Dear readers I have a terrible confession to make this month. I used to think dahlias were a frou-frou waste of time and effort. I know. I can see you all stern faced, lips pressed tight in disapproval at this scandalous attitude. But fear not I have turned my back on my former louche behaviour.… Continue Reading
October 2019 – The busyness of October
In the days of my extreme youth when people would say “ooh hasn’t the year gone by quickly” I was filled with scepticism and disbelief that these older people really knew what they were talking about. How could the year go by faster? All days and months are the same length every year? Reader, I… Continue Reading
September 2019 – Bringing in the Harvest
It has been something of a topsy-turvey summer with the weather cracking the flags one minute and rain of positively Biblical proportions the next. I’ve noticed a big difference in our apple crop this year. There are a lot less for a start. One reason for that is last year was a bumper crop and… Continue Reading
August 2019 – Show stopping plants
Talking to visitors about the plants in the garden got me thinking about show stoppers. The sort of plant that make you stop dead in your tracks and say wow. There are definitely some visitor favourites: one would be Lychnis chalcedonica in the Gravel Garden and Hot Border, tall with bright scarlet flowers it catches… Continue Reading
July 2019 – Working in the White Garden
It’s all hands to the pump here as we swing into July. Our head gardener is unwell so I have had to step into her shoes. Mind you with a diminutive shoe size 3, I find it hard to fill anyone’s shoes but I’ll always have a go. This is the most exciting time to… Continue Reading
June 2019 – Iris germanica
I got a lovely surprise when I went into the Physic Garden the other day. Iris germanica, otherwise known as Orris Root in physic was flowering. Now that may not sound very exciting or unusual. It is the time for iris to flower after all but what was exciting was that it is hasn’t flowered… Continue Reading
May 2019 – Laburnum and the bees
As I write this, it’s lovely and sunny but we still live with the potential threat of frost turning up just as you think you are safe. We‘ve been bold and planted out our sunflowers in the cut flower border and I’ve been busy bulking up some of the display in the Physic Garden, things… Continue Reading
April 2019 – medicine old and new
Spring has sprung and it is such an exciting time of year when everything really starts into growth and the change is palpable by the day. I was in the Physic Garden the other day and I could see the Pasque flowers (Pulsatilla vulgaris) were shooting up and Bears Breeches (Acanthus mollis) were spouting up… Continue Reading
March 2019 – It’s getting very close to opening time
How is it that the days just swoosh past as it gets nearer and nearer to the 1st April? Work in the garden has really ramped up and we are sowing seed like it’s going out of fashion. I need to get my planting design in plants and in the ground. The Cleveland Way National… Continue Reading
