Month: December 2024

Christmas Wreath Workshop with Rachel de Thame and Arit Anderson

/ karen / 30 Comments
Everyone busy at a table set out in Rachel de Thame’s hall.

Some opportunities are too good to be missed! I’d been watching announcements for weeks, but couldn’t attend any of the dates offered. Then all of a sudden two people dropped out on the one day I was free. So this week I unexpectedly found myself driving to Gloucestershire to take part in one of Rachel de Thame’s first Christmas wreath-making courses. I can still hardly believe my luck!

I wish I’d taken a photograph of the path leading to the front door. It was lined each side with piles of evergreen foliage ready for the course. Mindful of the fact that this was Rachel’s home, I didn’t get my camera out. But it was obvious from the first glance that we were all in for a treat of a day! Stepping inside the front door, Rachel’s entrance hall was set out with a long table and buckets of flowers and foliage in all four corners. There was such an array of different foliage materials, much of it pruned from Rachel’s garden. I fell in love with the pink hydrangea heads and orange rosehips straight away. I also decided on using the skimmia kew green as a background for my wreath.

Rachel first demonstrated how to make a wreath using a copper ring and moss attached with reel wire. Rachel was using wire she’d saved from previous years and recycled. The base of the wreath was entirely conifer sprays trimmed to about 5” and attached first to the left and then the right all the way round the circle. Flowers, berries, and seed heads could then be attached on top. Arit Anderson who was guest host for the day, demonstrated making a wreath using the same copper ring, but with moss attached with twine. Arit’s wreath was a looser design using twigs, seed heads, grey pussy willow and grasses. Arit explained the wreath could be safely composed after Christmas, as all the components would eventually compost down. The copper rings could be saved for another year. Even the ribbon we used was biodegradable.

Rachel’s wreath, showing the fir sprays being attached to the mossy base.
Arit with the mossy base attached with compostable twine.
Arit displaying one of the wreaths in the window.
Rachel and Arit with fir cones, dried hydrangea heads and foraged grass and poppy seed heads.

Before getting started on our own wreaths, Rachel demonstrated how to make an arrangement for a fireplace. I must admit, I wanted to take both the arrangement and the fireplace home!

Surprisingly, that huge arrangement all started with a relatively small glass bowl. Rachel rolled up some chicken wire and used florist tape to attach it to the bowl. She added long lengths of ivy, Portuguese laurel and pittosporum. Then colour was added with spray chrysanthemums and grey pussy willow. I have walked past endless amounts to trailing ivy in my garden and never realised it could be turned into anything as beautiful as this. But now, I’ll have a go!

Our day included a three course lunch. We had home-made soup, followed by a buffet of amazing salads, followed by chocolate brownies and cream. Plenty of tea was also consumed! The table in Rachel’s kitchen was set out with such style. I really enjoyed every second I was there! Everything was literally perfect.

Beautiful flowers set out on the table

Best of all though, I had the company of the famous Woodapuss sitting next to me. I’d seen her many times on the television. I can report that she is as lovely in real life as on the TV. Such a calm and happy cat, very affectionate. I was quite happy to sit there making a fuss of her. A highlight of my day.

After lunch we wandered around Rachel’s garden foraging for materials to use for our wreaths. It was such a treat to see the walled garden where Rachel grows her tulips and cut flowers. The walls are such a gorgeous soft, creamy colour, and we found holes were solitary bees had made nests.

Back to the house, and we all made a start on our wreaths. I decided to go for a base of eucalyptus and rosemary, for the scent. Then I wove rosehips in to the mix, and finished with two hydrangea heads. Arit showed me how to gather the hydrangea heads into a ball if they were too spread out, and tie them at the base. This made a much better focal point. We then chose a gorgeous burgundy ribbon to finish off.

And here it is! Displayed on Rachel’s front door which is painted a deep glossy green.

What a great day we all had! I learned many new techniques in floristry, made some new like-minded friends, fussed Rachel’s cat, and went home with a beautiful wreath for my own front door. A really wonderful, perfect day.

Thank you Rachel and Arit for such a happy and memorable event! A truly special start to our Christmas festivities.

Thanks for reading my blog. Rachel has plans for lots more courses and events at Broadwell Manor in 2025. To find out more contact info@broadwellmanor.com. Or follow on Instagram @racheldethame.

Prize draw winner for A Flower Garden for Pollinators by Rachel de Thame

/ karen / 1 Comment
Photo credit Jonathan Buckley

Many thanks to everyone who took part in my give-away draw. The winner is Natalia of Lucky Bees.

Please keep an eye open for more book review and giveaways. I’m so grateful to the publishers who send me spare copies to give away. I love sharing the joy of gardening, and reading books is a favourite pastime, aligned with my passion for my garden.

