I have always believed that you should only write or talk about what you know
The New Year may not have started with the good news we all wanted but our gardens still need our attention, when it is appropriate. The trouble is, that although there is lots I should be getting on with, soil conditions and the weather are not helping much. After all the recent rain the soil…
This period between Christmas and the New Year is always an odd one. We seem in a state of limbo, never sure what to do. After the current year we are all desperate for a new start and yet, for gardeners, it is difficult to know quite what to do. I am desperate to catch…
What would your desert island plants be? What plants could you not do without in your garden? It is a tricky question to answer and I would hate to not have roses in the summer, or daffodils in spring. But I think that the plants I would miss most are my hellebores. I have grown…
With the exception of poinsettias, the most popular Christmas potplant is unquestionably the cyclamen. I always think that cyclamen are slightly old-fashioned but that could be because my nan always had one on the table in the bay window of the front room – the one that was only used on special occasions. And in…
While this Festive season will not be quite the same as usual, there is reason to celebrate and a few Christmas pot plants are sure to lift the spirits. Like many people, I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with poinsettias. Part of me hates the things and dreads the moment they appear in…
There is a delicious irony in the way that most gardeners love to feed wild birds and then curse them in summer when they polish off all the red currants and peck holes in every one of the strawberries. I am guilty as charged and have planted my fruit bushes in the garden and intend…
It is not often that a completely new houseplant appears for us to try but last year I was tempted by something I had never seen before, called Murdannia ‘Bright Star’. When I was in charge of buying houseplants at Nags Hall, several decades ago I often let my heart rule my head and bought…
Spring seems a long way off right now and soon our attention will be consumed by other (festive) thoughts, though things will be different this year. We need to focus on good thoughts and nothing lifts the spirits quite like spring bulbs. Most of these should be planted by now, though I confess I still…
When I was working at Nags Hall in the 80s the selection of houseplants was far smaller than it is now. Orchids were certainly not as widely available and African violets were the order of the day if you wanted colour in the home, unless you were content with a potted chrysanthemum. Of course, with…
We can forget the mists and mellow fruitfulness this year, gales are the order of the day. Most gardeners plant for autumn colour, dreaming of the fiery tints leaves will display at this time of year, nature has conspired against us this year with a series of gales that have prematurely ripped the leaves from…