Inspiring People: Phyllis Tuckwell Charity

May 30, 2025June 3, 2025 / karen / Leave a comment

Beckhams, Coxcombe Lane, Chiddingfold – 14 Sept.

This blog is dedicated to highlighting special people who are gardening to make a difference. The Phyllis Tuckwell charity has to raise £25,000 every single day to fund the hospice care it provides. Just take a moment for that to sink in. £25,000. Every single day! It’s an amazing challenge. Open gardens is one way the organisation raises funds. I’m sharing details of the gardens here, in the hope that if you live in the area, you’ll visit and help them reach their targets.

Poster for this year’s events. A range of gardens open between 29 May and 14 September 2025.

For a complete list of gardens taking part, download the brochure here:

https://www.pth.org.uk/open-gardens/

Susie Floud’s garden, 13 Rowland Road, Cranleigh, Surrey.

Serendipity, Chiddinfold open gardens – 14 Sept.

Some of the highlights include:

Art and music in the garden, Greenhills Estate 7 June

Crondall open gardens 8 June

Godalming gardens 8 June

Fleet orchestra proms 11 June

Skydiving event 8 June

Alton open gardens 6 July

*Please check times and dates with the website before visiting.

Phyllis Tuckwell is the only Hospice Care service for adult patients, and their families and carers, who are living with an advanced or terminal illness such as cancer, across the whole of West Surrey and part of North-East Hampshire.

“Every day we support over 250 patients, relatives and carers, through medical and nursing care, therapies, counselling, social work advice and practical support. We offer this care on our In-Patient Unit, through our Living Well service, and in patients’ own homes and care homes.

Our specialist, compassionate care helps patients to manage their symptoms, improve their wellbeing and remain as independent as possible throughout their illness. We also support the families and carers of our patients, as well as local healthcare providers, building skills and confidence in palliative and end of life care… because every day is precious.

As the NHS/Government only cover around 25% of our costs, we have to raise over £25,000 every single day to be able to offer all of our services, which we provide free of charge to our patients and their families and carers. That’s why events such as Open Gardens are so incredibly important. By taking part, you’ll be helping us to raise these vital funds – and we really appreciate your support.”

Thank you for reading my blog. Please leave a comment in the box below, sign up for e mail notifications and pass on any good news you’ve heard on this blog! We can all help one another just by sharing what we know and by supporting everyone trying to make a difference. Thank you.

Creating a cut flower garden

May 14, 2025May 16, 2025 / karen / 9 Comments

Forget me nots, cow parsley, wild allium, mint, honeysuckle, aquilegia, white flowering dead nettles and red clover.

I tour garden clubs in the East Midlands giving inspiration for growing cut flowers at home. An hour’s talk is only long enough to give a flavour of the subject. Here are some notes to accompany my talks.

Chose a backbone of useful shrubs:

Dogwoods:

Cornus Westonbirt has the brightest red stems in winter. Only a few stems are needed to add a vertical element to flower arrangements. To get the brightest stems, cut the shrubs back to 20cm in March. New stems will grow back strongly.

An autumn bouquet with just three stems of dogwood.

Physocarpus Diabolo:

A beautiful backbone shrub, growing to 8ft. Comes into leaf early in spring. Produces pretty pinkish white flowers. Flowers then produce interesting seed heads. good strong stems for floristry and a lovely dark colour to set off all flower colours. I grow mine on a north-facing border directly in front of a hawthorn hedge. Copes with dry soil and semi-shade.

Viburnum Eve Price

Viburnum Eve Price flowers all winter. It has evergreen leaves and is tough and hardy.

Plant Roses:

Timeless Cream and Timeless Purple are part of the new home florists’ range . Few thorns and wonderful scent.

Grow a patch of wildflowers:

I have a bed 3m long by 1.2m wide with paths surrounding it. Grown from a packet of wild flower seeds (Mr Fothergill’s or Sarah Raven). The plants that emerged included white oxeye daisy, blue cranesbill geranium, pink campion. These come back every year. The grasses grow in a strip along the edge of the lawn. Quaking grass is particularly lovely.

More perennial plants: Grow white argyranthemums.

Argyranthemums with ammi, verbascum and rudbeckias.

Argyranthemum or shasta daisies grow to 70cm and can be grown in a garden border in full sun. They need dividing every three years and will need staking. They provide flowers from June to September. Most garden centres sell these plants.

Annuals to grow for cut flowers :

Sweet Peas:

Sow Sweet Peas in October in long root trainers with 50 percent compost and 50 percent grit for drainage. Place the pots inside a clear plastic storage box to protect from mice and the weather. Storage boxes can be brought indoors and stacked up like a mini greenhouse if the temperatures go below freezing. Lids can be removed in good weather. Do not allow seedlings to get too wet over winter. Plant out in good soil in April.

An A-Frame structure made from hazel poles purchased from farm fencing suppliers. These are used as binders in hedge laying. Ammi, gladioli and cosmos are planted down the middle. Calendula on the outsides.

Locally, Musson Fencing sell bundles of hazel rods in winter and early spring. They sell out quickly so it’s best to order your supplies.

https://www.davidmussonfencing.com/

Alternatively, Rutland Willows make bespoke willow and hazel supports and frames and run courses to make your own. We have had many hurdle fences and supports from them and have been very happy with everything.

https://www.rutlandwillows.com/

At this time of the year (mid-May at the time of writing) I would probably buy in pre-grown plants from Easton Walled Gardens. A good excuse to visit them and have a walk around the beautiful cut flower gardens and landscape. Order your seed now to be delivered in late summer for October planting.

Annuals:Calendulas.

Sow calendulas in autumn and overwinter them in pots in a greenhouse. Or sow now. Use plug plant trays, one seed per cell. Use seed compost with 50 percent vermiculite. Cover seed with vermiculite. This helps with drainage. Most seed sowing failures are due to watering – either over or under watering. A soggy compost is death to seedlings. Better to be on the dry side that too wet.

A note about compost: I use peat-free Melcourt seed compost and I add vermiculite, or horticultural sand whichever I have to hand. I don’t use multi-purpose compost for seed sowing. It contains fertiliser which burns delicate seedling roots. I move plants on quickly, water with seaweed extract every time I water and get plants in the ground or into big pots as soon as possible.

Tips on seed sowing:

Use spotlessly clean pots and seed trays.

Warm the compost in the greenhouse before using. Or bring indoors. Never use cold, wet, soggy compost – especially old compost from the bottom of pallets at garden centres.

Read the back of the seed packets for information such as whether to cover the seeds or not. Also follow germination temperatures and time to sow guidelines.

Use fresh seed. Home-saved seed is always likely to germinate faster than bought seed.

Buy seed from the best companies – Mr Fothergills, Chiltern Seeds, Higgledy Seeds. Do not buy from garden centres where seed will have been too hot, too old, or might have got wet. Best to buy mail order.

Water with a fine rose so as not to disturb the seeds. Always use tap water as water barrels contain pathogens which might cause seeds to wilt and die.

Protect new seedlings from too much sunlight. They are like babies.

Sow very thinly to prevent damping off. Make sure you ventilate the greenhouse in hot weather also to prevent mould and damping off problems.

Only sow half a packet at a time. If that fails for any reason, you’ve got a second chance with the other half of the seeds.

Always harden off plants before planting outside. This takes about seven days and involves bringing the plants in at night be putting them out in the day.

Soil Improvers:

We use and highly recommend PlantGrow fertiliser and mulch. There’s also a liquid feed which I use on established plants needing a boost. The 10 percent discount code for blog readers is bramble10. I’m not paid to recommend them, but I do like to support family companies and this one is based in Norfolk.

More annuals: Cosmos:

Cosmos should be started early as it needs a long growing season. It’s best to start seeds in February in a heated propagator at 18C. Most garden centres are selling pre-grown plants now. Sarah Raven sells small plants in spring. It’s safe to plant them out in the first week of June. They will flower until first frosts. My tip is to grow just a few but grow them really well. Pinch out the tips to make them bushy when they are about 4” tall. Support them with canes and tie them in well as they rock about in windy weather.

More Annuals: Sunflowers

Sunflower cut flower mix from Mr Fothergill

Sunflowers can be sown in April and May. Earth Walker and Velvet Queen are good varieties. Look out for the multi-headed dwarf sunflowers. I grow mine amongst the sweetcorn and the vegetables help to hold the sunflowers upright in stormy weather. Calendulas and courgettes are grown at the base.

I start seed off in a propagator at 18C. Plants are grown on until they are about 20cm tall. Any smaller and the slugs will eat them. Spray with garlic extract to protect from slugs and snails. The recipe is on the blog in the search bar.

Dahlias:

Dahlia David Howard grown with Alstroemeria Indian Summer.

There’s still time to buy dahlia tubers from the garden centre and pot them up indoors. Take cuttings now to get more plants. Each tuber can provide 7 cuttings without detriment to the mother plant. Cuttings need to be tiny, 2-3cm only and placed in a 9cm pot with the 50/50 compost vermiculite mix in a propagator at 18C. They will readily root and can be planted out the first week of June. Cuttings will flower this year. If buying potted plants, there are some good mail-order nurseries offering stock. Todds Botanics are recommended.

Nuit D’Ete is a lovely cactus-type dahlia.

Dahlias, cosmos and dogwood. Senecio Vira Vira is from Coton Manor nursery.

Protect dahlias from earwigs. Add pots of straw or newspaper to the top of canes. Tip them out each morning.

Don’t forget to just look around the garden and use what you have! I have cow parsley, poppies, alliums, Dutch iris, aquilegia and violas just now. Not many flowers are needed to make a jam jar posy. These were not planted specifically for cut flowers, but taking just a few won’t harm the spring display.

Answering questions from last night’s talk: How do you grow cow parsley?

Chose plug plants from. https://www.naturescape.co.uk/product/cow-parsley/

These won’t compete with lush grass, so use a spade to lift a patch of turf. Plant plug plants into the bare soil. Plant with cranesbill and foxgloves. Plants will die, but will set seeds for next year. Keep the patches free from vigorous grasses. You can plant delicate shaking grass though. If you have a large enough space, I would plant a swathe of them to get the best effect.

Peak cow parsley time in my garden today.

Question 2: What honeysuckle are you growing?

Common honeysuckle, Lonicera periclymenum caprifoliaceae. I recommend Jekka’s Herbs for plants. Wonderful scent and beautiful red berries. Plant with the roots in the shade and it will climb to reach the sun. If you plant the roots in the sun, the plant often succumbs to mildew and aphids. It is a woodland plant, essentially. Its habit is to climb and then flop down. In nature you often see plants dangling from high up in trees. So it is not ideal to try to control it and plant it over an arch or on a trellis. It will always want to go skywards. It wants to use other trees and shrubs as a climbing frame. Be careful when buying honeysuckle as some varieties do not have any scent, which is such a disappointment if you’ve waited several years for the plant to flower!

Question 3. Where can you buy the little wooden and metal stand containing four glass bottles for flower arranging?

My stand came from Jonathan Moseley. He sells floristry materials, flower cutting snips and vases at various flower shows all over the country. He also has an online shop. I use this stand every day and place it down the centre of the kitchen table. Vases can also be arranged in a circle with a pillar candle in the centre. I have created mini posies for this photo, but equally you can just pick a few stems and place them directly in the jam jars and they look ‘arranged.’

All white theme with Italian ranunculus, cow parsley, hyacinth and Lily of the Valley.

Wonderful scent from such a small arrangement.

Don’t forget that cow parsley can be used even when the flowers are going over. The little lime green seed heads are still attractive. I also use seed heads of parsnip, onion, carrot, chives, mustard and leeks. I found out by accident by leaving some vegetables to go to seed. I now leave them on purpose to supply free seed heads for floristry. Fluffy clematis seeds are also saved for winter decorations.

If this has inspired you to grow something for your own cut flowers, then I’m very happy. I’m hosting a cut flower course at Barnsdale in September. It’s a lovely garden and the owners are kind and generous people. There’s a lot included in the price. I can highly recommend the cream tea!

Link : https://shop.barnsdalegardens.co.uk/products/growing-flowers-for-cutting

Thanks for reading my blog. Please leave a comment below if you have any questions and I’ll do my best to answer them. Or e mail at k.gimson @btinternet.com.

Also visit Cathy’s blog for more inspiration:

https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2025/05/12/in-a-vase-on-monday-sundae-on-monday/

Welcome to garden club members

March 19, 2025 / karen / 8 Comments

A big welcome to members of Southwell Garden Club! I hope you enjoyed my talk last night! Here’s more photos of my garden, to give some inspiration for creating spring colour.

Our garden was created from a field. We moved here when we were in our 20s.

We planted 260 tiny sapling trees which came from a scheme promoted by the Woodland Trust and Rushcliffe Borough Council. The plants were free to anyone converting farm land to woodland.

Down one side of the plot I planted a kind of ‘avenue’ or ‘holloway’ of ash trees given to me by Michael Beeby. He was a lovely, keen gardener who lived in our village and wanted to save the little seedling saplings growing all over his garden. He regularly visited the garden to see how his trees were getting on. Sadly he passed away a few years ago. In memory of a kind and generous gardener I’ve named this area of the garden the Michael Beeby Walk. And every time I walk along this path I think of Michael and how he cared about nature. He was always smiling, always supportive and encouraging. He’s not forgotten.

There are some wonderful sunsets from the garden

There’s a gap in the hedge. I walk to this point every day and look through the hole in the hedge. I see hares, deer, owls. No one can see me.

I mark the changes in the seasons. Each day, the view is different.

All the trees we planted have grown to produce a lot of shade. Over the years, the lavender, penstemons and salvias have had to give way to woodland plants. Snowdrops thrive in the cool shade. Madeline is a favourite with its elegant ‘lightbulb’ shape and delicate yellow markings.

I have a little helper in the garden. He’s three years old. We are at the same stage in life, both marvelling at the beauty in everything. Living in the moment.

Polar Bear, a new variety, late flowering.

Robin Hood. Named for the X markings. Appropriate as we live right on the Nottinghamshire border.

Plain, simple single snowdrops, Galanthus Nivalis. Still my favourite to be honest. In my grandfather’s Sankey terracotta pots.

Hellebores also thrive in the semi-shade of trees. I bought a few colours from John Massey at Ashwoods Nursery in Birmingham. They have seeded all over the garden in shades of white, cream, pink, and inky- black.

Floated in an inch of water in an old zinc container.

A favourite double cream-white hellebore.

In amongst the hellebores we have wild violets. The sweetest scent. Originally from one single plant my grandfather brought here over 30 years ago. Now the whole gardens is full of them. I look at them and think of him.

Wild anemones. Such a joy, emerging just as the snowdrops are going over. And full of bumblebees today.

Crocus Joan of Arc. The best white. Also bumblebee heaven!

Phlomis Fruiticosa. Also ladybird heaven! An important plant to grow as they hibernate within the soft woolly leaves.

A posy for my mum with flowers from the garden. Small flowering cherry, Prunus Kojo-No-Mai blooms on bare stems and has glorious orange and red autumn foliage.

Come back another day for some summer-themed flowers.

Thank you for inviting me to talk, and for reading my blog.

I’m karengimson1 on instagram.

Please leave a comment in the box below, and sign up for e mail notifications for further posts. Enjoy your gardening!

Snowdrops at Thenford Arboretum

February 28, 2025February 28, 2025 / karen / 14 Comments

Emma Thick, deputy head gardener at Thenford Arboretum

A Shepherd: A person who herds, tends and guards. Watches over and protects.

I looked up the word shepherd when deputy head gardener Emma Thick described herself as a ‘snowdrop shepherd.’ It’s an apt description. For Emma, who works at Thenford Arboretum, tends, protects and cares for over 1,500 varieties of snowdrop, some of them rare and unusual.

Emma has been in charge of the collection for ten years, and spending the day with her is a revealing and exciting journey of discovery. I ask Emma which is her favourite snowdrop, with so many to choose from. Immediately, she walks over to a patch of Galanthus ‘Mrs McNamara’ an elwesii variety. It starts flowering at Christmas and, in a cold winter such as this one, will still be in flower at the end of February. “It has big, broad, glaucus blue-green leaves, single inner-markings like a Chinese bridge, and is a very bright white. It sounds strange, but some snowdrops are not very white. This is a beautiful clear white flower. If I could only have one snowdrop it would be ‘Mrs McNamara’ always.”

The last few flowers of G ‘Mrs McNamara’.

When Emma first started working at Thenford, the owners Lord and Lady Heseltine, had amassed a collection of 350 types of snowdrop. Since then, the collection has grown, and in June 2023 Thenford was awarded National Collection status by Plant Heritage.

Snowdrops cluster around the base of specimen trees within the arboretum. But Emma says you don’t need to have a woodland setting or trees to grow snowdrops successfully. She has been trialling growing snowdrops at the base of hydrangeas. The shrubs take up water in the summer, giving snowdrops the period of dormancy they need. Then hydrangeas provide colour in late summer and autumn.

Emma recommends all hydrangea varieties for this plant partnership. At Thenford there are hundreds of mop-head, lacecap and paniculata types. These are low maintenance as well as being perfect planting companions for snowdrops.

G. ‘Pat Mason’ under a mop-head hydrangea

Snowdrops can successfully be grown in containers. Thenford has a topiary garden with a collection of Italian urns containing black grass, Ophiopogon planiscapus, and snowdrops.

