At this time of year I do admire the plants that manage to flower spectacularly outdoors, despite the cold. If I was out there 24/7, I don’t think I could manage to look in any way cheerful and certainly wouldn’t smell as nice as some of them do. The fragrances coming from the flowers of …
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A Berry Merry Christmas
Some of the songs we hear for weeks on end, before we actually get anywhere near to Christmas, are full of references to plants we associate with the festive season. The Holly and the Ivy is probably the obvious one. I always thought it was quite a cheerful little carol, but on looking into it, …
Remembrance
There are a number of plants in my garden associated with remembrance. Rosemary is an obvious one. Apparently the ancient Egyptians adorned coffins and tombs with sprigs of rosemary and the plant has historically been associated with memories of loved ones who are no longer with us. A plant that always evokes fond memories of my …
Garden Art
Flicking through the RHS Magazine I often linger over the ads for garden sculptures – I’m more drawn to the contemporary metallic style than the marble classics with all their bits on show. Most of these artistic creations are way out of my price range. However I am lucky enough to have inherited a beautiful …
As Summer Into Autumn Slips
So wrote the poet Emily Dickinson. Well it’s definitely Autumn now – the leaves are turning the most beautiful colours and the temperatures are dropping. Although we’ve enjoyed some hot, sunny days in September and even into October, it can’t really be described as an ‘Indian Summer‘ because, other than a week at the beginning …
It happens every year …
The garden is still full of flowers but I can’t help feeling a bit sad – it won’t be too long before the weather changes and the brightly coloured summer flowers are gone. Somehow gardening in the winter isn’t quite so appealing as getting out there on a warm day! However this year I will …
Wild Things
I’ve not long returned from a few days on the Northumberland Coast. One day instead of walking along the beach, we walked along the tops of the dunes from Low Newton by the Sea to Embleton, passing a number of beach huts along the way. While of course they have amazing views, most are pretty …
Flower Power
I’m really benefiting from the power of flowers at the moment. When I step out into the garden first thing with my mug of tea, the sight of all the brightly coloured blooms sets me up in a happy frame of mind, which makes me feel ready to deal with whatever the day may bring. …
Everything’s Coming up Roses!
You may recall that recently I’ve moaned about the damage our cold winter did to some of my garden plants. However I am happy to report that it certainly hasn’t affected my roses adversely – the exact opposite it would seem – Elvis Costello sums it up well – “It’s been a good year for …
Trial and Error
Note to self – ‘must get better at this hardening off lark‘. Now that it’s substantially warmer both day and night, I mistakenly thought if I transferred my young plants from my conservatory to my plastic greenhouse for a few nights and then left them out on my garden table for a few more nights, …
Rambling Rose 