My front garden is getting a makeover. We’ve done a fair bit to the front garden since moving in, in 2012. I filled the borders with shrubs, perennials and bulbs, and planted a Rowan tree. I planted fragrant climbing roses against the house. We put in cheap and cheerful raised beds so we could grow fruit and veg. It’s the… Read more →
Tag: fruit
New Stu-stu-studio!!
As a rule, I start to feel gloomy when the clocks go back. This year, I remain chipper because of my fabulous new ’shed’. I finally have a proper design studio*, rather than a weeny desk in the corner of our bedroom. I might just move out there, it’s sooo wonderful. There’s a photo tour below for your delectation! (*Correct pronunciation: “Stu-stu-studio” ala… Read more →
Gardens in Kenya :: When Houseplants Go Wild
The title of this post should really be: That moment when you realise that all of your house plants in England are actually regular garden plants in tropical countries and really just want to romp away and become huge, exuberant specimens! But what would be far too long, and my WordPress blog interface would shout at me about ‘readability’ and ‘SEO’ and other such things I don’t… Read more →
Bank Holiday Jam Day, and other ways to cope with a glut
This past bank holiday will forever hence forth be know as Jam Day in our house. Something powerful came over me that weekend, and I knew I just had to get my jam on. I spent hours that Monday, chopping, coring, stoning, peeling, boiling, simmering, pouring, and then cleaning up, copious quantities of fruit and veg harvested from our garden. In fact,… Read more →
F is for Frost :: A to Z of Gardens
If there’s one thing that redeems January for me, it’s stunning, sunny, frosty Norfolk mornings, like today’s. The air is crisp and sweet, and the sunrise so pink and pretty that my heart sings. Plants can look quite beautiful in the frost. Heucheras particularly suit their common name ‘Coral Bells’ when frosted. I like the the way the frost picks out the detailed… Read more →
One Year On…
I’m a little staggered to think it’s a year since I started this blog and embarked on a slightly scary but exciting career change. I’ve worked as a gardener, run my first class, and created garden designs for some lovely clients. I’m loving it. And I’m looking forward to getting stuck into a new horticulture course in September. My garden has changed… Read more →
July: What To Do Now
The overwhelming theme of my garden this month seems to be scent. There are masses of sweet smelling blooms on the roses, honeysuckle and philadelphus. It’s a pleasure to walk along the borders and now much narrower paths, especially on a warm day when the the flowers’ scents seem strongest. There is a climbing rose growing by my front door which fills the front… Read more →
June: What To Do Now
June is the perfect month for relaxing in your garden. The evenings are at their longest and lightest, and should be spent with a cold beer in hand and feet up, watching the bees and birds go about their business. All of my hard work in spring has paid off, and there is an abundance of lush growth and flowers… Read more →
April: What To Do Now
For me early spring has been all about bold blues, yellows and acid greens. It’s a colour combination I love to see after the monochromes of winter. In our front garden, primroses and grape hyacinths (muscari) are self-seeding happily in one border (see photo above), while on the other side of the path, dog violets and a creeping sedum, whose… Read more →
October: What To Do Now
The bottom of my garden smells of fennel today. Seven-foot stems, covered in feathery leaves, are holding up dried seedheads at just the right height for me to get a good sniff as I walk past. And there are still so many jewel-coloured flowers out: roses, sedums, mallows, hardy fuschia, verbena bonariensis. Some flowers are only just coming into their… Read more →