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Our second NGS day of the year is marching unstoppably towards me, so I've been whizzing round the garden, filling in gaps, dead-heading here and there and fretting over the proliferation of dandelions in the lawn. The field across the road froths with their seed heads each spring
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A note to myself to remind me that: - the Catalpa is in flower - I've never seen it flower before, so I'm interested to see what happens - after the deep cold of last winter, I only lost two Pittosporums and three tree ferns. Everything
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(Update 26th July 2009) Sorry - I didn't realise I'd posted a heading with no text - don't know how that happened! Well yes, I got a silver-gilt medal - missed out on a gold once again, but there's always next year.
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All day long huge black clouds billowed ominously over the trees and slid by, letting us off lightly with a few wet spots or a stiff blast of wind. We were lucky indeed and have made wonderful progress today. We are further ahead than we've ever been on
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I love Tatton Show. It's only a few miles away from home and set in a gorgeous natural amphitheatre of open parkland. It's a spacious, creative, innovative and community minded show and I wouldn't miss it for anything. But by some stroke of fate
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June has slipped by in a blur of sunshine, never-ending watering and a near-continuous stream of garden visitors enjoying the glorious summer. The garden has never looked better and it's been lovely to hear people's positive comments and to see them getting such pleasure from being
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A couple of answers to recent ident questions that cropped up when I've not been here: - the fluffy, low growing magenta flower in the canal bank is Phuopsis stylosa - the stiff, silvery leaved plant with the large blue daisy-like heads which has self-seeded by the polytunnel
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With a fortnight of mild weather behind me and after a night of heavy rain, I decided to plant out the exotic garden. Out from winter hibernation came the sole surviving small clump of Cyperus papyrus (all the rest died, despite being in a greenhouse, in a polystyrene fish box,
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I'm on the early train to London, heading for Chelsea Flower Show. Pleased to see the forecast is much cooler than yesterday's 30C - must have been unbearable. Still, if the Queen can take it... My expectations of Chelsea are always low, and thus always exceeded.
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We currently have the headline photo and article on the Telegraph's gardening page. Click on the headline and scroll down for Bluebell Cottage Gardens. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening Thanks Joanna :-) Updated update: We're still on the Telegraph site, but we've moved
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The garden has temporarily slipped down my attention list as the country awaits Nick Clegg's decision. I wouldn't be in his shoes today. He'll be damned by most of his own party (who may not back the move anyway given their triple lock controls
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If you know, or think you may know, the ident of the stunning red Papaver orientale in this shot, do let me know. Ta