Gardening

The word passion appeals to me; am I getting to be a dirty old man? Yes, is the answer but the dirt is soil. Oops, I hate soil being called dirt so I must not correlate the two words. Soil really [...]

Once again, I am a slave to nature. However, I recall the condition from years before so it is not new to me. It is a state whereby the garden demands constant action from me, most of it hard [...]

Many councils in the UK are declaring a climate emergency including my own in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP). As a result, they have an action plan that has 153 measures to become [...]

It’s an age thing, the need for artificial grass. As I grow older and less well I envisaged plastic grass as no less essential than a Stannah stairlift. There comes a time in the life of [...]

The post arrived today, reminding me that bulb catalogue fever is a seasonal ailment. Impulse buying is not my weakness, except when it comes to plants. The geranium speaks of summer sun. I look [...]

I just love growing lilies. The blousiness, the exotic odour, the haughty demeanor, all the things that I am not. Perhaps this contrast between a gardener and his favourite flowers has a deep [...]

BBC Springwatch asked us to enter our gardens into Gardenwatch and we did so. It seemed an apt moment because a nest of long tailed tits had erupted into our garden. Yet, disappointment arose [...]

In my recent book I mention that Zuri, in 2200 BC, never knew a lawn, that lawns never existed in prehistory. In truth, that might not be strictly correct. A lawn is defined as a flat area of [...]

“I promise that I will never buy you a bunch of flowers.” It’s a promise that I have kept to my wife because British flowers have disappeared. It doesn’t make me seem [...]

As a pensioner gardener, I assumed that most people know what bedding is, but I am clearly wrong. I noticed some wallflowers on sale in the centre of Christchurch. They were in bunches of ten, [...]