I have a bit of a collecting habit, for plants that is. I love plants almost to the exclusion of all else and consequently find myself seeking out those rarities and commoners that I want to grow, and then adding their friends and other finds along the way. Why grow one colour when you can…
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7 rewarding later summer perennial plants
Later-ish summer perennials that go on flowering and flowering are a bonus for the gardener and for the wildlife feeding and foraging in our green spaces. The light begins to change a we head towards Autumn and the golden hues are embellished by the shift in light quality. Richer, a bit more saturated, a touch…
Continue ReadingIris
It’s usually May that’s my busy month with Iris but this year it’s all been a bit delayed with a sudden cold snap and then the winds and then the next cold snap and, well you get the picture. Happily my lovely collection of Iris have managed to flower really well this year, taking advantage…
Continue ReadingTODOS – April
March screeched to an end and then the wind howled around the house for what seemed like an age. Spring seemed in full retreat until late last week, now it’s back in force. Of course the risk here is those of us growing seedlings inside are lulled into a false sense of security and send…
Continue ReadingGrowing a Cutting Garden – WK4 Arranging
On paper, having grown enough flowers to fill several small shops we now need to know what to do with them. This for me has always been one of the hardest jobs, I love flowers and the house is full of bunches through spring and summer but artfully arranging them?, well that’s quite another thing….
Continue ReadingGrowing a Cutting Garden – WK3 Maintenance
The most challenging week of the course so far. Maintenance and planning are crucial to this type of gardening. Miss a sowing period and in some cases you’ve had it for that year. Interesting to find out that most of us start too early, I am guilty of this in my enthusiasm to get going…
Continue ReadingGrowing a Cutting Garden – WK2 Plant Palettes
I had forgotten how much time these information packed courses demand if one is to make the absolute most of the teacher and their time. Unplanned interruptions for me in week 2 made it a rush to complete in the given timescale, although Charlie is so charming going over a few days wouldn’t be a…
Continue ReadingGrowing a Cutting Garden – WK1 Planning
Week one of the The Cutting Garden course from My-Garden-School went well. I find I am working for myself, out on a freezing morning surveying my current plots. Being a designer is a bit like being the cobblers children (no shoes!). You almost never have time to plan, in entirety, your own plot. Sections yes…
Continue ReadingCut Flower gardening
Keeping to the ‘Slight Edge‘ approach, continual study, expansion of personal experience and knowledge is vital as a designer. This January I’ve been asked to follow, and blog about, another great course from the My Garden School Team Growing a Cutting Garden. I experimented a good deal last year with a dedicated patch for growing…
Continue ReadingDahlia
August, well almost September is the time of Dahlia’s big and blousey through to pom pom and petite. They are making a come back into gardens and editorials but really for some have never been out of favour. The late summer blaze of colour and exuberance is completely captivating and the more you deadhead the more…
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