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Garden Diary – Raindrops on roses to wilting in the heat
Seriously, can you believe our British weather? Itās no wonder it makes up a huge amount of our national conversation. We started last week with the heating on, moaning about all the rain. Discussing how April had clearly got mixed up with May, as we endured heavy āAprilā showers. Worrying about the freshly opened flowers being ruined. And bursting into song about, āraindrops on rosesā¦ā surely everyone was brought up on The sound of music? And then, by the end of the bank holiday weekend we were all moaning we were too hot! Struggling to keep up with the watering, especially in the greenhouse where twice a day was necessary,…
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Garden Diary – Last of the tulips as the hot colours arrive!
Monday 11th May 2026 Cirsium rivulare brand new to my garden, in my new border šøš©· Bought as a tiny plant last year, itās already going for it! Obviously taken in yesterdayās sunshine, as itās persisting down this morning š¦š¦š¦š¦š¦ #MagentaMonday #pinkflowers Tuesday 12th May 2026 My new little Scabiosa is strutting its stuff for #tuesdayblue šš Tulips still flowering for yet another #tuliptuesday šøš·š¤ What a wonderfully long season itās been š·š·š·š· Wednesday 13th May 2026 I rescued this bumblebee a few years ago, when I found it one morning in a wet dahlia. It drank, dried out & flew off šš„° #wildlifewednesday #happydays #bees #savethebees Thursday 14th May…
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Garden Diary – Time to smell the roses, but mind the new fly!
Monday 4th May 2026 Lots of yummy strawberries on the way ššššš Just need to keep squirrel Nutkin off šæļøšæļøšæļøšæļø #kitchengarden #growyourown #Homegrown The Rhodo down in the white garden, against next doors Bramley (yes scrumping does go on), at the beginning of the bank holiday weekend šæš¤šæš¤šæš¤ Wishing you all a super bank holiday Monday šš¦ #bankholidayweekend #whiteflowers Tuesday 5th May 2026 After a big chop last year, Iām relieved my rhododendron has survived & is still flowering šæššæššæššæ The sun finally came out around 6 last night, this seems to be so often the way āļø #TuesdayBlue #rhododendron Wednesday 6th May 2026 As ever, the first rose to…
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Garden Diary – Tomatoes in, pears on the way & yet more tulips!
Monday 20th April 2026 Anemone ābee surpriseā, a hybrid created by my little flying friends šā¤ļøšš©· Isnāt it gorgeous š #magentamonday #bloomscrolling Tuesday 21st April 2026 Yeh, tomatoes planted š¤ This always feels like the proper start of the kitchen garden šŖ“š š š #tomatotuesday Friday 1st May 2026 Morning, my orange Azalea āGibraltarā has started to bloom in this weekās beautiful warm, sunny weather šæš§”ā¤ļøšæ #FlowersOnFriday #Azalea #bloomscrolling Iām over the moon that these beautiful, long lived tulips have come back! Bought from wilkos years ago, called ābig blueā they didnāt turn up last year & I thought theyād rotted. Hurray šæš·šš·ššæ #FlowersOnFriday #tulips #bloomscrolling Saturday 2nd May 2026 Do you…
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Garden Diary – And yet more Tulips!
Tuesday 14th April 2026 The tulips are lasting well. Some early varieties have been & gone but itās proving to be a good year for them š·š·š· #tuliptuesday I was so busy yesterday, I forgot #magentamonday which these would have been at home with ššššš Wednesday 15th April 2926 I sowed these Hollyhocks late last year & they grew like mad in the greenhouse, even producing a flower in mid-winter! Anyway they are shooting for the sky now theyāre in the border & providing food for my little friends šæšøšš #wildlifewednesday #insects #bloomscrolling Thursday 16th April 2026 My new favourite tulip ā¤ļøš¤ā¤ļøš¤ Although it does change daily, I love them…
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Garden Diary – Itās time for a Tulip explosion!
Monday 6th April 2026 Tulip āLittle beautyā are back for a second year šæšš· And the super thing about them, is theyāre a species variety so will come back every year, multiplying too š·š·š·š·š· #magentamonday #tulips #bankholiday #eastermonday Tuesday 7th April 2026 Tulip ‘Slawa’ is a new one for me this year. I do love the bi-coloured blooms šæš§”š·š©·šæ Apparently weāre in for the warmest day of the year today š #TulipTuesday Wednesday 8th April 2026 The third of my miniature species Tulips came out in yesterdayās sunshine āļø Sheās called ‘Little Princess’ & like the pink & white ones, she too comes back every year and multiplies š§”š§”š§”š§”š§” #tulips she…
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Garden Diary – A Windy Easter Break with Tulip Mania
Easter week started off sunny with a cool breeze, but the wind cranked up by the weekend! As the tulips started coming out in force, I found myself once again thinking about tulip mania that hit the world in the 17th century. Iām quite sure it would have grabbed me, I do love them so. Unfortunately though, I had one of those annoying surprises, where a flower blooms and itās the wrong colour! Eight supposedly dark pink tulips called āRonaldoā, came up red.Ā Serves me right for buying tulips named after a footballer lol. This seems to be happening more and more, Iāve tried twice to order an orange iris…
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Garden Diary – Newts, green bugs & crazy bees!
Itās was a proper wildlife week, with the newts in full mating season chasing each other around the pond. Insects returning all around the garden, including the green shield bugs making an appearance. But most bizarre was a bee looking insect that was flying in such a crazy way. Darting from flower to flower with a most manic action. It also had its glossa (tongue) out as it was flying. I was quite pleased that I managed to video it and posted it on social media, tagging the ābumblebee trustā to ask for help with identification. To my delight someone on instagram identified it as a āfemale hairy footed flower…
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Garden Diary – Lets catch-up on Spring!
Have you ever heard anyone say that they donāt like Spring? I havenāt. Iād say itās most peopleās favourite season, itās just such an optimistic time of the year. Not just for us gardeners, but especially for us gardeners! All those, not very attractive bulbs we planted in the autumn are bursting into flower. And making us glad that we bothered now that weāre rewarded with bright colours. And this week saw the first tulips arrive to the colour party. Iāve gradually been planting more hyacinths into the borders and theyāre perfuming the air as I get into the garden more. I have them in a pot for at least…
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Garden Diary – The Big Catch-up
Gosh, I think weāre in need of a bit of a catch-up! As there wasnāt much going on in the garden at the beginning of the year, combined with, rather a lot going on inside the house – yes renovations continueā¦ I decided to have a short break from the socials. I ended up having six weeks off daily posting and was a bit sporadic to begin with. But as the garden started bursting into life I got back into my stride. Unfortunately I just havenāt had time to put it all together for you, until now. The big catch up As ever, the first gardening job of the year…