The next book review will be Chrysanthemums by award-winning author Naomi Slade.

Anyone still looking to send out books as presents, here’s my top recommendations. There’s also one not pictured there. It’s The Raised Bed Book by David Hurrion, published by DK. Basically everything you ever need to know about growing anything in containers. This would be perfect for beginners starting out on their gardening journey, or experienced gardeners wanting to try a new technique. Packed full of easy to follow steps to create gardens for flowers, herbs, veg, fruit- even grass. More to follow!

Thanks for reading my blog. It’s always appreciated.

A Flower Garden for Pollinators by Rachel de Thame

/ karen / 25 Comments

Books for Christmas and New Year reading

Published by Greenfinch

Hardback. 208 pages. £25

Update: The prize draw copy has been won by Natalia at Lucky Bees. Thank you for leaving a comment and entering the draw. And thanks to the publishers for sending a copy for the draw.

If there was a vote for the most beautiful book produced in 2024, Rachel de Thame would win it. Rachel, best known for her newspaper column, magazine writing and appearances on BBC Gardeners World, joined forces with her daughter Lauren Lusk to produce a book which is joyful on every page. Lauren, a talented illustrator, hand painted many of the flower pictures featured in the book, and added a myriad of bees, moths and butterflies dancing across the page. To open the book is to step inside Rachel’s garden and walk alongside her as she meanders through the colourful wildflowers, cottage garden plants and herbs. We feel as if we are there, with her, seeing and hearing everything she describes. She writes: “I stopped deadheading, stood still in the middle of the space and was amazed by the number of butterflies darting across the garden. Bees, hoverflies and other small flies zipped from flower to flower. I closed my eyes and listened to the various hummings and buzzings. The garden was fizzing with insect activity, and as I resumed snipping faded dahlias and cosmos, I felt the air stir against my cheek as if whipped up by a tiny fan, and was astonished to realise it was the backdraft of rapidly beating bee wings, centimetres from my face.”

The book is split into seasons with Rachel’s selection of favourite plants each given a page of description.

Crocus tommasinianus.

Lauren’s illustrations are beautifully-detailed. It’s not possible to capture their beauty accurately with my camera phone pictures. they are much brighter and clearer in the book.

Muscari armeniacum
Cosmos ‘Purity’
Autumn in Rachel’s cut flower walled garden
Anemone ‘Hadspen Abundance’
Commonly called Japanese anemone
Winter features snowdops, winter flowering shrubs and clematis
Lauren’s bees and butterflies dance across the page

This is a book I’ve found invaluable this year in particular as we have had a crash in numbers for both bees and butterflies. We had no butterflies at all on the buddleja when it flowered. Summer didn’t really start until mid July. What I learned is that we have to plant a succession of plants all year round, so there’s always something for pollinators to feed on. Our climate is so unpredictable we can have all four seasons in one day! As I write this, a bumble bee is drunkenly buzzing about the garden- no doubt enticed out of hibernation by the unusually high December temperatures. It’s due to be 12C tomorrow. And we had snow, followed by flooding just two weeks ago.

Back cover of the book

I think you’ll find Rachel’s book a mine of information if, like me, you want to help the pollinators that make our gardens such a thriving and ‘alive’ place to be. I have no hesitation in recommending A Flower Garden for Pollinators. It’s a delight from start to finish.

Rachel de Thame is a television presenter and writes for The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph and top homes and gardens magazines. She hosts courses at Broadwell Manor with guests Arit Anderson, Arthur Parkinson, Hazel Gardiner, and Butter Wakefield. More information below:

https://broadwellmanor.com/

Please leave a comment and your name below to be included in the prize draw. One name will be randomly selected on Tuesday 17th December at 6pm. There’s no cash alternative and the editor’s decision is final. Sorry, uk entries only. Thank you for reading my blog.

The Right Jeans – book prize draw winner…

/ karen / 2 Comments

Thank you for leaving a comment on my review for Nick Hamilton’s new book, The Right Jeans.

The prize draw was won by the reader who left this comment: “The wonderful Geoff Hamilton. This sounds a super book. Geoff is one of my gardening heroes. I used to watch him avidly on Gardeners’ World – he was a huge inspiration to me. I have visited Barnsdale – it’s a wonderful garden.”

Please get in touch and send your address so I can post out the book. If there’s no reply within 2 days, I’ll do another draw.

To read my review again it’s here:

https://bramblegarden.com/2024/12/11/the-right-jeans-book-review-and-giveaway/

Photo copyright Barnsdale Gardens

The Right Jeans. Book Review and Giveaway

/ karen / 22 Comments

By Nick Hamilton

Paperback. 303 pages.

