Winter’s not yet done with us, but there's always something to do in the garden. Delving back into Jack Wallington's Wild About Weeds to find out how to manage these rebel plants. And thinking about how the picture perfect garden fits
Read moreDay 320: the overwintered pelargonium
November is no time for reticence or squeamishness, at least, not when it comes to pelargoniums…
Read moreDay 60: winter work
Now that we can officially declare that winter is over – I'm not quite sure that I would, though, notwithstanding the backing of meteorologists everywhere…
Read moreDay37: home wrecker
Someone could live here. Days are drawing out, and thoughts inevitably turn to spring, I can I feel the urge to get involved with the wintery detritus…
Read moreDay 3: Belonging
Winter presents the ideal opportunity for getting to grips with the brambles, but who really belongs more in the garden – the weeds, or the gardener?
Read moreDay 344: focus
Winter strips away distractions and, while the skies might seem more vast and the landscape more open in the absence of abundant leaf cover, I find myself drawn to the small details…
Read moreDay 277: houseplants and heating
We’re so used to tracing the passage of the seasons by the signs we observe out of doors – what the trees or the leaves or the sky is doing…
Read moreDay 49: winter honeysuckle
Not much of a looker, and kind of patchily bald in winter. But you plant winter honeysuckle for its scent, rather than its looks…
Read moreDay 37: Hylotelephium 'Matrona'
Everyone loves a dazzling floral display in summer, but those plants that can maintain interest through the colder seasons are greatly to be prized…
Read moreDay 36: frosted ironwork
There’s a moment just as the sun rises on a clear, cold winter’s morning, when the growing light still has the blue tinge of night about it…
Read moreDay 35: Daphne bholua 'Limpsfield'
I think William Morris would have approved of the evergreen, Daphne bholua ‘Limpsfield’, seeing as how it manages to be both useful and beautiful…
Read moreDay 8: signs of life
I don’t know why winter gets such a bad rap for being a time of inactivity…
Read moreMarch in the garden
March 2018 – what the heck was that? Just as we were beginning to enjoy the first signs of spring, the Beast from the East brought snow and cold weather from Siberia. Twice. Thankfully for us, rumours of its return at the end of the month proved to be groundless, though our friends in the north were less fortunate. We just got very wet instead.
Read moreJanuary & February in the garden
From a dull grey start to a bitter, snowy end, winter has been topsy-turvy, and is now in the throes of a tantrum at being asked to go home. We may struggle to keep up; the garden, of course, takes all this in its stride.
Read more#thatwinterspringthing hashtag project
To the uninitiated, hashtags are probably the most confounding aspect to social media. But a little delving reveals them to be a powerful tool for cutting through the online flotsam and plucking related content out from the relentless flow of global chatter. As winter turns to spring, I’m launching a hashtag to encourage Instagram users to share their seasonal images.
Read moreNovember & December in the garden
It’s new year’s eve, but I’ll leave the annual gardening retrospective for others. For me, that doesn’t feel right till winter’s done and sowing seeds can begin in earnest, and we’re not quite there yet, although the seed catalogues are beginning to look well-thumbed. But I’ve not yet had a chance to look back through November and December in the garden as seen through my Instagram feed, so I hope you’ll join me as I review the past couple of months.
Read moreFebruary in the garden
As trailed in my previous post, I’ve decided to start a series on the blog using highlights from my Instagram gallery to chart the garden through the year. And so, without undue ceremony, let me welcome you to the first post in that series. This week, as we get ready to leave winter behind, I'm taking a look back at February 2017.
Read moreWaiting for snowdrops
January can be a miserable month, so a few weeks of bright, dry weather make for a welcome start to the year. Refreshingly chilly conditions in which to while away the garden hours until the first flowers of spring appear.
Read moreDecember light
Light is in short supply this month, and so it makes sense to make the most of the little we have. For reasons of sanity, not to mention Vitamin D. It’s as good a time as any for garden photography, and the more familiar you are with the behaviour of the light, the better your images will be.
Read moreNovember chill
The garden might be closing down for the year, but there’s so much to see in autumn. Far fewer hours in which to see it, though, so best to be up and out with the first rays of light.
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