Sun’s up: as summer fades, these solar-powered stalwarts reach their zenith. Sunflowers are my September saviours. As autumn starts to win the tug of love with summer, I’m drawn to these tall, slightly improbable-looking, reach-for-the-sky flowers every bit as much as the clouds of bees, drone flies, hoverflies and pristine red admiral imagos. These tough, […]
A dystopian future of gardening at the mercy of climate chaos no longer needs to be imagined; it’s already happening, here and now. I’m spooked. Just over a month ago, I was imagining what gardening in the not-too-distant future might look like. My mind’s eye conjured devastating early summer frosts, 40°C summer heatwaves, and violent, plant-shredding […]
Keeping seed-gathering and sowing close to home reduces gardening miles to footsteps – and results only in joy. This spring, one coy flower, above all others, brought me an untrammelled and deeply satisfying joy that endured for weeks on end. It wasn’t just the early dash of pink and blue it added to my borders […]
As the climate crisis escalates, 40°C heat alerts are becoming a regular event – and that’s before you’ve factored in the midsummer frosts and greenhouse-shattering storms. Dry, rustling leaves roused Lena from her heat-induced snooze; the thick, clammy air was finally on the move. Yawning, she pressed her back against the oak’s trunk, her legs […]
Social distancing quandaries, money worries and stock shortages are making garden centre trips fraught with anxiety – but home-mixed solutions will eke out your compost supplies. Seedlings need potting. Young plants are dropping through the letterbox, ready to pot up. Your greenhouse tomatoes, peppers and other veg are ready for their summer containers. You’ve got […]
The most experienced of gardeners can be bested by vine weevils – but calling in a microscopic earth-friendly ally will settle the score. Otiorhynchus sulcatus got me in the end. After 17 years of mostly grub-free bliss, when I’ve relied largely – apart from the occasional gentle shove – on nature (and some wire mesh) to […]
In the troubled weeks ahead, greenhouses will become hubs of solace and sustenance – so if you don’t have one, or can’t use yours, some joined-up thinking is in order. Big or small, bought or inherited, loved or neglected – there are tens of thousands of bits of gardening kit scattered across our anxious land […]
Amidst mounting evidence of climate chaos, how best to cultivate a planet-friendly garden? As the flood waters rise, so do new and troubling questions. I live and garden in a land of conundrums. The sheer power of our two most recent storms – Ciara and Dennis – has hit communities hard here in Snowdonia’s foothills. […]
It’s time for some citizen gardening: instead of glib media soundbites about using peat-free compost, let’s crowd-source the low-down on what actually works. This spring needs a gardening health warning: there may be ill-judged and unwise information ahead, and we need to be on the lookout for it. Big, positive things will be happening in […]
A deep winter freeze can be filled with challenge, surprise, sadness – and moments of unfettered joy. My tips, and findings from winters past, will help to keep your greenhouse and garden ticking over when temperatures plummet, keep wildlife safe, and keep you cheerful through the bleak months ahead. Snow load Most greenhouses are strong […]
Daily tidings of impending ecological catastrophe make it hard to stay positive – but gardeners have can-do ways to mitigate the crisis. Down one day, up the next. Gloom and doom gathers, before some light shines in. ‘Why bother?’ worms its way in, and then is cheerily ousted (usually) by a jolt of ‘Yes!’ can-do […]
Boost your weary greenhouse soil in autumn, watch nature work its magic over winter, and see it come back to life in time for spring. One minute it’s flooded, the next it’s baked dust-dry by the sun’s glass-amplified rays. It’s flogged like a workhorse, non-stop, from the first hints of spring to the fading days […]
