Well, things warmed up a tad in July didn’t they? We deliberated on the ethics of pouring water onto the garden, we bucketed the bathwater and dropped house bricks in toilet cisterns to reduce the flush, but despite our best-efforts things crisped and many things ran swiftly to seed. Onions were very quick to bolt,Read More
Well, we slipped through June without a scratch, the gardens were all planted up early as is still the norm in years of Royal celebration and the weather was ok. There was a curious undulation in temperatures almost on an hourly cycle, we would see changes that had temperatures rising and then crashing. The windRead More
Another curious month. May just rolled in and out again. Nothing particularly dramatic to flag up the crossing from spring to summer. As gardeners we see May as the turning point, the demarcation that allows a confident march into safer times for planting. Through the earlier days we watch over our shoulders for treacherous turnsRead More
April swept through, delivering a festival of blossom, Magnolias trumpeted with pomp and the confetti of cherry blossom held teasingly everywhere. The daffodils and tulips held on, whilst bluebells picked up the excitement and popped up everywhere. With each new day leaf bud appeared and soft lime growth unfolded to announce that spring was here.Read More
Was there really a month of March? I think that I must have lost it somewhere, I guess that I was just too busy to notice it’s passing. I remember the tease of new buds and the rush to get my pruning finished, I remember the blooming splendour of Magnolias everywhere and wondering if, asRead More
Another month gone already, nothing particularly dramatic about it, no stormy punctuations, just a very mild grey block of time, a chilly wind and just enough rain to disrupt. Whilst there have been a few cold nights, it’s been the mildness that has brought the greatest confusion. The squirrels have kept busy, the magpies haveRead More
November, true to form, delivered autumn and the colours have been amazing. Across the last ten years I have planted quite a few native trees and this year have been rewarded with a stunning show. Even the domestic planting has been generous with Maples, Liquidambar and very noticeably Cotinus and Gingko all showing off. AsRead More
Who switched the lights off? Suddenly the season has turned, spurred over the line by the tweaking of time and the disappearance of daylight by 5.00pm. The smells have changed too, there is a damp mustiness as fallen leaves moulder. The livestock still skips about, rats, mice and squirrels all foraging, gathering and storing inRead More
And there it was gone, the summer just upped and left, making way for autumn. By early September many plants looked close to surrender as the dry weather thumped them and there was a fair amount of early leaf fall. The gardens have been reasonably productive, even without the rain. The beans have been ok,Read More
September is upon us. What delights will this one hold? Traditionally it’s the month that marks the turn of the season, but the muddle of the last month has had me wondering which season we are changing. August was a mish mash of a month, delivering all that meteorology has to offer. We had someRead More