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Let the Show Begin!
After almost four weeks away from our coastal garden I am back in the driving seat. For a fleeting moment this morning it felt like spring was really here – warm sun on my back and birds singing in...
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The Savill Garden, Windsor Great Park.
Lysichiton camtschatcensis, The Western Skunk Cabbage. Last weekend the sun came out. For those of you who are not British, sunny weather, even when it’s still cold, means the UK population suddenly...
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Saltwood Castle, Hythe, Kent
The far south east corner of Kent is frequently overlooked, regarded by many as nothing more than the down-at-heel gateway to the delights of France and continental Europe. Yet behind the white cliffs...
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Pesky Paperwhites
Once again, I’ve mistimed my paperwhite narcissi. Just three weeks after planting they are in full bloom, filling every corner of the house with their intoxicating fragrance. Wise to the bulbs’...
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Daily Flower Candy: Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii
Whilst the wretched winter weather continues to dowse and drown us, there are signs of spring in the garden if one looks hard enough for them. Truly a plant for all seasons, the acid-yellow flowers of...
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Daily Flower Candy: Narcissus ‘Soleil d’Or’
I am used to grim weather on my birthday, but today’s meteorological maelstrom has been especially miserable. Yet out in the Atlantic on the Isles of Scilly delicate, highly-scented narcissi have been...
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Looking Ahead
I have been uncharacteristically quiet for the last three days, and for good reason; I have been hard at work signing off our range for next Christmas. If I had a pound for every exclamation of...
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Ready, Steady, Grow!
Every day something new is happening in the garden. I’ve promised myself a five minute scout around each morning before work, bringing me closer to the action. I can see nature starting to accelerate,...
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Golden
Like a juggernaut, spring is now on a roll. A few nights of cold weather may put the breaks on, but nothing can stop it now. In the space of a week our coastal garden has become flushed with flowers....
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Daily Flower Candy – Narcissus actaea AGM
Sparkling like diamonds in the sward of St James’ Park, as the morning sun rises over London, this is Narcissus actaea. It’s an old fashioned variety, introduced in 1919, that’s sometimes referred to...
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Blooming Boxing Day
Even by London standards it’s been an exceptionally mild start to winter. Our traditional Boxing Day walk from Highgate to Hampstead revealed dahlias in full spate, rioting red geraniums and walls...
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Slow Motion
Since the first balmy weekend in March I have watched both our gardens move forward as if in slow motion. Temperatures have remained resolutely low, bringing to a halt the tulips, narcissi and...
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Daffodil Week: Symbols of Easter
Happy Easter one and all! For the whole of Easter week I will be writing about the most lauded of spring flowers, the daffodil. Spring is dragging its feet, which means many daffodils are still in fine...
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Daily Flower Candy: Narcissus tazetta ‘Cragford’
Daffodils are a wonderfully diverse group of bulbs thanks to years of careful hybridisation and selection. A scion of the narcissus family that is less often seen in British gardens is the tazettas,...
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Daffodils By Royal Appointment
At this time of year London’s Royal Parks are carpeted with vast swathes of daffodils. If the weather is fine I leave the tube one stop early and walk through Green Park, past Buckingham Palace to work...
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Daily Flower Candy: Narcissus ‘Toto’ AGM
When I set out to post daily on the subject of daffodils, little did I know how distracting this week’s almost perfect gardening weather would be. The opportunity to spend two unbroken days outside...
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Daffodil Week: Going Public
Nothing is more cheering on a sunny spring day than a broad swathe of daffodils emerging from lengthening grass, or a delicate cloud of cherry blossom hovering in the air. Driving out of Canterbury...
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Turning Point
The flowering of the magnolia marks a turning point in our London garden. It’s a fleeting moment, the petals falling just as they appear to be reaching their prime, but it’s a magical moment all the...
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Enchanted April
It really has been the most remarkable April. So far not a single drop of rain has fallen on either of our gardens and, although night temperatures have hovered just above freezing, the days have been...
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Planting a Narrow Border for Spring Colour
Memories of summer may still linger, but it’s time for us gardeners to be looking forward to next year. There are bulbs to plant, perennials to divide and seed catalogues to browse. It’s like spring,...
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