The life and loves of a time-poor plantsman
It was possibly a little too early to go out snowdrop spotting. In another year it might almost have been too late, but January and February have been cold and the flowers have responded accordingly. We arrived at Goodnestone Park just before midday and found the carpark already half full. A handful of hardy-looking […]
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Great gardens to visit in East Kent are rarer than hens’ teeth. Those that open during the winter months even scarcer. So, as soon as Goodnestone Park reopens in spring I am there, with bells on. Well a bobble hat anyway. The red brick and sandstone mansion at Goodnestone (correctly pronounced ‘Gunston’), well-beloved of Jane […]
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I embark on my review of 2014 with a degree of trepidation, as this year did not turn out to be quite as joyful as I hoped it might be. The two preceding years were gloriously packed with exotic travel and big events, so in hindsight 2014 was probably never going to live up to expectations. There have […]
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I like to keep things fresh at The Frustrated Gardener, so I’ve upgraded to a brand new theme called Axon. My blog’s previous theme, Further, has become Twenty Fourteen, this year’s WordPress default layout. I hate to conform, so it’s out with the old and in with a new, photo-friendly format. Please let me know […]
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Perhaps it is just me, but it seems that every gardening publication I open this month is packed with features on snowdrops (Galanthus spp.) and lists of where to view them. Country Life magazine reports that there are more woods and gardens open for snowdrop events this year than ever before, some even offering night viewings. When, […]
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The British love a walled garden: solid, enclosed and often romantic, they are private spaces where a lucky few get to garden and where visitors can appreciate their labours. In the 21st Century those that remain are mainly cultivated as decorative fruit, vegetable and cut flower gardens. Those attached to hotels and National Trust properties […]
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I have to admit I am not terribly well informed when it comes to grasses. My vocabulary extends about as far as Stipa and Dechampsia but not far beyond, so those of you who don’t care for Latin names can read on without fear of being bamboozled. Sadly, neither of our gardens offers the space […]
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I have never been a great fan of autumn. All the untidiness and decay just doesn’t work for me. I generally console myself with planning for spring, whilst others are enjoying the glories of this mellow season. But having missed most of September travelling in hot and steamy Asia, I am finding it hard not […]
Read MoreLast weekend went by like a whirlwind – so much to catch up on whilst September flew away on the breeze. It was good to reacquaint myself with both both our plots, but also to visit one of our favourite local gardens, Goodnestone Park, where the gravel garden was at its zenith. Fine grasses towered […]
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Those of you who have been following The Frustrated Gardener for a while will recall that I wrote about Goodnestone Park shortly after starting out on my blogging adventure. Down here in East Kent there’s a shortage of good gardens to visit, so when we feel the need to get out, it’s often here that […]
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