocks makes an enormous difference to my enjoyment of the garden. Although the mornings have temporarily descended back into […]
Cold Front
Reading time 5 minutes
Hold the front page, the Beast from the East is not quite done with us yet. On Saturday we’re due to plunge back into […]
Down But Not Out
Reading time 5 minutes
I’ll confess last week’s wind and snow damage got me down, not that I had a great deal of time to dwell on it. […]