There’s also a plant theatre, created for auriculas, but in winter it’s used for snowdops and daffodils.

Snowdrops in teracotta pots look striking set against the black painted background, and it’s an opportunity to look closely and compare markings.

I asked Emma which other varieties would she recommend. Here’s her list of top snowdrops to grow.

G. ‘Daisy Sunshine’. Snowdrop photos copyright Emma Thick.

‘Daisy Sunshine’ is not a lot different from the horde of nivalis sandersii group but quite a good, reliable yellow. Again, love the name . Everyone could find room for a bit of ‘Daisy Sunshine’ to brighten a corner of a garden, says Emma.

“Galanthus reginae-olgae subsp vernalis ‘Miss Adventure’. Again, great name, quirky snowdrop. The spathe has mutated to become petal like. Has the bonus of having the outer petals maker green too, so would probably count as an inverse poculiform or I-poc for short . We grow her sister ‘Miss Behaving’ near by.

‘Hill Poe’. A very frilly full double that does nothing but want to grow. Looks great in a big clump.

‘E.A. Bowles’ is a pure white poculiform (inners and outers same length) almost shaped like a tiny lampshade. An exquisite beauty, not always the easiest to grow.

‘

Galanthus reginae-olgae subsp reginae-olgae ‘Tilebarn Jamie’

Flowers in October. Perfectly normal for this subsp to do that. And happens to coincide with the red leaf fall of Acer palmatum ‘Skeeters Broom.’ Just exquisite and an unexpected delight on our October open days.

Woronowii ‘Cider with Rosie’ a green-tipped variety of Galanthus woronowii which I adore. One to admire up close as it is not the biggest or most dramatic.

Galanthus elwesii ‘Rosemary Burnham.’ A virescent snowdrop which people probably either love or hate depending on how you like green flowers. Again, grows well here at Thenford but not for others. Best appreciated up close.

‘Greenfinch’ an excellent green tipped snowdrop. The green is really embedded in the outer petals so it appears very pinched.

‘Blewbury Tart’. Not a pretty flower really, but looks good in a clump. It is my mum Cherry Thick’s favourite. It was found by Alan Street in Oxfordshire. Again, best admired up close.”

I asked Emma for advice on planting snowdrops. She said wait until the bulbs are dormant before moving them. Snowdrops produce just one set of roots each year. Any damage to the roots while digging up or planting means the bulb will not be able to take up enough nutrient for the following year. This means the bulb will either fail to flower or die.

Thenford opens for 20 days a year. Rupert Heseltine explained his parents, Lord and Lady Heseltine purchased the house and it’s surrounding garden in 1976. Over the next 25 years, their priority was to restore the 40 acres of woodland. Debris was cleared, rotten or fallen trees removed and replaced with many rare and unusual varieties. The arboretum now extends to 70 acres with 3,000 trees and shrubs. There are 113 ‘Champion Trees.’ The medieval fish ponds and their interconnecting canal and lake have all been restored and two new lakes have been added.

The walled garden was being used as a sheep field when the Heseltines bought the property. It has now been restored and features trained fruit trees, step-over apples, and a range of greenhouses containing exotic plants and citrus.

To book tickets to visit Thenford, see the website:

https://thenfordarboretum.com/

The 2026 Snowdrop Spectacular will be held on Saturday, February 14.

Thank you for reading my blog. I hope you’ve enjoyed these photos and found the information from Emma inspiring. There’s an interview with Emma on my Instagram account at karengimson1.

I enjoyed every second of my visit to the gardens and I’m certainly looking forward to visiting again through the seasons, and to viewing the snowdrops again next February. It’s a ‘must visit’ on my calendar!

Snowdrop Painting Workshop at Broadwell, Gloucestershire.

January 7, 2025 / karen / 16 Comments

Date: 1st February at Broadwell Manor.

Details: Info@broadwellmanor.com.

I started writing this blog with the intention of spreading good news about all things gardening. With that in mind, I thought you’d like to hear about some new events being planned for Broadwell in Gloucestershire. The first event was a Christmas wreath-making course reviewed here on the blog. See below for details.

Rachel de Thame has now announced plans for a snowdrop painting workshop in association with celebrated artist Debbie George.

Rachel’s garden, from her latest book, A Flower Garden for Pollinators published by Greenfinch/ Quercus Books with detailed botanical illustrations by Lauren Lusk and photographs by Jonathan Buckley

I was lucky enough to get a chance to wander about Rachel’s garden while foraging for foliage for my Christmas wreath, and there under the huge, hundred year old trees, I spotted masses of little green shoots. Rachel had no idea the snowdrops were there when she bought the house- it was a glorious and very welcome surprise when drifts of them emerged.

Rachel says she’s very excited to be teaming up with Debbie George for the snowdrop painting workshop and galanthus appreciation day. “It’s a rare opportunity to be guided by Debbie through the process of painting snowdrops. I’ll be sharing growing tips and discussing the passion that these tiny flowers inspire in enthusiasts. Then we’ll go outside to pick snowdops from the many hundreds growing in the garden for you to paint, with Debbie on hand to help and advise.”

Another lovely example of Debbie’s paintings

All materials are supplied, as well as a three course lunch and refreshments throughout the day. There will be a selection of unusual snowdops available to buy, supplied by Ashwood Nurseries.

Debbie’s richly-illustrated book documenting her life and work was published in March 2024 by Rylett Press.

For more than thirty years, Debbie has painted still lifes – primarily flowers and pottery, sometimes landscape, and often all three in a single composition. Her paintings are today highly collected and appreciated around the world as joyful pictorial celebrations of the English seasons, of country life and the natural world.

Based on conversations with Debbie and drawing on her personal archive, the book provides a rare glimpse into the life and working methods of the artist. Packed with more than 200 illustrations, it shows that the clarity and sophistication of Debbie George’s art is the result of continuous practice and experimentation. This is a timely celebration of a lifetime of painting flowers, pottery and landscape.

“For Debbie George admirers and collectors, this celebration of her work is long overdue. It’s wonderful to see the full range of her paintings, spanning more than thirty years, collected together in one volume. Each turn of the page reveals another image to be poured over by all who share Debbie’s love of nature and feel lifted by her unique portrayal of Earth’s riches, however small they be.” – Rachel de Thame, BBC TV presenter, garden writer and columnist.

I hope you’ve enjoyed viewing these beautiful illustrations as much as I have. They have certainly brightened a very cold wet day here in Leicestershire. Thank you for reading my blog. Sign up for e mail notifications for more reviews, garden visits, and general news from my wildlife-filled, English country garden.

For more information on courses contact info@broadwellmanor.com.

For the wreath-making review:

https://bramblegarden.com/2024/12/19/christmas-wreath-workshop-with-rachel-de-thame-and-arit-anderson/

For a review of Rachel’s latest book:

https://bramblegarden.com/2024/12/16/a-flower-garden-for-pollinators-by-rachel-de-thame/

Thank you and Happy New Year!

RHS Grow Food Anywhere -prize draw win

January 6, 2025 / karen / Leave a comment

Thank you everyone who read my review and left a comment on the blog. John Tilton has won the prize copy. Please get in touch John by sending an e mail to k.gimson@btinternet.com.

Many thanks to the publishers, Dorling Kindersley, for sending a copy of the book to give away.

I have no hesitation in recommending Lucy Chamberlain’s new book. If ever you’ve wanted to have a go at growing food, look out for the book. It will set you on the right path for success.

Lucy shows us how to analyse our gardens to create ‘zones.’ It’s then a case of right plant for the right place. There’s literally something to grow in any situation.

I wrote this over on instagram at karengimson1 .

Thank you for reading my blog. Please sign up for e mails and notifications. More book reviews to follow…. Happy New Year! Karen

Christmas Wreath Workshop with Rachel de Thame and Arit Anderson

December 19, 2024December 20, 2024 / 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.

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.

A Flower Garden for Pollinators by Rachel de Thame

December 16, 2024December 30, 2024 / 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.

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.

Autumn in Rachel’s cut flower walled garden

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.

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 Review and Giveaway

December 11, 2024December 12, 2024 / 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

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.

Gardening injuries. A warning to take extra care in the garden.

August 10, 2024August 17, 2024 / karen / 15 Comments

I’ve seen a lot of gardening injuries during my 20 years working in horticulture. Most recently, I was setting out plants for a new border at work when the gardener turned up with a massive bandage on his hand. Blood was seeping through and his face was scarlet and sweating from the pain. He told me he was cutting grass on a ride-on mower when the cutter deck became clogged up. The grass was damp, which meant it collected under the machine. Instead of stopping, switching off the mower and scraping the grass, to save time he leaned sidewards from his seat and used his hand to clear the grass. As a result, the mower blades sliced off the tips of all four fingers. Surgeons couldn’t reattach the severed finger tips as they’d been damaged by the blades and infection was a concern. “I didn’t think it through,” was the gardener’s comment. “It only took a second for the accident to happen.”

Over the years, I’ve also seen some ‘near miss’ accidents. This is one recent example:

A friend, Bridget Blair, sent me photos of an eye injury she sustained while working in the garden. I’m sharing her story here as a reminder to take extra care when using bamboo canes as supports. Something we all do, and perhaps become a little blasé about.

This is in her own words.

“I was in the greenhouse and bent down to check on the cucumbers , but missed seeing a cane in one of the tomato plants until too late. It went straight my eye socket just above my actual eye, very forceful. The area became quite swollen quite quickly and within a day or so, the bruises came out. “

Bridget’s greenhouse

Did you seek any medical advice?

“No, I cleansed the area, monitored how I was feeling – a headache and my eyesight was slightly wobbly for an hour or so.”

Advice you’d give to help other gardeners?

“Use cane toppers on your bamboo canes! In my garden I recycle plastic bottles by using them on the top of the raspberry and bean canes, but hadn’t bothered in the greenhouse. A huge mistake…”

Bridget’s pain and bruising eased after a week or so, and fortunately there’s no long-term damage to the eye. But it’s a wake up call to all of us working in the garden to go around and analyse areas of risk, look at plant supports and check they are safe, and also stop and think before tackling any jobs. Analyse what safety equipment will be needed for each task, asking whether we should be wearing gloves or safety glasses, for example. And I would also add, take a moment to check that the job you’re just about to do is within your capabilities- or will it be stretching you too much and putting you in danger of injury. A moments thought could really help prevent illness, injury -or a trip to the hospital.

Bridget, a very keen gardener, describes her plot:

“There’s no garden at the front, our cottage dates from around 1665 but the rest of the quarter of an acre garden wraps itself around it.

Back garden view

“At the back, there is a lawn leading to a ha ha and open fields beyond. To the left, there’s a herbaceous border, with roses, peonies, Hydrangea Annabelle, variegated holly, apple tree, and honeysuckle, Lonicera Halliana. On the right hand side of the garden, a little courtyard leads through to the old privy- now a garden equipment store- and my greenhouse, and vegetable patch.

“I’m a former BBC news journalist working in local radio which meant every day was different. Reading the news, making features, being a radio reporter and interviewing people at pivotal or exciting times in their lives. I also used to be the stand-in presenter for the weekly gardening programme, which I loved! What’s not to like about meeting lots of lovely gardeners, recording in gorgeous gardens, and presenting a gardening quiz across two counties! I also made features for Radio 4 programmes.

“I left the BBC a couple of years ago, but am still a member of the Garden Media Guild, so am still busy visiting gardens and meeting up with gardening friends. There’s also more time to spend travelling, reading and being in the garden, of course! It’s so rewarding being with my little grandchildren and seeing them so interested in ‘pretty flowers’ and growing food to eat.”

Bridget’s Foxgloves and wild flowers amongst the raspberries

Bridget posted on Instagram to warn gardeners to take extra care when using bamboo canes as supports.

Bridget is on instagram, X, and writes a blog at ‘thinkingofthedays.’

The NHS website gives the following advice for eye injuries:

Get medical help if you have a chemical in your eye or something pierces it.

Immediate action required: Go to A&E or call 999 if:

a strong chemical, such as oven cleaner or bleach, is in your eye – keep rinsing your eye with water while waiting for medical help
a sharp object has pierced your eye
something has hit your eye at high speed – for example, while using power tools or mowing the lawn
there are any changes to your sight after an eye injury
you have a headache, high temperature or sensitivity to light
you’re feeling sick or being sick after an eye injury
you cannot move your eye or keep it open
blood or pus is coming from your eye

Do not drive to A&E. Ask someone to drive you or call 999 and ask for an ambulance.

Bring any medicines you take with you.

How to treat an eye injury at home

Do

wash your eye with clean water if there’s something in it
follow the advice on the packaging if any cosmetics or household products get in your eyes
take painkillers like paracetamol or ibuprofen to help ease any pain or discomfort

Don’t

do not try to remove any object that’s pierced your eye
do not touch or rub your eye until it’s better
do not wear make-up around your eye until it’s better
do not wear contact lenses until your eye is better

How to wash your eye

You should:

use clean water (not hot) – this can be from a tap, shower, or bottled water if you’re not at home
hold your eye open
run lots of water over your eyeball for at least 20 minutes

Make sure the flow of water is not too strong.

Urgent advice: Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if:

you’ve injured your eye and it is not getting better after 24 hours
you’re worried about an eye injury

You can call 111 or get help from 111 online.

You could also visit an opticians for advice.

The RH also offers advice:

Gardening is good for you, physically and mentally, but there are some potential hazards. These can be reduced or eliminated by using appropriate protective clothing and equipment.

Quick facts

The HSE (Health and Safety Executive) webpage on PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) is for workplace situations, but contains information relevant to home gardeners.
The RoSPA (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents)figures show that each year in the UK about 87,000 people suffer injuries while gardening or carrying out DIY jobs in the garden.
Taking sensible precautions by using PPE ensures gardening is a safe and enjoyable pastime.
People have different reactions to allergens in plants; some individuals may be highly sensitive to them, resulting in a severe allergic reaction.

Thank you for reading my blog. Have any of you had an accident in the garden? Please leave a message below and share any information you think might be helpful to other readers. Have a happy- and safe- weekend in the garden.

Further reading: I wrote about Tamsin Westhorpe’s fall from a ladder which resulted in a fractured spine here:

https://bramblegarden.com/2021/11/03/accidents-in-the-garden/

Update: and Cathy writes this today after falling from a ladder while pruning wisteria:

https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2024/08/17/six-on-saturday-breaking-rules-and-other-quirky-stuff/

Book prize winner. Regional Cooking of England.

July 14, 2024 / karen / Leave a comment

John Stewart is the lucky prize winner of Regional Cooking of England. It’s a gorgeous book. I can highly recommend it. I’m very grateful to Lorenz Books for supplying a prize draw copy to give away. Many thanks to all who read my review and got in touch. Have a great gardening, and cooking week! Karen

You can read the review here:

https://bramblegarden.com/2024/07/12/regional-cooking-of-england-book-review/

By Carol Wilson. Published by Lorenz Books. £25. Photos supplied by Lorenz Books/ Anness Publishing.

Regional Cooking of England- Book Review

July 12, 2024July 12, 2024 / karen / 7 Comments

A Culinary Tour with More Than 280 Traditional Recipes.

Carol Wilson

Published by Lorenz Books

Hardback. 672 pages. £25

ISBN 9780754835462

One copy to give away in a prize draw. See below.

My grandma Betty’s specialities were fairy cakes smothered in ‘hundreds and thousands’ – lurid-coloured sugar strands. In fact hundreds and thousands found their way onto a surprising number of puddings. Everything from strawberry trifle, to tarts and sponge puddings. They were her little way of adding sparkle. It must have been a fad of the 70s and 80s, as I haven’t seen them used to decorate puddings for at least 30 years. I have fond memories of family get togethers and grandma’s cakes. Me and my three brothers ate a prodigious amount of sugary puddings- and amazingly all of us are stick thin! We also played outdoors a lot, using up all that energy from those calorie-filled meals. Reading Carol Wilson’s new book Regional Cooking of England, brought back all those happy memories of family food. In Carol’s book there are no hundreds and thousands- but there are all the stalwart recipes of my childhood; jam roly poly, Eve’s pudding, bread and butter pudding, and golden syrup sponge. We were brought up on jam tarts, lemon meringue and Bakewell pudding. In fact, my Mum still makes Bakewell pudding for our Sunday lunch. And very delicious it is too! As we get older, we think back and try to recreate those happy family memories of carefree days. I just remember lots of laughter and joy. I wasn’t aware of any trials and tribulations in the world, just a feeling of security and warmth. How I would love to go back to those days. A time when nothing mattered outside of those four walls. I realise now how blessed I was, having wonderful, loving parents and grandparents, siblings and cousins, aunts and uncles – all in the same village, close by. The power of a book, to bring back memories. I can highly recommend Carol Wilson’s culinary tour. You might even find that it sparks your own time-travelling memories into the past!

It really is a beautiful book- probably the most beautiful cookery book I’ve ever seen to be honest. It combines glorious english scenic photography alongside mouthwatering food.

My i-phone photos of the book only give an indication of the photos. The real thing is obviously much better quality.

Recipes include soups, casseroles, main courses, breakfast and puddings

One of my favourite recipes. Perfect for a summer family party. We had many of these fun-filled days, not special occasions just ordinary family get-togethers.

