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 »
Days out
Plants & people: RHS Chelsea Flower Show Part II
Once the initial wonder of the show gardens has subsided at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, I like to home in on the smaller details and ideas to take home to my own plot, which I write about every month in Modern Gardens magazine. I recorded my first impressions of this year’s show on my blog… Read More »
RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023
It was a b-i-g day in the horticultural calendar yesterday. The start of RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Monday is the Press and VIP day, when film crews and photographers are swarming everywhere, the finishing touches are being added to the displays, celebrities are out in force, and if the Royal Family do make a visit,… Read More »
Spring is springing
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 »
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 2022: the return!
Two Chelsea Flower Shows in one year is an incredible achievement for both organisers and participants. Last September’s Chelsea was a little subdued, perhaps, with everyone feeling their way in the Covid world, happy to be out, but still cautious. This May, things were back with a flourish, and a very special sense of excitement… Read More »