Okay, I went away. I went to the West Country for FOUR DAYS. When I got back, my lovely box hedges had turned from this: had turned into this: Seriously – FOUR BLOOMIN’ DAYS! Just look at these two: At first I thought it was blight but then I recognised the nasty, lacy, cobwebby skeletons…
Category: Product test
Cymbidium Challenge
After the glories of Kew, I have a confession. Me and orchids don’t get on. Don’t get me wrong, I love ’em. I just can’t keep them. No matter how much effort I make, they just don’t stay. They eventually get carted off to my sister’s orchid hospital kitchen. She is some kind of miracle-worker…
Product Review: Backdoor Shoes
Okay, I’ll start with a confession. To say I have mistreated my poor old feet over the years is an understatement. For years I committed the Number One Foot Crime – no, not high heels – flat heels. Totally flat, ballerina pumps which I jived in for hours on end, months on end, years on end,…
Product trial: Pelargoniums
Oh, the joys of the Garden Press Event, held once a year in London for people who write about gardens. I always love it as it’s brim-full of people who love gardening in all its forms. There’s inspiration a-go-go, with new people to meet, new ideas to try and new products to test. Last year’s…
Forcing Lily of the Valley
Such a harsh word. Pretty much any spring bulb grown indoors this time of year is ‘forced’ – hyacinths, crocuses, daffs – none of them really want to come out for Christmas, but they’ll show their faces, not too grudgingly, if they’re treated nicely. I first came across the idea of forcing Lily of the…
Pumpkin Review
After last year’s successful batch of Crown Prince, which kept me in pumpkins through to May, I thought I’d branch out a little. I may have been a tad overkeen… Of course I stuck with Crown Prince. It is probably the best pumpkin I’ve tasted and it’s not a ridiculous size. It makes fantastic soups…
Blackberry Cascade
For years I’ve resisted growing blackberries. Somehow it seems sort of – well, cheating. Surely I should just get off my butt and forage a few? Trouble is, there aren’t that many decent brambles round South East London and what there is either gets picked bare or, tend to grow at, shall we say, ‘dog height.’…
And the Winner Is…
It’s come to that time of year when I work out which of the – gosh – nine varieties of tomato I tried this year are worth growing again and which – if any – is the winner of best in show. First out of the box is Sweet & Neat, a teeny, compact bush with…
Update: Celery ‘Peppermint Stick’
For the first time this year I am trying my hand at trench celery. It’s always looked a bit of a faff before, to be honest, but I was seduced by Peppermint Stick by The Organic Gardening Catalogue. Sowing, pricking out and planting went pretty well, as did creating the trenches and the plants are…
Trial Update: Pelargonium ‘Tommy’ and ‘Apple Blossom’
Back in April, I was sent two new varieties of pelargonium by Vernons Nursery, Tommy, a deep, blackcurrant-purple trailing variety with ivy leaves, and Apple Blossom Improved, which I’d desperately tried to grow in the past as I’d adored the delicate cream and pink blossoms, but been frustrated by when the tight buds failed to…
On Test: Egg & Chips®
Okay, so if I thought T&M’s TomTato® (a tomato grafted onto a potato) was a curiosity this one has gone one further – Egg & Chips®, an aubergine or egg plant, grafted onto a spud.Again, it’s not completely nuts biologically; both the aubergine and potato belong to the same solanum family and fruit growers have been…
The Event Gardener 