The life and loves of a time-poor plantsman
I’m on the road again. Or rather I’m in the skies and generally racking-up the air miles. It’s buying season and there’s no rest for the wicked. In another life I must have been a very bad person! Having departed a red-hot Delhi at 01.10 this morning I’m now in damp and dreary Hong Kong. […]
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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 MoreArranged in a simple grey marble cube, what could be prettier than this arrangement of lightly perfumed rose buds? Pictured this morning at The Trident, Gurgaon, India.
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The sharp eyed among you will have noticed that I travel a lot. Whilst it’s not always as glamorous as it sounds, it takes me to all sorts of interesting places and into some astonishingly beautiful hotels. The new breed of five star Asian hotels are in a class of their own when it comes […]
Read MoreThe Taj Mahal is thought to be the most photographed monument in the world. Anyone fortunate enough to pay a visit should resist the temptation to pick up their camera immediately and instead go at dawn to soak up the tranquil atmosphere. The Taj’s gardens offer a more blurred version of the symmetry displayed in […]
Read MoreOne week in and I’m at the stage when I can count the number of hours sleep I get each night on one hand. Tomorrow will offer no respite as I head onwards to India. The upside of being in Vietnam is the food, which is as fresh as a daisy and tastier than any […]
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My favourite architect by a country mile is Edwin Lutyens. Often described as a genius, he is most lauded for his Surrey country houses, war memorials and his masterplan for Imperial New Delhi. Castle Drogo in Devon is one of Lutyen’s lesser known and farthest flung masterpieces, and one I could never tire of visiting. […]
Read MoreThis peaceful shot was taken during my last visit to Delhi in the gardens surrounding Humayun’s tomb. It was early in the morning as the groundsmen cleared leaves from the narrow rills and square pools. Little remains of the vast majority of Mughal gardens. It’s likely that their formal, geometric framework of water, pathways and […]
Read MoreOften the true beauty of plants can be found in the intricate details of leaves, flowers seedpods and stems. This beautiful trunk belongs to Roystonea regia, the Cuban royal palm. The multi-textured bands appear just below the green crown of leaves, stippled and striated where the old leaves have fallen away. Better than any abstract […]
Read MoreEvery year, Srinagar’s Indira Gandhi Tulip Garden on the banks of the Dal Lake are planted with over 1.5 million tulips, creating the largest public display in Asia. One hundred varieties are imported from Holland, the flowers attracting thousands of visitors during the first two weeks of April. Only the Himalayas in the background give […]
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