Plantspeople

Unveiling Lives Through Gardens: A Gardener's Perspective

Our gardens can tell the stories of our lives, and as a working gardener, we are being given a chance to listen.

Seasonal

Micro-Seasons and Daffodil Diaries: A Climate Change Drama

Can a Japanese calendar and an online daffodil diary help us understand if spring arrives earlier than it used to? And does it matter if it does? How an afternoon at the theatre helped me answer these questions.

Sustainability

The Forest in the Sky

Have you ever seen pigs fly? Well, I have seen flying gardeners… does that count? 112 metres skyward bound there is a horticultural experiment that the sceptics thought wouldn’t last, now celebrating its 10th anniversary.

Plant profile

Why Scented-Leaved Pelargoniums are So Addictive

When it comes to fragrance of foliage and elegance of habit, scented Pelargoniums cannot be beaten

Winter

Smells like a Knife: how club moss gets me through the cold

I'm sheltering from Denmark's coldest winter in twenty years with the help of a new plant and a trip to Pangaea

Growing for eating

Imbolc, Potatoes, and Lunar Gardening: Resisting the Gardener's Itch

Every February we feel the call to begin gardening, often too early, but taking guidance from the ancient Celtic festival of spring can help us with our timings.

How to

How to make your own seed sowing compost at home

As we go full steam into seed sowing season, here is how to make your own seed compost at home - saving your wallet and the planet in the process!

Garden shows

So what actually is the point of a show garden…?

(aka, my experience building my very first show garden, and a little discussion!)

flower farming

Whatever the message, how we say it matters, so say it with Flowers!

Hosting the recent Flowers From The Farm conference made me reflect on just why the flowers they grow are so magical and resonate with so many people. The flowers of our childhood inspire.

Bulbs

Sheets of spring colour without the fight in overstocked borders!

We all know more is more with spring bulbs. But who has half-empty borders to accommodate thousands of bulbs? Time to think outside the border!

Soil

Digging the Dirt

Why soil matters and how to make yours better.

Garden history

A Pilgrimage to the Old Wooden Cathedral

This piece reflects on finding inspiration in nature, people, and place - spring walks, bluebell woods, and memories that shaped my Chelsea 2012 garden. Inspired by poet John Clare, it’s a reminder to slow down and let the landscape guide creativity.