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.
I can’t believe we’re getting on for almost half way through the year—time really does fly in the garden. Although we had a relatively mild winter, with hardly a frost, the heavy rain in early spring, which made the waterlogged Read more »
May in the garden Russell Jordan May is so full of life and rising sap that it’s easy to feel that almost anything is possible. Fundamentally it’s when the risk of frost is over and your tender plants can Read more »
Blossom abounds on boughs and below. Flowering cherries come into their own, as do other spring flowering trees, and now is a good time to choose one in flower so that you can see exactly how frilly and overblown it Read more »
If plants ruled the world, and it would be a more harmonious place if they did, then March would be a logical point to pick as the first month in the calendar. The longer days, with correspondingly warming soils, have Read more »
It’s been a pretty wet winter so far so, perverse as it may seem, I actually would like it to get really cold and dry for February and well into March. If December and January had supplied plenty of cold, Read more »
At this time to year, with two-headed Janus in charge of the month, it’s natural to reflect on the past and also to consider the future. Looking back over 2015 the first thing that comes to mind is how quickly Read more »
December is not always the most felicitous time to be in the garden; cold, wet and uninviting. But it is a good time to think ahead and get on with those fundamental tasks which will reap dividends in the New Read more »
As I write this, late as ever (sorry Ed), we’ve been enjoying a remarkably calm and dry spell of weather which has allowed normal gardening to carry on—so there’s no excuse to be behind on all the autumnal jobs that Read more »
Vegetables in October Jordan During the past month, September, there are generally enough warm days that it is still possible to believe that summer is hanging on and, this year, having had so much rain in August, any dryness Read more »
At least with all the recent wet weather September should begin with nicely moist, hopefully not waterlogged, soil conditions. This should make any digging, replanting and, most timely, bulb planting much easier. Bulb catalogues will have been out for some Read more »