The life and loves of a time-poor plantsman
Both gardens were overflowing with plants long before August arrived. There was a point at which getting from the garden gate to the front door was such an ordeal that even The Beau started to lose patience with me. At the end of July I reluctantly declared that I was going on plant diet, or, […]
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Gardeners the world over are obsessed with flowers. I am no exception. As well as being beautiful to look at, flowers are a sign of success, something one can measure a garden and its gardener by. Along with fruit and vegetables, flowers are part of the horticultutal triumvirate we choose to judge competitively, always striving […]
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There’s a day or two every February when the sun shines, the air feels warm, the wind drops, and one could be fooled into thinking spring has arrived. Today was one of those days. I will not be duped, as all too often these balmy interludes are followed by bitter, cruel cold. The buzzing bees and […]
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As far as flowers are concerned the pickings are fairly slim in our London garden at this time of year. Because of this I am loath to turf out pots of white Begonia semperflorens which are still plodding along outside the French windows. Likewise I am clinging on to Salvia patens, steadfastly sending up new […]
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I’ve just come in from the garden, where the temperature has dropped dramatically since lunchtime. A brisk, rain-laden breeze has whipped up, carrying away summer’s last whispers. I fear autumn is finally here. This means one thing – it’s time to prepare the garden for winter and spring. Stoic dahlias are plodding on, albeit with slightly smaller flowers […]
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Few plants hold their flowers as gracefully as fuchsias. Whether large or small flowered, the blooms typically tremble at the end of fine wiry stems. How I enjoyed unceremoniously popping the balloon-like buds of the varieties we grew in our garden when I was a child. They deserved better treatment. I have always found fuchsias utterly captivating […]
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The plants in our two gardens seem divided on the question of whether autumn has arrived or not. The majority are getting a bit too big for their boots, which will cost them dearly when the cold weather finally arrives. November’s weather has been wet and mild, which has really slowed the onset of any […]
Read MoreWhen I am away from home, I sorely miss my garden. Here’s one good reason why, the scarlet shooting stars of Fuchsia ‘Gartenmeister Bonstedt’. Just three small cuttings planted in spring were almost a metre tall by the time I left home, covered in iridescent bronze leaves and bunches of long tubular flowers. Who needs […]
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On Saturday we a had a visitation from the Assistant County Organiser for the Kent National Gardens Scheme. So naturally, what could go wrong promptly went wrong. Eager to impress I was up at the crack of dawn to prepare for our inspection. The weather was a dream – sunny and breezy with the morning […]
Read MoreUnlike my week, which is packed to say the least, the weekend was one of those rare and precious occasions on which there was little to do in the garden other than sit back and enjoy. This is not a state that comes naturally to me, so between reading the paper and soaking up the […]
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