…but you can’t come in… A few months ago I talked about the fantastic once-lost Plantation Garden in Norwich, a piece first featured in the Telegraph. It’s a wonderful, mysterious corner, once hacked out of an old quarry by an eccentric Victorian tycoon, then lost, then hacked out of jungle by an army of volunteers who still…
Project Patio Part 1
You know that bit in Apollo 13 where a guy says ‘you’ve got to make this’ – he shows a sophisticated piece of space kit – ‘out of this’ – he tips a cardboard box of old junk onto a table…? Well that’s sort of how I feel about my latest project. Allow me to…
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…
One for the rook, one for the crow…
Or how a post about sowing peas led to a life-lesson learned. Writing this post has made me realise that one of the things I regret most about my last allotment was not taking photos of the friends I made on it. I have pictures of my own plot, but nothing that reminds me of…
Meet the Plot Pt II
Welcome to the sizzling second part of the estate tour around Plot 3… Last time I covered the actual plot itself; this time it’s the turn of the steep bank adjacent to it, upon which my shed and sundry utilities live. Basically there’s a long, grassy sward that runs down the side of the site. It’s…
Orchid Frenzy
Okay, I’m not going to witter on here. The orchids speak for themselves. On a windy day when Storm Doris is rattling the windows and sending roof tiles shattering to the ground, here are exotic orchids to fuel a thousand dreams of paradise. All as viewed at Kew’s glorious Festival of Orchids. It’s on until…
Meet the Plot
It’s occurred to me that I quite often witter on about different beds on my allotment – leaving everyone to work out what the hell I’m on about. The monster? The horse-trough? The triple? So here, at the start of the season, when everything’s nice and clear, is a short spin around the country estate….
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…
Avery Hill Winter Garden
Avery Hill Park, Eltham, Kent. ‘Colonel’ John Thomas North was desperate to leave his humble beginnings behind. He was even keener to leave behind the story of how he made his fortune – selling South American bird droppings as fertiliser. Victorian head gardeners across the country may have been grateful to the Nitrate King but…
Desert Island gardening books.
Yeah, yeah, I know I have too many gardening books. We all do. I flat won’t believe anyone who says they don’t. I can’t resist ’em. I devour them; pore over them in bed at night. I have many favourites. But there are a handful that never leave my bedside. They are my comfort books,…
Slow Start
This has to be the slowest start to any year I’ve had. There’s no excuse – the weather hasn’t been that bad. Still, I often start stuff out too early, so perhaps taking it a little easier – and not over-sowing, which is a particular horticultural bad-habit of mine – will mean the stuff I…
The Event Gardener 