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I have been doing a lot of walking. My permitted daily walk has allowed me to get to my allotment and I have been going very regularly. It’s perfect really because this is a very busy time horticulturally. With the warm, sunny weather the weeds have been starting to grow madly. I have Mares Tail… Continue reading Peeping into other people’s gardens

I have wanted to write a blog for March but events have rather overtaken us and my brain has been so full of ‘what ifs’ and ‘how will that work’ and ‘when will it be over’ and ‘I hope my sister is ok’, she’s living in Venice at the moment, that there has been no… Continue reading The Cycle of Life

In February, when the wind is howling bitterly round the rooftops and the trees in the front garden are bending at a 45 degree angle it is tempting to hunker down, close the curtains and wait for better weather to come. Sometimes, though, if you put on a warm coat, thick scarf and hat you… Continue reading Spring Awakens

I have a dual nature. I put it down to being born on the cusp of Sagittarius and Capricorn. Indoors I can be terribly cavalier with the state of the house and then become obsessed with tidying and making everything neat and clean.  In the garden I am the complete opposite. I can be inclined,… Continue reading Garden Matters

Just over a year after my first meeting with Alex, her new garden is built and planted up. And, of course this is where the fun starts. Waiting for spring for all the bulbs to emerge, heralding the start of a new gardening year in a brand new garden. Alex had inherited a garden of… Continue reading Designing a garden

I’ve read a wonderful book.  I’m not a big reader, unlike some people in this household. It was passed on to me by the ‘Big Reader’ who sleeps next to me. Tossed casually onto the bed between us. ‘I think you’ll like this’ he said. No more explanation, no exhortation. Just a gentle nudge. This… Continue reading Do The Right Thing

For me September always seems to be the end and the start of something. I think it stems from childhood. September - end of holidays, starting a new year at school. New haircuts, new school clothes. Saying goodbye to holiday freedoms, later bedtimes, flexible mealtimes. The end of warm, languorous days and evenings, the start… Continue reading September Beginnings

15th June It’s Saturday of Gardener’s World Live at the NEC Birmingham. I am sitting in the big van I hired to transport all the plants and gubbins to the show. We woke to sun but it has now clouded over again and is threatening more rain. The weather has been challenging for the outside… Continue reading Gardeners’ World Live 2

My garden is a nursery at the moment. The terrace is awash with pots and we all tip toe round them to get into the garden. I am like a mother hen clucking away checking on their growth, willing some to start showing signs of flowers and despairing that others have flowered and gone to… Continue reading Gardeners World Live

It’s all about the greens at this time of year. Spring greens are the most wonderful sight to behold. There is colour in the garden but that is mainly provided by the spring bulbs, the last of the daffodils and the colourful array of tulips. Pink Honesty and Lamprocapnos (Bleeding Heart) are also rather showy… Continue reading Spring Greens