Winter
Sometimes It’s Best to Stay out of the Rain
Confessions of a gardener: why sometimes the best place to enjoy the garden is from the comfort of your sofa, not knee-deep in mud.
James Alexander-Sinclair
Garden Designer, writer, talker, RHS Vice President and skipper of the light fandango.
Pets
Angels or Demons? Frank Settles the Debate
Some people love them, some people loathe them. Some gardens are designed to coddle them, some are fortresses built to keep them out. This is a conversation without end…
Mythology
How the Quince Kickstarted Ten Years of Conflict
Divine retribution, deceit, abduction, chariots, storms, murder, tragedy, sea monsters, sacrifice and dishonour. All this as well as a fine membrillo.
Plant portrait
Nostalgia, Nature, and Life Lessons in a Spiky Shell
The horse chestnut tree is being battered into submission by a string of unpleasant ailments. The mighty giants are a sorry sight by this time of year but. we still have conkers.
Travel
Train Track Takeover: Wilding Along the Railway Lines
Staring out of the window: weeds, wilderness and railways.
Through the Garden Gates
If You Prick a Raw Paw, Then Next Time: Beware...
A trek to The Huntington ended with my falling in love with cacti - something I never expected to happen.
Garden history
From the Prado to Pizza Hut: the Pineapple’s Perambulation
The pineapple started life in Europe at the very top of society - sadly it has been all downhill since then.
Through the Garden Gates
Unlocking the Mysteries of Kek
Cake and gardens have long held each other in a passionate and lingering embrace. Would a garden centre or open garden still be the same without cakes?
Art of Gardening
Weeders, Seedsmen and Fencers: A Gardener's Medical Journey
We put our bodies through quite a lot while gardening: is it not time that the medical establishment recognised our contribution to the lexicon of musculoskeletal disorders?
Chelsea Flower Show
The Judge’s Tale - RHS Chelsea Flower Show Week
I have been judging gardens at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show - you may agree or disagree with what we decided, but this is how it works.
Tools
Blood, Sweat, and Secateurs: From Revolution to Roses
Secateurs are in every gardener’s pocket: but, like every invention no matter how much we take them for granted, somebody had to think of the idea.
Planthunting
James Alexander-Sinclair on Weeds, Wilderness and Railways
Garden designer James Alexander-Sinclair talks to Jane Perrone about the changing tapestry of plant life spotted from the window of a train, and how it can shape our own gardens.