Every growing season is different – but with gardeners across the country agreeing that this year’s is downright odd, have we reached a tipping point in our gardens and greenhouses? What word would encapsulate your gardening experiences this year – or, for that matter, since last autumn? Unusual? Peculiar? Weird? Abnormal? Only one nails it […]
Now that most open ground is waterlogged for much of the year, under-cover space is more precious than ever – and a group of ingenious growers have found a way to maximise the benefits. Whooping, clapping, cursing, the clunk of metal on metal, and what sounded like a squeaking legion of wheelbarrows, crying out to […]
Will you opt for a classic deadwood construction, or get creative – even weaving in living elements for the long term? Either way, a dead hedge is a win-win for your garden and its wild life. Angry autumn and winter storms harried and toyed with my garden’s boundary fence, leaving sections of it weakened, wobbly […]
In an increasingly chaotic, frenetic world, we need to find a still centre – and for greenhouse gardeners, there’s one safe zone where we can be sure of feeling grounded. It’s all a bit too much, isn’t it? Too volatile, too costly, too unpredictable, too unsettling, and without a doubt, at times, too downright nasty. […]
For passing wild life, a garden made in nature offers a welcoming stopover – and for the gardener, there is the joy of myriad encounters with the creatures that share our world. A gang of long-tailed tits has just swept through my garden on a tepid February breeze, lit up by milky, spring-is-around-the-corner sunshine. Darting […]
As the climate crisis escalates, we need to garden smarter – and there’s no time to lose. AI could deliver the data to fast-track the right decisions for our natural world. We gardeners need help: heavyweight, ultra-intelligent help that can only come from the smartest – and getting smarter by the second – minds on […]
As the stakes rise for our natural world, it’s time to harness the collective potential of our gardens and greenhouses as a force for good. Our life support is on the blink. This prospect would be scary enough if it were happening in one of our hospitals, but what elevates it to terrifying status is […]
Microplastic pollution is one of the most insidious impacts of modern living – and, yes, gardening – but natural pollution-busting solutions abound. One of the great joys of living in the foothills of Eryri – or Snowdonia – National Park is that I get to walk among the clouds. I’m at a low enough altitude […]
With increasingly wild weather the only certainty in future forecasts, greenhouse gardeners need to ready their structures for a stormy ride. Like it or not, increasingly powerful, destructive storms are now wired into the decades – centuries, unless we hit the emergency brake on carbon emissions – ahead. Everyday life, for us and for all […]
Compost fodder, plant support, greenhouse shading, mulching material, soil enricher, winter fuel, garden screen, wildlife haven… there’s no end to the potential of the versatile willow. Our first stormy autumn night didn’t disappoint: warm, lashing rain, high, cottage-shaking winds and two mini power cuts – then a proper time-for-bed blackout. My head torch-illuminated check outdoors […]
Our greenhouses are transformative, regenerative and infinitely renewable. Imagine what could happen – for people, nature and planet – if we truly embraced that potential. What if we started thinking outside of our greenhouses – the gardening equivalent of thinking outside the box? What if we could muster our collective, sun-fuelled growing power to help […]
In a dangerously overheating world, it’s more important than ever to keep it cool in our gardens and greenhouses. Twenty years ago, my garden was on fire – or, more accurately, my garden-to-be was on fire. When I became keeper of this then bracken-riddled bank, I was on a new and exciting learning curve. I never imagined […]
