The temptation of a special offer
There is a specific kind of madness that descends upon a gardener when they see the words “Special Offer.” It’s a primal, twitchy-eyed greed that overrides common sense. So, when an internet advert promised two packs of bedding geraniums for…
Pond-ering over a siphoning disaster
On Good Friday, the start of the Easter gardening weekend, I walked out into the garden to a scene of absolute, unmitigated carnage. My pond—my pride, my joy, my little aquatic sanctuary—looked less like a tranquil garden feature and more…
First tidy up of the season
It’s the middle of March, and the relentless downpour of the very British weather has finally ceased and actually provided a weekend of genuine, unadulterated sunshine—it was beautiful—the sort of light that makes you think, “Yes, I shall go forth…
The flamingo incident
My ‘Flamingo’ Willow is, quite frankly, a piece of horticultural flamboyance that has simply run out of the jazz. For eighteen years, it has sat in that raised border, doing its job, looking pink and white, and generally being a…