I’m always on the prowl for exotic looking plants and the ones that caught my eye this year at the Hampton Court Flower Show were the ‘Disa’ orchids from Dave Parkinson plants. Dave used to grow salad crops commercially but then turned his love of these orchids into a business. They come in pink, yellow […]
After the formal perfection of Chelsea Flower Show gardens, the relaxed atmosphere at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show acts as a welcome contrast. There’s plenty of room to spread out in this gorgeous setting, and providing a tornado isn’t blowing or the heavens haven’t opened up, there’s nowhere nicer to be in July. The […]
So, you’ve seen the show gardens and taken in the Grand Pavilion. Now what? Fancy building a Corten steel structure? Planning on filling the back garden with tree ferns? Or do you fancy inviting the cow parsley in? Unlike designers building a Chelsea Show Garden, most people have to grapple with a small space, limited […]
Is it because you can’t buy plants at the Chelsea Flower Show that the urge to shop is so irresistible to most people? Seasoned colleagues tell me they deplore the commercialism of it all, while I keep my guilty secret that I always look forward to shopping at Chelsea. Each year I make a point […]
They say that behind every successful man there is a woman. And behind every successful Chelsea Show Garden there is a shed. Some contain exotic items like rose-water and lime leaves, others are cluttered with boxes of disposable plastic shoe covers. (Chelsea judges don’t take kindly to messy footprints). While the public sees only cool, […]
Today I’ve been turning my attention to plants at the Chelsea Flower Show: first of all there are new plants, and then, there are plants that are new to me! But with only 60ft to play with in London, I have to keep a tight rein on my enthusiasm. Last year’s must-have was Anchusa Azulea […]
They came, they saw, they splashed around in the water (at the Trailfinders Australian Garden), they recited punk poetry (John Cooper Clarke in the Foreign and Colonial Investments Garden), they served up celebrity pizzas (Jamie Oliver in the Children’s Society Garden), then they left. So went the first day of the Chelsea Flower Show 2010. […]
I have my potatoes chitting in the greenhouse, ready to go out on Good Friday (the traditional day to plant spuds, this year 2nd April). My husband is feeling very pleased with himself because he managed to find a variety called ‘Record’ which a potato expert in Aberdeen once told him was THE very best […]
I have a beautiful shrub in my front garden which is admired by all who see it in flower. So much so, that when it’s in full swing in May, I put a large name label on it so that people can read what it is, which at least stops some of them from knocking […]
A belated happy 2010 to all visitors to this site. I’ve been off air for a couple of months, taking care of family life, and, in this last week, before the Siberian winds set in, preparing the soil on the allotment for the warmer weather to come. A strange thing always happens to me at […]
I’m not even going to count the days till Christmas, but if you still have some shopping to do for the gardener in your life, here are a few ideas. All prices exclude postage and packing. Rostaing Leather Gardening Gloves – £22.65 The Rostaing tannery in France has been in business for two centuries. These […]
Ever since I harvested the last of my greenhouse crops, I’ve been dying to go forth and propagate. It’s not that I need more plants, but I’ve never had the space for cuttings before and besides, it’s always useful to have a tray of plants to take to the school fair or the local jumble […]
