The leaves of stinking iris Iris foetidissima certainly have a characteristic smell, though not one I’ve ever associated with roast beef…
Read moreDay 344: focus
Winter strips away distractions and, while the skies might seem more vast and the landscape more open in the absence of abundant leaf cover, I find myself drawn to the small details…
Read moreDay 343: December grows on
Under the leaf litter, the growing goes on, unconcerned with Christmas and tax returns, inclement weather and a lawn too muddy to make passage pleasant…
Read moreDay 342: ivy berries
December dashes on, and the berries are out on the ivy. You find them held just proud of the mature foliage, those glossier, deep green leaves with none of the lobing we associate with the juvenile form …
Read moreDay 341: nature unconcerned
A walk through the London streets in the run up to Christmas, yielding me perhaps the most unlovely garden detail, though one I can’t help but return to consistently…
Read moreDay 340: anchor plant
The anchor plant, or Colletia paradoxa, is such a garden oddity – a shrub that seems to bear more affinity with a dinosaur than a vegetable…
Read moreDay 339: acanthus standing
It’s time to tame the acanthus, or at least, its aerial parts – getting to grips with its roots is something of a fool’s errand. But now the leaves are looking decidedly tatty…
Read moreDay 338: holly berries
I think it might be a good year for holly berries. Not the best, but better than the last, when the shapely dark green leaves had to carry the whole winter show on their own…
Read moreDay 337: the venerable pear
I’m not entirely sure anyone knows the exact age of the espaliered pear tree in the Blue Garden at Great Dixter. Trained against one of the original walls of the medieval house…
Read moreDay 336: December colour
Winter now. We’ve been preparing to accept the colour bleeding gradually from the world outside for a season…
Read moreThe Gardens, weeds & words podcast, Series 2 Episode 4
Nature and technology might seem unlikely bedfellows, but there’s no real reason why they shouldn’t co-exist in comfort. In this episode, I’m joined by Sara Tasker to discuss how a relationship with nature influences her work in a virtual space.
Read moreDay 335: winter hopes
If we’ve learnt by now the relative futility of dreaming of a White Christmas, we can at least hope for a frosty winter. And, as the meteorological calendar ticks over to that season…
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