SPOTLIGHTS & FEATURES

It's May in my garden again already, where is this year going? I think it may have something to do with the recent glorious Easter sunshine, but our garden has just exploded with Spring colour. Warning: this is going to be a VERY photo-heavy post because there is just so much going on this month! What's flowering now? Sadly, with one or two exceptions, many of our tulips failed to flower. However, they are well over five years old and most of them are in pots. Looking on

Easter's late this year but that hasn't stopped the glorious burst of colour and fragrance in my garden this month. If March's signature colour was yellow, Nature has added purple and white to her April palette. Like the stunning narcissi in our orchard (cover picture). I know I say this all the time but April in my garden is one of my favourite months, there's just so much to revel in. Although my husband is less keen now that it's grass cutting season again... What's fl

If the calender hadn't told me it's March in my garden then the swathes of gorgeous flowers giving it a spring glow up would do so. There's colour everywhere, which is always a welcome sight at this time of year. I've written before about the rewards bulbs and corms give for very little effort, and this month's fabulous display is no exception. Apologies in advance for a very photo-heavy post! What's flowering now? While the daffodil is probably the flower most people asso

And just like that, the longest month of the year is over and it’s February in my garden once again. February also happens to be my birthday month so my darling husband has very kindly lent me his credit card for the looooong list of bulbs, seeds and plants in my sights :) What's flowering now? Not a great deal at the moment. My beautiful Japanese quince (Chaenomeles) is still putting out some spectacular bright red blooms (see cover pic). Unfortunately, she’s rooted throu

Happy New Year! Although admittedly, it does feel strange to write that when we’re two thirds of the way through the month already. Anyway, after a much needed festive break, it’s time to take stock and have a look at January in my garden once again. What's flowering now? Not much at this time of year, the garden is in its resting phase. Most plants are conserving energy and concentrating on their roots, ready to put on a burst of colour and fragrance in spring. It’s actu

I can’t believe how quickly time comes around, it really doesn’t seem that long ago I was writing last December’s gardening post. But now it’s December in my garden once again and time to see what’s giving my garden a festive feel. Including the beautiful Christmas Rose helleborus niger (cover pic) which is glowing in the damp shade of our orchard wall. What's flowering now? Winter is usually the time when plants have died back and you can see the bare bones structure of yo

When I wrote last month’s gardening post, the sun was shining and everything seemed to be blossoming and fruiting. Fast forward a few weeks to September in my garden and what a change. As I write, it’s overcast and raining. And there’s a distinct chill in the air at night. Autumn is definitely on her way. What's flowering now? Not as much as this time last year, sadly. I think the heatwave earlier this year meant that everything flowered early and then suffered with the

Where does time go? I can’t believe I’ve been writing my monthly garden posts for a whole year now, and it’s time to think about August in my garden again already. But this year will be very different to last year due to the heatwave we’ve been enjoying (or not, as the case may be…) What's flowering now? As you may have noticed from the cover picture, our sunflowers are quite literally celebrating in all the sunshine. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them grow so tall or so flo

How are we halfway through the year already? Well, on the bright side, our garden and I have both been relishing this prolonged spell of sunshine, even though I’m spending far too much time with the hosepipe… So what’s been happening and what am I looking forward to during July in the garden? What's flowering now? Our roses are still flowering, not quite as abundantly as last month, but we still have plenty nonetheless. Deadheading roses is one of my least favourite tasks b

I missed the first few days of June in the garden as we went away at the end of May, but my goodness, what a lot of changes can happen in just two weeks. This is the month that everything starts blooming in earnest with fresh colour, fragrance and fruit everywhere you look. Yes, summer’s here at last! What's flowering now? Roses, roses, and more roses. June is THE month for most roses in our garden. We’ve got a lovely fragrant Paul’s Himalayan Musk scrambling through our peac

And just like that, the first quarter of the year is over and we’re now looking at May in the garden – where does time go? The recent mix of sunshine and showers has made everything green up almost overnight and lots of flowers are beginning to burst into life at last. Like the delicate pale pink honey scented flowers on our Japanese cherry tree in the cover picture – I’ve been picking a few sprays for bedside posies and the fragrance is just beautiful. What's flowering now?

Just because spring is trying to do a vanishing act this year doesn't mean April in the garden is an easy ride. There's a whole host of jobs to be done in preparation for the growing season (once it finally gets underway). And it's the time of year my husband dreads - yes, it's the start of grass cutting! Weed, feed, mulch Last month we sowed a lot of our flower and vegetable seeds into module pots and trays to grow on in the house on window ledges and in the greenhouse. This

It feels like Spring has been a very long time coming but she’s finally here, and March in the garden marks the true start of the gardener’s year. The splashes of colour I mentioned in February’s post are still around (despite the recent snow) and are multiplying fast! Alas, I have to confess I didn’t get around to any seed sowing in February so I need to get cracking now. Seeds to sow now At the beginning of March, Flora and I sowed our tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peas, hon

After a very long and fairly miserable January, February in the garden heralds the start of seed sowing and the beginnings of little splashes of colour in the garden. Purple and yellow crocuses, snowdrops, pink cyclamen, and purple irises are all beginning to appear, and even a few early tete-a-tetes (miniature daffodils). You may remember from my January post that I couldn’t remember where I’d planted my pink hellebores – whoop, whoop, I can now, they’re coming through bea

As a gardener, I quite like this time of year and January is my planning ahead month. There’s not a lot of colour or growth so I can see the shape and layout of my garden more clearly. Where there are gaps, what might complement existing shrubs, and of course those few December jobs left that I didn’t manage in the gallop up to Christmas. And it’s when I browse my favourite plant catalogues to order in for 2018 – sorry, not sorry, bank account. Planning ahead Walking around,