The speckled flowers of Clematis cirrhosa ‘Freckles’ and its creamy white counterpart ‘Jingle Bells’ are twining along the bare apple espaliers with some intrepid stems nearly reaching the ground. I planted the clematis by the post closest to the dining room window so that we could see it from the table and judging by the … Continue reading Creating A Winter Garden (Part 1)
Charting the year's progress through seasonal celebrations is comforting, but can it eclipse the wondrous yet understated transformations taking place each day outside our back doors? Autumn is a big word, a catch-all for subtly shifting seasonal changes. On 2 September this year, a colleague remarked that it was nearly Christmas. Behind this provocatively jovial … Continue reading Remaking The Seasons
Growing alliums makes me happy. I love their versatility, their diversity and their sheer brilliance in the spring borders. They are equally at home in cottage gardens, amongst perennial grasses, in containers and as an architectural feature throughout contemporary planting schemes. I've grown quite a few varieties over the years and have reliable favourites which … Continue reading 7 Best Alliums To Plant This Week
Last month I wrote about my allotment woes which had resulted in an accidental potato monoculture, but since then the allotment has been working hard, producing an exciting range of cut flowers by the bucketload. After an inspiring spring harvest of daffodils and tulips, I planted summer corms and tubers, and sowed a host of … Continue reading Cutting Patch: Into The Limelight
We took the kids to RHS Tatton Park this year and they thoroughly enjoyed the children's activities - decorating plant pots, studying butterflies, sky-riding on the big wheel and learning about the history of the site on the discovery trail. But when my 8 year old asked to explore the floral marquee (it had been … Continue reading 3 Floral Favourites at RHS Tatton Park
On an incredibly hot morning this week, the only intrepid (stupid?!) visitors to brave the 30+ temperatures, my dad and I took a tour around Luton Hoo Walled Gardens to see the restoration work in progress. The garden and grounds of the Luton Hoo Estate were designed in the late 1760s by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown … Continue reading Luton Hoo Walled Garden
My garden, like many, is a busy place at the moment. I'm planting out bedding and tender crops, sowing seeds, keeping the pollinators happy and raising many plants for the school fete and local community garden open day. Today the kids have been sowing radish, carrot, beetroot and planting out marigolds and nasturtiums in their … Continue reading My Garden Right Now In Pictures
Wild, evocative show gardens like James Basson's M&G Garden, inspired by the landscape of Malta, new plants to discover (my favourite this year is Raymond Evison's Clematis 'Pistachio') and new technologies like the use of microalgae to capture energy at Capel Manor's 'Compost, Energy, Light' Garden: these are all part of what makes RHS Chelsea such a captivating … Continue reading Gardening For A Sustainable Future
Centaurea montana is a useful plant for the late spring/early summer border. It has pollinator-friendly, delicate flowers with feather-like petals and was traditionally used to make a bitter tea to treat dyspepsia and as a diuretic. Originating in sub-alpine woods and meadows, the perennial cornflower has been naturalised in the UK since as early as 1597 when the herbalist … Continue reading What’s In A Name? Centaurea montana ‘Amethyst In Snow’
We've had a spectacular spring for bulbs, both inside and out, largely thanks to J. Parker's who have kindly supplied us with a fabulous selection to trial this year. Bulb anticipation began in January when we planted the Hippeastrum with awed respect for the size of the bulbs. By late February, paperwhite daffodils were filling … Continue reading Bulbs To Light Up Spring