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January 31, 2012 | Mayhem in the garden: stump grinding The temperature has dropped and the rain has bucketed down. The ground out there is very soggy. Winter conditions have at last come to the east of England. And timed arrival to perfection to coincide with the one tonne machine that has come up from Mersea Island by trailer to grind our roots. Paul and I [...]  January 29, 2012 | A geeky discourse on ordering plants wholesale off the internet This is a follow-on from yesterday or the day before’s post on my blog. It is not about buying plants from reputable nurseries that are well-known. It is the bargain basement end of purchase. 61 Cotoneaster franchetii were wrapped in a gossamer of clingfilm and waiting on the pallet. These are for a customer who [...] January 26, 2012 | Plants by post Plants by post seems like a fairly crazy idea. Especially when 18 large grasses were ordered up in 2 litre pots. On delivery the box got heaved, upended into the shed outside and neglected for 10 days. No-one had remembered to mention the package in the shed and I stumbled across the box, returning [...] November 27, 2011 | Choosing plants for a new planting scheme: Where to begin
porch planting at Great Dixter There are a few rules that you should keep returning to. Consider the effects of foliage, form and texture. Treat the exercise like decorating a room or flower arranging. Think what goes together. For leaves a mixture of large blades and strap leaves, some upright will be [...] November 10, 2011 | Get naked at David Austin The leaves are off, or nearly, and I’m taking my mind back to David Austin and February. I went there for a day’s course on designing with roses run by the inexorable Diana Perry, fount of rose lore. Due to dog trauma (another story altogether) I did not write a blog log but now I [...] October 29, 2011 | A Daunting Planting day The flowerbeds at the wholesaler looked stunning at 8am yesterday morning. I could have spent hours wandering around in the tapestry of beds. Photos snapped and names noted of new sorts of perennials and grasses. The late season has not been touched by frost, and though ‘lifting’ of plants has begun, there is much still [...] August 30, 2011 | Catalogue of desire Catalogue time is here again. All through the summer they have been thumping through the letter box. A dusty pile has grown in the corner. In and out of a pink basket and to Edinburgh and the seaside and back. Unread but then August is like that: a month of neglect. It is either [...] March 3, 2011 | What rose?Where?Which?Why?
March has crept in overcast and hand-wringing in East Anglia. Late into the rose buying season, bare -rooted time, its a good moment to distract from grey by buying roses. You will be far better off buying dormant roses, lifted from the ground and dispatched with roots freed from any soil. So how do you choose? [...] October 25, 2010 | Border patrol: What looks good in the dog days Once upon a time in the garden in winter, borders were put to bed, plants neatly clipped back to ground level and there was loads of bare shiney turned-over earth. A shrub or two, carefully chosen for seasonal merit, would break up the lovely monotony of the tilled soil. Nothing wrong with this at all [...] October 8, 2010 | The Tired Old Border and how to revamp. What most garden owners really need is the nerve to grapple with an unruly flower-bed and decide what to keep or throw out – how to deal with thug tendencies, what to plant in a bare patch and how to extend the flowering season. Tired old borders turn up with regular monotony. Perfect time [...] |
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