A view from Kew – a blossomtastic Spring morning in these Royally Botanic Gardens

It certainly pays to make an early start, especially on such a bright and beautiful morning - and even more so when school holidays are upon us and Kew Gardens becomes a beautiful flower-filled playground and a great spot for a family picnic. For someone as bah-humbug as I about having unpopulated pictures - flowers…

April is the cruellest month ….

  A poetic diversion, since the first lines had been running around my head and, down the rabbit hole, the rest had to follow ... The Waste Land T S Eliot I. The Burial of the Dead                 April is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring…

Spring colour-bombs a riverside Nursery (can you guess which one?)

Flowers inside and out, flowers everywhere -  and a few grateful bees to feast on the early Spring bounty. A kaleidoscope of colour, bright, bold, brash and beautiful but we forgive this extravagant generosity - nothing clashes in the garden at this time of year, as the new season unfolds in our gardens. It's welcome antidote…

A few things that caught my eye today – an early Springtime collage

Just a little colour to mark the sunshiny day we've had hereabouts - with these heralds of Spring in all their Technicolor finery. Not an exhaustive gallery, I just caught a few pics at the top and tail of the day, but you get the spirit of the season. I'll see if I can do…

Getting Horticultural for the month ahead … and a little tour of Petersham Nurseries

I wrote this (longer) piece for the Petersham Nurseries blog (abridged) and it would be a shame not to recycle it here! "You know that we are passionate about horticulture here at Petersham Nurseries, with new plants coming in every week now and plenty of activity in the gardens and glasshouses. Here are just a…

Kew Gardens – Early One Morning/Lazing on a Sunday Morning

Kew Gardens once again opens its gates at 8am for Friends of Kew, right through the Summer. I took advantage of this early opening on Sunday before heading over to Petersham Nurseries and really appreciated the cool calm and quiet - there were other folk about but few and far between (it's a big place)…

A few things that caught my eye – lots and lots of Acers and a kaleidoscopic ‘A to V’ (not quite Z) of both herbaceous and shrubbery loveliness …

Some rather gorgeous Acers here, just plumping up for the season ahead with much colour and fine forms to admire. A collection that absolutely caught my eye along with the next little selection ... an Anchusa to Viburnum alphabet of nearly-summer beauties -

A Petersham Flower Show – we had snow last week and now this – blue skies, sunshine and a bigger, brighter truly floriferous floral parade

Another bright and sunny day, breezy at times but absolutely feeling like summer. Starting off this morning in my garden, beneath the horse-chestnut tree now decked with white floral candles, my own tulip displays and then off to Petersham Nurseries. Plants upon plants upon plants everywhere - exactly as it should be. The Cutting Garden…