Notes on growing ornamentals and edibles, and musings on other matters that interest me.
Got a little planting today today, including this gorgeous purple-leaved Geranium. This is Geranium pratense ‘Black ‘n’ White’. I guess ‘aubergine-purple and white’ didn’t have the same ring to it! I picked it up on a recent visit to Aberglasney …
If you grow hardneck garlic, you’ll end up with scapes in late Spring/early Summer (full info here). A simple way to preserve them is to freeze them, viz: Step 1: First, cut them up roughly. Step 2: Put them in …
Gardeners frequently dream of bigger, better etc. More space, more plants. And I’ve definitely had that dream. But my health can no longer manage a big garden, and our new garden is about a third of the size of our …
Aberglasney Gardens is a good example of a the value of second chances. We visited Aberglasney, in the Tywi Valley, Carmarthenshire (Wales), more than 15 years ago, and all I recall is it felt dim and uninviting. It was towards …
After weeks, and weeks, and weeks of rain, the sun finally shone. Just in time for the Easter weekend – hurrah! So off we stroll/rolled down to the lakes to get some sun, Spring air, and increase in our allergies …
If you’ve ever checked my bio on social media, it usually includes the sentence “…also loves pre-1660 British history…”. I love medieval and early modern British history (my degree was in the latter), and these days I’m particularly interested in …
One of the great delights of winter and early spring, come from a rather small, almost insignificant, white flower, of sweet box. You don’t really notice the flowers. It’s the fragrance you’ll notice. You’ll be walking down the street and …
The first phase of the landscaping was finished last week! It looks bare now, but it is ready for planting. To remind you what it looked like previously: And now: The empty paved area will be for the chairs, table …
Um, it’s taken me a bit a time to get around to writing a follow up post to that written in August 2021. Somehow life, moving from South Yorkshire to South Wales, and more life, well, it got in the …
The last few months I’ve been thinking a lot about how to design my new back garden. With the past couple of gardens, I confess, my plans were based on hope. I mean, all garden plans are, but mine were …