If you're looking for a shot of cool blue in a high summer garden - plant Echinops. It's largely trouble free and bees of all sorts can't get enough of it. Commonly known as the Globe Thistle, Echinops has steely grey slightly spiky divided stems - but it is the [...]
This week I've been weather watching as I gear up for my local Flower Show and have been monitoring the temperature fluctuations in my greenhouse. I've been missing my usual range of home grown vegetables but delighting in how advanced the dahlias are. Greenhouse temperature monitoring I'm not one for [...]
My gardening week has seen much watering but also lots of joy at the beautiful flowers in my garden pots, borders and greenhouse. I'm sharing a picture of my sweet potato vine and relieved that my Wisteria survived our building works. I've also taken pictures of 'Love in a Puff' [...]
The sun is relentless and moisture absent except on my brow. It is officially too hot to do anything strenuous in the garden. I wilt in strong sunshine and yet I bravely faced the melee of the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show on Thursday to get some inspiration and do [...]
To quote the brilliant TV comedy The Fast Show, this week has been "Scorchio" and the temperature in my greenhouse has been in the thirties. Despite this, the lure of my new greenhouse is unshakeable. This week I'm focussing my six on ornamental plants in the greenhouse. Some I've grown [...]
Who doesn’t love a traditional village show? As the holiday season approaches organisers air the beer tent, hammer signs into the village green and untangle the bunting. But what sort of person enters these competitions and what experiences await first timers? If you're a gardener or allotment holder you may be shy to get involved in showing or question why you even would. Here I share my story as a first time entrant and some special tips for exhibiting from a local judge.
This week has seen the summer solstice and the year's longest day in the Northern Hemisphere. It's been a beautifully sunny week and I've been admiring plants best described as sun-worshippers, including alpines, sweet peas and roses. I've also been taking the opportunity to position my armillary sphere accurately. Positioning [...]
This week has seen quintessential June weather - the sunny days I remember from childhood but which have seemed lacking in recent years. The garden is filled with roses and peonies but for some reason I have mostly chosen a series of other plants to talk about, including a couple [...]
The Edelweiss flower is world-renowned but few would know what they look like. Here I describe how I grow the Edelweiss in a pot, what it looks like and how it has come to be so revered.
