I can’t believe that our long, very cold winter and spring, have played a part of the substantial amount of flowers appearing on shrubs and trees. Even in the car, the smell from the number of blossoms along the roadside, can be appreciated. The elder is a useful tree to have, the delightful umbrella of … More Heavenly Scents
Leaving the garden for a while, the sweet perfumes still permeate the roadside air with blossom covered hawthorn. It reminds me of my last house with the long hawthorn hedge. It helped keep intruders out, provided safe nesting for birds, was a haven for many insects and an absolute pain to trim. Even wielding the … More Road Scents
The first to strike me when going outdoors, is the smell of the lilac. Perhaps the sub-zero temperatures have given trees a good rest over winter and their pent-up energy is the result. I don’t think I have seen the lilac with so many blooms before. The pink rhododendron is also still in flower. Bluebells, … More Pretty, Pink And Perfumed
It is such a joy to walk into the greenhouse and see flowers appearing on the plants for the first time. For so long now, the inside of the greenhouse has just been that – green. Now the seedlings are growing up and flower buds appearing, it’s time to make sure they get enough feed … More The New Arrivals
I am fortunate enough to have bought my greenhouse many years ago, when I moved to my current abode. I’ve also received a lot of gardening gifts over the years, so although I have a reasonable amount of gardening sundries, I started thinking just how much I could do if I didn’t have any or couldn’t … More Free For All
It seems to be whatever nature has done, man thinks he can do better. Humans are never happy with what they have been given. Plants, animals, birds and insects have a sense of naturally adapting to their surroundings without human intervention. They live according to their needs but humans can’t, they have always got to … More To Err Is Human (Naturally)
How often I have taken a plant, dead or alive, out of it’s pot only to see it’s roots packed tightly in it, often curling round in the pot. I lost a lovely acer, which I had had for many years because I didn’t check the bottom of the pot. It was a heavyweight earthenware … More Airfix In The Garden
They are only secret seeds because I bought them and forgot about them, so it is a pleasant surprise when I discover them again. Zantedeschia aethiopica ‘Green Goddess’, an arum lily with a white flower with green tips. Poisonous but so many common plants are at some point in their lives and we don’t think about them … More My Secret Seeds
This year I am trying different slug deterrents. Slugs do have their uses, but it would appear that they don’t adhere to terms and conditions – my terms that is. In an ecological system, they should work with other creatures to clear the land of dead matter and debris, in order for the next generation … More Gastropods, Pubs And Patisseries
We have been given this planet and yet we abuse it because we think we know best. The grass isn’t green enough, it’s too long, it’s not short enough etc. so we redesign the land of which we have been made guardians. We spray dangerous chemicals and artificial fertilisers and destroy land for the sake of … More The Rewilding Experiment
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