Garden stories from a passionate, laid-back grower

Weeks of dull weather have been blasted away by strong solar rays.  I can't resist sharing the vacation vibe with you all by paying a visit to the tropical beds.  Many of these plants are hardy or need minimum protection so I use the term 'tropical' here to describe an [...]

More frequent visits to covid corner came back into play this week as the family were forced to isolate as close contacts of a positive case.  School days lost, work days compromised and lost, a school trip cancelled and a twice cancelled driving test, cancelled again.  We're all negative too [...]

A good greenhouse is never empty - here are some of the plants enjoying summer under glass.

Find out which plants were popular at my first ever garden open day - from ferns in the woodland garden to mounds of colour in the rockery.

The rockery really comes to life in June with billowing mounds of pretty flowers. including Erinus alpinus and helianthemum.

There aren't many advantages to the weather the UK is currently experiencing.  We can only relax, head out with a brolly, and enjoy the flowers.  Those un-battered by wind are preserved longer in cooler temperatures and are lasting so much longer than they would usually.  That's a bonus in my [...]

Shade loving perennials are woven through oodles of wild garlic in the woodland garden producing some delightful frothy combinations

We'll be visiting the four corner of my garden this week to see how things have survived winter and how others are lighting up spring. Tetrapanax corner The paper rice plants that I planted in this wall corner are bursting with healthy green leaves.  I decided to cover these with [...]