Published Winter 2024

£14.99 2QT Limited (Publishing)

ISBN 978-1-7385640-4-0

Available from the Barnsdale online shop here: https://shop.barnsdalegardens.co.uk/products/the-right-jeans-by-nick-hamilton  and also from the Barnsdale shop on site at the gardens.

When I was growing up, the television was often switched on in the background in the lounge. My three little brothers played with huge piles of Lego bricks, trying to build the the world’s largest tower. They spent hours constructing the buildings, then crash, down they came. Undeterred, they tried again and again. Dad often joined in to help, or he was busy holding together bits of Airfix models while the boys glued and painted Spitfires and Lancaster bombers. Meanwhile, I sat on the sofa with pens and paper making Spirograph patterns, or concentrating on a ‘painting by numbers’ canvas. Occasionally we’d look up to watch the cartoons playing in the background. Tom and Jerry and the Road Runner were popular. Dad loved the cowboy Western-type films. The High Chaparral was a favourite. Mum on the other hand rarely sat down to watch tv. With four children to care for, meals to cook from scratch, jumpers to knit and clothes to sew, she didn’t have time. All my dresses were home-made until I was 18. Then I started making them myself. However, the highlight of mum’s week was the gardening programme on Friday night. That was the only time I saw her sit down and avidly watch something. Geoff Hamilton was presenter of the programme called Gardeners’ World, and every week he fashioned something for the garden from scraps of wood, bits of plumbing and old drainage pipes. And, basically, if you could use a saw and had a few nails to hand, you could create something useful and beautiful, such as a herb table, complete with a tiled section for resting your cup of tea. Mum was very taken with these ideas because they made gardening affordable and fun. She could have the cottage garden she wanted, without it costing a fortune. And what we were witnessing as children was a life lesson in love. Dad thought the world of mum and would do anything to make her happy. So after watching the television on a Friday, dad would spend the weekend creating something for the garden for mum. One day, after watching Geoff, mum decided she would have a pond, and dad duly dug out an amazing pond on two levels with a stream between them. The garden gave them both much happiness and a shared interest. Sadly Dad passed away in 2011, but the garden lives on, and every year my brothers paint the furniture he made to keep it in good condition. All these happy memories were revived by a newly-published book, The Right Jeans, written by Geoff’s son Nick. The book chronicles Geoff’s journey from the early days with occasional appearances on the programme, to being lead presenter for Gardeners’ World. Geoff appeared on the programme for 17 years from 1979 to 1996. It’s a heartwarming and amusing story as Nick reveals all the background stories to the programme. Safe to say, Geoff had a great sense of humour and what you saw was what you got. He was straightforward and down to earth. He didn’t put on an act, he was the person you saw on the screen, open and honest. I feel it would spoil the surprise to reveal any of the stories contained the book. Suffice to say the book leaves you with a lovely, happy feeling and you’ll smile all the way through. I have no hesitation in recommending The Right Jeans to any gardeners -or potential gardeners. The book would make a lovely Christmas present for anyone. You’ll learn a lot about Geoff, but also get a behind the scenes glimpse into how television programmes were made in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Suffice to say, things have changed since then, quite a lot!

All photos copyright of Barnsdale Gardens.

Geoff was famous for creating themed gardens such as the cottage garden, the artisan garden, paradise garden and tiny herb garden made from drainage pipes set on end as planters for weeping rosemary and thyme. Basic materials were all that was needed, and no special skills required to create his inventive garden projects. It’s no wonder he was such a popular presenter- and we all remember him so well.

Geoff was ahead of his time when he advocated organic gardening. His fruit, vegetables and flowers were all grown without chemicals which was a forward-thinking idea at the time.

Geoff was refreshingly ordinary – and I mean that in a complimentary way. Previous presenters wore suits and ties to present the programme, whereas Geoff always wore jeans and wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty and show muddy knees. People were able to relate to Geoff because he was ‘one of us.’

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my review and about how the programme was the highlight of the week in our house when I was young. Nick took over running the gardens at Barnsdale when Geoff sadly died in 1996. The Right Jeans is the second in a trilogy. The first book relates Geoff’s life in publishing and running a garden centre before getting into television. And there’s a third book to follow, continuing the story of Barnsdale Gardens

Back cover of the book

Biography from the book.

Excerpt from the book.

Do any of you remember watching Geoff on the television? Were you inspired to create something having watched the programme. Please get in touch and let me know.

The publishers have given me one copy to give away. Please leave a comment below to be included in the prize draw which will be made on Sunday 15th December. A name will be randomly selected. Sorry, UK only entries. Usual rules apply. Author’s decision is final and there’s no cash alternative. Thanks again for reading my blog. Please subscribe below to see future posts.