If you are my husband someone who needs to buy a Christmas present for a keen gardener, then read on for my suggestions… Norfolk Traditional Willow Basket (£44) This beautiful willow basket is hand-made in Norfolk by a near neighbour of mine, Peter Dibble. He even grows and cuts the willow himself. I would use it to collect apples, vegetables… Read more →
Gardening in a ski suit
Are you a fair weather gardener? I once heard long-haired Norfolk boy and gardening hippy, Bob Flowerdew say on Gardeners’ Question Time that there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. Bob suggested searching charity shops for a second-hand ski suit so you can garden in the very worst weather! While I am happy to garden on chilly… Read more →
Winter at the veg patch
A few weeks ago, I finally moved the last of our raised beds from the back garden to the front. I’d left it there through summer and into autumn because we were waiting for the sweetcorn that was growing in it to ripen. The cobs swelled up promisingly in September but sadly the kernels didn’t make it to the juicy… Read more →
There is no true beauty without decay
One of my very favourite films is Withnail and I. I’ve watched it countless times and often find myself quoting it in everyday situations: screeching “Get in the back of the van!” at my dawdling children; “We’re not from London,” when travelling anywhere in the country; “Fork it!” whenever it seems appropriate; and “I feel like a pig shat in… Read more →
Floral eye candy for a grey Monday
There are still lots of special things to see in my garden, even though we are nearing the end of autumn. On cloudy days, the few remaining flowers look so bright they seem to shout through the browns, greys and increasingly dull greens, and I just have to go out there and have a closer look. So I thought I… Read more →
November: What To Do Now
This month has brought us some truly beautiful days. I still find myself entranced by the quality of the morning light and gorgeous blue skies of autumn in Norwich. We have enjoyed walking (and scooting) through showers of golden, falling leaves. There are more and more bare branches now. On wet days, we squelch and squerch through deep, shiny piles… Read more →
How To Build A Hogitat
Inspired by a recent newsletter from the RSPB, I decided we would use the next dry day to build a hedgehog house in the garden. So today, we fleeced up and mustered outside, to build a warm habitat for our hogs to hibernate in over winter. Hedgehog numbers are worryingly in decline in the UK: “Our beloved hedgehog has had… Read more →
C is for a Conflagration of Cornus
One of the first shrubs I bought for my garden was a cornus sanguinea Midwinter Fire. I saw it in the bargain section of a now defunct nursery on the A140 in Norfolk. I picked it up because I liked the shape, and the leaves and its muted peachy stem colour. I planted it in spring without much further thought… 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 →
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
The garden is looking quite gorgeous this week. The low autumn sunshine acts like a spotlight and the early morning dew is making the whole place shine. There are spider webs everywhere. The late flowers of roses, sedums, cyclamen, heleniums and asters are lovely. But as I walked around the garden this morning, it was the fruit and berries that… Read more →