Another favourite. My mum still grows gooseberries for crumbles and tarts. This is a lovely recipe I’ve tried this week with my own Hinnomaki gooseberries.

We used to enjoy this dish this, but didn’t know the name. Very nutritious and filling.

Wild foods are mentioned. We used to pick mushrooms in the back fields behind our house. Some of them were the size of dinner plates.

My grandparents grew many of their vegetables. Long lines of peas, beans and potatoes. My grandmother had a huge patch of raspberries. So sweet and tasty in June and July. She kept dozens of hens, so there were fresh eggs every day. She sold them at the garden gate and at the two little shops in the village. In Whetstone, there was a butchers, a general store, a post office. Mrs Pinder’s grocery store sold just about everything. All gone now. Even the post office has closed.

Summer fruit pudding. Photos supplied by Lorenz Books/ Anness Publishing.

More details about the book, taken from the back cover:

Sussex pond pudding, fruit crumbles, trifle, steak and oyster pie, raised pork pies, toad in the hole, scones, stotties, Bosworth jumbles… In this book you’ll find everything from old-fashioned favourites and current classics to less well known historical dishes (a few of which might raise an eyebrow), along with many wonderful local recipes.

This is a celebration of England’s food, with dishes to represent its heritage, old and new. The recipes are easy to follow, with accessible ingredients, and achievable in today’s modern kitchens. Introductory chapters detail the history of cooking and eating in England, the feasts and festivals, high days and holidays, eating habits and ingredients. A glorious cookbook offering the taste of England, and a fascinating glimpse of the past.

Discover the delights of the full English breakfast, the tin miner’s meal of a filling Cornish pasty, and the abundance of a traditional afternoon tea with dainty scones and cucumber sandwiches. Enjoy the unassailable family ritual of the classic Sunday lunch. Here are childhood classics – shepherd’s pie and jammy tarts – as well as elaborate old-fashioned celebration centrepieces such as raised game pie and wobbling, domed blancmange.

Try regional dishes such as Sussex Smokies, Lancashire Hotpot, Pan Haggerty, Bakewell Pudding and Yorkshire Parkin, and compare the merits of Bath Buns, Devon Flats, and Goosenargh Cakes with your cup of tea. This sumptuous volume is both a history and an inspiration, and for many a journey down memory lane.

Editor CAROL WILSON is a food writer and historian who has contributed to many publications including The Times, The Illustrated London News, Heritage, Food and Wine, and Gastronomica. She has appeared on television promoting British food and discussing the history and usage of traditional ingredients. Her other books include Scottish Heritage Food and Cooking, The Liquorice Cookbook, and The Bacon Cookbook. She is a member of the Guild of Food Writers.

Please leave a comment and your name in the box below to be entered in the prize draw for one copy. A winner will be randomly selected on Sunday 14th July at 6pm. Sorry, UK entries only. The editor’s decision is final and there’s no cash alternative. Please check back on Sunday evening if you enter this competition. If there are no replies to my announcement, I’ll redo the draw and chose another winner. Thank you for reading my blog.

Jam jar flowers….

June 3, 2024June 3, 2024 / karen / 27 Comments

For In a Vase on Monday.

For a modern floral arrangement, four small bottles in a wood and metal holder make life very easy indeed.

These bottles remind me of the ones we used to get at primary school containing milk. Every day we had rich, creamy milk which we sipped through a straw. I loved it! Our teacher, ever ready to put science into action, got us to pour the cream, the top of the milk, into a jam jar. A lid would be added and we each had to shake the jar for as long as we could. The resulting butter was spread on crumpets warmed on the woodburner in the corner of the classroom. We all took it in turn to be ‘wood monitor’ and had to fetch the logs from outdoors. We also had a pencil, paper and skipping rope monitor. It taught us duty and responsibility at a young age. I can’t remember anyone complaining about their tasks. Probably the only thing I didn’t like about school was the outside toilets. They were freezing in the winter and full of dust and spiders. You had to run from the classroom right round the other side of the playground to reach the little row of toilets. And you had to dash there in all weathers, even if it was snowing or raining. Just before I moved schools, a new indoor cloakroom was built and I can distinctly remember everyone being very excited about the new, posh indoor loos! No more spiders or slip-sliding about in the snow. Happy days!

My pretty little floral arrangement was a gift from Jonathan Moseley after we worked together at the Belvoir Castle Flower and Garden Show. Jonathan was the celebrity speaker giving talks and demonstrations on floristry, and I was running planting sessions for children. I loved Jonathan’s green and white selection for the little bottles. He chose English anemones and Italian ranunculus. Aren’t they beautiful!

Jonathan is well known for using flowers grown in his own garden and weaving them into arrangements using British tulips and lilies. Here’s some Lily of the Valley from his Derbyshire garden. The scent was glorious!

He added cow parsley from his own garden too. He mentioned that you can use cow parsley even when flowers are going over, as the little green seed heads are just as pretty.

Scent is essential in flower arrangements and Jonathan added white hyacinths into the mix. I grow Carnegie White for my flower posies.

I think my favourite flowers are these frilly white ones. They lasted at least two weeks, as I changed the water daily and snipped a tiny amount off the bottom of each stem.

I’m growing white anemone coronaria ‘Mount Everest’ in a large pot in the greenhouse. These have provided a few blooms each week since February. Farmer Gracy and Taylors sell corms for planting in autumn or spring. Soak the corms in water for a few hours before planting and space them 10cm apart and 5cm deep. They can be grown outdoors, but I find the rain spoils the flowers, if you want to use them for floristry.

I’m particularly fond of green flowers, so this one fitted in nicely.

Aren’t flowers just amazing! This one is a white and green ‘Pon Pon’ ranunculus. They remind me of a flamenco-ruffled dress!

Flowers looked just as beautiful from both sides. This would make a fantastic display for a dinner table. It’s not too high that guests can’t see each other. The bottles and stand set is available on Jonathan’s website.

Jonathan is a writer, broadcaster and demonstrator as well as an ambassador for British flowers, and regularly appears on television programmes such as Alan Titchmarsh’s Love Your Weekend.

https://jonathan-moseley.com/

Why not go over to Cathy’s blog to see what others are writing about this week for Cathy’s In a Vase on Monday meme.

https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2024/06/03/in-a-vase-on-monday-dining-out/

Are you growing any flowers for home floristry this year? Get in touch and let me know how you are getting on with your growing plans. Please leave a comment in the box below. Have a happy gardening week! And thank you for reading my blog.

Belvoir Castle Show – Children’s Planting Sessions

May 17, 2024May 17, 2024 / karen / 4 Comments

I love helping the next generation get into gardening, so I was pleased to be asked to host the children’s planting sessions at Belvoir Castle’s May Garden Show.

The Morley family with their potted plants. Parents gave permission for photos to be shared.

Nearly 400 children selected out bedding plants and potted them up into small pots to take home. What surprised me most was the children knew what the plants were. They recognised snapdragons, petunias, marigolds and verbena. Many of them had done some gardening before and were not at all tentative about getting their hands dirty and handling compost. They were straight into it! And they were careful with the little plants which had been growing in multi-cell trays. I didn’t have to say to a single child that the plants were delicate. They treated them kindly!

All ages joined in from babies to teenagers.

Louis and his parents with their potted plants

We started the sessions in the old kitchens as it was raining on day one. But by day two it was a lovely sunny day and we moved outdoors to a marquee on the castle front lawn. You really couldn’t get a better setting for a garden show, with the castle in the background.

A glorious setting for a spring garden show.

Children were also given the chance to select some seeds to take home to plant. These were flower, salad and vegetable seeds. Again, I was astounded at how knowledgeable the children were. One boy aged 8 was delighted to find a packet of seeds to grow cucamelons. “I love cucamelons!” he said. The sunflowers were popular. Children sifted through the seeds to find their favourites. Cucumber was a top choice, but also peas, cabbage and beetroot. One little boy took Italian globe artichoke seeds, and then told me the flowers are good for bees. One couldn’t decide between mangetout or climbing beans. I let him take both. Children listened really carefully to my instructions on looking after the plants and planting them out into bigger containers or the garden. Plants were carefully watered and labels written.

Between the planting sessions I ran mini-talks on getting children into gardening and helping pollinators and wildlife.

I was so pleased the planting sessions proved popular. But I also learned something too. Children are a lot more knowledgable about gardening and the environment than I thought. There seems to be just bad news on the television and in newspapers all the time. I’ve got bogged down and worried by it all. Many things I cannot change weigh heavily on my mind. But those children I met at the show were full of joy, positivity and confidence. They care about plants and nature and they are our future. After spending a few days with them, I feel buoyed up by their enthusiasm too. I’ll carry with me their smiles and their happy chatter for some time to come, and I’ll remember how happy I felt helping them to garden and chatting to them about our shared love of growing plants and helping wildlife.

The children’s planting sessions were sponsored by Dobbies Garden Centres. Here’s manager Paul Coley from Mountsorrel garden centre who fully supported the children’s planting event and helped select plants and products. All the plants, compost, seeds, labels and watering cans were donated by Dobbies. They also donated bug hotels and mini-planting kits as props for my talks and advice-desk sessions. Many thanks to them for their generous sponsorship and support.

Celebrity speaker at the show was international florist Jonathan Moseley who gave me lots of hints and tips on giving talks to an audience. It’s thanks to him that I’m zooming around the garden club and u3a club circuit in the midlands giving talks on garden design and horticulture. Jonathan is a super-talented florist, but also a very kind and generous person. I’m very grateful for his help and encouragement. It’s amazing isn’t it how a few kind words and some genuine advice can propel you in a direction you never thought of!

Belvoir Castle – home to the 11th Duke and Duchess of Rutland in Leicestershire.

Thank you for reading my blog. You are amongst 1,200 readers a week! I’m grateful for your continued loyalty and support. Have any of you visited Belvoir Castle? Do you garden with your children or grandchildren? Please leave a comment in the box below. Have a great gardening weekend everyone!

I wrote about creating a show garden at Belvoir Castle here:

https://bramblegarden.com/2018/07/22/we-made-a-garden-for-rainbows-hospice-belvoir-show-2018/

Cheese, parsley and chive bread rolls

April 22, 2024April 22, 2024 / karen / 4 Comments

This week’s recipe for Garden News Magazine.

I like these multi-packs of seeds as they save money. As well as growing the chives and parsley, I can highly recommend the cinnamon basil which smells and tastes divine. Are you growing herbs from seed this spring? It’s an economical way to grow them and you don’t have to sow the whole packet at once. I often save half a packet for the next year.

These windowsill seed and box kits are recommended. I wrote about them here:

https://bramblegarden.com/2023/05/17/salmon-and-spring-herb-pie/

Let me know if you have a go at making these bread rolls. They are such a lovely accompaniment to spring vegetable soup. I’m making cream of celery soup today, using celery grown over winter in the unheated poly tunnel. Tastes nothing like the bland celery you buy from the shops. It’s so sweet and crunchy!

Happy gardening everyone!

Strawberry Sponge Gateau.

April 17, 2024April 17, 2024 / karen / 9 Comments

Home Grown recipes.

This week’s Garden News Magazine recipe using fruit grown in my garden. Strawberries don’t thaw out well after freezing. They tend to go soft. But frozen fruit is perfect for adding to pies, cakes and puddings. In this instance, I’ve added strawberries to some jam and filled a light sponge cake. Then I’ve added lashings of whipped double cream. I must admit, I had no complaints from the family! 😃

I slice and freeze strawberries in flat plastic trays before bagging them up and using them over the winter. Shop-bought strawberries seem to have no taste, but sun-ripened home-grown fruit is delicious- and free!

You can buy strawberry plants now from the garden centres or online. You can also buy bare-rooted stock which has been cold-treated to produce fruit this year. Strawberries need winter cold to prompt them to flower and fruit, so don’t put them in a greenhouse or other protected space indoors over winter. But you can bring them indoors now to get an earlier crop, if you grow them in containers.

I’ve had the best success growing them in window boxes and lifting them into the greenhouse in early spring. Growing in containers helps defeat the slugs which tend to be a nuisance in wet weather. And also it’s easier to cover them in fine netting to protect from birds. Take care not to use coarse netting, which catches birds’ feet. It can be difficult and distressing trying to untangle a delicate bird from netting. I tend to use fleece now, or micro mesh insect proof netting which has no holes to trap feet.

You’ll notice I mention David Hurrion’s new book. A review is to follow. Very highly recommended. It’s the only guide you’ll ever need for growing anything in raised beds. A very well-written and comprehensive book. Another Dorling Kindersley success story. DK spots all the best writers and is giving us a field day with new titles this year. And David Hurrion is a very well respected horticulturists, teacher and writer. Someone I have no hesitation in recommending for his book and also courses. I note he will be coming to Barnsdale Gardens this year to teach pruning techniques and caring for fruit trees and soft fruit (16 November) and gardening for beginners and plant propagation (3rd August).

Details here : https://shop.barnsdalegardens.co.uk/collections/all-courses

https://www.davidhurrion.com/

Thank you for reading my blog. You are amongst 1,000 readers a week! I’m very grateful for all your support. Come back and read more reviews, and for recipes, and photos of what I’m growing here at bramblegarden. Please also sign up for notifications for future posts.

I wrote a fact sheet for strawberries here :

https://bramblegarden.com/2018/04/26/fact-sheet-for-growing-strawberries-recipe-for-ten-minute-strawberry-jam-biscuits/

Strawberry scones mentioned here:

https://bramblegarden.com/2022/03/01/end-of-the-month-review-some-photos-from-my-garden-and-thoughts-for-ukraine/

Vegan cheesecake:

https://bramblegarden.com/2020/05/10/strawberry-cheesecakes-vegan-family-favourite-recipes-from-my-daughter-clare/

Garden fruit jam

https://bramblegarden.com/2018/07/26/summer-fruit-harvest-and-making-garden-jam/

Winner: Second Nature book give-away

April 13, 2024April 25, 2024 / karen / 6 Comments

Update: I’ve re – run the prize draw as Fiona hasn’t got back to me at all. The new winner is Natalia Clarke at Luckybees. enjoy the book Natalia!

The winner of the prize draw for Susie White’s gorgeous new book, Second Nature is Fiona Pryor. Please e mail me for details, Fiona. My e mail is k.gimson@btinternet.com.

Thank you to everyone who read the review and left a comment. You can read the review here:

https://bramblegarden.com/2024/04/10/second-nature-book-review/

Meanwhile, some photos from my garden this weekend. Spring has been a long time coming, and now I can’t bear to be indoors. Every minute is spent in the garden!

Potting shed window. Scented jonquils and forget me nots.

Possibly Narcissi Geranium. Wonderful scent. Reliable grower. Always comes back every year and naturalises in long grass.

Tulip Mondial. A lovely double white with green markings. Long lasting flower. Stands up to the weather. Copes with the rain.

Some tiny species tulips growing in an Italian pot. Part of a mixed cut flower collection from Gee Tee Bulbs. Species bulbs will always come back the following year. Bulbs do not have to grow to such a huge size as the Dutch bulbs to re-flower the next year.

A hybrid ‘cowslip.’ A bee has passed pollen from my red primroses to a yellow wild cowslip- and the resulting seedling is this little beauty. Isn’t nature wonderful!

Thank you for reading my blog. Look back for more book reviews and giveaways next week. Have a great Sunday!

Events at Borde Hill

April 5, 2024April 5, 2024 / karen / 7 Comments

Borde Hill Gardens. Allium Globemaster putting on a fantastic display.

News from one of my top favourite gardens! I’m always happy to share information on events at the gardens I love to visit.

The Specialist Spring Plant Fair will be held at Borde Hill, near Haywards Heath in West Sussex, on Sunday 12th May from 10am to 3pm.

Hosted by the Plant Fairs Roadshow, a collective of independent specialist nurseries, visitors will see a lineup of locally grown, garden worthy and unusual plants from leading growers from across the South East, including several RHS exhibitors.

Borde Hill’s gardening team will be available throughout the event to offer horticultural advice to visitors, helping them find the right plant for the right place. It’s a chance to put your burning horticultural questions to the experts!

The Spring Plant Fair also offers a unique opportunity to delve into Borde Hill’s rich history of planting excellence, with a complimentary talk led by Head of Horticulture, Harry Baldwin, at 12pm in the Garden Marquee. Delve into the remarkable legacy of Colonel Stephenson Robert Clarke, the visionary plantsman behind the Garden’s extraordinary collection of rare trees and flowering shrubs, while hearing about the pioneering propagation programme aimed at safeguarding these botanical wonders for future generations.

A photo of a magnolia I spotted last time I visited the gardens. Borde Hill is famous for its magnolias, azaleas and many rare trees and shrubs.

Specialist exhibitors include Clare’s Chillies, Miles Japanese Maples, and Chailey Iris Garden, along with other well-known names such as Plantbase, Hardy Cottage Garden Plants and Eleplants, among others. The Sussex branch of the Hardy Plant Society will be there too, along with Sussex Wildlife Trust and the Australasian Plant Society
The Spring Plant Fair is a wonderful time to visit Borde Hill, when the Azalea Ring will be a kaleidoscope of colour with deciduous Kurume azaleas. Across the Garden there will also be uplifting displays of rhododendrons, flowering trees, bluebells, tulips and striking Allium Globemaster adding vibrant colour to the Italian Garden and Blue Border.

