My slippery descent into gardening began by taking ‘Prickly Pear’ cuttings, from Kew Gardens, while I was still at prep school. After a horticulture degree, with placements in historic gardens, and two decades making gardening telly, I’ve come full circle and returned to being a West Dorset sole gardener.
“The arrival of July heralds the climax of the year in the garden. The rain may perhaps be pattering down in wholesome showers, and the trees and shrubs swaying backwards and forwards beneath the onslaught of half-a-gale. But we gardeners Read more »
Roses, irises, clematis, pinks—summer really takes off this month. No more tip nipping frostiness means that plants seem to double in size overnight so a smidgeon of intervention may become necessary. Staking, tying in, propping back—plants need a bit of Read more »
Generally I try not to refer to current weather conditions, when considering the coming month’s topical tasks, for fear of tempting fate. As I write this, however, April has been so dry and sunny that it’s hard to ignore. I’ve Read more »
We are at the tipping point of the growing season when buds burst from bare stems and spring bulbs double in size and abundance overnight as spring gathers momentum. This is good because the garden should be a really cheerful Read more »
March should yield at least a few of those classic spring days when the sun is out, the air temperature is comparatively balmy and everything seems right with the world. These are the days on which it’s really good to Read more »
Plants have started to react to the lengthening days so that, even if the weather is still decidedly wintry, the pulse of the garden will be quickening. Early spring flowers burst into life, especially during mild spells, and drifts of Read more »
Even though days are lengthening, due to the increasing tilt of the northern hemisphere towards the warming rays of the sun, there is a huge inertia to overcome before your garden takes notice. Only the earliest of early spring bulbs Read more »
When winter has edited the garden down to its bare bones it affords you the opportunity to revel in details which are easily missed within the fully furnished garden. Grey-green euphorbias, of which there are many, may be blooming in Read more »
The good thing about November is that even though the days are short, and the clocks have gone back, the general pace of life in the garden is correspondingly slow. If it rains one day, or the whole week, then Read more »
This month it’s a case of ‘steady as she goes’. Most of the tasks that you could do last month can still be done now. Temperatures are dropping further, the chance of a really warm spell is fading fast, while Read more »