Double flowers are pants for pollinators, or so goes the accepted wisdom. The reasoning being they are “often” sterile, and so bother neither with nectar nor pollen production…
Read moreDay 149: paeonies opening
You never really see a paeony growing. But turn your back on one in spring, and it increases in stature, height and development at an alarming rate…
Read moreDay 148: astrantia
I can’t quite remember where I saw astrantia for the first time – one of those memories that remains frustratingly just beyond the point of recall. But I can remember how it made me feel…
Read moreDay 147: alliums
What would our gardens be without alliums, and the silly, unpretentious sense of joy they bring whenever they appear…
Read moreDay 146: Iris 'Langport Wren'
It’s not necessary to be in possession of a furry face to appreciate a bearded iris, but it surely can’t hurt…
Read moreDay 145: aquilegia
Were there a prize for the most cottage gardeny of cottage garden plants, the aquilegia would surely be in with a shout…
Read moreDay 144: perennial honesty
Once again in the company of that honourable cabbage – for the final time this spring, I promise…
Read moreDay 143: Anthriscus sylvestris 'Ravenswing'
Frothing clouds of white spray – that’s the whole point of cow parsley. Umbrellas of tiny flowers held far above the foliage on such slender stems that they appear to float...
Read moreDay 142: perennial cornflower
Tough as old boots with a whole host of names, Centaurea montana possesses a distinctly architectural air, while being relatively small in stature…
Read moreDay 141: Geum 'Totally Tangerine'
Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’ is everywhere, and has been for the past few years. Sometimes people can get a bit snooty about a plant cliché, but normal humans like you or I aren’t being judged by the originality of our planting…
Read moreDay 140: angelica unfurling
Another architectural umbellifer, this week’s enormous carrot is Angelica sylvestris, captured here in the act of unfurling her flowers…
Read moreDay 139: Iris sibirica
Another item on the long list of Things You’re Supposed To Do In The Garden – deadhead your irises when (or preferably before) they’ve gone to seed…
Read moreDay 138: rhododendron
Subtlety is not a quality with which rhododendrons trouble themselves – at least when they’re in flower…
Read moreDay 137: wonderful weeds
The garden is frothing over just now – the hedgerows all about too, for May is the month when the cow parsley comes into flower…
Read moreDay 136: stripes
I’m not sure I’ve got the space, or really the inclination to plant in stripes of colour in my own garden…
Read moreDay 135: woodland garden
Under clear blue skies with sun bright overhead, take the narrow path into the trees, where the gusty wind stills, calmed by gently enveloping foliage...
Read moreDay 134: giant fennel
May is a month where giant carrots like to make their presence known – the bigger members of the Apiaceae family. Of course, cow parsley, frothing every hedgerow and uncut verge by now, but even larger than that is the giant fennel, Ferrula communis…
Read moreDay 133: honesty going to seed
Day 132: May morning spotlight
There’s a certain quality of light on early on a May morning. If you venture out early and don’t mind getting wet feet, you might just catch the rising sun playing games in your garden…
Read moreDay 131: Paperbark maple
Peeling skin is not a good look for most creatures. For a tree, though, it seems to work, and Acer griseum, the paperbark maple, has certainly worked out how to turn this ailment to its best advantage…
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