October is usually a nice month here. The days are shorter, but mild and lovely to be outside, it clears the head and steadies the nerves. The Vegetable Garden in October: It’s nice to be planting vegetables and looking ahead to next year. Garlic is one of my favourite vegetables to grow, it’s simple to […]
Sustainable Gardening – One
August is a busy month in the garden, thankfully a lot of that is harvesting vegetables and cutting Dahlias. But I’m also thinking about the bigger picture of sustainable gardening, and how I can do more of it. One of my goals is to improve the ecosystem in our garden, so as many plants, animals, […]
How to Collect and Store Seeds from your Garden
Deadheading plants is a nice task, almost mediative, and it keeps plants flowering for longer. However, if you want to collect seeds from your favourite plants, you have to let the flowers go to the next stage and produce seeds. The advantages of collecting your own seeds are many: You get free seeds, which is […]
Favourite Gardens from R.H.S. Hampton Court Show
Following on from yesterdays post about past Hampton Court Garden Shows, here’s more of the glorious show gardens from recent years. In no particular order, but starting with The Summer Retreat Garden, designed by Amanda Waring and Laura Ariston. Inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, it featured this lovely summer-house. Going back to 2011, […]
The Joys Of Growing Plants From Seed
The joys of seed sowing are many, but probably the most joyous thing, is how these little seeds will, within a matter of weeks be transformed into plants. There are plenty of other reasons: Seed is very cheap compared to buying plants. There’s the immense satisfaction of growing your own plants from just a speck […]
What To Do In The Garden In November
It’s that quiet time in the garden when growth slows down, at least it does above ground. Frankly, it’s quite a relief after months of rampant plant growth & unpredictable weather, meant the garden needed a lot of attention. It would be tempting to abandon the garden until next year, & buy small winter bedding […]
Do we need fewer garden chores?
I didn’t intend to spend half the weekend gardening, it’s just that it all took much longer than I thought it would. Does this happen to you, & if it does did you stop & consider how the garden takes up a bit too much of your weekend? I started thinking about my ground rules […]
What To Do In The Garden In November
Winter is a balance between getting things cleared away & ready for the next year whilst not being over-zealous about clearing away too much. I’m fond of a natural slightly wayward look, as long as the lawn & the paths are cleared of leaves. I rather enjoy the repetition of raking up leaves, theres a […]
What To Do In The Garden In July
July, what an interesting month you’ve been. Vegetables have been slow coming this year, what with the slugs that thwarted my early sowings & the lack of rain. There are pickings from our little vegetable garden every day now. Its always a thrill to nip down the garden for something fresh. Right now runner beans, […]
The Garden In December.
December in the garden is a good month. It’s the ideal antidote to the business of Christmas, a time to wrap up & quietly get on with things outside. I’ve realised that having less space than when we had the allotment, we tend to cram vegetables in too close together. It’s a tempting, but misguided […]
Hardening Off Plants Ready For The Big Outdoors
This is first year of having a greenhouse & it’s been so helpful to have extra growing space. Though without heat, seedlings were still housed on bedroom window-sills, which meant daily turning trays of seedlings to give them as much all-round light as possible. Now we’ve reached that time of year when small plants have […]
Join Me On A Trip to Wisley Gardens.
A world famous garden just 30 mins drive away, you’d think I’d be there every couple of weeks, but a couple of months can go by without a visit. But yesterday was a visiting day & the weather was perfect … crisp & cold with bright sunshine. I started off at the herbaceous borders, they’re […]
What to do in the Garden in November
Planting spring flowering bulbs is such a positive thing to do at this time of year, when the days are short & chilly. It’s the promise of good things to come & always feels like such a big reward for so little effort. It’s the perfect time to plant tulip bulbs, & don’t tell anyone, […]
Goodbye allotment
My vegetable growing life is about to enter a new chapter, and I’m quite excited about it. I’m saying goodbye to the allotment in favour of a little vegetable plot in the new garden. There’ll be a scaling down of the amount that I grow, but the stroll to the end of the garden rather […]
Book Review – The Crafted Garden
I remember reading somewhere that Beth Chatto always has a small bunch of seasonal flowers in the house where she can really appreciate them. Bringing home-grown flowers inside is a real pleasure for me too, you get to see the fine detail on petals and leaves close-up. If you’d like to do something a bit […]
Growing spectacular flowers from seed.