Azaleas I couldn’t resist photographing! Such a beautiful colour.

A photo of magnolias and candelabra primulas – a scene I enjoyed when I visited in May.

The Plant Fair will be open from 10am-3pm – for more information visit: Specialist Spring Plant Fair – Borde Hill

https://bordehill.co.uk/events/plant-fair-2024/

https://bordehill.co.uk/

Also, many congratulations to Eleni and Andrewjohn Stephenson Clarke for their RHS Veitch Memorial Medal. A well deserved award!

Please leave a comment in the box below and sign up for e mail notifications for further posts. Thank you for reading. You are amongst 1,000 people a week who read my blog. I’m grateful, and amazed. Thank you.

Propagator fire warning

March 30, 2024April 17, 2024 / karen / 4 Comments

I try to pass on any cautionary tales I think might be useful for gardeners.

A friend told me about her propagator catching fire causing flames 2ft high and damaging her kitchen. So I’m passing on her story in case it proves useful to any readers.

Judith Boston is a keen and experienced gardener who opens her garden in Leicestershire for the National Garden Scheme.

Here is her story, in her own words.

The propagator was one of two placed on an old picnic table in the dining part of the kitchen- the picnic table had a plastic coating. During the afternoon I noticed a peculiar smell which intensified during the afternoon. In conversation with my husband, we decided that it was the scent from the narcissi, which were on the kitchen table and had been sent from the Isles of Scilly from my daughter for Mothering Sunday. We have a long association with St. Martin’s IOS and these flowers come from there and so have special significance. However, they do have a strong scent. I did comment that they smelled a little like burning. Note to self to be more curious with peculiar smells- not flowers but burning electrical components!

I then went to my Parish Council meeting and on return sat in the sitting room before going to bed. At 9.50pm the smoke alarm went off and we both hurried into the kitchen to find the propagator alight with 2 feet high flames. The floor was also on fire. We opened the back door and my husband carried the tray with the propagator on it out and placed it on the grass, having disconnected it. I hosed it down and put out the fire on the floor. The fumes from the burning plastic were intense.

We have a smoke alarm and a circuit breaker. The smoke alarm worked very well. The circuit breaker didn’t trigger, but because of the suspected nature of the fault, may not have done. If the wires burn through one at a time, there isn’t a sufficient connection between them to trigger a break- so it wouldn’t necessarily have gone off.

We were very fortunate that we were in at the time. If we had been out, the fire would have taken hold. I have switched off my other propagator and placed the seed trays on a windowsill.

The propagator was from my late father, an excellent, keen gardener. He passed away 8 years ago, so it was old! However, I’ve never had problems before, it was in good condition (seemingly) and was very low heat. It was a large propagator. I’m unsure of the make.

I have been gardening for at least 40 years, my father was a keen gardener, my grandfather was a professional gardener- it’s in the blood. I’ve never had a problem like this before. I’m not sure how you check a propagator for safety- maybe a PAT test, which isn’t done in domestic properties.

The propagator was a write off . Nothing could be salvaged- the pots were beyond repair. Nothing had germinated, maybe due to the increasingly high temperatures. I growing HHA flower seeds- cosmos, scabious, lobelia and others.

Note to self: Follow your nose, be curious around unusual smells and keep your eyes open.

We were lucky. The kitchen needs redecorating, the fumes and plastic particles were all over the house and took many hours of cleaning, but we are alive and well, the house is still standing and our garden is open for NGS on 12th May, with or without my home grown plants!

Judith Boston lives in rural Leicestershire in Carlton. Here are some photos of her garden. Please visit and support the NGS whenever you can.

Judith’s flower-filled garden features raised beds, bee-friendly plants herbs and vegetables.

Forget me nots and tulips with emerging geraniums, summer perennials and ferns.

Many wild flowers grow here. Oxeye daisies, cornflowers, foxgloves and teasels.

The garden features lovely mature trees, including willow and silver birch.

Blue cornflower, corn marigolds and poppies.

A lovely flower-filled archway framing the view to the pretty potting shed.

An electrician commented that the incident highlights the value of smoke alarms which allows people to escape from properties before fires manage to take hold. Regularly check your smoke alarms are still working and change batteries frequently. And always have an escape plan in case of fires. Work out how you would manage to escape if fire broke out in your home. And tell everyone who lives in the property and anyone visiting. It’s not a subject we discuss very often, but could be a life-saver.

Thank you for reading my blog. You are among 1,000 readers a week. I’m very grateful for all your support. Please leave a message and sign up for e mail notifications for future blog posts. Thank you.

Willow Weaving Course at TASK Academy

March 3, 2024March 4, 2024 / karen / 22 Comments

For 20 years I’ve worked alongside skilled willow weavers. I’ve watched them create fences around the gardens I’ve designed. Clematis and roses climb through woven tripods and willow animals ‘scamper’ across the lawns. I’ve always wanted to try my hand at weaving, but never had the chance. I wouldn’t have dared to interfere with their work. We are all on a deadline to complete the gardens. Time is money, and my job is to set out the plants and try to keep ahead of everyone planting them! This week though, I’ve finally managed to get my hands on some willow and have a go! I attended a one-day taster day for land-based skills at TASK Academy in Worcestershire.

Our project was to make a small woven cone out of year-old willow that had been soaked for four days. I loved the contrast between the red and yellow willow.

Our teacher Mel Bastier holding the willow cone I made.

Mel Bastier explained the basics and showed us how to make a small woven structure which could be used as a bird feeder. I decided to use it for floristry. I’m always trying to find new ways of displaying flowers without using florists’ foam.

First we fed willow through holes in a base form which held the willow in place for us to work on. The base form would be much larger for plant supports, but it’s the same principle.

We wove more willow in and out of the uprights until we had made a collar. Then more willow was twisted up to the tip to secure the structure. Finally we added a handle. Mine was quite long as I wanted to hang the cone on my farm gates and amongst the orchard trees.

At home, I collected some moss from under the apple trees. I wrapped it around a jam jar and secured it with garden twine, kokedama style.

The moss makes a natural ‘nest’ for a flower posy. You’d never know there was a jam jar inside.

I pushed the jam jar into the top of the cone and filled it with cold fresh water. Then I wandered around the garden collecting the last of the snowdrops, (if you pull them, they have long stems) the first daffodils, hellebores and primroses.

I stood the flower arrangement on the potting shed windowsill to add some hazel catkins. The flowering cherry just opening is Japanese cherry, Prunus Kojo No-Mai.

Hellebores are seedlings of five plants bought from Ashwood Nurseries. I must have nearly 100 plants around the garden, all offspring of plants purchased 10 years ago.

Although it’s not as showy as the rest, I love this small pink hellebore with its lime green markings.

Daffodils came from Taylors Bulbs. Good strong varieties that come back into flower reliably each year.

I’m very pleased with my willow cone. I loved making it. It’s a very calming thing to do, learning a new skill, among friends, with kind and patient teachers. Mel made the willow crown sculpture at RHS Wisley for the King’s coronation, and she’s also made many structures for flower shows and private gardens.

I would love to return to TASK to make some plant supports like these.

I must admit I fell in love with this hare. Maybe, in time, I might be able to make something similar! If I do, it will be all thanks to Mel and the team at TASK.

TASK Academy is run by award winning landscaper Rupert Keys. If you’ve looked on in wonder at the lovely greenhouse owned by Frances Tophill on Gardeners World, Rupert and his team made it! Frances won Platinum and Best in Show for her garden at BBC Gardeners World Live in 2022 and Rupert built the garden and created the greenhouse out of recycled window frames. I lost count of how many awards he’d won to be honest. Safe to say, he knows what he’s talking about and has the experience.

TASK run land-based courses for the landscaping industry and also for anyone wanting to learn how to create dry stone walls, learn garden design, bricklaying and willow weaving.

I can wholeheartedly recommend them. I loved learning something new and found the team very kind and encouraging. Experts who can also teach with patience and understanding. A perfect day that I’ll always treasure.

Find out more at https://www.taskacademy.co.uk/

Thank you also to Emma Mason PR for inviting me along!

Have you recently attended any courses of any kind and learned a new skill? Let me know how you got on!

Also see Common Farm Flowers for floristry courses where I learned how to make my jam-jar posies and bouquets and grow cut flowers all year round.

See Cathy’s In A Vase on Monday here :

https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/category/gardens/in-a-vase-on-monday/

A winter walk around Barnsdale Gardens

February 28, 2024March 1, 2024 / karen / 25 Comments

Among the 9,000 snowdrops on display at Barnsdale Gardens is this beautiful semi-double variety with long, thin pointed outer segments. Isn’t she a beauty! Such a pretty name too, ‘Starling.’ I spotted it right at the start of our winter walk-and-talk event hosted by Barnsdale owner Nick Hamilton. Once seen, never forgotten. I’m not much of a galanthophile, but Starling captivated me. Such an unusual snowdrop with dark green inner segments and a lovely growth habit, having flowers that tilt upwards which means you don’t have to get down on your hands and knees to appreciate them.

Many of the special snowdrops are displayed in a raised bed surrounded by gravel. Rain doesn’t splash them with mud. Heavy rain has been such a problem this winter and many snowdrops in my garden have either been swamped or munched by slugs. I hadn’t thought of growing them in this way, but I might try it out in a spare corner of the garden.

Galanthus Hippolyta is also thriving and forming a good substantial clump. This is one of the Greatorex doubles, ‘beautifully formed with rounded bells, filled with green edged petticoats’ says the information on a five-page fact sheet supplied by the gardens. All the snowdrops are carefully and clearly labelled and the fact sheet is a great help with identifying all the different varieties.

Galanthus Madeline. Another pretty, robust, recommended variety.

Snowdrops are just one of the attractions in the Winter Border. This garden was created in memory of Nick’s father Geoff Hamilton who presented the BBC Gardeners World show from the site until his death in 1996.

Paths are lined with evergreens, scented plants, and trees and shrubs with colourful bark for winter interest.

The beauty of having a walk- and-talk tour is seeing the plot through expert’s eyes, and picking up hints and tips on cultivation. Nick explains that these beautiful willows produce the best colour on new stems. Plants will be pruned virtually to the ground or to a low stump so that new stems will grow for next winter’s display.

Willows certainly make a design statement, and Nick advises to plant them where the sun shines through them to highlight their bright colours.

Whereas the willows are quite drastically trimmed, Nick advises a more selective approach for pruning these dogwoods. I have similar Cornus Midwinter Fire, and carefully trim back the side shoots and gently shape up the plants. Cornus Westonbirt which has bright red stems are pruned virtually to the ground, but these orange-stemmed dogwoods take a long time to recover if pruned too severely.

Information boards are posted throughout the garden which help our understanding of the reasoning behind the plantings.

It was fascinating to walk around the garden spotting all the trees, shrubs, bulbs and perennials donated to the memorial garden. Gordon Rae is a good friend of the family, and mine, and his name crops up several times with collections of different snowdrops, for example. I noticed trees from Hilliers and plants from TV and radio gardener Martin Fish- among many others.

I particularly love this view of the bandstand and terracotta urn.

New colourful growth on Sorbaria Sem- a compact, thicket-forming shrub for late winter and spring interest.

Winter flowering cherries also looking very cheerful and brighten up a cold wet day.

This little Iris Harmony pops up in patches all over the garden.

Nick Hamilton took over the garden when Geoff died and has continued to plant and develop the plot. There are 38 individual gardens over an 8 acre site.

We continued the tour through the Woodland garden, and on to the impressive vegetable plots where courses are held throughout the year on growing fruit and vegetables and pruning. The gardens are run along organic lines, as Geoff set out to do. Nick continues to grow organically without chemicals and with wildlife in mind.

Nick explains how fruit trees can be grown in small spaces by choosing dwarfing rootstocks and by pruning.

These espalier fruit trees take up little space and form an attractive shape throughout the year. There will be blossom in spring and apples and pears in late summer.

These small fruit trees are part of the Dan Pearson cottage garden.

I couldn’t resist a peep inside that beautiful little greenhouse.

I found scented pelargoniums, some still in flower in February.

And succulents and cacti, alongside trays of seedlings growing on for planting out later in spring.

I must mention the cafe, which served a very tasty and substantial cooked breakfast before our tour. I don’t usually eat a hot breakfast, but tried the vegetarian menu and can highly recommend it. A lovely warm start to a few hours spent walking around the gardens. And there was just time to try the tea and cakes at the end of our tour! It would have been rude not to sample them! The lemon sponge is divine!

For more information on Nick’s walk and talks and other events through the year take a look at the website here:

https://barnsdalegardens.co.uk/

I’ll be going back for more events. There’s plenty on offer for Mother’s Day on 10th March and Easter between 29th March and 1st April (including Easter egg hunts for children). The gardens open all year round, only closing at Christmas, 24th, 25th and 26th December.

Note: I was invited to this event as a guest. I’ve given my honest review of the morning. I can highly recommend the ‘walk and talk’ events. A lovely breakfast followed by a wander around a beautiful garden is just what’s needed after such a cold, dark, wet winter, just as the garden is starting to wake up and shine. I feel invigorated to add much more colour to my own plot. And I’m searching for that very pretty snowdrop.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this ‘winter tour’ of Barnsdale Gardens. Have any of you visited in winter? I’ve only ever visited in summer before, so it was a revelation how much there’s to see. Get in touch and share your favourite part of Barnsdale. I haven’t even mentioned the Paradise Garden! That will wait for next time….

England’s Gardens -A Modern History.

February 9, 2024February 11, 2024 / karen / 27 Comments

Stephen Parker

Published by Dorling Kindersley

Hardback £25

Updated review and giveaway.

Please leave a comment to be included in the prize draw for a copy of this book.

I wrote a review of Stephen Parker’s book last summer.

Read it here: https://bramblegarden.com/2023/07/08/englands-gardens-a-modern-history-book-review/

There has been a wave of new books coming into the potting shed for tea break reading, but this one stood out well above the others. And now, six months later, I’m still intrigued and entranced by Stephen Parker’s study of gardens and the people who created them. To be honest, I wouldn’t be parted from this book. It’s beautifully-written and illustrated and Stephen has the knack of drawing you in and leading you around a garden, showing you all the best parts and lending insights into how they were created and why. It’s as much a book about people as the landscapes and I suppose we always want to try to get inside the heads of the creators to see what influenced and motivated them. Stephen entices you in and doesn’t disappoint.

Contents page. Tom Stuart-Smith’s Middle Terrace at Broughton Grange, Oxfordshire.

In-depth case studies focus on Chatsworth House, Longleat, The Lasket, Wrest Park, Rousham, I d in Esher, Surrey, Denmans Garden, Shute House, Hauser and Wirth, Somerset, East Ruston Old Vicarage, Highgrove, Thenford, Prospect Cottage, Dungeness, Broughton Grange, Oxfordshire, King’s Cross Gardens, and Lowther Castle.

In amongst the case studies are section on the influence of East Asia on the I’m uuiijgarden makers in the 18th Century.

The effects of plant hunters and the species they brought to Britain.

Plant hunter George Forrest in China in 1925

Every time I pick up this book I delve a little bit deeper into the backgrounds of these special places and learn more about the people who made them. It’s a very cheerful and enlightening read for cold winter days when inspiration and encouragement is much needed.

I hope you’ve enjoyed revisits Stephen Parker’s book with me. I can’t recommend it highly enough!

Please leave a comment in the box below. A name will be randomly selected by Sunday evening. The publisher’s decision is final and there’s no cash alternative. Sorry, only UK addresses, excluding Northern Ireland, are eligible.

Thank you for reading.

Winter gardens opening for the NGS

January 26, 2024January 26, 2024 / karen / 9 Comments

A morning of inspiring photos of gardens due to open for the NGS really warmed my heart and set me up for getting out and about visiting special places again. Here’s some photos of gardens due to open over the winter. These were highlighted as part of the NGS’s 2024 launch event yesterday. I must say, thinking of all these lovely garden views and beautiful flowers really cheered me up. I hope they do the same for you too!

Bucklow Farm in Cheshire opens on 25th Feb. This special, country garden has been created over 30 years. There’s a herb garden,veg plot, meadow and wildlife pond, and is especially well known for its winter flowering displays.

Thousands of snowdrops underplant the special trees, shrubs and roses.

Hellebores especially do well at Bucklow Farm. The address is Pinfold Lane, Plumley, Cheshire, WA16 9RP. Check all dates, times and details before travelling.

https://findagarden.ngs.org.uk/garden/18917/bucklow-farm

More beautiful hellebores and snowdrops, at Welford Park in Berkshire. This garden has been opening for the NGS since 1927.

https://findagarden.ngs.org.uk/garden/5331/welford-park

Spring cocktail of colours. Galanthus Melanie Broughton, yellow winter aconites and pink cyclamen coum. Gable House, Suffolk.

https://findagarden.ngs.org.uk/garden/7098/gable-house

Higher Cherubeer, Dolton, Devon. One and three quarter acres of gardens with 400 varieties of snowdrop and the national collection of cyclamen species.

https://findagarden.ngs.org.uk/garden/17164/higher-cherubeer

The Old Rectory, Fawkham

https://findagarden.ngs.org.uk/garden/32008/the-old-rectory-fawkham

And in Leicestershire, hundreds of snowdrop varieties on display at Hedgehog Hall.

https://findagarden.ngs.org.uk/garden/21608/hedgehog-hall

There are around 100 snowdrop and spring-flowering gardens opening for the National Garden Scheme this year.

