I spent today in the garden – here’s what I did. These stumps are what’s left of salvia Amistad which flowered 5ft high from June to Christmas. The snow and storms finished it off. I suppose I could sit and look at these sticks for 6 months and see if they burst into life next
ONE I squeezed in the last of the tulips anywhere I could find a square inch to put them. Felt relief it was done, then panicked and ordered some more. Then remembered I had already panicked two weeks ago and ordered some more then – now on their way. So ordered black plastic pots from
After attending Adam Frost’s September Masterclass, I wrote in a previous post about his ideas for thinking about designing and using your garden space. Adam’s second topic was about getting inspiration for our garden from other walks of life and our other passions. Ideas for his new garden came from the poet John Clare who
Here are 6 things going on in my garden this week. ONE I bought loads of hardy geraniums at the famous Margery Fish Nursery at East Lambrook Manor Gardens in Somerset last weekend – my favourite garden ever. Will be planting them on top of tulips in pots in November sometime. TWO Piles of leaves
In September I went to the Adam Frost Garden School near Stamford, for a one-day masterclass. It was hugely enjoyable. Adam was with 16 of us for the whole day, partly in a special classroom in his new home and partly in his country garden which we have seen on Gardeners’ World. I’m writing now about
Six topics in the garden this week One Showing off my compost again. Pile up kitchen waste, brown cardboard, green prunings from your garden and some grass clippings and it will turn into this brown stuff. No need to dig it in. The worms will carry it down. It’s magic and I never cease to
One My beehive shaped compost bins got completely emptied this week and had produced about 15 bags of fantastic brown crumbly stuff, full of worms and little creatures. Every handful was teeming with life. I filled up my pots, chucked it all around the garden and spread it deep on new areas for planting. Making
Snowdrops then narcissi and then tulips – fabulous bulbs for spring which we plant in the autumn
Lovely photos and some views and ideas from my visit to the world famous garden at Great Dixter in Kent.
This year my daffodils have been a big disappointment. I have always planted a mixture of early, mid and late daffodils every year I’ve been gardening and have always had a wonderful display of yellow, reds, pinks and whites from February to May. This year they have been hopeless. It looks like the varieties I
February 2017 in the cottage garden things were further on than they are today – daffodils were already out
On my new blog here is my personal view of a cottage garden style which I aim to create here in my North London city garden.
Wonderful hardy geraniums from Cranesbill Nursery
Hardy geraniums In my very first blog in 2016 I wrote about my love for wonderful hardy geraniums here They really are some of the…
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,…