Tag: Frances McKevitt The Handy Gardener.

  • My New Favorite Shop.


    My New Favorite Shop.

    Along with Liberty, Fortnum & Mason, Hatchards bookshop and Paxton’s cheese shop, I’ve added Niwaki to my list of favourite London shops to visit when in town. Small but perfectly formed, its Zen-like interior and presentation of gardening tools, kit and clothing is the antithesis of the screaming bustle found at Selfridges, just around the…

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  • It’s Never Quiet.


    It’s Never Quiet.

    ‘It must get quiet for you at this time of year,’ they say, ehhh… hardly. When all things green go to sleep in the garden, there are still fences to be repaired or painted, new sheds to build, ponds to be cleaned, trees to prune, bare-root shrubs and roses to plant, rooms to paint and…

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  • And Then The Rains Came.


    And Then The Rains Came.

    Well, it was a long time coming but when it did, oh my did the heavens open. A continual deluge of rain fell for ten straight days and nights, however, it was much-needed and gratefully received. The first few days the rain simply bounced back off the rock-solid ground, being unable to penetrate it, by…

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  • And Relax…


    And Relax…

    August, balmy days and nights when the garden reaches its bounteous prime, in a few weeks it will have exhausted itself, displaying floppy tell-tale signs of going over, as everything slowly descends to seed… don’t we all. Well, thank goodness for pots, even if it’s hard work staying on top of all the watering, however, being able to move them to…

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  • Some Like It Hot.


    Some Like It Hot.

    However, not this hot! What can I say about this weather that you’ve not already heard? Of course, no one has ever experienced 104 degrees in England before. I can tell you this… having visited various clients’ gardens in the last few weeks, I’ve never seen so much damage and destruction to the foliage of…

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  • Tom Tee Tom.


    Tom Tee Tom.

    Now all chance of frosts has passed, it’s time to start planting out the tomatoes, along with their wonderful accompaniment, basil… just add mozzarella, a slug of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of Maldon sea salt flakes. Last year’s crop was particularly bountiful, in part due to the fact of lining all the…

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  • Bee Happy.


    Bee Happy.

    I’ve just treated myself to a membership at the magnificent Kew Gardens and… I get to take a friend in for free too. It’s been so long since I last visited (shame on me), it used to be free, but now it’s £16 a pop. So, as I intend to make a visit at least…

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  • Where’s The Rain?


    Where’s The Rain?

    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.


    Right Plant Right Place.

    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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  • Time For Bed.


    Time For Bed.

    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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