Teddington Gardener abroad – Eyrignac et ses Jardins in the Dordodgne …

A late summer - nearly autumnal - tour of Bordeaux and the hinterland heading past Bergerac into the Dordogne. I'd been last there in 1991, zipping around in an electric blue Peugeot 205 GTI (and one sold recently, not the same special edition even, for £38,000. Not bitter, not a jot). This time around, in…

A return visit and a more leisurely tour of RHS Wisley

A return visit to the gardens at RHS Wisley, in the brightest of sunshine, to take a more leisurely walk than I had time for last week - and to stroll through the orchards, Glasshouse borders and seven acre wood. Hugely busy as you might expect on the eve of a Bank Holiday weekend but…

A Petersham Nurseries Gallery – one the eve of opening in the heart of Covent Garden, a few images from the source of its inspiration …

Puddles, Dahlias, among many more colourful floral delights, cats and sparkly things ... everything you might expect from Petersham Nurseries - and you can enjoy of all of these things (cats excepted) from tomorrow when they open in Covent Garden tomorrow (King Street/Floral Street). Can't wait to see the new store myself next week. Business…

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…

Kicking off the season at the RHS Early Spring Show 2017- snowdrops and iris and more springtime lovelies … Mostly snowdrops and iris (and an inflatable, stripy tank)

Avon Bulbs and Harveys both had amazing exhibits at the RHS Early Spring show the horticultural halls off Vincent Square in central London. Jacques Armand brought out the early reticulate and other diminutuve, early Irises. Dibleys, Streptocarpus and Pheasant Acre Plants, Hippeastrum. Plenty more of course, but here's a taster. https://www.avonbulbs.co.uk/ https://www.harveysgardenplants.co.uk/index.php?route=product/category&path=69 http://jacquesamandintl.com/homepage/ https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-london-shows/rhs-early-spring-plant-fair Jacques…

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…

A touch of frost …

A thorough frost yesterday morning, the first of the year in these balmy parts, and the plants were beautifully rimed in ice. Sunshine too -  a perfectly bright chill morning cycling to work, through the avenues behind Ham House. I should have had my camera with me - so much more versatility but the iPod…

An Afternoon at RHS Wisley – the Double Herbaceous Borders, Cottage and Jubilee Rose Gardens, a touch of woodland and more …

The spectacle of the Double Herbaceous Borders at RHS Wisley at the height of summer! I definitely have Border Envy though I appreciate how much work goes into this long-lasting display. Such healthy happy plants too. The Country Garden, pictured below is no less of an extravaganza but the effect in many parts is of…

Things that caught my eye etc., etc., – and a gourmet tour of the East End (didn’t expect that, did you!)

A day at Petersham Nurseries, working I might add, dispensing horticultural advice and bon-mots to a pretty happy crowd - weather warm but not too warm, a good breeze, plenty of plants to pretty the place up, time to talk to the customers - and keep everything watered - and time to make a few…