Floating Hellebores …. sunshine and ice

First there was a wide pool of water with the floating heads of Hellebores, upturned to enjoy the sunshine. Garden gathered Anna's Red, White Tutu and the original, purple Tutu, Winter Moonbeam, a few hybrids...  then came the big freeze - and it seems, though this was March 2018, a cold snap is on it's…

A timely guide to spring-flowering bulbs – choices, tips, techniques and planting ideas for a display from January to May

  More thieving from my back catalogue of articles, this one doubly so since it originally featured in September a few years ago, featuring images taken from 2014 onwards - and repeated again in April of this year. But spring-flowering bulbs are available now so this time of year is probably the most useful as bulbs can be…

RHS Wisley – woodlanders, rock gardens and alpines, many roses and more …

  If like me you have rejoiced in the fact that the gardens at RHS Wisley have reopened, but chagrinned that the timed visitor slots are booked solid though to the middle of July, a little public service blogging here, reprising a trip to the gardens exactly a year ago. You needn't miss all the…

Kew Gardens – Early One Morning

Rolling back the years, almost exactly four years ago in 2016, to an early morning wander through Kew Gardens. As I was working that Sunday I really must have put on some speed to cover so much from the early 8am opening, heading out by 9.30am to head back down the river to Richmond and…

A return to the gardens of RHS Wisley – a riot of colour and scent (well it will be and most definitely was last year)

Closed still of course, so a look back to a tour I did this time last year. These photos bring it right back into focus, and I can so clearly remember the paths and turns taken. Fresh greens, bright flowers and scent. Enjoy.   Hawthorn, Bluebells, Azaleas and Rhododendrons, flowering Viburnums, a craft fair, tree-trunk…

A guide to spring-flowering bulbs in the garden – planting ideas from January to May in kaleidoscopic style

  Bulbs in the spring garden. The text and images are timely in this piece, looking through the late winter and spring months January through to May, though it was originally written for a September story when the bulbs and corms would be available for planting. There are practical tips and hints planting of course,…

A break in the weather and time to get to RHS Wisley – woodlanders, rock gardens and alpines, many roses and more …

The weather has been decidedly un-summery these past few days and further North, it is set to be one of the wettest on record. Us softy Southerners, by geography if not by birth, have it a little brighter but still, dank, damp, humid and overcast. Still, I wanted to see the new retail space and…

Welcome Shade

I've a workshop at Petersham Nurseries for their ongoing program in the School of Garden Inspiration and I am tackling the shadier aspects of the garden - north-facing aspects, tall walls and boundaries, trees - and the dry, inhospitable places as well as the cool and damp. These areas ought to be a welcome distraction…

Planting for Honey Bees and other pollinators ….

Bee Mindful/Planting for honeybees and beneficial pollinators These are some of my notes for a day-long workshop taking place at Petersham Nurseries today, focusing as we have all month on the honeybee, bee-keeping, planting for bees, honey tasting and fermenting and styling with fresh flowers. And lunch, let's not forget that important little bit, and…