The garden is blooming despite – or maybe because of – the torrential rain over the last few months. What bliss it has been to get outside over the Easter weekend, and start enjoying my little courtyard again. The star of the show is undoubtedly my amelanchier larmarkii tree. In full blossom for just a… Read More »
grow your own
Stirrings…
Already mid-February, and after a slow start, when January seemed interminable, the year suddenly seems to be accelerating, with new hope springing up along with green shoots. I’ve had the house to myself for the last few weeks, and I’d made a list of all things that I wanted to do while I was home… Read More »
Autumn days
The leaves on my little amelanchier tree are showing orange and gold tips. The tubs of cosmos, zinnias and geums are finally running out of steam and the ornamental grasses are gently fading to blonde. I’ve moved the big succulents to the shelter of the greenhouse and brought my citrus trees inside as we prepare… Read More »
Gardeners World Autumn Fair 2023
A visit to a stately home combined with a garden show? Count me in. I was very excited to attend the second Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair at Audley End in Essex at the beginning of the month. Gardeners’ World Live in association with English Heritage, which is the custodian of this opulent Jacobean mansion, have… Read More »
Harvests
I’ve been making the effort to get out for more walks recently, partly because the gentle slide from August into September is one of my favourite times of the year and I don’t want to miss a minute of it. There’s just something about the light in the countryside, the rumble of combine harvesters, the… Read More »
Summer Living
The rainy summer means that my container garden is relatively low maintenance at the moment. I’m still watering, especially my greenhouse full of tomatoes, but it’s not such a pressure outside. My plants are blooming, and I have had particular success with Geranium ‘Rozanne,’ a very useful perennial, geums, which have been flourishing since late… Read More »