Late summer is a great time for grass to star in the garden. However, as most lawns are looking very dry and crisp by August even without the blistering early summer we have had this year, you might deduce correctly that I am not talking about lawn grass, but ornamental grasses in the borders. The banner photograph above this blog...
May kicks off a whole summer of garden and flower shows starting with probably the best known and most widely viewed, the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show. Who knows exactly what new designs and trends will be revealed this year but the main show gardens have certainly changed since my first visit about 35 years ago. My flower show...
Firstly I would like to wish everyone a happy and successful 2025 as we enter the second quarter of the 21st century. I am not much one for new year resolutions but if I have a phrase that I would like to epitomise the coming 12 months it must be green value: the hope that individually and as a society...
Holidays, summer events and children to entertain may mean people do less gardening, in August and I would like to encourage you to continue this into the autumn and beyond. Now that is not as surprising as it might sound from someone who spends their time encouraging people to get gardening. Firstly I should say this is not a call...
As I was starting to write this blog I read an article by someone who had given away all their belongings and was wandering the world carrying only a rucksack. The idea of giving up any form of long term residence is unlikely to appeal to a gardener but it did make me think about how easy it is to...
Winter is a time when gardeners can do a lot to support wildlife, including providing a great source of food, especially for birds. Birds remain active all through the winter and in the UK we have many migrant species that arrive here from colder countries in search of food. As a wildlife gardener I am often asked about bird feeders...
Two decades into the 21st century I reckon that it is time to stop separating the plants in our gardens from the wildlife. A fabulous garden should not ignore the potential to benefit biodiversity as well as the human residents. We have all read about insect pollinators being required for a good crop of fruit and vegetables and few people...
This blog post is a little different from most of mine as the idea for it was sparked by two talks that I listened to at the recent Beth Chatto Symposium 2022 “Rewilding the Mind”. This was a wonderful two days of presentations and discussions across the topic of bringing nature back sustainably into urban environments for the benefit of...
There has been quite a surge of interest in Green Roofs over the last few years, although the first ones were created in 1960s. There are several key differences between a green roof and a roof top garden although obviously both involve plants growing on top of a building and require a flat, structurally strong and waterproofed roof. All planting...
I have seen quite a few articles in the last few months promoting the idea of UK gardeners changing their borders to include more “drought tolerant plants”. Although it may seem intuitively as if ‘drought’ goes with ‘global warming’, the reality is not that simple especially in gardening terms. Whilst the UK may see higher temperatures in summer, the prediction...
