Oh, it’s been WET, hasn’t it! What a damp start to the summer! There have already been so many events affected by the rain – even the Trooping of the Colour didn’t get through unscathed. We know that Caroline is quietly thrilled that we Southerners have been getting Highland weather for months now. But some plants have […]
Most of us have experienced some fierce storms this week and guess what?! Most of us got (very) wet AGAIN, as well as windswept. Oh well, it’s still far too early in the year to curl up in front of the fire with a copy of Gardeners World magazine and a glass of red, so let’s […]
How unjust is that! Most of our poor schoolchildren (and their teachers) have had to tolerate wet weather all through their summer hols, and then we get a heatwave when they’re all back in their classrooms. But before the rest of us get too happy with our BBQs and sun hats, remember there are jobs […]
Saddened by the death of our Queen but so thankful for her amazing life of duty, we can’t help remembering how much she loved flowers and gardens. King Charles III has clearly inherited that very special interest in horticulture. The seasons won’t stop even if an epic era has ended. So while we remember her, […]
Wow – we’ve certainly had some hot weather this week! We got into the habit of getting out into the garden early, working till lunchtime and then scuttling inside to escape the heat during the afternoons. I expect you’ve been doing some sun-dodging too, though I have heard from Caroline that raincoats are still required […]
By George, we’ve had some interesting weather in June, haven’t we! Certainly it’s been too hot between 11 and 5 to do anything much in the garden beyond some gentle weeding under a broad-brimmed hat, followed by rain so torrential that Noah would have been very impressed. Nevertheless, there are lots of jobs to do when […]
Clematis ‘Vyvyan Pennell’ was raised by Walter Pennell of Pennell and Sons nursery in the mid-fifties and was named after his wife. Pennells was founded in 1780 and is still in the ownership of the same family – quite a record! So, Walter Pennell not only raised one of my favourite clematis, (which incidentally is probably the best known of all the […]
Our gardens are like empty stages at this time of winter, poised, ready to be shaped by your plans for the coming year. Regrettably my two sisters often show a lack of ambition in this respect: Caroline’s prepping for spring will likely stretch as far as flicking through the ‘Crocus’ catalogue and ordering their ‘yellow […]
Are your fingers itching, as mine are, to get going in the garden? While we are waiting for the busy-ness of March to begin, how about helping the early insects, beautifying garden trees or preparing the veg beds for the coming season……. Catering for Critters Unexpectedly mild winter weather in the south has been worryingly […]
What a wonderful time of year this is! And so much to do! Let’s get on with repairing arches, tidying the spring clematis and taking some cuttings, amongst other things: Fallen arches At the entrances to our cottage garden, we had put three metal arches, and since we had not paid a lot for them, […]
Things are becoming exciting in the garden now the days are warming up! I have some tips for you on hardening off plants, pruning evergreens, and making a sweetpea wigwam, among other things….. ARE THEY ‘ARD ENOUGH?! If, like me, you have been madly germinating all sorts of veg and flower seeds inside on windowsills or […]
Mid-February and I just know that you are desperately in need of some tips on what to do in the garden at this murky time of year. It won’t be long before you’re overwhelmed with spring tasks, so tick off a few now and feel that you’re ahead of the game! COPING WITH CLEMATIS Clematis-pruning […]
If I wake in the night and can’t get back to sleep, I take a mental tour of the garden; and as it’s May I start by counting clematis. I get as far as C ‘Black Tea’ … beyond shadow of a doubt, it’s this week’s star plant and can only be described as ‘sumptuous’. […]
What a fantastic weekend and our fabulous May-time gardens are keeping that feelgood vibe in top gear. Here are a few things to attend to when you’ve got a minute…. TYING UP THE LOOSE ENDS Summer clematis are putting on a mass of growth just now, and you need to be vigilant about tying them in. […]
Do you like Clematis? Of course you do! EVERYONE likes Clematis! Oh, and I do hope you are pronouncing it CLEM-atis (Ancient Greek, imaginatively, for ‘a climbing plant’), and not Clem-MATE-is, but however you say it, now is the time to get new clematis started. So many colours, shapes, sizes and flowering seasons, that even […]
How are your walls looking at the moment? And your fences, and arbours, and pergolas and gazebos? Are they languishing under a dismal-looking leaf canopy of May-flowering montana or June-flowering rambler roses, or, worse still, bare? Well they needn’t be – there are things you can do to remedy this sorry state of affairs, and the […]