Over the whole year, 3,372 are scheduled to open. 575 are new to the NGS. 333 gardens are returning to the charity after a break. Nearly 1,000 gardens open ‘by arrangement’ where groups and individuals can arrange a visit at a mutually-agreed time for an exclusive tour of the garden. 2,681 offer refreshments, and 1,682 welcome dogs (very much appreciated by our spaniel Meg- who doesn’t like being left at home).

It was absolutely heartening to hear that 2023 was a record-breaking year for the NGS enabling them to give away £3.4 million to cancer care and other health and well-being charities. The NGS has been helping Macmillan cancer support for 40 years and has donated almost £20 million to them during this time. Personally, our friends and relatives have benefited from this care and we are truly grateful to the wonderful nurses at Macmillan. Many of you will also know that my youngest daughter is a nurse and my eldest daughter also worked for a children’s hospice. So I’m fully behind the NGS as they are a powerful and staunch supporter of nurses.

https://findagarden.ngs.org.uk/garden/34092/chawton-house

Thank you for reading my blog. Please leave a comment in the box below, and sign up for e mail notifications of further blogs.

Yesterday’s blog was about garden designers opening their own gardens for the NGS. Read it here:

https://bramblegarden.com/2024/01/25/national-garden-scheme-launches-its-2024-campaign/

Happy New Year! A soggy walk around my January garden.

January 1, 2024January 7, 2024 / karen / 20 Comments

Dried flower heads on hydrangea paniculata hybrid.

Welcome! I garden on a one acre plot in north Leicestershire. Most of the garden is planted with native trees and shrubs. There’s a small pond, a mini water meadow full of marsh marigolds and lady’s smock, a small vegetable plot, greenhouse and poly tunnel. I grow as many flowers, fruit and veg as I can in containers and small divided beds. I aim to have something to pick from the garden every week of the year. This post is for my mum who can’t easily visit at the moment and the photos give her a flavour of what the garden looks like today. You are welcome to join me on a slow stroll around the plot as I seek out anything cheerful at this time of the year!

When there are plenty of flowers around, these cyclamen hederifolium barely get a second glance, but in January when everything is bare, the patterns on the leaves draw me in. I love moving from one plant to another comparing the intricate markings. No two plants are the same.

These grey-leaved cyclamen coum shine out in the shade under the ash trees. Soon they will have dainty white or bright pink flowers.

These are just starting to flower and there’s plenty of buds to open. They thrive under deciduous trees, flowering before the leaf canopy emerges.

I found some small brunnera plants. These have blue forget-me-not flowers in spring. They grow in deep shade alongside the cyclamen.

Arum italicum can be a thug, spreading all over the garden. But in deep shade, it is fairly well-behaved. It has bright orange berries and creamy white spathes. Good foliage for jam jar flowers.

Wild primroses are starting to push up through the leaf litter all over the plot. They seed about freely and provide pollen for early-emerging bumble bees.

When there’s not much to see, grasses provide a ‘stop and stare’ moment by the pond. These are beautiful all year round, and especially on a windy day.

I’ve never seen eranthis hyemalis flowering so early. Temperatures have been well above average all winter, but it’s also been extremely wet and most of the flower borders are under water again today. 2023 saw the wettest July to December period on record for the UK. Records started in 1890. With the ground already waterlogged, the recent rain has caused massive flooding in our area. The River Trent in Nottinghamshire burst its banks. Homes and businesses have been flooded out. It’s heartbreaking to see so much damage. So I won’t complain about my garden. It will drain away naturally and all will be well. Luckily I’ve taken cuttings of all the salvias and penstemons that are currently waterlogged, so there’s a back up plan if they don’t survive.

Shrugging off the wet weather, hellebores are starting to flower. These came from John Massey’s Ashwood Nursery near Birmingham. Some of these have been under water this week, with just the flower buds bobbing about in the air.

Early flowering snowdrops looking slightly muddy. Mrs Macnamara is a reliable variety and bulks up fairly quickly. Luckily it’s a very tall snowdrop – and as you can see, survives a few days under water. I think we can say it’s definitely robust!

The wildflower patch- now a bog! Luckily the greenhouse and poly tunnel are on higher ground. We have had to check for stranded goldfish as this area is alongside our pond.

Anyway, today there was sunshine. And the top of the willow trees look golden against a bright blue sky. A moment of joy after all that rain. Tiny grey pussy willow buds are starting to show. And there’s catkins on hazel and alder trees.

Monty is a good barometer for the weather. He’s been hibernating indoors during the rain. But today he emerged and set upon the straddle stone as a watch-out post, keeping his paws perfectly dry. Now as I write this he’s back in front of the fire, and I’ve checked the weather reports. Snow is forecast!

Snow will look pretty atop these black rudbeckia seed heads. I leave them for natural bird food and structure over winter.

I’ve left the flat sedum heads too. I just can’t call them by their new name. Hylotelephinium sounds like a type of outdated phone rather than an ice plant!

Some feverfew seed heads remain. Nothing spectacular, but I feel like accepting any tiny glimmer of beauty at the moment. It’s a quiet time, and I’m not being too fussy. Just grateful.

Eryngium Miss Willmott’s Ghost, looking more ghostly than usual. Looking closely, I found a ladybird and a lacewing, headfirst, nestled between the seeds. Peacefully may they slumber until spring.

Well, even I admit these are ugly, but there’s a certain something in those dark brown seeds emerging from the peony lutea pods. They glisten like amber in sunshine. Mum grew some plants from these and they flowered for the first time last summer. Seven years after sowing!

Planted underneath, in deep shade, there’s plenty of Skimmia Kew Green. Such a gorgeous scent in spring. Much overlooked in modern planting plans.

A quick peek in the greenhouse. Always plenty of gorgeously-scented pelargoniums and citrus. Sadly, the big white patch at the end is polythene patching the glass due to storm damage just after Christmas. A big end panel will have to be replaced. And then a careful clear up as there are shards of glass in every plant pot.

However, still seeking joy – I found a ladybird in an aonium.

And some pretty fuchsia leaves looking healthy in amongst the lemon trees.

A hairy, peppermint-scented pelargonium. To rub these leaves is to be transported.

There’s new shoots. Daffodils for cut flowers soon.

And food. Herbs such as thyme, marjoram, parsley, and micro greens. These are pak choi, sown in October. They can be eaten as tiny leaves now, or left to grow on. I take the leaves from the outsides, and the centre continues to grow.

Hens enjoy the heat in the greenhouse over winter too. They are only bantams, so don’t cause any damage and search out pests most assiduously, particularly vine weevils.

A ceramic bird I couldn’t resist. Bought from The Green Man in Staunton Harold. See my post on a pre-Christmas visit to Calke Abbey and Staunton Harold. Recommended for a day trip.

Thank you for joining me on this ramble around my garden. How has your plot fared in the rain? I hope you didn’t suffer too much damage in the recent storms. I haven’t been able to keep up with the names of the storms, there’s been so many! Please do leave a comment in the box below and sign up for e-mail notifications for new posts. Have a lovely weekend!

Christmas Traditions….

December 16, 2023December 16, 2023 / karen / 22 Comments

Christmas cannot start for me without a trip to Calke Abbey and a walk round the gardens with a good friend.

This is a tradition we started some years ago and it’s one I look forward to each year. We love the decorations in the walled kitchen gardens. This ‘kissing bough’ caught our attention. Isn’t it beautifully-made with natural materials gathered from the grounds.

The decorations in the auricular theatre are always worth seeking out as they change with the seasons.

Some of the greenhouses are open to view. We had a look in the fern house, which was being cut back and tidied. This one below wasn’t open, but we admired the architecture of the building and imagined it in full production 100 years ago. The walled kitchen garden looked immaculate and all set for the new growing season.

Some cardoons giving winter interest in the walled kitchen garden.

We spotted some rhubarb emerging from the ground. Quite a cheerful sight! There are terracotta rhubarb forcing pots in the gardens which will probably be placed over these plants to encourage an early crop.

Fruit tunnels in the kitchen garden. These are extended in summer and covered in climbing beans and squash.

We moved on to the potting sheds. We’ve seen these hundreds of times before, but never tire of the view. It’s a glimpse back into past-times and an indication of how gardeners lived and worked when Calke Abbey was a family home. We could just imagine the strength needed to pull that enormous roller.

We ponder at the work needed to keep all the boilers lit through the winter. Junior gardeners would be tasked with the job of feeding the fires and there’s one potting shed with a platform bed in the roof where the gardener would sleep as this was a 24-hour task in those days.

We haven’t seen this room before. The door is usually locked.

It’s fascinating to see the extensive boilers used to heat the orangery on the other side of the potting shed wall.

The pony shed with little leather ‘shoes’ for the pony so its hooves didn’t mark the lawn.

A favourite view of the main potting shed window. I could just imagine standing in front of that window, filling terracotta pots with compost.

I would love to dip into those seed drawers and look at the little envelopes contained in there.

The tool shed, and first prize certificates from horticultural shows the gardeners attended. How proud they must have been of their award-winning produce, fruit and flowers.

On the other side of the potting shed is the renovated orangery containing many exotic plants including this white datura known as angels trumpets. It has a fabulous scent, but is very highly poisonous so I won’t grow it now.

A favourite view looking up through the orangery glass dome. A feat of engineering when it was built.

A beautiful abutilon alongside the palms and datura. How lovely to see such exotic flowers in winter.

We love the Christmas tree, and all the shadows from the architectural plants, the palms and agaves.

A walk around the grounds. We couldn’t remember a time when the lake was ever as full as it was today. An indication of the really wet autumn and early winter we’ve had so far. Ice from the lake used to be cut and dragged up the slope to the ice house to our right. In my lifetime, there’s never been a winter when the ice has frozen solid enough to be used like this.

Our favourite route around the field at the back of Calke was closed, probably because of the rain making the ground sodden. I felt sad we couldn’t walk along the skyline down to the house. It’s amazing how we have little rituals like walking along a certain path and taking a certain route. And how upset we feel when we can’t go the usual way past familiar trees.

The skyline walk. Hopefully it will be open next time we visit.

After Calke, we made our annual pilgrimage to Staunton Harold. The trees reflected in the lake looked a picture today. We always have cake and tea in the little cafe in the courtyard.

The statues at the gate are always admired, and look especially fine on a sunny day, set against a blue sky.

The matching pillar on the other side of the entrance gateway.

We bought Christmas gifts, pottery and plants, and had yet more tea. I feel so grateful to have had a sunny day spent in the company of a good friend, and I’m revitalised and ready to face the busy week ahead preparing for Christmas.

Thank you for reading my blog. Have you any traditions you follow in the run up to Christmas? How are your preparations going? Do get in touch and let me know how things are going. Happy Christmas!

Winter cuttings on BBC Radio Leicester

December 14, 2023December 14, 2023 / karen / 20 Comments

If you were listening in to BBC Radio Leicester on Tuesday, you’ll have heard me talking about taking winter, or hardwood cuttings. We were taking dogwood cuttings this time.

Here’s the link at 1.26 on the i player timeline.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0gv6761?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

I use dogwood in almost all of my jam jar posies for my mum. It makes a lovely vertical accent, and helps to support the weaker flower stems. Here stems are supporting paperwhite narcissi and daffodils and tulips from the cut flower patch. These are Dutch Grown bulbs.

My favourite dogwood is the bright red Westonbirt which really glows all winter with sunlight behind it.

Here it is with Dahlia David Howard, persicaria, sedum and grasses. I love the red stems shining out and glowing in the jam jar water.

This time, the jam jar flowers are chrysanthemums and salvias set off with grey-leaved senecio viravira and golden oak leaves which dry and can be used all winter.

More dahlias including a red unnamed seedling, Alstromeria Indian Summer and cosmos Psyche White grown from Mr Fothergill’s seeds.

Salvia Phyllis’s Fancy, chrysanthemum Swan and the last of the dahlias and rudbeckia. And a tiny sprig of orange abutilon at the front.

Dogwoods have fabulous berries which look like pearls.

Continue reading →

In a Vase on Monday

November 27, 2023November 28, 2023 / karen / 15 Comments

We’ve had two nights of frost, so flowers growing outdoors are getting scarce. Luckily, there’s plenty of chrysanthemums in the greenhouse and poly tunnel. I bought these originally from a Hardy Plant Society sale. They don’t have a label, but I think they are an heirloom variety called Cranberry Wine. If you know different, please let me know! As always, my flowers are for my mum. Each week, I run round the plot and find stems of shrubs, twigs from trees, and anything in flower to create a bouquet called ‘all of the garden.’ It gives mum a flavour of what my garden looks like. Flowers last about a fortnight if the water is refreshed each day.

Here’s a view of one end of the greenhouse with pots of chrysanths in amongst the lemon and orange trees. I clean the greenhouse out at the end of summer, wash down all the glass and repaint the structure. It’s a second-hand Alton cedar greenhouse we bought 30 years ago for £260. I heat it to 3C using solar panels and an electric thermostat controlled fan heater.

Behind the chrysanths you can just see the bougainvillea which flowers through to January. Then I stop watering it for a month or two and trim back all the long extension growth. In spring I start to water it again, top dress with fresh compost and give it a potash and seaweed extract feed.

When I’ve picked all the flowers, I cut back the chrysanthemum foliage to the ground. New shoots start to emerge after Christmas and hundreds of tiny cuttings will be taken. Isn’t it a beautiful flower. I love the colour and the delicate overlapping petals tipped with white.

Pittosporum Silver Queen is the background foliage. I have two huge plant pots with 5ft shrubs. They don’t seem to mind being regularly trimmed back to make bouquets. I love the white picotee edge and the tiny, highly-scented flowers.

I’ve forgotten the name of this tender perennial plant again! It has lovely soft aromatic foliage and spires of blue flowers in winter. A very lovely plant and highly recommended. When I can think what it’s called! Update: Thank you Eliza Waters for reminding me it’s Plectranthus. I have several varieties, all with gorgeous pale blue flowers. Recommended. Easy to grow from cuttings

A spray of the pretty blue flowers. Bees love them.

You’ll also notice a pale pink chrysanthemum. This also came from the HPS in Nottingham at one of the recent lectures. Another lovely flower. Name to follow when I can retrieve the label from the garden. it’s currently raining, pitch black and 3C!

There’s one stem of alstroemeria, the first to flower for winter. I get them to flower out of season by giving them a dormant period in late summer, then top dress with fresh compost and start watering with a tomato fertiliser. They will come into flower between January to April- just when some colourful flowers are needed. Normally they flower all summer long.

This shrub is just the right colour to go with the chrysanthemums. Birds love the berries. It’s common name is pheasant eye bush. Stems look like bamboo in the winter when all the leaves fall off.

In amongst the chrysanths there’s some salvia Hot Lips which is still flowering its heart out on 27th November. Really good for such a tender plant. It sometimes flowers until Christmas. I cut it down in spring, having left the tall stems intact to protect the crown from frost.

Here’s a close up of the salvia. A good match for the chrysanth. Foliage is Senecio Viravira from Coton Manor nursery.

Thank you for reading my blog. I had a bit of excitement in the week when 1,000 people checked out the blog in one day. Usually the figure is nearer 300. Anyway, I’m grateful if just one person reads it to be honest. Hopefully it will inspire someone to have a go at growing their own flowers at home. I love the challenge, and mum loves her bouquets.

Thank you to Cathy for hosting the IAVOM meme. Why not check out her blog and see what gardeners are growing all around the world. It’s fascinating to see what everyone puts in their vases every week! I learn something new every time. Gardeners are so generous with their help and advice, aren’t they.

https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2023/11/27/in-a-vase-on-monday-sultry-serendipity/

Raspberry Bakewell Tart

November 26, 2023November 26, 2023 / karen / 5 Comments

Last week’s Garden News Magazine recipe.

This delicious recipe came from a friend. I’ve been making this dish for 30 years. It’s a family favourite because it’s so quick and easy to make. No messing about rolling out pastry. The biscuit mix gives a lovely crunchy base to the fresh raspberries. The topping is the usual ground almond cake mix. And it freezes well too! So I always have a few slices to give to friends and family when they visit. Happy Gardening- and cooking everyone!

Plenty of raspberries filling the freezer this autumn.

Freeze in portions so you only have to defrost what you need.

Apple, Raspberry and Blackberry Sponge

November 7, 2023November 9, 2023 / karen / 4 Comments

If you were listening to BBC Radio Leicester’s Ben Jackson on Tuesday at 3.10pm, here’s the recipe I mention, using windfall apples, autumn raspberries and blackberries foraged from the hedgerows around my garden. It’s this week’s recipe for Garden News Magazine.

It’s lovely to use fresh fruit from the garden which has cost nothing. I’m also trying to save energy by using the microwave more often. This sponge pudding only takes about 5-6 minutes to cook. You can brown the top by adding flaked almonds and briefly placing the pudding under a hot grill.

Autumn raspberries have produced a bumper crop this year. I have Autumn Bliss and Polka growing in the shade next to my compost bins. They appreciate rich soil, so must get some good liquid feed from the compost bins along side.

