From Coastline to Compost Bin – Using Seaweed As A Garden Fertiliser and Soil Improver

March 13, 2020.Reading time 17 minutes.

I may be a composting virgin, but now that I have an allotment I am getting serious about the dark art of decay. Since the New Year I’ve been swotting up and assimilating all manner of advice about building, filling and maintaining a successful heap. Composting, like brewing and train spotting, attracts a certain degree […]

Plant Profile: Salvia leucocephala

March 8, 2020.Reading time 5 minutes.

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 […]

Garden Diary: February 2020

March 1, 2020.Reading time 19 minutes.

I have decided to start a garden diary. It’s been over 30 years since I last kept any form of journal so I can’t be certain whether I’ll stick with it. I guess there’s only one way to find out. Now we have an allotment I feel I should keep better records of our gardening […]

We’ve Bean Busy

February 29, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

Since last I wrote we’ve had to endure a succession of winter storms which have hampered efforts to get on the plot and get on with jobs. Last weekend we tried to remedy that. The onion sets were started off in a tray on 2nd February. They’ve shot up and have now been transferred to […]

Hopping over to Stockholm

February 22, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

This week my work took me to Stockholm to visit a potential supplier. I always look forward to visiting the Swedish capital since the public transport is efficient, the city is small and the air is so clean that it makes one’s nostrils tingle. What’s more, there’s an all-pervading air of quality which is common […]

Here We Blow Again

February 15, 2020.Reading time 9 minutes.

Oh, the inconvenience; first Ciara, now Dennis, putting paid to any plans we had to tend our allotment or work in the garden this weekend. We could have braved the elements, but it would have been no fun at all and terrible for the earth. Nothing for it other than to stay indoors and wait […]

Horse Power

February 8, 2020.Reading time 4 minutes.

We took on our new allotment exactly one month ago. As time marches on, we are happy in the knowledge that with each and every visit we make, it’s transforming into an exciting plot full of potential. Last Saturday, for the second week running, my gorgeous best friend, being the lovely human being that she […]

Here Comes Ciara! – How To Protect Your Garden From Stormy Weather

February 7, 2020.Reading time 10 minutes.

Winter thus far has consisted of a handful of slightly chilly nights with a lot of benign, mild, wet weather in between. The garden is bursting with signs of spring, some of which I have captured to illustrate this post. Rosa banksiae ‘Lutea’ is already blooming, at least 2 months earlier than usual. Legions of […]

How to be a Better Gardener in 2020

February 1, 2020.Reading time 17 minutes.

January has been a month of quiet reflection. There’s been relatively little to do in the garden, the house is clean and tidy post Christmas and social engagements have been thin on the ground. Unusually we have spent most of our evenings in the library reading or playing with the dogs, which almost never happens […]

Gardens of Miami No.2 – Vizcaya

January 25, 2020.Reading time 21 minutes.

January is a month when many of us dream of an escape to the sun. If we’re feeling flush we might take advantage of discounts and book a holiday. A few lucky folk may find themselves in a position to buy a property abroad – perhaps a modern villa with a pool, or a quaint […]