Blog
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Still Waiting.
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March and still no rain, wind yes, rain no. It’s odd having to get the garden hose out in March to soak things, but we’re all having to adjust and come to terms with our unusual weather patterns these days. The daffs are now popping up their heads, however, last year they were doing this in…
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Where’s The Rain?
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Well, that must have been the driest Jan/Feb I can remember in London for a long time, having to water the plants in the garden in winter, now there’s an odd thing, more evidence of climatic changes? Talking of watering, I’ve promised this year to install an irrigation system for the ferns along the…
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Right Plant Right Place.
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In the garden we mostly get it right, occasionally we get it wrong, but that’s ok. As a new gardener, it’s impossible to avoid your fair share of trial and error, and expense, think ‘Science Lab’ at school, but wasn’t that part and parcel of the fun, the occasional black sooted face and hair resembling…
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The Holly & The Ivy.
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I’ve a neighbour who kindly lets me snip away at his holly tree, it bears bounteous amounts of blood-red berries, ideal for dressing the staircase, mantelpiece and dining table for Christmas lunch. I’ve no idea what they charge at the local florist or Saturday market, but I’ll bet it’s not cheap. As for Ivy, it…
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Time For Bed.
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Along with royal purple (check out the Beautyberry), burnt orange has to be my next favourite colour. The slow metamorphosis of leaves turning from green to nut-brown is an annual spectacle to behold in the garden. The Acer (maple) leaf is not unlike a snowflake, symmetrical perfection. It’s the one you see in those stunning photos showing ‘The…
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Summer’s Gone, Did lt Ever Arrive?
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The conkers dropped particularly early this year and as for summer, ehhh… wasn’t that the 3-week hot spell we had back in July? Due to Mr Sunshine’s reluctance to show his face from behind those big fluffy white clouds, the Mediterranean herbs were puny and my usual bountiful crop of tomatoes wasn’t impressive either, some even…
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Great Dixter.
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It’s not all wellies, mud-caked hands, boots and mucky clothing for The Handy Gardener. No, on occasion I’ll get up extra early, put on the glad-rags and set off somewhere for the day, to be inspired by other people’s gardens; there’s just so much to learn out there. Global warming is setting us all new…
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No Faking It.
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Call me old-fashioned, but there are things I don’t/won’t do, laying fake grass is one of them. Truth be told, this isn’t a gardener’s job, it’s a builders job if it’s to be done properly. Firstly, one needs solid, level ground, before laying down a weed membrane, apply a gallon of industrial glue then lay…
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It’s The Little Things.
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There’s something deeply gratifying, along with a sense of contentment, sitting down at the kitchen table once a week to clean, sharpen and oil my garden tools. Ritual can be a comforting thing, a sense of grounding with the familiar, in our otherwise chaotic 21st Century lives. So, it’s kettle on for a pot of…
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Hello Sunshine.
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After all the incessant rain of May, encouraging masses of lush green foliage, but very little in the way of flowers, June followed with a few weeks of hot weather, and boom, there was an explosion of fireworks and colour in the garden. Six months into the year and the weather’s still playing at being…
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