Blog
Tis the season of colourful stems and berries: December in the garden
What's looking good There has already been a smattering of snow in the garden and I love the way it decorates the Hydrangea heads, now that the flowers are over. In much the same way that I enjoy seeing the first frosts sprinkling seed heads and grasses with an icy...
Inspired by leaves, berries and fruit: November in the garden
What’s looking good in the garden Having had a fairly warm autumn there are still plenty of leaves on the trees, a joy to look at, from the shades of yellow and orange-brown on a woodland walk to the vibrant reds on the Acers while wandering round an arboreteum. I...
Yorkshire garden inspiration
This is one of my favourite times of year to think about changes to the garden, the leaves are falling off the trees and the perennials are dying back. I can start to see the bones of the space and think about whether it’s still working. Sometimes it is just as simple...
Sea, seating ideas and stepovers
What’s looking good I’ve been out and about enjoying the colour in borders full of late summer and early autumn colour. The lilac asters (Symphyotrichum ‘Little Carlow’ and Aster x frikartii ‘Mönch’), along with autumnal coloured rubeckias and crocosmia are blooming...
Leaning into the season and learning to slow down: September in the garden
What’s looking good in the garden? I’m enjoying picking bowlfuls of apples from the garden and scraping windfalls off the lawn to juice or turn into stewed apples. The first apples to ripen in my garden are Katy, they also happen to be closest to the house. Meaning I...
Roses, Ruins and Re-evaluating (my own garden): August tips and garden trends
What’s looking good at the moment The Knautia macedonia are still looking good, they are filling the borders and flopping onto the steps down to the lawn. Which means that every time I look out of the back door I get a glimpse of magenta amongst all the green. Since...
Keeping it sustainable in a sea of green: Garden Trends
Magenta I always like to keep up with the what the latest trends in garden design and gardens in general are. In particular t has been interesting to see the trends coming out of the Chelsea Flower Show. Magenta, also Pantone’s colour of the year was used as a...
Drought tolerant planting and the scent of chocolate: July in the garden
What’s looking good at the moment The paeonies are well and truly over and the smaller magenta flowers of Knautia macedonia have taken over. Adding a little pop of colour along the border. The lilac spires of Veronicastrum virginicum ‘Fascination’ are in full bloom...
Taking time to smell the roses after the rain: June in the garden
What’s looking good at the moment The paeonies haven’t quite opened yet, Paeonia ‘Buckeye Belle’ is often flowering by now but it’s a little late this year and even the bees are getting impatient (as can be seen in this photo). I know they are fairly fleeting as...
Puddles of water and blossom: May in the garden
What’s looking good at the moment There are now large pink puddles of blossom on the pavement, from the flowering cherry trees around where I live. It was beautiful while it lasted, although never long enough as far as I’m concerned. There is still a fair amount of...
Blossom, bulbs and books: April in the garden
What’s looking good at the moment I’m loving that Spring has finally sprung! Seeing all the crocuses, daffodils. primroses and the blossom on the trees. The Magnolia stellata is in full bloom outside of my front door, watching the star like flowers opening up every...
Crocuses, Containers and Cistercian Monks: March in the garden
What’s looking good at the moment The daffodils are starting to flower on mass, not just the one or two confused ones I saw flowering in January. There is something incredibly cheerful about a mass of yellow flowers marching across the grass. I’m lucky enough to live...