I’ve never known a year when the blackberries were so plump and juicy. The cooler, wet weather in July suited them. There’s a good reason my plot is called Bramble Garden; the boundary hedges are full of high, arching blackberry stems. Berries were exceptionally sweet and tasty this year. I’m going to weave some culinary varieties in amongst them to extend the season. You can grow early, mid-season and late blackberries and this summer has whetted my appetite for more!

Apples have been more of a problem this autumn. The high winds caused them to fall from the trees before I had a chance to pick them. I have a huge amount of windfalls which need to be processed quite quickly as bruises cause rotting. The ‘good’ apples are not keeping as long as they usually do because we had a heatwave for the whole of October. Climate change is causing all sorts of challenges in growing, harvesting and storing fruit and vegetables. We will probably all have to have a re-think how we manage home food production.

I’ll leave you with the peaceful image of bantam hens Daphne and Daisy foraging for windfall apples in the small orchard. They don’t mind the bonanza of apples available for them to peck at! And on a positive note, their egg production went up in October due to the hot weather. So we’ve had a lot of cakes, pancakes and home-made custard to accompany all that fruit!

Views From the Garden

November 2, 2023November 2, 2023 / karen / 18 Comments

Capturing the very last flowers at the start of November. I can’t remember a time when there were so many plants still in flower. The Indian summer high temperatures and sunshine in October prolonged the flowering season. But alas, Storm Babet, and now Storm Ciaran have brought wind and rain. I ran out into the garden during a brief spell of calm and sunshine to capture the garden, and give me something cheerful to reflect on over the coming cold, dark months.

Fuchsia Deltas Sarah. A hardy variety purchased from Coton Manor in Northamptonshire. And can you spot the tiny spiders web which loops around the flower? This reliable fuchsia grows in a large blue glazed pot alongside a clematis sent to me from Raymond Evison’s Guernsey nursery. A very kind man, he sent me the gift to celebrate his 60 years breeding and developing gold-medal winning clematis plants. One day I’ll get to visit the nursery. Meanwhile, I’m watching the news and feeling very anxious about the impact of the latest storm on Jersey and Guernsey. The damage is heartbreaking.

Alongside the fuschia there’s a pot of salvias. This one is Phyllis’s Fancy, a favourite very late-flowering variety. It’s not hardy and will be whisked inside the greenhouse later this week. Meanwhile, it’s the perfect blue to match Deltas Sarah.

Growing in pots and in the ground, this lovely pink chrysanthemum puts on a reliable autumn display every year. It’s called Clara Curtis and came from my father-in-law Keith Gimson’s garden.

I like the small, button-flowered chrysanthemums. This one is Picasso, a rare and endangered variety. I bought it from the Hardy Plant Society where there’s a propagating programme to save it for the future. I have to take cuttings and return spare plants to other society members. Cuttings are very easy to take. I put the pots into a cold greenhouse or poly tunnel and shoots start to grow in January. Early cuttings are grown on in a propagator and potted up before being planted out in May.

Salvias really do join the party late! This one is Royal Bumble, purchased from Mary Thomas and Piecemeal Plants. Plant pots will be thrown in a hurry into the potting shed at the weekend. Plants are cut back and kept relatively dry and dormant all winter, being brought back out next spring.

This lovely blue salvia came from a collection sent mail order from Middleton’s specialist nursery. I wrote about Middletons here:

https://bramblegarden.com/2021/06/18/new-plants-on-trial-salvias-from-middleton-nurseries/

Salvia Hotlips often flowers until Christmas in a sheltered spot.

Dahlias are producing their very last flowers. I wrote about these yesterday in my ‘flowers for my mum’ post.

Petra’s Wedding made my top five list! I wouldn’t be without it!

Also in my top five is Dahlia Eveline.

A lovely surprise! The very last rose! Ghislaine de Feligonde is a rambling rose and grows on a shady pergola. It is totally disease and trouble free. I bought it as a cutting from a plant sale at Little Ponton Hall. A lovely reminder of happy day out with gardening friends. Highly recommended.

The last ornamental thistle. Echinops ritro Veitch’s Blue. Mr Fothergill’s sell 9cm potted plants. Birds, especially long-tail tits, love the seed heads.

I’ve forgotten the name of this beautiful small-flowering hollyhock. It came from Mary Thomas. Hopefully Mary will read this blog and help me out with the identification!

A bedding fuchsia, unknown variety, growing in a pot under the office window. I’ll look in the morning to see if this flower has managed to open out, or if it’s been blow away down the lane!

I’ll also look tomorrow to see if the old oak tree still has any leaves! This was the view from the top gate at the orchard end of the garden- before the latest storm. The branches were thrashing about in the rain. It must be 150 years old. I very much hope it will survive another 150 years for other people to stand at our garden gate and gaze on its majesty. Thanks for reading my blog. Please leave a comment in the box below and sign up for updates via e mail. How has your garden fared during the storms? Do get in touch and let me know.

Sticky Pear and Date Pudding

November 2, 2023November 2, 2023 / karen / Leave a comment

This week’s recipe from Garden News Magazine. Each week I have a look around to see what I’ve grown in the garden, and I make something for the family. It’s not fancy food, just good old-fashioned, easy-to-make family favourites. I try not to use too many ingredients, and include common items anyone would often have in their kitchen cupboards. there’s nothing worse than buying an unusual ingredient for a recipe, and never using it again! If you have a go at making this, please let me know how you’ve got on and send a photo too. Happy cooking!

The printing never really does the food justice. It’s always prettier in real life.

Conference pears growing in the orchard at home.

Fruit from the poly tunnel and garden.

Daphne and Daisy enjoying the windfall apples between storms and rain showers. They are safely tucked up in their house and covered run this afternoon. Torrential rain and high winds are shaking down the last of the apples.

Thank you for reading my blog. Please leave a comment in the box below (comment link is alongside the title, if you are reading on a phone). Please also sign up for updates and e mail alerts for new blogs.

Flowers from the Garden 1st November 2023

November 1, 2023November 1, 2023 / karen / 12 Comments

Ahead of Storm Ciaran, I’ve picked the last few dahlias for my mum. Orange dahlia David Howard has again produced the most flowers from August to November. It wins first place in my top 5 dahlias.

I wrote about the history of David Howard which dates back to the 1960s here:

https://bramblegarden.com/2022/10/30/flowers-from-the-garden-31st-october-2022/

Second place in my top five is the deep red cactus-flowering dahlia Nuit d’Ete. Even in bud it’s very beautiful. It lasts a long time in a vase, if the water is changed daily.

Nuit d’Ete in full flower.

Number 3 in my top five is Eveline. Gorgeous white flowers with soft lavender petal tips. Strong and reliable, producing masses of flowers.

Number 4 is Petra’s Wedding, with small pom-pom-shaped flowers. Stems tend it be lax, and flowers heavy, but feeding with liquid potash helps to strengthen the stems. Staking also helps to train the stems, and I use twiggy stems such as dogwood in my posies to prop up the flower heads.

Turning the bouquet around, there’s number 5 in my list, deep red Arabian Night. Masses of fully double flowers on strong stems. Red Westonbirt dogwood stems add vertical interest and support the flowers. I love to see the red stems catching the light and shining out in the jam jar water too.

You’ll notice a lovely pink-flowering grass in my posy. It’s called Red Chief and cost £5 in a garden centre sale last week. I love a bargain! I haven’t many grasses growing here, and thought this one would add movement and texture to autumn vases.

The little pink spikes adding vertical interest are persicaria. A hard-working perennial flowering right through late summer into November. The dark foliage around it is Physocarpus Diabolo which is gorgeous all summer, and at this time of the year has very pretty seed heads.

Salvia completes my posy. Sadly, I’ve lost the label, so I don’t know the name. Grey-foliage is Senecio Viravira, also known as dusty miller.

Tucked in at the base of the posy is hydrangea Little Lime which is just turning a lovely papery-pale pink. I’ve picked a huge bunch of these flowers for my Christmas table decorations. I’ll miss Wilkos as I used to pop in there and buy their mouldable wire fairy lights for just a few pounds. The lights are fed through the hydrangea heads and create a very pretty display.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s flowers picked for my mum. Many thanks to Cathy for her ‘In a Vase on Monday’ meme. I join in on whichever day I can, and I love seeing what Cathy and others are growing for their cut flower vases. Gardeners join in from all around the world and it’s fascinating to see how many of us are growing the same flowers at the same time in different countries.

Take a look here :

https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/category/gardens/in-a-vase-on-monday/

Stay safe in the winter storms. I hope your garden doesn’t suffer too much damage in the high winds and torrential rain coming our way tomorrow. Thank you for reading my blog. Please leave a comment below and sign up for updates via e mail.

Apple and Rosehip Jelly

October 18, 2023October 18, 2023 / karen / 8 Comments

If you were listening in to BBC Radio Leicester this afternoon, here’s the recipe I mentioned for Apple and Rosehip Jelly. My mother-in-law Joan used to make a crab apple jelly similar to this one. Bags of fruit would be tied to the kitchen cupboard doors to drip overnight. Fruit jams and jellies would make a very tasty winter treat, spread on warm buttered toast, or on cakes and scones. This recipe is adapted from a Women’s Institute recipe dating back to 1943. The WI members became famous for making jams and jellies as part of their war effort. Rosehip syrup was a particularly valuable source of vitamin C for children. When my brothers and I were young in the 1960s and 70s, we had a spoon of syrup and a spoon of malt before setting off for school. We also had a spoon of caster oil, which wasn’t quite as welcome!

Ingredients:

makes about 6 jam jars

2kg eating apples

1 kg rosehips

Approx 2.3kg caster sugar -depending on amount of liquid produced.

1 sachet of pectin

Method:

Put a tea plate in the freezer for checking the setting point later.

Wash and core the apples. No need to peel them.

Place apples in a preserving pan and add enough cold water to just cover them.

Simmer until soft.

Roughly chop the rosehips. I used a food processor.

Add rosehips to the apples and cook for a further 15 minutes.

Spoon the pulp into a muslin or jelly bag suspended over a bowl. Don’t allow the bag to touch the bowl.

Start to spoon out the juice straight away so that the bowl doesn’t overspill. Leave the bag overnight to drip.

Measure out the liquid.

For every 600ml add 500g sugar. Return the liquid to the preserving pan.

Heat gently to dissolve the sugar.

Bring to the boil and boil rapidly until the setting point has been reached.

Check using the tea plate and a teaspoon of the jelly. A setting point is reached when the jelly wrinkles when pushed by your finger.

Ladle into clean sterilised jam jars and add labels.

Rosehips should be gathered at the end of October when ripe, but before being damaged by frosts. They are classed as a ‘superfood’ due to their antioxidant properties.

I whizzed the rosehips in a food processor, or you could roughly chop them by hand.

This is the jam and jelly straining kit I bought from Dunelm. The metal frame unscrews for winter storage. The bag is adequate for this amount of pulp. I set it up over a Pyrex pudding bowl, but I did start to scoop out the juice as soon as it started filtering through as I was worried the bowl might overflow overnight. The netting bag is washable and reusable, but you can also buy replacements.

And this is the finished apple and rosehip jelly. It doesn’t taste much of apples, but does taste of roses and summer! Absolutely delicious!

You can listen in to gardening on the radio at 3.10pm every Wednesday. Just ask your smart speaker to tune in to BBC radio Leicester. Or you can listen again on the i-player.

Today we also talked about starting paperwhite narcissi for Christmas.

Here’s some I grew for a January flower wreath using a jam jar covered in moss attached to a willow heart frame. We are having to find all sort of ways to get round not using plastic florists’ foam. My hidden jam jar works really well.

We also talked about growing amaryllis for Christmas presents.

Here’s some I grew last winter. I can highly recommend Taylors Bulbs as the size and quality is first class. Bulbs should flower within 6-8 weeks from planting and make a lovely home-grown present.

Ben Jackson and I talked about picking the last dahlias. This one is Eveline from Mr Fothergill’s.

This one is David Howard. I’ll be leaving mine in the ground again this year, covered in a foot of of dried leaves and a cloche to keep them as dry as possible and to protect them from the frost. If you have wet heavy clay soil, it’s best to dig them up and put them in a frost free place such as a garden shed or garage. Thanks for listening in and reading the blog. Have you decided what you are doing about your dahlias yet? We’ve had three night frosts this week, so I’m covering mine already.

Photos From My Garden- Remembering Summer….

October 14, 2023October 16, 2023 / karen / 8 Comments

Sending out a warm welcome to old and new readers. Hello to new readers from the garden clubs where I’ve given talks recently. At both Nether Heyford and Spratton this week there were questions on what to grow for colour in the garden in June. When I got home I had a quick look through my photo album and found some of my favourite summer flowers. Above is my 1930s summerhouse which stands on a circular turntable and can be swung round to face the sun all day long. In the folding glass doors you can see a reflection of the trees, hedgerows and fields behind our garden. Above the doors, I often place a wreath of fresh flowers and in this photo it’s a selection of roses from the garden.

Constance Spry grows over the entrance to a 60ft pergola. It was one of the first David Austin roses, introduced in 1961. It only flowers once, but the display is so stunning it is worth growing. The myrrh-like scent is fabulous, and reminiscent of fruit salad, ripe melons and pears. It grows to 6m so needs a strong archway or trellis support.

I picked the flowers at dusk when the scent was particularly strong. In the basket there’s also Mme Isaac Pereire (1841) a fuchsia pink climber which grows alongside Constance Spry. And Rose de Rescht (1840) a compact floribunda shrub rose. Both repeat flower all summer.

The wreath is made from 4” lengths of ivy from the hedgerow and white elderflower heads. With the doors open, the breeze wafts the scent of roses and elderflower inside. A rather lovely place to sit and make plans for the garden. The black and white cat is called Grace who came to us from the RSPCA. She was handed in with a box full of kittens. The only kind thing the person did was take her somewhere where she would be cared for, and for the rest of her life she snoozed peacefully here. The summerhouse was a favourite place. Sadly she has now passed away and is still sleeping in the woodland behind the little house.

Growing into a mature beech tree is rampant rambling rose Cerise Bouquet. I never tied the plant in, it simply hooked itself up through the branches and produced huge sprays of cascading stems. Even the most severe storms can’t dislodge it. Sadly it has no scent, but it is a wonderful sight in June and then repeat flowers on a more modest level right through to November. Being a rambler, it is disease free and no trouble. I never prune it, or feed it. It just grows! The Cornus Controversa ‘wedding cake’ tree in front was very badly affected by the 30C temperatures last summer and has lost some of its tiers. I think this winter we will bite the bullet and cut it down by half to see if it regenerates from lower down. It was planted 25 years ago, and is quite slow growing. I was quite upset by the number of plants that succumbed to the heat, but now I’ve come to terms with it. Gardens aren’t static, they change and we have to sometimes let go of much-loved plants. It’s never easy, is it.

One rose that seems to shrug off everything the weather throws at it is this lovely white variety, Pearl Drift. I grew this from a cutting I took on holiday one year. I nearly always come back from holiday with a memento of where we’ve been -always asking permission before taking my cutting, of course! I have a lovely pink flowering American Pillar taken from a rose which grows along a fence in front of a pretty cottage in Sandsend near Whitby.

Growing under the roses are many different geraniums. This one is the wild cranesbill, Geranium pratense. It seeds about the garden, originally blowing in from the country lane outside our garden gate.

As you can see, there’s plenty of cow parsley on the lane too. And I must admit that 50 percent of the garden is covered in cow parsley in spring. I’m not complaining. It’s rather lovely to have the garden echoing what’s going on outside the garden gate.

There’s plenty of room for ornamentals too. In the front garden, lining the path to the front door, there’s gorgeously-scented Mrs Sinkins pinks.

I always pop a few stems in amongst my jam jar flower posies for my mum. As you can see, cow parsley gets picked too, with white love-in-a-mist, wallflowers and alliums.

Thank you for joining me for my reminisces of June flowers. And for a wander down our country lane. I hope the photos have given you some ideas what to grow for summer colour. Do please sign up for e mail updates and follow the blog. It’s been rather lovely looking through my photo album as the temperature suddenly dips to zero here! We’ve had three nights of frost now, and it’s all change in the garden as trees turn golden and tender plants are tucked up in the greenhouse. Are you all ready for the cold? Do please leave a comment in the box below. Let me know what your highlights were this summer and how your garden is looking right now on the cusp of winter weather.

Views from the garden September 2023

September 16, 2023September 23, 2023 / karen / 16 Comments

I’ve spent the day clearing out my 20ft second-hand Alton Cedar greenhouse. This was purchased for £260, the best £260 I’ve ever spent. Admittedly, it was 32 years ago- but the greenhouse is still almost as good as new. I’ve painted it black, although it was a harsh bright red when it arrived. The staging is also painted black which really sets off the pelargoniums housed there. Plants live in pots along the front path in front of the greenhouse during the summer. It just gets too hot indoors, and they appreciate some fresh air and rainwater. But at this time of the year, I sweep it out, wash down the windows and give it all a quick re-paint. Everything must be back inside before the first frosts.

In the background you can see my 10ft sunflowers that I thought were small multi-headed types for cutting. I’d need a ladder to harvest those! Instead I’m leaving most of them to dry out for bird seed. A few blew down in the recent storms, so I’ve put them in jam jars on the kitchen table. I’ve made a note to carefully check the seed packets next summer so I don’t make the same mistake twice! They are beautiful though, and the bees and butterflies enjoying the pollen are currently a wonderful sight.

