landscape and garden design in Clapham, London
On Saturday 26th November 2016 the SGD hosted a conference about the use of shrubs in gardens. I went along hoping to learn t
We all have them, a list of plants we dislike. Yet every now and then something happens that turns our opinion on its head. C
This video is quite long but the presentation within it is important and well worth watching in full. It talks about the impor
One of the joys of living in London, the forest city, is discovering one of its many parks for the first time. Today I walked
Yamadori is the Japanese word for collecting wild trees to grow as bonsai. Today, while rustling through the wildflowers, I p
I grow our garden as much for wildlife as for design and plants. Wildlife adds many layers of enjoyment, interest and a dynami
This year I took on my allotment and I designated one bed for garden design experiments. Deeply inspired by Planting in a Post
Our experimental garden is now in its third year with lots to fix but standing back and overall the atmosphere is coming toget
Michael Perry invited me and a group of other gardening bloggers to have a tour of the Thompson & Morgan trial field today
Between 2015- 2016 I put peat free compost to the ultimate test, I only used peat free compost for every single plant I grew.
The best thing I’ve added to our border this year (I think so far) is Nicotiana alata ‘Lime Green’ – i
My friend Pete Langley took me to a secret location on the South Downs one sunny summer evening this week to see some of our
This is my third year at the Chelsea Flower Show and it remains an emotional experience. Excitement, inspiration. Admiration f
I’ll have more blog posts this week with my photos and thoughts from the Chelsea Flower Show 2016, but I wanted to quick
Either I’m inexplicably inept at gardening, or living in the big smoke is providing a world of gardening pain that you&#
Tulips: the last two years I’ve tried growing some tulips and it went horribly wrong. Especially last year with a “
Brutalist, futurist. Despite the concrete, the Barbican exudes such atmosphere and style that you’ll feel as though you
In 2016 my two main plant experiments to improve my knowledge of gardening are going to be: 1) vegetables and 2) grasses. Let&
In late 2013 I discovered Dahlias. As unbelievable as that might sound to gardeners who have grown up with them for decades,
January is the time to get organised, wash pots carefully to kill nasties, enjoy browsing the many glossy seed and plant catal
One of my top priorities for 2015 was to have a garden grown as a nature reserve, making sure there is lots on offer for nec
Back at the start of 2014, when my love of gardening ignited and shot off like an uncontrollable rocket, I was taken with the
Christmas trees are brilliant. However the way they are sold can be a bit wasteful, cost you more money than it should and lea
The London Garden Bridge is fairly hotly debated. On the face of it, a tree lined bridge sounds pretty cool. It has upset a go
Victorian’s freakin’ loved a lot of plants. They thought plants were cool. Because plants are cool. One such plan
Warning: look away now if you don’t want to read self-reflective pointless twaddle. Exactly a year ago this week I visit
I returned to the National Dahlia Society’s Annual Show today after being totally gobsmacked last year. Though trying n
I’ve gone fern mad – I don’t even know how it happened. This weekend, on my final (boo!) RHS Level 2 study days at t
How cool is this little fella? Buzzin around. Couldn’t get enough of the Heucheras. Cheeky tube faced chappy that he is!
I’m on a mission to grow as many different species and varieties of plants as possible to help with my RHS Level 2 studi
The plants are still small (they’ve seriously been through the wars after arriving near death!), so the flowers are too,
Well, I have to hand it to the Garland Super7 Heated propagator. Everything I sow on there germinates within a few days (excep
Driven by a renewed love of plants and a brain being filled with RHS knowledge, in 2014 I designed a mico-Victorian themed gar
I’ve had a Zamioculcas zamiifolia for some years now. In the last year, I found the magic formula and – despite ru
Today I discovered we live only 3 minutes walk away from the last residence of one of the most celebrated Victorian botanists
You know what, the Victorians got it right. Curiosity, discovery, understanding the unknown, adventure!
It’s the last day of 2014 and I’ve been really interested in plants this year (no sh*t Sherlock) and at the start
It’s not often something knocks my socks off and genuinely makes me say “wow” out loud but then I have nev
Not exactly perfect but it’ll do.
In January 2013 my friend Marcos encouraged me to find a drawing class and just give it a go. I’d been moaning about giv