I’m starting to feel the urge to get outside and tidy up my garden. There’s a creeping temptation at this time of year to start cutting back and preparing for new growth. Crocosmia clumps look awful, brown and floppy. There are ugly, black, rotted acanthus leaves, and flat ferns. Honesty seedheads are shredded. And there are dead leaves and fallen branches everywhere. But I’m going… Read more →
Category: My Garden
Winter Has Landed… And It’s Beautiful
We’ve just had our first proper frost of minus 3 degrees. The garden looked gorgeous first thing, like it had been dusted with icing sugar. It’s 11 o’clock now but the frost is hanging on as the temperature is still pretty low. Where ever the sun catches it, ice crystals glitter. Stunning blue skies, bitterly cold, clear air, bright sunshine and… Read more →
A Bad Case Of Winter Denial
As usual, I’m finding the transition from autumn to winter a tricky one. The clocks went back but I’m struggling to accept that the growing season is over. I have not yet wrapped my banana tree up with fleece to protect it from the cold that is inevitably coming. I failed to plant garlic cloves and broad beans in the raised beds before… Read more →
Small Garden Trees For All Seasons
This is the time of year when trees shine. Flowers are fading, even the late blooming asters and roses will shortly be over. But the trees will soon be putting on a glorious show. Street trees are covered with dew drops and spangly spider webs in the early morning light as we walk to school. Beware the fat drips as you… Read more →
Broken Banana Disappointment
My banana broke. We had some incredibly stormy weather on Friday and I think the high winds must have been too much for it. The large leaves have been buffeted over, snapping the stem half way down. I didn’t expect this. It’s in a fairly sheltered spot. But there’s no accounting for British weather. It’s disappointing, obviously. And yet I’m not… Read more →
My September Gardening Journal
The kids are back at school, and I can now turn my attention back to the garden. I did manage to do some gardening, here and there in August, but it was mainly watering and deadheading. Last week, I finally took down and plaited the garlic cloves that have been drying in my garage for the past two months. I lifted and divided… Read more →
Two Shades Of Grey
You may recall that last year I set myself the challenge of prettying up a rather hideous block-work garage that runs along the left side of my garden. I considered various solutions in Up The Garage Wall (Part 1), and then we built a pergola (Part 2). And now, here is Part 3, a post I’ve titled ‘Two Shades Of Grey’ because gardening can… 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 →
My Dahlias Are Flowering (Sort Of) :: Grow-Along
It’s time for a quick update on my dahlias. Sadly, they are unimpressive. Some are doing better than others, and may improve before the summer’s out, but I still haven’t had a single, perfect flower. Although I have high hopes for the flower pictured above that is just opening up. A couple of plants have been well and truly devoured by… Read more →
A Midsummer Garden
After a sunny week in Portugal, I arrived back home to a surprisingly lush garden. I’d expected to return to dried out hanging baskets and shriveled pot plants. Instead, I found everything overgrown. Our English summer has been dreadfully rainy so far, but it’s made my borders blousy and gorgeously verdant, so I don’t mind. This is what midsummer should look… Read more →