I am pleased to announce that the first Gardening for the Mind workshop of 2019 will take place on Friday March 15th from 10am-1pm near Tunbridge Wells. The theme will be “Welcome to Spring” and you will find out how Gardening & Mindfulness blend together to boost wellbeing in nature. Both gardening and mindfulness are recognised […]
Too early to sow seeds
January is over, early Daffodils are in flower and tradition has it that birds start to nest on February 14th so many gardeners may be tempted to think that we are nearing Spring. But remember that there are two full months to go where the night time temperature can fall below freezing and it is […]
Prune to an outward facing bud
Pruning is done in winter for many trees, particularly fruit trees, and the instructions frequently use the phrase “prune to an outward facing bud”. I always feel that this is something of an oversimplification and it helps for gardeners to understand why this advice is given to help make the best decisions about where exactly to […]
Gardening trends – where is gardening going?
Predicting the future and fashion trends is something of a mug’s game but I am interested in the general direction of travel for gardening; not the cat walk world of show garden design but the role of gardening in people’s lives and communities. Over the last few years I have seen three influences develop that […]
Winter Pruning
Pruning is one of those ‘hardy perennial’ topics that I am asked about all year round. Many people are aware that winter is a key time but are not exactly sure what you prune in winter or how. In fact the most important thing to understand about pruning is Why? This is because not all […]
Naturalistic Planting
Last month I wrote about planting field grown trees and shrubs in the November-March bare root season while they are dormant. One of the reasons for planting these woody plants is to create an area of Naturalistic planting. This style does not limit you to native plants and is not a copy of the local […]
Christmas in the year of Blue Planet
I do not usually talk about Christmas in November but this year I want to encourage a change in the way we may choose and buy Christmas presents. I am thinking here about presents for people who fortunately already have the things that they actually need day to day and where the joy is in […]
Buying & planting field-grown trees in winter
Winter is a great time plant new trees and hedges as long as the ground is not frozen. An advantage of winter planting is that you can buy young field-grown trees and hedging plants more cheaply than pot-grown specimens. As the name suggests field-grown trees are grown in open fields and lifted (dug up) just […]
Planting Tulips for spring flowers
October is the main month to plant dry bulbs to flower next spring and you will not go short of articles on this topic. So I will dwell in a bit more detail on one familiar bulb – the Tulip. Traditionally planted in rows or blocks of a single variety in bedding schemes in parks […]
What makes a Wellbeing Garden
Several of this year’s big flower shows have included gardens entitled something like The Wellbeing Gaarden. This is not really surprising with the increasing realisation that gardens and gardening can be very good for our mental as well as physical health. What does surprise me though is the apparent consensus from the shows, magazines and […]