Start Amaryllis bulbs into growth, watering sparingly at first; just trickle a little tepid water around the bulb, gradually increasing the amount as the bud appears. Once it is actively growing, keep the compost constantly moist but not waterlogged and take care not to wet the growth tip. The growing temperature should be around 20C, […]
Escape the stress – festive and otherwise – with a midwinter project that weaves calm, control and creativity back into the season. Tight. Knotted. Coiled like a wound-up, corroding spring. Stuck. All too much. That’s where my mind is right now. It wasn’t a quick journey getting there, via the stress-fuelled frustration superhighway – but […]
The greenhouse in December is still, cold, and dark. It feels like a moment of deep pause. But it’s also precisely the moment when us gardeners – particularly those of us with greenhouses – can begin coaxing the first signs of spring to life. We usually associate forcing bulbs with Christmas displays, but I am […]
I am spending every moment I possibly can in the garden and every second is precious because the days are getting shorter and shorter. If it’s sunny I have to come in before the sun sinks towards the low horizon and blinds me, so I’m under time pressure when I’m cutting back, tidying and leaf […]
Are you looking for the precious present. Something for the gardener in your life? Here are some ideas of gifts that are thoughtful and inexpensive I don’t often sit and contemplate what I’d like as a treat, even as Christmas approaches. To be honest, sometimes it’s just enough to be alive, with a roof over […]
An intriguing greenhouse plant I’d long vaguely known of just never got round to growing is this curiously named Mexican Cigar flower, Cuphea ignea. Obviously it could not really grow cigars, and seeing it was neither scented nor edible this ranked low on my list to try. Well what a pleasant surprise, not difficult to […]
For truly green renewable power, just look up – and put your walls to work. Everywhere I look these days there’s a familiar glint, whether it’s in a city, town, village or even out in flat, open countryside. The most common and familiar sparkle bounces off the roofs of our homes, especially the just-built ones, […]
 Before you put this little book away Please promise me that will never say: “You should have seen my garden yesterday.”  It’s been my good fortune to visit a great many gardens in my career as an author of books about garden design, history and, well, gardening in general. In so doing, I have also […]
As described in a previous blog post, I built a large hoop house down the length of a pair of the raised beds in my garden, enabling me to significantly extend my outdoor growing season. All summer long the hoop house frames have been left uncovered while daytime temperatures remained in the 70s and 80s. […]
It’s the first Monday in November and it’s damp, mild and grey. I’ve just been for my usual ten-minute garden recce before I start writing for the day. The borders are covered in beech leaves and more are slowly helter-skeltering downwards despite the brisk breeze. This year the beech leaves are the colour of golden […]
Towards the end of last month the greenhouse started looking very sorry for itself indeed. Although frosts have not come yet, the tomato plants that have been filling the greenhouse with greenery, scent and fruit all summer have been abandoned for a couple of weeks, after their final harvest, and have now slumped and yellowed. […]
Embrace some fresh ideas and inspiration from Japan and create a space that looks lovely but that also has health benefits too. The English garden is often celebrated as being superior, partly due to their romantic style and the extensive garden history. But in fact, we can learn so much from other cultures and the […]
