Gardening

Horticulture and global warming in Britain are rarely considered together. Horticulture is a dirty word these days, as are all jobs that utilise the land. However, it has a long history in [...]

Gardening is a sensuous hobby because it is all about fertility. Consequently, if we gardeners are not spawning vegetables and fruit then we are growing flowers. Success feeds the senses, not the [...]

I needed some seed potatoes and could only buy 20 earlies, called Rocket, on the internet. The internet reviews were pretty bad; tasteless and bland was the summary. However, beggars cannot be [...]

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 [...]