A visit to Kew Gardens last week was full of the earliest signs of spring. Birds carrying scraps of nesting material in their beaks, a carpet of Crocus tommasinianus in the grass, swelling buds on the magnolias, and the camellia walk in full colour gave me a tiny glimpse of what is to come. I… Read More »
city breaks
Goodbye January
I had a trip to London last week. I was attending a work event at the Linnean Society next door to the Royal Academy. It is the world’s oldest active biological society, and somewhere I’d love to return to with an appointment to browse in the intriguing library. After my press launch had finished, I… Read More »
RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2021
This was my first visit to RHS Chelsea Flower Show. I have always wanted to go, but for various reasons, I’d never managed it, so I was very pleased to finally walk through the hallowed gates, which were suitably festooned with seasonal flowers and foliage. This year’s show was always going to be a bit… Read More »
Exploring Spitalfields
I was in need of a break and some fresh ideas this week, so on Monday I set off to visit Decorex, the international interior design fair at Olympia, followed by a trip to a gallery that I’d been wanting to see for a very long time: Town House in Spitalfields. I’ll write a separate… Read More »
Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival 2019
The reason that I love Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival so much is that I think it encourages a lot of people to get into the garden. Chelsea Flower Show is amazing, aspirational, inspirational etc etc, but I am always left feeling a bit over-awed. By contrast, when I come away from this show, I… Read More »
Glasshouse glory at Kew Gardens
The greatest glasshouse in the world? It’s the world’s largest surviving Victorian glasshouse and I was very lucky to go along to the reopening earlier in May at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. It’s not often that I’d say I felt awe struck, but walking into this beautiful building, that’s exactly what it was like. At… Read More »