Are you struggling with a cold and wet Spring where you are? You’re not alone. Laura and I visited our younger sister Caroline in the Scottish Highlands this week where there is still snow on the hills. But plants are still responding to the longer daylight hours and there was plenty to do. We put […]
It’s a funny thing but each year the whole Christmas shenanigans seems to begin earlier in direct correspondence to the older you become! Take a break from the list-making, pudding-stirring and sock-buying and get on with a few gardening tasks, such as planting lilies, prepping herbs for winter use, and earthing up the cabbages… Lovely […]
We all know the weather’s going to turn soon enough into something a little more…errr… challenging… So here are some ideas to get you out there before that happens. And don’t forget that if you don’t have time to read this blog, no problem! Click on the podcast link at the bottom and listen to […]
I’m struggling to remember an early September when the grass looked greener and the plants (and weeds!) looked lusher. There are compensations to having a summer as we have had in the south, when the sun has been VERY reluctant to put his hat on (although quite fed up with Caroline’s reports of daily sunshine […]
Arrgghh! So much to do now that it’s March! There’s a shiver in the air, a lovely anticipation that the garden is about to pirouette from the wings onto centre-stage again. We need to get ready! Let’s pot up some summer bulbs, sow some salad seeds, sort out the shed……….. Smashing summer bulbs The garden […]
The named storms have been coursing through the UK, but spring is on its way regardless and there are jobs to do, like pruning winter-flowering jasmine, choosing some slug-proof plants, and dividing snowdrops…… Jazzing up Jasmine It’s usually a cinch to grow Jasminum nudiflorum, and it’s a bright and pretty thing to see when covered […]
So the weather is unseasonably balmy, but The Sun is as usual predicting the coldest winter for 30 years (Elaine won’t have seen this headline, she pretends to only look at the Times ….) and there’s a restless feeling afoot that one should be doing something to prepare. It’s probably a hangover from our Neolithic […]
It’s a little sad when you can’t help but notice there isn’t enough evening light to finish the list of gardening tasks you’d planned,isn’t it! But here are a few to get started on anyhow, like constructing new planting areas, cutting out dead wood in shrubs and trees, and making plans for next year……. MAKING […]
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 […]