We’re back from a few days in Cornwall and a visit to the wonderful Port Eliot festival. There was lots of creative stuff to see and do, some good food and walled gardens with spectacular flowers grown from seed. Many of the plants were supplied as seeds by the charming Higgledy Gardener. There’s always something quite […]
Friday gardening favourites
Gardening stuff that made my week: this dahlia flower growing on the allotment, the five plants there are beginning to flower: this plant pot by the front door that’s filling out nicely: harvest from the allotment. Happy gardening, Jill photos: Jill Anderson
Plant treasures from the floral marquee Hampton Court
I always leave my visit to the Floral Marquee at Hampton Court till last, not so much saving the best till last, but mainly because photographing outside needs to be done early before bright sunshine sets in. By the afternoon the exhibits in the marquee are complete and looking pristine, it’s a welcome oasis of quiet […]
What to do at the allotment in May
This month I’m coaxing the more tender plants, like chillies, basil and tomatoes, along on the window-sill at home, the slightly tougher or more advanced ones, like french beans, have been upgraded to the cold frame by the back door, whilst some vegetable seeds are already in place at the allotment. We’re well into May […]
Tips for a low maintenance garden
You probably won’t be too surprised that gardening is a big part of my life, but for most people this definitely isn’t the case. Work, hobbies, a house to run, children and families take up most of the time and gardening, even if you love it, has to be fitted in around all this other […]
How to grow herbs in a plant-pot.
It’s a joy to have fresh herbs in the garden, they’re obviously useful for cooking and they’re all good-looking plants too. But the really satisfying thing about growing your own herbs, is that once you’ve bought the plant everything is a bonus, they’re as fresh as can be and without any polluting transportation-miles or expensive trips […]
How to harden off seedlings ready for the great outdoors.
No matter how many times I do it, growing plants from seed always seems like a magical process, all that potential in a tiny speck. The seeds have grown into little seedlings and have so far led a cosseted life on the bedroom window-sill. The plant containers have had to be turned a couple of […]
Growing potatoes
It’s just over two weeks since we moved, and whilst unpacking and settling in continues, not really a chore because we love the new place, time for the allotment is difficult to find right now. So I’m particularly happy to have managed to buy the first seed potatoes of the season. I’ve nestled them into […]
Growing rhubarb & making rhubarb cake
A home baked cake is always a lovely thing, it’s as fresh as you like and you know exactly what’s in it. In this case it’s rhubarb from the allotment that’s been stashed away in the freezer since last year. Planting fruit makes sense for sustainable growing, once it’s in the ground it carries on […]
What to do at the allotment in February
There’s much to be done at the allotment and February is storming along at a fast pace. I have to admit to neglecting mine for the last few weeks while we’ve been busy moving house, but with only a 10 minute walk from the new place, I’m hoping to spend more time there. I made a […]
What to do in the garden in February
I’d like to put a good word in for the garden in February. It may feel a little like everything is on hold waiting for the warmth and the extra daylight of Spring, but there’s lots going on out there, right now. Although not in such abundance as high summer, there are plenty of flowers […]
Lets get ready to sow some seeds
Freezing temperatures and occasional snow flurries are making gardening impossible at the moment, so I’m more than happy to wrap up warm and head to the greenhouse to get everything ready for seed sowing in a couple of weeks time. There are a bewildering selection of containers and composts available, so here’s a run-down of […]
The perfect evergreen shrub
Finding the perfect black dress, or the perfect restaurant is not an easy thing. Fashions change, the chef may have an off-night, but the perfect evergreen shrub is an altogether easier thing to find. My perfect shrub is the rather elegant Nandina domestica, sometimes known as sacred bamboo. It’s not part of the bamboo family, […]
What to grow at the allotment.
The quiet dormancy of winter is a good time to plan for the year ahead at the allotment. If you’re a novice allotmenteer, or new to growing vegetables, you may be filled with a mixture of excitement that’s tinged with a mild sense of dread at where to start. The only way to over-come this […]
Christmas decorations from the garden
Christmas is just around the corner and there’s still lots to do, but this hasn’t stopped me having having a little craft session to make some Christmas decorations. Pine cones are just the job for this, they look nice and natural, but they need a touch of glitz to stop it looking as if you’ve […]
Making natural plant dyes from your garden
As well as eating plants and and growing them to decorate our gardens, you can also connect with your creativity and use them to make a whole range of natural dyes. Just about every part of a plant, including the bark, berries, roots, leaves and flowers can be used to make natural dyes that produce […]
How to plant a tree
I would love to have lots of trees, in fact I hanker after a small woodland, just three or four acres would do me nicely. Somewhere to swan around, day-dream, cook sausages and boil a kettle over a little stove. Though the reality would probably be quite different, woods need looking after, so there probably […]
Trees for small gardens
It’s coming up to the perfect time to plant a tree and since it’s one of the biggest things you’ll plant in your garden it’s worth a bit of consideration before you get started. Most of us have relatively small gardens but don’t let that put you off planting a tree, because there are lots […]
Planting pots to last through winter
There’s a nice feeling about the slow pace of the garden at this time of year, knowing that when something gets done, it’ll stay done for a while without the need for immediate attention again for weeks or even months. Planting pots to last through winter definitely falls into this category, a bit of effort […]
Join me on a tour of the Rose Marquee at R.H.S. Hampton Court.
The Rose Marquee at Hampton Court is a must for me to visit every year, why not join me on my tour. The scent is the first thing that hits you when you enter, then the sight of all those roses, in short it’s a feast for the senses. Not only is it good to […]