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RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024 Part 2 – The Great Pavilion
When I finally gave in to temptation and ventured into the great pavilion, it hadn’t yet started raining. With hindsight I probably should have stayed outside a bit longer but as this was my favourite part of Chelsea on my last visit in 2021, I simply couldn’t pass another entrance. In we go! Floral Creations The entrance I had chosen was right by the floral installations, which at one time I wouldn’t have been that interested in, but in recent years I’ve developed much more of an appreciation for what we used to call ‘flower arranging’. As well as the more traditional flower creations displayed on a plinth, there was…
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RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024 – Part 1 The Show Gardens
I feel extremely lucky to have been able to attend a second RHS Chelsea Flower Show.The first one I had the pleasure of visiting was in 2021 and as a result of the world wide Covid-19 pandemic it was held in the autumn for the first time in their hundred plus year history.So it was wonderful to be able to attend this year, with it back at its usual time slot of late May – not that you would have guessed from our unpredictable weather. Monday the 20th May was the opening day and the sun shone pushing the temperatures up into the mid 20’s. A perfect day for the…
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The Garden is Calling!
I’m sure you all think I’ve deserted you over the last few months but I just haven’t had a minute to let you know what’s been going on in the garden. Truth is, the bare minimum but every now and again I feel the garden calling! The house renovations continue at a slow pace, sometimes two steps forwards and one step back! But it will come to an end – one day! And I will be able to devote much more time to doing what makes me truly happy and relaxed – gardening. In the meantime I’ve just about kept my head above water with the gardening jobs, although we…
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Where’s January going? It’s disappearing at an alarming rate!
Where’s January going, it’s disappearing at an alarming rate as this year has started off as madly as I left last year, the house alterations are still in full swing, with skilled people coming and going, meaning extra early mornings to be out of the shower before they start arriving! Also constant vigilance of the milk situation, as neither the garden apprentice or I use much milk (normally). The kettle has never been used so much since we bought it over 12 years ago – it’s age probably tells you everything you need to know. It’s a good job we only have heating in half of the house as the…
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Fallen down the rabbit hole
Just before Christmas my mum went to a mad hatter’s tea party and knowing I like all sorts of fancy dress, presented me with the top hat she’d been given. I thought, gosh, this really sums up my year, as at times it’s felt like I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole. I’m sure you’ve noticed the blogs getting less frequent. Well it’s been a bit of a trying eighteen months, with sadness, stress and extreme tiredness. It’s involved losses, health scares, four house moves (not mine) and lots of ongoing building work (definitely mine). Don’t get me wrong, I know all too well that my problems pale into insignificance compared…
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Super Simple Green Tomato Chutney
What do you do with all those left over green tomatoes? Green tomato chutney of course! It’s been the best tomato harvest I’ve ever had, and that’s saying something as I’ve been growing tomatoes longer than any other crop. By September I already knew this was the best harvest I’d ever had, but October just kept on giving. More tomato salads; the fruit bowl with a constant supply of cherry sized tomatoes to snack on; and even more tomato sauce for the freezer. As we slipped into November they just kept on ripening. This is now the second November that I’ve had ripe tomatoes, last year though the supply had…
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5 Perennial Plants for late colour in the garden – Part 3
And so to my final five perennial plants for late colour in the garden. When we get to September it’s easy to start thinking the garden season is coming to an end as many plants begin to die back, but with the right perennial plants mixed into your borders, you can go on having colour right into winter. I have all five of these plants in various forms and although some are only just about holding on to a few flowers, others are still flowering profusely here in November. As our climate warms up and we have less severe frosts, the late flowering plants go on and on which is…
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October/November – The best time to sow Broad Beans!
October and November are the best months to sow your broad beans. I always used to sow mine in early spring, but when we moved here a neighbour told me that he always sowed his in autumn. I was shocked saying, “surely any frost will kill them”, but he assured me that they are really tough little plants and that his had always survived. His reason for doing it was the lack of black-fly because of cropping so early. I had to give it a go! That autumn I did as he said, simply direct sowing the beans where I wanted them to grow. Within a few weeks they had…
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5 Perennial Plants for late colour in the garden – Part 2
As I talked about in part 1 of, five perennial plants for late colour in the garden, after finding myself with pretty much no colour in my late summer border years ago, I was determined to seek out plants that carried on flowering until the first frosts. This certainly keeps my spirits up as we descend into winter as much of the garden is dying back, but also (more importantly) gives an invaluable source of nectar to the insects before they settle down and hibernate through the coldest months. Of course like all gardeners, I am still learning about, and discovering new plants to grow to expand the flowering season,…
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5 Perennial Plants for late colour in the garden – Part 1
I’m really pleased this year with the amount of late colour my perennial plants are still giving. I remember distinctly in the first garden I created, getting to August with just one plant still in flower and thinking, “where’s all the colour gone”? I set about learning which plants gave late summer colour and started incorporated them into my borders. When we arrived here and started to create a wildlife friendly garden from scratch, I was determined to have flowers for as much of the year as possible. This wasn’t just for my benefit but for the insects needing fuel, especially later in the year before going into winter. I’m…
