The life and loves of a time-poor plantsman
The adage ‘it takes all sorts’ applies just as accurately to plants as is does to people. Some plants hide their light under a bushel whilst others come out all guns blazing; some are solid marathon runners, others are thrilling sprinters. A good garden needs a balance of each to maintain interest: variety is […]
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It’s a good year for agapanthus here at The Watch House. A rough count of the flower heads produced by Agapanthus africanus tops 60, which is not the most I’ve ever enjoyed, but is the best in recent years. An increased amount of shade in the garden has not helped – more on which […]
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Mention the name bindweed and the first thing that springs to mind is one of gardeners’ greatest horrors, hedge bindweed (Calystegia sepium). Undoubtedly beautiful in flower, hedge bindweed is a thug and is welcomed only into the wildest of gardens by the bravest of gardeners. Altogether tamer, docile in fact, is blue rock bindweed, Convolvulus sabatius […]
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You’ve all heard of primrose yellow, but let me introduce you to primrose blue. As a flower colour blue is something of acquired taste, especially when it doesn’t come naturally. Could there be anything more abhorrent than a blue rose, a turquoise chrysanthemum (please note Tesco cut flower buyer) or, worse still, a sapphire orchid? And […]
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Spring arrived in earnest today, with temperatures reaching a balmy 16 degrees in the sunshine. The mercury has not been that high since October and one could almost hear the sap starting to rise through each branch, stem and leaf. It was a day firsts: the first day that we enjoyed lunch in the garden […]
Read MoreThis little gem of a plant is Convolvulus sabatius, otherwise known as Blue Rock Bindweed. Unlike its invasive, white-flowered cousin it does not spread like wildfire and make itself generally unwelcome. Instead, it cascades delicately over the slate walls of our raised borders and blesses us with small, soft blue flowers all through the summer. It appreciates a […]
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