Next to the greenhouse there’s a matching 20ft polytunnel where I grow fruit, vegetables and flowers. Tomatoes and peaches have done really well this summer. You’ll also see a little pile of cobnuts in the basket. Alongside the greenhouse there’s a huge hazel tree which squirrels usually strip overnight. This year there were more nuts than they could manage, so I’ve harvested some to make into cakes and biscuits.

Peaches have been a great success this summer. My trees are grown in large 15” containers in the poly tunnel. This protects them from peach leaf curl which thrives in wet conditions. Keeping leaves dry is the best way to combat the disease.

Baskets nearly always contain flowers as well as fruit and veg. This is Rose of the Year 2022, ‘It’s a Wonderful Life.’ Highly recommended for fabulous scent, repeat flowering and disease resistance. I’ve also picked some seedling nasturtiums. I’m particularly fond of this peachy-coloured one and keep it going by taking cuttings which root in water. I collect seeds too, but it might not come back exactly the same colour as nasturtiums readily hybridise. There’s also a few herbs, mint, marjoram and rosemary which add a lovely scent to any jam jar flower arrangement. The climbing beans are pink-flowered Celebration which don’t go stringy and crop late into the season.

Still on the theme of peaches, these are the little pastry custard tarts I made with slices of fresh peach, autumn raspberries and home-grown blueberries. The recipe is for my column in Garden News Magazine which I’ll share next week. They are very quick and easy to make.

I’ve had this potted purple bougainvillea for about 30 years. I’ve trained it into a round-headed shape so that it doesn’t take up too much room. It will be the first plant to go back in the greenhouse as it’s not at all hardy. Bracts stay colourful until December and I often use it in my Christmas table arrangements.

In pots alongside the bougainvillea are these beautiful grey-leaved tender perennial plants. They have long sprays of pale blue flowers. I’ve temporarily forgotten the name! Each winter I take insurance policy cuttings just incase I lose the parent plants.

There’s a border full of low-maintenance day lilies in front of the greenhouse. In autumn when the day lilies are starting to die back, these beautiful spires of persicaria appear. This one is Persicaria Rosea.

The flowers deserve a close inspection, they are so dainty.

There’s also a white persicaria. Sadly, the label has been lost so I’m not sure of the variety. It thrives in dappled shade and flowers from August to November. The photo is out of focus as it was such a windy day, but it’s a very pretty flower nonetheless.

And finally, this one is also growing in with the daylilies. This persicaria is either Firetail or Firedance. They are good for cut flowers, lasting at least a week to 10 days in a vase if you change the water each day. The spire shape gives a nice contrast to round, daisy flowers.

In amongst them are several types of phlox. This one is Blue Paradise- very highly scented and long-flowering in late summer.

The back field behind the summerhouse had oats growing there this summer. It’s been wonderful to sit in the shade and watch the field slowly turning to a shimmering gold. On a windy day, the crop ripples like waves and before it ripens the green-grey colour reminds me of the ocean. Instead of seagulls we have barn owls silently gliding by at dusk. There’s no sound at all from the beating wings and they quarter the field without knowing we are watching from the little wooden house.

We are always pleased and much relieved when the farmer manages to get the crop in before bad weather arrives. They work through sunset and into the night if rain is threatened. We lie in bed and listen to the tractors going up and down the fields and along the lane. At 2am there’s suddenly silence again and we know they have successfully got in the crops. Rain falls the next day and it’s wet for a week.

This is the view from our five bar gate at the top of the paddock. For a few weeks after the harvest, the fields retain their golden glow, and I drink in the scene and hold on to the memory as autumn and then winter darkness descends.

When we moved here, it was just a decrepit house and no garden. The farmer who built the house sold us an acre of land alongside it, and we planted 250 sapling trees given to us by the woodland trust and local council. At the time, there was a scheme giving free trees to anyone returning farm land to nature and we planted a small woodland area. All along the boundary, we left viewing points through to the fields beyond. The ever-changing seasons are a delight to spy through these holes in the treescape.

Thank you for reading my blog. Please sign up for e mail updates and I would love you to press ‘follow’. I often join in with Cathy for her ‘In a Vase on Monday’ meme. Mostly I write about what flowers I’m growing to give to my friends and family, and what produce I’m growing for family meals. I don’t grow in traditional rows, everything is mingled together and much is grown in window boxes and containers, with many different varieties ripening early, mid-season and late. There’s nearly always something to ‘forage’ from the plot.

Plum and almond clafoutis

September 2, 2023September 2, 2023 / karen / 17 Comments

Plums have been prolific again this year. I’ve filled four draws of the freezer so far!

If you’re looking for a recipe to use up your plums I can highly recommend this one! It’s so quick and easy to rustle up. No pastry to roll out, you just whip up the milk and creme fraiche mixture, pour it into a large dish, and pop the halved plums on top! Such a simple recipe to follow and the taste is quite amazing.

This makes about 6-8 portions, but it can be cut up and frozen as individual slices. One minute in the microwave, and the slices are ready to eat!

My tree is a Victoria Plum. Jubilee is thought to be an improvement, and there’s also Marjorie Seedling which crops later in the season.

After I’ve harvested the plums, I do some tidying up and pruning. If you’ve never done any pruning this can seem like a daunting task. However I simplify it by starting off cutting out any broken twigs and branches. Plum trees bear a heavy crop and the wood is brittle, so there are often a lot of damaged stems.

Next I cut back anything that’s rubbing or crossing as these stems will rub together in the winter and cause wounds where infection will get in.

After that, I cut out any stems that are heading towards the centre of the tree, as a good air flow helps to prevent mouldy fruit and fungal diseases.

Finally, I shorten any really long stems, as I want to keep the tree compact – I’ve got to the age where I’m not keen on going up ladders! So I keep the tree at a manageable size.

Hope these tips have been helpful. Do think about planting a plum tree over the winter. Bare root trees are cheap and easy to plant. And after planting you’ll have years of produce to make jam, crumble, plum cakes and clafoutis!

Photos of my orchard in spring. Tulip Exotic Emperor in the cut flower bed in front.

If you are listening in to Ben Jackson on BBC Radio Leicester on Wednesdays at 3.10pm, you’ll hear us pruning Ben’s apple trees. I often go over and do some gardening with him and we record a ten minute tip for the radio. Just simple ideas to help and encourage new gardeners and give some fresh ideas to experienced gardeners too.

Thanks for reading my blogs and leaving a comment in the box below. You are among 400 people who read bramblegarden every day! I’m so pleased to see you all here!

Here’s a link to a list I wrote on Plum Jam and also Plum crumble cakes.

https://bramblegarden.com/2017/08/22/peaches-and-plums-crumble-and-jam/

Planting Bulbs, Corms and Tubers

August 31, 2023August 31, 2023 / karen / 13 Comments

A warm welcome to members of Heath Garden Society! Thank you for inviting me to talk last night. Here are a few photos to inspire you with your bulb planting this autumn!

Snowdrops. Galanthus Nivalis is the common single snowdrop. I wait until they are coming into bud and then dig up a clump and pop them into my Sankey terracotta pots. These pots are special to me as my grandfather used them and gave them to me before he died. I love to use them and think of him gardening with them too. He enjoyed planting primroses, auriculas and miniature daffodils in them. I’ve planted Tete-tete in these and placed them on the potting shed window where I can look at them while I’m working.

I highly recommended Galanthus Madeline if you like a snowdrop with yellow markings. These were the three I bought from Thenford. A friend suggested we buy a pot and split it between us. This is a great idea if snowdrops are expensive. I think we paid £6 or £7 each, which turned out to be a bargain. The snowdrops bulk up quickly and are strong and reliable.

Within just a few years, my little clump has grown! I love something that thrives and shines out in the winter garden. These are planted under deciduous trees. They’ll flower before the trees come into leaf and then be protected from strong sunlight and heat by the tree canopy. We leave the tree leaves where they drop in autumn and snowdrops particularly love leaf mould.

I can also recommend new variety Polar Bear. These are huge flowers with unusual swept back petals and distinctive green markings. These flower later than the others in my garden and it’s lovely to extend the snowdrop season with something special like this. Luckily, these are usually on sale at Dobbies garden centre and are a fairly reasonable price, about £4-£6 a pot. Look out for them next February.

I wrote about Polar Bear here :

https://bramblegarden.com/2020/03/10/last-of-the-late-snowdrops-and-snowy-pictures-of-my-garden/

Snowdrops and miniature daffodils make a lovely button hole posy. These ones were put onto a willow wreath for my summerhouse.

These little posies are placed into tiny glass or plastic test tubes and wired into the silver birch wreath. It’s easy to make the wreath. Just cut a length of weeping silver birch stems and twist and wind them around, tying at the top. Wire in some 4” lengths of ivy, moss and wild clematis or ‘old man’s beard’ as we call it. Daffodils, iris, cyclamen and crocus will last a week in the test tubes if kept topped up and it’s simple to just add fresh flowers when needed.

Here’s another tiny posy with snowdrops, crocus, cyclamen and a blue flower I think is called squill. Perhaps you know it? There’s an amazing strong scent for such a small arrangement in a tiny glass vase. Winter flowers are often beautifully-scented as they have to work hard to attract the few pollinators that are about.

Talking of scent, I don’t think you’ll get anything with a stronger scent in winter than Paper White narcissi. We start ours off in plant pots at the end of September. Six bulbs to a 7” pot. They’ll take about nine weeks to flower, depending on temperatures. You can bring them on for Christmas by bringing them in from a cold greenhouse. Always start them off in a cool place, or they will grow tall and leggy and won’t root as well. You can extend the flowering season by bringing pots indoors in sequence right through to March. Paper Whites are not hardy so they won’t grow outdoors, but I start mine off in an unheated poly tunnel which gives them just the right amount of protection to grow well. If I want to make a big indoor display, I select pots with flowers all at the same stage and just place them in a large cache pot, topping them off with moss to hide the pots. No one would know that I’ve cheated! We use Dalefoot sheep wool and bracken compost specially created for bulbs. This compost is a favourite of mine as it gives Lake District farmers an income for their wool- which would otherwise go into landfill. Also the compost doesn’t break down and disintegrate like some other peat-free types. The other compost we use is Melcourt multi-purpose with added John Innes. We add grit and vermiculite to these, depending on what we want to grow.

Here’s some Paper White and Soleil d’Or brightening up January!

Such a lot of scent from such small flowers.

Planting a selection of varieties mean you’ll have daffodils from January through until May. Cedric Morris is first to flower outdoors. February Gold (above) usually flowers at the end of February. Tete a tete in March. The last daffodil to flower is Hawera in May.

Another new variety which has become a firm favourite is Snow Baby (above). This flowers for a long time, coping with strong winds, hail, snow. It starts out pale lemon and fades to white. Such a beauty on short, strong stems.

I like to have heritage types in the garden, along with the latest varieties on trial. Historically, fruit growers used to have daffodils amongst their apple and pear trees to give them a spring income, and fruit bushes such as redcurrants and blackcurrants for a summer income. I like to keep up traditions like this, so I’ve planted heritage narcissi Geranium under my trees. These make a lovely scented bouquet in spring.

Here I’ve combined the old with the new. Narcissi Geranium with a new tulip called Exotic Emperor. These are ‘lasagne’ planted. Four inches of compost is placed in the bottom of a large Italian pot, and 25 tulip bulbs set on top. Another 4” of compost is set with another 25 tulips. More compost and 25 daffodil bulbs. Another 4” and 25 more daffodils. Then top up with white Carnegie hyacinths, white Joan of Arc crocus and snowdrops. I’ll have flowers from February through to May. I only have one expensive Italian pot so I want it to work really hard for me. It’s placed under my office window so I can look out at it while I’m working.

If I could only grow one tulip it would be Exotic Emperor. It reminds me of swan feathers. I love the green flash too. Double tulips last much longer than single tulips. There are more petals to open, which makes them good value.

Queen of Night is another tulip I use a lot in my garden design work. It’s long lasting and stands up to the weather.

Here it’s growing with Allium Purple Rain, a hybrid between Purple Sensation and Christophii. Highly recommended. Also look out for new summer-flowering allium Millennium. Hardy’s plant nursery sells this variety at flower shows and mail order.

For a pretty, fringed tulip, try Curly Sue. And my favourite pink tulip is Violet Beauty. We buy from Gee Tee Bulbs. Links to the nurseries are at the end of this blog post.

Rapidly moving on to autumn – as your talk was all about bulbs, corms and tubers- here’s Dahlia David Howard partnered with Alstroemeria Indian Summer. I leave my dahlias in the ground over winter, covered with a foot of dry leaves, some compost bags and finally, cloches. As long as they don’t get soaking wet and frozen, they will be fine.

Nuit D’Ete is another top favourite. I love the cactus flowering dahlias for their striking petals. This one also has tinges of deep plum red and black in the centre. A really striking and beautiful flower.

I’ll leave you with a picture of my 1920s summerhouse which is on a turntable. It originally lived in Derbyshire at Flower Lilies Hall. We spent a year renovating it and now love sitting inside looking out at the different views of the garden. Thank you for visiting my blog and reading about my garden. Please leave a message in the box below, and sign up for e mail notifications for further blog posts. I concentrate on growing food and flowers at home- I never have to buy any cut flowers for friends and relatives. It’s all about choosing the right varieties and getting a succession of produce all through the year. It’s a fun challenge and one I love to share with you all.

Links:

https://www.gee-tee.co.uk/

Hardy’s cottage plants:

https://www.hardysplants.co.uk/

Also look at In a vase on Monday meme:

https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2023/08/28/in-a-vase-on-monday-bluesy-floozy/

A visit to Jane’s garden

July 2, 2023July 9, 2023 / karen / 13 Comments

I had a lovely invitation to visit a friend’s garden for an instagram meet-up and afternoon tea. This is the first view of the garden through the fold-back doors from the kitchen. Isn’t it gorgeous. Worthy of a front cover on a gardening magazine, I think.

Jane Wilson has created some beautiful viewing points. This path leads to the garden shed – which is no ordinary shed, having been made from recycled materials, stained glass windows, and painted a lovely shade of green. The path is made from tiles which used to be the kitchen floor! Nothing is wasted here, if it can be repurposed in the garden. The pale pink peony is Sarah Bernhardt and the rose planted over the arch is Eden. A pale pink rose, May Queen, was planted 25 years ago.

The covered seating area next to the shed is a cosy place to have a cup of tea. There’s so much detail here it takes a while to take it all in. At night there’s fairy lights to add atmosphere. I love all the throws and cushions which make it a comfortable place to sit back and survey the planting.

This is the view from the sofa. Topiary and weeping trees, plenty of foliage for structure, and bright, cheerful peonies which are thriving in Jane’s garden.

Peonies do particularly well in Jane’s sheltered back garden .

We had a bit of competition for the sofa from Jane’s gorgeous greyhound, Harry, a rescue hound, who’s really found a heavenly home with Jane and the family. After staring at us for a while, we felt guilty, and got up to make room for him. It’s clearly his favourite spot in the garden! Isn’t he beautiful. A truly graceful creature, deserving the best seat on the patio!

Jane decorated the seating areas with jugs of fresh flowers picked from the garden. I love this sunny buttercup, pink campion and cow parsley posy.

Jane made the tablecloths and cushions for this second seating area. She’s very talented with sewing and upholstery – as well as gardening.

Another home-made summerhouse in the opposite corner of the garden. There’s a stream running in front of it down to a small pond.

There are several ponds in the garden. This one is in a shady spot and is surrounded with ferns, bamboo and London Pride.

A larger pond has this rain chain which drips down, making a lovely trickling sound. Jane says you don’t have to spend a fortune on garden ornaments; this one came from Aldi and wasn’t expensive.

Views through the planting. There’s a beautiful white-flowering Crambe cordifolia in the centre of this bed. Huge dark green leaves are as architectural as the sprays on tiny white flowers on tall stems. It’s a good plant for adding movement and drama to a planting scheme.

Scented roses are looking healthy and full of flower buds. This one is a David Austin Rose, Gertrude Jekyll, one of many planted in this beautiful garden.

Another beautiful bloom – and now I can’t decide if it’s a rose or a peony! I’m sure Jane will let me know when she reads this post.

Had to give Marv a cuddle. He’s the same age as my cat Monty and as you can see, long-haired too.

Jane’s daughter Sophie made this cake for the garden party. We had a lovely spread of savoury and sweet food and plenty of cups of tea!

Mirror and ‘finds’ displayed in the garden

Thank you Jane for inviting me to your garden party. I loved every minute of it. It must have taken a lot of effort to organise the event, but it was truly appreciated. It was great to meet up with your other Instagram friends too… Mandy, Sue, Elaine, Jenny, Anna, and Julie, Pat, Tracey and Nick. I felt as if I’d known them all for years, and yet only met most of them that same afternoon. It’s good to meet up with fellow gardeners and have a good catch up.

You can see more photos of Jane’s garden on instagram at janewilson5352 .

