Voilà Violas!
By good fortune, whether from wind or birds, these violas self-seeded in my garden. As if to say, Voilà! They are very pretty. This one is my favourite. I plan on letting them self-seed and will then choose the best …
Winter Garden
Florespondence: Helle-not-so-boring
Hellebores, they aren’t so boring. I’m sure that’s been said a lot, but look at them – such beauty! The yellow ones are in the front garden, and the pinks and purples in the back garden. Helleborus x hybridus Harvington …
Honeybees: notes from a talk by a beekeeper
Crocus ‘Gipsy Girl’ with a honey bee, February 2019 The speaker at the recent South Pennines Hardy Plant Society was a beekeeper, Simon Croson, and I picked up some useful info on Honeybees that I thought I’d share. The Queen …
Obligatory snow blogpost
Much of the UK is under snow at the moment, and in the tradition of whenever it snows in the UK, this is my obligatory snow blogpost. It’s short, coz you know, I’m not actually going outside in it! This …
In praise of: Cyclamen coum
January, mid-Winter. The days are a mix of cold with blue skies and damp with grey skies. Indifferent to the weather, Cyclamen coum is a burst of much-welcomed colour. It’s also known as the Eastern cyclamen as it originates from …
A frosty reception
Geranium ‘Ann Folkard’ In my post on a moment of observation last week, I mentioned that I was going to start a daily walk around the garden. This is both to encourage myself to get out there, even if only …
Photo essay: snowdrops & other winter delights at Hodsock Priory
Our annual snowdrop pilgrimage saw us to return to Hodsock Priory this year (last year we visited Colesbourne Park), bringing our friends J-P and Kate with us. Although it was a rather cloudy overcast day and bitterly cold, this didn’t …
Garden visit: Anglesey Abbey (photo essay, 3rd visit)
I have previously written about the winter garden at Anglesey Abbey, in February 2012 and March 2011. Kevin’s mum lives in Cambridge so yearly visits can usually be made. We only missed 2013 as we were busy preparing to move …