I’m excited to share that after twenty years of living in London, Chris, Rumbles and I…
Wild Way Newsletter – February 2021
MONOCOTS I’m finding solace during lockdown in the monocots. They are better equipped than most to growth in the dark…
How to grow organic chilli peppers for the unadventurous palate
I don’t care about chillies, I find them boring. I know as a garden writer and…
Why must nature always come second?
I’m writing this because discussions online this week have kept me up all night thinking about…
Wild Way Newsletter – January 2021
TOMATOES In this first issue I name my favourites tomatoes grown over the years, list those…
How to grow organic tomatoes including heirloom tomatoes
Tomatoes sit atop everyone’s grow your own lists, and if they don’t, they should! Relatively easy…
My self-help guide to resisting seed and plant catalogue order overload
It’s around about now that the seed and plant catalogues for the coming year come pouring…
Allotment Month 61: December vegetables with winter salad, kale, roots and squash
My allotment needs a good weeding. It’s looking fairly overgrown in parts because I haven’t been…
10 UK weeds to grow for wildlife
My book Wild about Weeds looks at the wildlife value of many weeds I feel are…
Cornwall: rock and stone
Chris and I feel incredibly lucky to have been away to Cornwall for a week in…
Beware plastic netting in lawn and wildflower turf
One of the biggest problems in designed gardens that I and people I work with come…
Littlebury Road through 2020
This year is a difficult one for all of us in many unexpected ways, through it…
Wild about Weeds Photograph Competition 2020 – winners!
There were loads of entries into the first Wild about Weeds 2020 Photography Competition! Entries were…
17 reasons to avoid fake lawns – how bad is artificial grass for the environment?
I never design gardens with fake grass for aesthetic, experiential and environmental reasons. That said, some…
Late summer in the city
I really like to feel the seasons, feel them with all my senses. That’s why our…
Sarah Raven’s Perch Hill
This is one garden I have wanted to visit for many years, Perch Hill, home to…
Trials and titillations at RHS Wisley after lockdown
I love RHS Wisley. I will always credit the garden and the teams who manage it…
Gardening in southern England’s changed climate
Where are we now, into the fifth summer on my allotment, and despite going into this…
Why don’t we talk more about patterns in gardens?
I find patterns in gardens fascinating (so much so I wrote a book about them) and…
Come back dragonfly
I spent the whole of yesterday writing outside in our garden for a new project and…
Come into my world: haphazard
On my allotment two years ago I started increasing the number of ornamental plants because I…
Allotment Month 55: vigorous legumes, squash and pumpkins, tomatoes
Do you ever have the feeling you’re being left behind in gardening? You think your tomatoes…
Gardening needs diversity
Over the last week I’ve watched what is happening in America in horror and disbelief, largely…
How to make an Aeonium arboreum branch (part three)
I’ve been asked a lot over the last couple of years for an update on my…
How to support vegetables and flowers
I thought I’d jot down some quick notes about how I am supporting the plants that…
How to grow annual Persicaria orientalis from seed
One of the Persicaria we’re not judging on the RHS Persicaria Trial Forum is Persicaria orientalis…
From plot to place: allotments benefit from a bit of character
Words can’t describe how much I love my allotment this year. It feels to me as…
A right hodgepodge
Regular readers may recall that about two years ago I started planting spare cuttings, divisions and…
15 best free gardens to visit in London
Looking for maximum planty wonder without spending a penny? Then check out my fave London garden…
How to grow organic rhubarb and cook it – the tastiest around!
I love rhubarb. I love its flavour and I love how easy it is to grow.…
How to prune salvias – three pruning groups
A group of plants I grow a lot in my own garden and in my clients’…
From the streets: London’s green spaces in Lockdown
Everyone has been coping with the last month in their own way, surreal is a word…
Pot’s Growing On in April? Here come the insects, pretty things and dividing geraniums
I’m sitting outside writing in a t-shirt, spring is here! I mean, it has turned chilly…
Littlebury garden redesign (part two) – Breathing new life into the soil
As I write this the country has for all intents and purposes joined the rest of…
How to divide a miniature water lily
Not everyone has a miniature water lily but they really should! Easy to grow in any…
11 ideas to grow your way through Coronavirus self-isolation boredom
Supermarkets have plenty of food to see us all through the coronavirus (covid-19) but in the…
How to grow organic purple sprouting broccoli and cook it
It wasn’t until I started growing my own vegetables I even clocked that purple sprouting broccoli…
Allotment Month 52 – March: hunt for the best purple sprouting broccoli, forced rhubarb and colour like no other!
I’m looking at my desk (on which I’m typing) thinking crap, where AM I going to…
A year in vegetable, fruit and herb photos
We’re taught not to play with our food but WHATEVS, I love arranging veg to show…
Pot’s Growing On in February? Peat free propagation, houseplant beautification and winter division
Over the last few weeks I’ve been gradually getting ready for spring one little task at…
From plant to seed bank, how Kew Gardens is saving the planet’s flora and us
I’ve been visiting Kew Gardens – like many people I’m sure – since I was a…
Littlebury garden redesign (part one) – Goodbye pots! Goodbye paving!
I’ve been thinking of making changes to our garden for a couple of years. The number…
Growing avocados in London
It’s been widely known that avocados can grow in London for decades, I’ve seen the trees…
What seeds to sow in January
In the UK in January, daylight hours are still very short, outside temperatures low and likely…
11 steps to a wildlife friendly allotment
I love all life and I’m sure if you’re reading this you don’t need any explanation…
This decade let’s not lose sight of protecting wild habitats
Over the last year we’ve seen a wonderful increase in the number of people demanding action…
Allotment Month 49: growing up
My fourth year on the allotment has whooshed by and during the very wet start to…
Organic gardening pros recommend chemical free roses
As a garden designer, the most popular plants requested by clients – topping lavender, olive trees…
From the streets: Bonnington Square, Vauxhall in Autumn
Last Sunday I gave myself the morning off writing projects and decided to visit Bonnington Square…
Stinging nettles, a troublesome but useful weed
Some people have asked why stinging nettles aren’t in my book Wild about Weeds and the…