Suddenly we have a nightly visiting hedgehog coming for food after years of not seeing one. They are such lovely little creatures – and mean there is a chain of Life in the garden from beetles to foxes all living and munching and having a lovely time.
I’ve discovered mail order fresh alstroemerias and am so happy to support Sussex grown flowers from @alstroemeriaben of Crosslands Flower Nursery. Supermarkets are full of them but his are something special.
Here are my tips for having wildlife in your garden to make it a lively and joyous place for you and all the other creatures we have to share our space with. We can all find our own balance.
Dedham Hall Hotel in Essex is in Constable country and as I walked to the front door I knew it was my kind of place – one of those fabulous gardens that looks abundant and artless and so natural – a garden that has soul and a sense of place – interesting ordinary plants in every corner and a garden that pulls and invites you in to sit and enjoy it. Such a treasure.
We gardeners probably learn most by trial and error, often making the same mistakes more than once. Here are some of the lessons I have learned through 30 years of gardening which hopefully will help you to avoid them.
London Cottage Garden in March is all about the views of the garden from the windows and doorways of the house. When it’s cold or wet these views we look out on every day are so important.
My January cottage garden has a lot of bare earth but as well as bulbs waiting to come up, I have faith that all those plants I bought last year are hunkered down in the soil waiting for the light and warmth to start them into new growth
I had thought making compost from all kinds of organic material was a doddle but I’ve found out how it can go wrong and make a wet, slimy, woody mess that would take far too long to decompose left as it is so I had to start again.
The satisfaction of throwing your own homemade compost onto your borders is a great feeling especially as it takes no work whatsoever – just an ability to chuck loads of stuff into a heap.
Cottage garden alstroemerias for a vase
Alstroemerias as cut flowers [caption id="attachment_3347" align="alignnone" width="600"] Pink and white in a Victorian cranberry vase[/caption] Do you buy cut flowers for the house or…
Real flowers and artificial flowers – both fabulous
I've recently discovered some online artificial flowers from Alex James that I think are beautiful and look wonderful either on their own or mixed with…
How to introduce a new colour in a cottage garden
A new colour in early Spring Here's a way to introduce a new colour in a cottage garden in early Spring. Plants can't always provide…
How to use colour in the cottage garden style
How to have colour in the cottage garden style town garden without it being too much work for one person to manage. Well I would…
Daffodils in a small garden – tips on how to grow them.
If you have a small garden like a town garden and want to grow daffodils, here are my tips on how best to do it,…