Everyone loves art in one form or another, from music to writing, dance to drawing, garden…
Garden chat
Our escape to the country
In May 2024 Chris and I were filmed for a small segment on BBC’s Escape to…
19 things at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024
The vibe this year during Chelsea press day was very much relaxed, enjoyable and a sense…
How to grow pink oyster mushrooms without plastic
I’ve recently been getting into growing edible mushrooms at home, including the delicious lion’s mane fungi.…
Infected cuts and bites from gardening
WARNING THIS POST CONTAINS SOME GRAPHIC PHOTOS OF AN INFECTED BITE On Tuesday, during a photoshoot…
Lady’s slipper orchid, Cypripedium calceolus
It’s been a long time coming but this year I visited one of the reintroduction programme…
11 Things at Chelsea Flower Show 2023
It feels like the RHS Chelsea Flower Show has finally found its feet again after having…
Imagining a garden
Yesterday I sat at dusk looking out from the top of our garden across the valley,…
How gardening and nature help me cope with stress and anxiety
This is a topic I find difficult to put into words. I’ve been putting it off…
July gardening ideas: mid summer (month eight)
I like to think of midsummer’s eve, the summer solstice, as the top of a mountain…
September gardening ideas: end of summer (month ten)
Throughout my life, people have described, without fail, sunny spells in September as an Indian summer.…
Pot’s Growing On: six months in person, twelve in mind
We moved in six months ago but I started thinking about our new garden a year…
You say native, I say indigenous?
Let’s discuss racism in gardening and science terminology, what we actually mean by terms like invasive…
Meadow species spotted
I’ve created this page as notes for myself on what species we’ve seen in our meadow…
A quick look around our new farm
In late-February 2021 we moved to our new farm and in the few months since we’ve…
Why do we find botanical plant names hard to learn?
Every day I hear or read someone struggling with how hard botanical plant names are to…
How to grow dahlias organically from seed and save your own dahlia seeds
In the past I’ve grown mountains of dahlia cultivars but over the last two years I’ve…
We’re moving to Hebden Bridge
I’m excited to share that after twenty years of living in London, Chris, Rumbles and I…
My self-help guide to resisting seed and plant catalogue order overload
It’s around about now that the seed and plant catalogues for the coming year come pouring…
Wild about Weeds Photograph Competition 2020 – winners!
There were loads of entries into the first Wild about Weeds 2020 Photography Competition! Entries were…
Come back dragonfly
I spent the whole of yesterday writing outside in our garden for a new project and…
Gardening needs diversity
Over the last week I’ve watched what is happening in America in horror and disbelief, largely…
Pot’s Growing On in April? Here come the insects, pretty things and dividing geraniums
I’m sitting outside writing in a t-shirt, spring is here! I mean, it has turned chilly…
Littlebury garden redesign (part two) – Breathing new life into the soil
As I write this the country has for all intents and purposes joined the rest of…
11 ideas to grow your way through Coronavirus self-isolation boredom
Supermarkets have plenty of food to see us all through the coronavirus (covid-19) but in the…
From plant to seed bank, how Kew Gardens is saving the planet’s flora and us
I’ve been visiting Kew Gardens – like many people I’m sure – since I was a…
Growing avocados in London
It’s been widely known that avocados can grow in London for decades, I’ve seen the trees…
What seeds to sow in January
In the UK in January, daylight hours are still very short, outside temperatures low and likely…
Organic gardening pros recommend chemical free roses
As a garden designer, the most popular plants requested by clients – topping lavender, olive trees…
How to protect tender plants over winter in small spaces
Living in a tiny one bed urban flat here in London, it proves quite a challenge…
Google is the best plant ID app and it will only get better
There’s been lots of hype about plant ID apps and having tried most of them I’ve…
On the verge of a new way of gardening: do we need to change what we grow?
I’ve always written about our gardens being seen as mini-wildlife reserves, eco systems we protect and…
Long term planting on the allotment
When I was about six or seven I remember adding leaves to our houseplant pots to…
How to grow Persicaria runcinata ‘Purple Fantasy’
If there’s one plant I can guarantee you’ll see more of this year it’s Persicaria runcinata…
Life in the Treehouse
There are some things I feel people need to know about author and writer Alice Vincent.…
Roundup of glyphosate weed killer research
I’m an organic gardener and avoid using chemicals, I’m particularly guarded around edible crops, such as…
A visit to Writtle University College
Imagine if this were your classroom! I’d never miss a lesson. Every time I visit Writtle…
Banana plants, floral arches, winter cuttings and Cordylines
I’ve been asked by my Instagram and Twitter buddies to explain how to grow bananas and…
Looking back on a year of vegetables, fruit and edible flowers
I thought I’d share some of my favourite edibles from my allotment, organically grown this year.…
Reflections on another gardening year
2018 was a year in which I’ve been lucky to be washed in an overwhelming “go…
I have a shed!
When I finally settled on my allotment plan three years ago (here is an updated version)…
Pot’s Growing On: experimenting with tender plants outside
Over the last few years I’ve been surprised at the number of tender plants that can…
What’s wrong with Verbena bonariensis?
I was going to write about Verbena bonariensis to sing its praises in long periods of…