Garden stories from a passionate, laid-back grower

A woodland setting can provide the perfect backdrop for star plants of spring -narcissi, primula, trilliums and sanguinaria.

I've no doubt many of us are feeling the loss of precious buds this week as temperatures dipped unseasonably below freezing. It's that funny time of year that keeps us gardeners on our toes, but how dull would it be if our climate were ploddingly predictable? The British climate can [...]

Spring bulbs are like little energy grenades waiting until the pin is pulled for a petal explosion. Each year I'm thankful for my autumn plantings.

My rock garden is a year old and looks better and better as the weeks go by. Spring bulbs are adding pops of colour right now.

Some years you can feel spring in the air but with few sunny days and the lingering reach of a cold winter, this year I'm forced to look harder for signs of spring.  Plenty is happening in the garden... Paeonia daurica subsp. mlokosewitschii - Peony 'Molly the Witch' The nickname [...]

Planting an alpine trough for saxifrages

One of my father's favourite phrases - small but perfectly formed. Here's a reminder good things come in small packages.

They're up early, enjoying the sunshine and showing their pretty colours and markings - the spring crocuses have cast a spell on me.