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This year the weather has been a serious topic of conversation. When is it not in this Island of ours? It is either too wet. Too dry. Too hot or too cold. And cold is what I want to talk about. Since the New Year it has been very cold. Some might say unseasonably cold. We’ve… Continue reading Baby it’s cold outside

I love trees. I have realised that they are fundamental to my wellbeing. My emotional response is visceral. As you know I am an urban gardener for the most part. We have parks near by with Sweet and Horse Chestnuts and Oaks. The roads are lined with Maples, London Plane, Cherries and Acers. I am… Continue reading The Noble Tree

I went to the allotment today. I haven’t been for at least three weeks. Maybe longer. January has been busy. I have been planting up my first design proposal. The client lives in North London so my daily trips across the river have taken up a lot of time. Not that I am in any… Continue reading Plot 470

Yesterday I went out in the garden for the first time since late December. I have been looking out at it through the rain, frost, wind and snow of the last few weeks but have not felt the inclination to go out other than to get the Christmas Tree into its clever pot on the 23rd… Continue reading The Christmas Lull

I’ve been thinking about Gardens. At this time of year, although there is still work that can be done in the garden, and at the allotment, it feels like a time for reflection. To think back over the gardening year and review what has worked and what not. This reflection allows me to plan ahead… Continue reading Garden Memories

I am by nature an optimist. A very glass half full type of person. When things are going wrong around me I will find the positive in the situation. I am sure that I am one of those people who can be a little annoying in my cheeriness. I blame my mum. She was a very… Continue reading The Autumn Pessimist

I have a garden which, if you have read any of my posts, you will know I love. When we first moved here 9 years ago Olli was four and a half and it was a perfect garden for a little boy to play in. It was one of the main reasons we bought the… Continue reading My Own Little Patch of Land

The family has just spent two weeks at the cottage in the Isle of Wight. We rent it out to other people most of the year and our two week sojourn in the summer is looked forward to. The weeks 'til we go are counted down with bated breath or perhaps to be more accurate… Continue reading Two Weeks Without a Garden

I have always had a problem with the New Perennial Movement. It has always seemed like the 'emperor's new clothes'. I never got it. It always seemed a bit lazy - large swathes of tall perennials in a naturalistic style where you couldn't see anything properly. Maybe it was because I didn't understand what I… Continue reading Hauser and Wirth, Somerset

This amazing public space in East London will always be just the 'Olympic Park' for me. My first views of the park on a balmy summer evening when I went to one of the final dress rehearsals for the London 2012 Opening Ceremony stays in my mind all these years later. Swathes of beautiful wild… Continue reading Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park