-
Garden Diary – Was the Baby Robin after my purple chillies?
One morning, as I was photographing my purple chillies, a fledgling Robin appeared in the greenhouse. It ran around my tomato plants seeming quite confused, but after a short time it found the door and flew onto my outside chair. What a lovely start to my day! It was certainly rather breezy and drizzly last week, and I said to lots of people, “if we do get a heatwave next week and I’m moaning it’s too hot, just remind me about this horrible weather”. I don’t know how the poor bees hang onto the flowers when they’re bobbing all over the place! I captured one bee on my purple Geranium…
-
Garden Diary – June – New Border, Roses & Strawberries
June means summer flowers and the produce properly getting going. Roses in full bloom scenting the air, the taste of our first strawberry and my one and only peony coming out, after me worrying it had died over winter. I like June! Campanulas have been popping up in the wilder border but more surprisingly in the opposite woodland border, where I certainly didn’t plant them. That’ll be my little wildlife friend’s. We had the first two ripe strawberries at the beginning of the week, but by Sunday we had a proper dish full for breakfast. I can’t believe, that neither the many squirrels or blackbirds haven’t spotted them yet. Long…
-
Garden Diary – Heatwaves to fleeces, roses and DIY!
Well, that’s the end of May, and what a funny weather month it’s been! I think we’ve had every weather type accept snow. At least we’ve ended on a hot note. It’s a long time since we’ve had a bank holiday as warm as that, great for all the families on half term! Unfortunately we spent the whole weekend inside, as we’ve finally had our new kitchen delivered and we were attempting to work out what went where! As it happens, it was far too hot to be gardening anyway, accept of course for the seemingly endless watering. I don’t mind normal watering every few days, but the greenhouse needed…
-
Garden Diary – Raindrops on roses to wilting in the heat
Seriously, can you believe our British weather? It’s 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 ‘April’ showers. Worrying about the freshly opened flowers being ruined. And bursting into song about, ‘raindrops on roses…’ 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,…
-
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 🌸🩷 Bought as a tiny plant last year, it’s already going for it! Obviously taken in yesterday’s sunshine, as it’s persisting down this morning 💦💦💦💦💦 #MagentaMonday #pinkflowers Tuesday 12th May 2026 My new little Scabiosa is strutting its stuff for #tuesdayblue 💜💙 Tulips still flowering for yet another #tuliptuesday 🌸🌷🤍 What a wonderfully long season it’s been 🌷🌷🌷🌷 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 🐝🥰 #wildlifewednesday #happydays #bees #savethebees Thursday 14th May…
-
Garden Diary – Time to smell the roses, but mind the new fly!
Monday 4th May 2026 Lots of yummy strawberries on the way 🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓 Just need to keep squirrel Nutkin off 🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️ #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 🌿🤍🌿🤍🌿🤍 Wishing you all a super bank holiday Monday 🌞💦 #bankholidayweekend #whiteflowers Tuesday 5th May 2026 After a big chop last year, I’m relieved my rhododendron has survived & is still flowering 🌿💜🌿💜🌿💜🌿 The sun finally came out around 6 last night, this seems to be so often the way ☀️ #TuesdayBlue #rhododendron Wednesday 6th May 2026 As ever, the first rose to…
-
Garden Diary – Tomatoes in, pears on the way & yet more tulips!
Monday 20th April 2026 Anemone ‘bee surprise’, a hybrid created by my little flying friends 🐝❤️💙🩷 Isn’t it gorgeous 😍 #magentamonday #bloomscrolling Tuesday 21st April 2026 Yeh, tomatoes planted 🤗 This always feels like the proper start of the kitchen garden 🪴🍅🍅🍅 #tomatotuesday Friday 1st May 2026 Morning, my orange Azalea ‘Gibraltar’ has started to bloom in this week’s beautiful warm, sunny weather 🌿🧡❤️🌿 #FlowersOnFriday #Azalea #bloomscrolling I’m over the moon that these beautiful, long lived tulips have come back! Bought from wilkos years ago, called ‘big blue’ they didn’t turn up last year & I thought they’d rotted. Hurray 🌿🌷💜🌷💜🌿 #FlowersOnFriday #tulips #bloomscrolling Saturday 2nd May 2026 Do you…
-
Garden Diary – And yet more Tulips!
Tuesday 14th April 2026 The tulips are lasting well. Some early varieties have been & gone but it’s proving to be a good year for them 🌷🌷🌷 #tuliptuesday I was so busy yesterday, I forgot #magentamonday which these would have been at home with 💕💕💕💕💕 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 they’re in the border & providing food for my little friends 🌿🌸🐝💕 #wildlifewednesday #insects #bloomscrolling Thursday 16th April 2026 My new favourite tulip ❤️🤍❤️🤍 Although it does change daily, I love them…
-
Garden Diary – It’s time for a Tulip explosion!
Monday 6th April 2026 Tulip ‘Little beauty’ are back for a second year 🌿💕🌷 And the super thing about them, is they’re a species variety so will come back every year, multiplying too 🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷 #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 🌿🧡🌷🩷🌿 Apparently we’re in for the warmest day of the year today 🌞 #TulipTuesday Wednesday 8th April 2026 The third of my miniature species Tulips came out in yesterday’s sunshine ☀️ She’s called ‘Little Princess’ & like the pink & white ones, she too comes back every year and multiplies 🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡 #tulips she…
-
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. I’m 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 it’s the wrong colour! Eight supposedly dark pink tulips called ‘Ronaldo’, came up red. Serves me right for buying tulips named after a footballer lol. This seems to be happening more and more, I’ve tried twice to order an orange iris…