There’s also a link to the wilson family’s fund raising page :

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/SophieandJohn2023?utm_source=copyLink&utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=SophieandJohn2023&utm_campaign=pfp-share&utm_term=ad9feff4e7374171a979ca7ee23467c8&fbclid=PAAab2Sp-_VU2xUPAoMqj3Zc4hnAv9Y69omlPIMuhYuDKa1JEQ2GBrpRPe_SQ_aem_ASobz_bYbSDw3phQAlALohZXWNtUbSDd5TiU6wIqANWm54uiPLHBX5Z7LkQpmt1ttWo

Have any of you taken part in a bloggers or instragram meet up? It’s lovely to meet people you’ve followed for years, especially if there’s a shared interest such as homes and gardens, wildlife and growing flowers and veg. I had a great time visiting Jane and meeting all her friends, and I hope you enjoyed seeing her garden too, through the photos on this blog post. Have a great gardening week everyone.

Flowers from my garden for my Mum

June 24, 2023June 28, 2023 / karen / 17 Comments

Sweet peas and roses are plentiful on 28th June. Rosa It’s a Wonderful Life is the favourite this week with five or six rose heads on each spray. It’s almost a bouquet on its own!

Flowers are fully double with a delicious fruit salad scent. Leaves are very healthy with no sign of disease.

Perfect in bud. Flowers start a deep apricot colour and fade to pale pink.

It makes a striking feature in the garden, with all shades of peach and apricot at a time on one rose bush.

For background colour, I’ve chosen dark purple-leaved physocarpus Diabolo which in summer has clusters of pale pink flowers. These turn into deep purple seed heads.

Sweet peas are growing along a hazel A-frame in the veg plot. This year I’m growing a selection of white sweet peas alongside old favourite High Scent.

Mum sowed these oxeye daisies from a packet of wild flower seeds six years ago. We planted them together in one of the 1.3m by 3m divided veg beds in front of the greenhouse. They are the perfect partner for roses.

When they have finished flowering, I’m planning to move them to the new wildflower area surrounding the pond. They are taking over the veg patch , which I’m not complaining about. I love their joyful exuberance. Daisies are probably my top favourite flowers.

Also looking good at the moment are the home florists’ range of roses. This one is Timeless Cream. I’ve also got Timeless Purple. Highly recommended. Very few thorns and long lasting in a vase.

Timeless Cream in bud. Would make a perfect buttonhole rose.

And Rosa Mutabilis also blends in. This is the longest flowering rose in my garden, starting in April and still in flower in December.

Have a great gardening week everyone. I hope this has given you some inspiration on what to grow at home to create bouquets for friends and family all year round.

Also catch up with Cathy over on her #InAVaseOnMonday meme. It’s fascinating what everyone’s growing in gardens, all around the world.

https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2023/06/26/in-a-vase-on-monday-three-little-maids/

Rose of the Year 2024

June 14, 2023June 15, 2023 / karen / 8 Comments

Roses are among my favourite flowers in the garden, so I was delighted to be invited to the launch party for the Rose of the Year 2024.

And here it is! Meteor is a floribunda rose with golden yellow flowers, flushed red. This is a later than usual bloomer. I’m fact my sample rose is in bud at the moment (14th June) and looks like it won’t be in full flower for another two weeks. This is a good trait, as it spreads the flowering period in my garden.

The prize-wining rose was chosen as rose of the year because it:

Repeat flowers through the season

Has healthy foliage with excellent disease resistance

Has a bushy growth with erect habit and strong stems

It grows to 70cm high and 40cm wide

Lightly scented, fragrance like fruit salad on a summer morning

Meteor is suitable for pots or containers as well as planting in borders.

Plants will be available this autumn from rose nurseries and garden centres. Meteor was bred by Kordes Rosen, a member of the British Association of Rose Breeders.

Roses UK promotes the Rose of the Year, international rose breeders and British rose growers. Other activities have included theme design and management for the Festival of Roses Marquee at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show and rose naming projects.
Marilyn Stevens, Roses UK project manager, said: ‘Our mission is to
celebrate roses! We’re keen to encourage gardeners to plant healthy
varieties and to consider companion planting to complement their roses.’ The British Association of Rose Breeders funds Roses UK.

The launch party was held at Waterperry Gardens near Oxford on 13th June, a glorious location for such a prestigious event.

Here’s head gardener and gardens manager Pat Havers who gave us a tour of the gardens following the launch party. More on the gardens to follow in a separate blog post…..

Peach Melba, a fully double climber is Rose of the Year for 2023 and was launched at Iford Manor last summer.

This beauty is called It’s a Wonderful Life, and was Rose of the Year 2022. I used the flowers in this week’s posy for my Mum. The scent is reminiscent of water melon and summer fruit salad. It readily repeat- flowers, which makes it ideal for the cutting garden. This rose was bred by Colin Dixon who has won the rose of the year title 10 times.

Roses UK is @rosesukroses on twitter and Instagram and http://www.rosesuk.com web site.

If you were listening in to BBC Radio Leicester today, I was talking to presenter Ben Jackson about these roses. Do have a listen in on the i-player at about 3.05pm.

Flowers for my Mum. Home-grown from the plot

June 1, 2023June 1, 2023 / karen / 11 Comments

Summer annuals, such as cosmos, haven’t started flowering yet. We are about two weeks behind, due to a very cold spring. So for this week’s flowers from the plot I’ve had to rely on biennials, perennials, climbers and shrubs. Each week, I pick a selection of flowers to take to my Mum as a ‘snap-shot’ of what the garden looks like. It’s a way of sharing our love of flowers and keeping her connected with what’s happening here.

Love-in-a-mist was sown last autumn and over-wintered in an unheated poly tunnel. I was testing out a theory to see if I could get early flowers by the last week of May. There are masses of flowers, but these are only a few weeks earlier than the ones growing in a sunny south-facing border outdoors, so I probably won’t repeat this exercise. The cost of compost and use of space doesn’t warrant the slightly earlier flowers.

The tiny deep purple flowers are Geranium Phaeum which pops up all over the plot in places I never planted it. It’s a long-flowering perennial and doesn’t take up much space, just meandering about through established shrubs and in a dry, shady woodland border.

The other jewel-like purple flowers are perennial wallflowers from Coton Manor plant nursery. These are highly recommended as they flower for a very long period and are low maintenance and easy-going. I bought just one plant and took cuttings immediately. I soon had 20 plants to cover a quarter of one of my vegetable and flower beds sited next to the greenhouse. I have 10 beds which are 1.5m wide by 3m long with small slab paths running between.

The last of the orange biennial wallflowers are being picked now. I’ll sow some more seed for next year. Sooty is a favourite deep purple/ black variety. The one above was part of a mixed packet of seed named Orange Bedder. It’s been flowering for several months. Deep red buds open to a lovely marmalade orange and the markings on the petals remind me of a dragonfly’s wings. The scent is wonderful, especially in the evening, and attracts clouds of moths. And circling above the plot, eating the moths, we have pipistrelle bats. We have seen them here since we moved in and created a garden 30 years ago. We thought they roosted over winter in the farmhouse next door, but they must have found other accommodation as the farmhouse has been completely renovated and there are now no gaps in the slate roof.

Forget me nots fill another whole bed, providing ground cover for the soil until the bed is required for summer crops. Forget me nots pull up very easily and suppress any weeds, so you are left with a nice clean bed to start planting out crops such as sweetcorn, onions, French beans, and courgettes. This year I have planted a dozen sunflowers in amongst the sweetcorn, an idea I spotted at Easton Walled Gardens last summer. Nasturtiums will clamber up the sweetcorn as it makes a sturdy support for annual climbers and scramblers.

Welsh poppies pop up in every crevice all over the garden. I did previously try to eradicate them, but they persisted and I’m quite pleased they did now. Such a cheerful plant with flowers that look as if they are made of silk. I have the yellow and the orange types here. Background foliage comes from the Physocarpus Diabolo which grows in a north facing border and provides material for flower arrangements all summer long.

Dead nettles and cow parsley add a touch of white to the posy. Dead nettles continue to grow out of the bouquet and flowers last a long time. I was intrigued to see four out of the 12 gardens at Chelsea Flower Show contained so called weeds. I laughed out loud when I heard pots of dandelions were selling for £30. I’m actually a millionaire if dandelions, nettles and buttercups are taken into consideration. My whole plot is full of them!

I have a new little helper in the garden! My grandson, Finn. He loves running between the cow parsley along the woodland paths and picking flowers for his great grandmother. I’m hoping he will have a life-long love of nature and flowers, just as we did, growing up running free in our grandparent’s gardens. Have a happy gardening week everyone.

Do join Cathy for her ‘In a Vase on Monday’ meme. If you are busy, like me, it doesn’t matter what day of the week you post your posy of flowers from the garden. It’s a good community to be a part of, sharing what we are growing in gardens all around the world.

https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2023/05/29/in-a-vase-on-monday-self-care/

Salmon and Spring Herb Pie

May 17, 2023April 22, 2024 / karen / 8 Comments

This week’s recipe from Garden News Magazine. So lovely to have sunny weather at the weekend to sit outdoors and eat with the family. Food seems to taste better in the sunshine.

Herbs are grown in shallow terracotta pans and window boxes. These are still in the greenhouse, but will go outdoors the first week of June when all the cold winds should have disappeared.

Here’s a mini-windowbox full of basil, parsley, chives and coriander. The kit comes with small packets of seeds and just enough compost for four individual pots.

I also recommend Jekka’s Herbs produced by Johnson’s Seeds.

A very useful book to dip into, especially if you’d like to try different herbs.

Hope you are having a good gardening week. It’s been a cold spring so far and very wet. We are behind with most vegetables, but the spring flowers have enjoyed the cool conditions and lasted longer than usual. Bluebells are just starting to fade, but bright blue geraniums have started to flower to take their place and all the wild flowers, ragged robin, pink campion and oxeye daisies are starting to bloom. Thank you for reading the blog and, if you have time, leave a comment in the box below, letting me know what herbs you are growing for your summer cooking. I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to write for Garden News Magazine. Each week I share a different recipe featuring something harvested from the garden. Sometimes I only have a handful of herbs, or a dish of berries. It doesn’t have to be a huge amount, just whatever I can find to put into my cooking.

Prize draw winners- To Stand and Stare.

March 21, 2023March 21, 2023 / karen / 14 Comments

Thank you to everyone who read my review of Andrew Timothy O’Brien’s new book ‘To Stand and Stare’ published by Dorling Kindersley. The publishers kindly gave me two copies to give away.

The winners are Anna, and also Gill Watson. Please could you e mail me your addresses for the copies to be sent out. k.gimson@btinternet.com.

It’s a long time since I shared any photos of my lockdown kitten, Monty. No longer a kitten, but known to everyone as Monty K. He’s got ‘standing and staring’ down to a fine art. He’s still such a good companion in the potting shed and garden and follows me around everywhere. We hadn’t intended to get another cat, but when vets cancelled all the spaying operations there was an explosion of kittens in our village and surrounding area. We only got to see photos of Monty before he arrived, due to the covid rules, and we had no idea he would be a long-haired cat! Isn’t he gorgeous. A lot of brushing goes on with that coat! Otherwise, there’s brambles and dried grass all in a tangle around his ears.

I’ve ‘adopted’ two cats at Shropshire Cat Rescue. We can’t have any more here as Monty wouldn’t tolerate another feline, so I’m sending money to support two of the charity’s resident cats. More about this later!

Meanwhile… here’s a few Monty kitten photos, which is an indulgence really, but a nice reminder of when he arrived.

He soon outgrew this scratching post table.

Curled up in my apple picking basket, with his favourite bee toy

Luckily Meg the cocker spaniel loves him as much as we do.

Have a great gardening week everyone! Thanks again for reading the blog and keeping in touch. It’s always appreciated. Karen.

To Stand and Stare- Book Review

March 18, 2023March 18, 2023 / karen / 36 Comments

How to Garden While Doing Next to Nothing

By Andrew Timothy O’Brien

Dorling Kindersley. Spring 2023

Hardback. 287 pages. £16.99

ISBN 978-0-2415-4401-3

Andrew Timothy O’Brien describes planting a tulip as ‘like planting hope and promise.’ I rather like this idea. In fact, the whole book suits me, with its gentle, encouraging, quiet style of gardening. There is nothing shouty about this book. It’s something to take to a corner, curl up, forget the world, and just ‘be’ for a while, immersed in the glory of plants, gardening and the process of growing beauty.

The title is part of the ‘how-to’ message in the book. There’s how to sow a seed, how to water a plant, deadhead a rose, hear a bird. And of course there’s how to ‘stand and stare.’ It’s a contrast to all the urgent, bossy, fast-paced, singing and dancing, ‘must-do’ messages we see every day on social media. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up. It’s hard not to feel left behind and out of touch. O’Brien, with his gentle philosophy reminds us to reflect on why and how we garden. It’s not to compete and keep up, but to find the joy in growing food and flowers -our way.

O’Brien writes; “ When it came to writing this book, I didn’t think the world needed another ‘How to Garden’ title- there’s a wealth of information out there expounding upon the many tasks that it’s all to easy to make your garden about. But there’s not so much about how you might like to be when you’re out there, at one with the plants and the wildlife and the weather. I’ve come to appreciate that an understanding of natural processes is the key to accessing the transformative power of the garden, and replacing feelings of confusion, overwhelm, and stress with focus, a sense of inner peace, and an increased facility to deal with what life throws at us on a daily basis. With a view to this, over the next few hundred pages, I’m going to invite you to think like a plant. And we are going to start from the ground up.”

I’ve been reading Andrew’s writings on his blog and listening to the podcast for around 10 years. I suppose, although I’ve never met him, I feel as if I know him. He has the ability to write in such an accessible way that you feel as if he is familiar voice, a wise and trusted friend. And we can never have enough of those, can we.

When planting bulbs, O’Brien reminds us to “Breathe in, hold for a moment then, slowly and with some noise, breathe out. Open the bag; by rights it should be labelled ‘Hope & Promise’, but something like ‘Tulips’ or ‘Lilies’ is perhaps more likely and, really it’s all the same.”

O’Brien strikes just the right note in a world full of conflict and worry. I can conjure up the scenes he creates. I’m happy to stand and stare with him. It’s a balm for our times, and very soothing for the soul. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

“A pause. A breath. A moment for a thought.” Wise words. Don’t you agree?

The publishers have offered one copy for readers of this blog. Please leave a comment below to be entered in the prize draw. Thank you, as ever, for coming to my blog and reading my reviews and musings. It’s much appreciated. You are among 300 people taking a look here each day. And I’m am very grateful for your time.

Garden Club Talks. Cut Flowers

February 18, 2023February 18, 2023 / karen / 23 Comments

A warm welcome to all new readers who’ve attended my garden club, or U3A talks. Here’s a selection of photos from my talks to accompany the plant lists. I’m available in the East Midlands area for talks. If you’ve enjoyed one of my talks, please pass my details on to neighbouring clubs and societies. I give a donation to charity with each talk. My e mail is k.gimson@btinternet.com.

Echinacea White Swan grown from seed. Plants also come from Miles Nursery, Hoby, Leicestershire.

I’ve been a garden designer for 25 years. Pollinators- bees and butterflies- are always a priority when choosing plants.

I highly recommend Jean Vernon for advice on helping bumble bees and solitary bees. I reviewed her best-selling book here: https://bramblegarden.com/2022/06/14/attracting-garden-pollinators-by-jean-vernon/.

Here’s where I grow my plants. I have a second hand 20ft Alton Cedar greenhouse which cost £260 30 years ago. I’ve painted it black and made matching staging. Alongside is a 20ft poly tunnel. We bought the hoops from a nursery closing down. The metal hoops cost £20 on condition we took down a 40ft tunnel and cleared the site. It took us a day to take it down and a week to install the poly tunnel at home. The new plastic covering cost about £140. You can just see the potting shed which replaced one made from pallets which lasted 20 years! This one is made from recycled wood and 1920s window frames which came from a house in the village having double glazing fitted. The roof is black onduline which is fairly cheap and easy to build with. My luxury, having saved money on second hand items, is an electricity supply to the potting shed and greenhouse. At the moment the greenhouse is heated to just above freezing. Orange and lemon trees thrive there.

In front of the greenhouse there’s 10 beds with 2x2ft slab paths between. The beds are about 1.2m wide by 3m long . Vegetables and flowers are mixed together. One bed contains wild flowers. Two beds have hazel A-frames made from hazel rods. These rods come from farm suppliers and are used as binders for hedge laying. They are fairly cheap and last three years if repaired every spring. Natural string is used to tie them together, so at the end of their life, the whole lot can be shredded and composted.

Sweet peas are sown in October and February and planted out in April. Down the centre of the A- frames are gladioli and lilies. Perennial argyranthemums and annual Ammi are interplanted and calendula set at the front. The frame supports all the flowers and no further staking is needed, which saves time.

I grow new varieties and heritage types. Above is a new one called Wiltshire Ripple from Mr Fothergill’s. Highly fragrant and with long stems ideal for cut flowers. Try their new Suffolk Punch sweet pea, launched this year to support the Suffolk Punch Trust which is helping to conserve this heritage working horse breed.

Here’s a posy with dark blue sweet peas, Ammi, argyranthemums and lavender Hidcote. There’s always mint and rosemary in all my arrangements for the gorgeous scent. The grey foliage is Seneccio Vira Vira from Coton Manor Nursery.

Here’s the argyranthemums made into a mossy wreath with ivy, Ammi and Blue Boy cornflowers.

My wreaths end up on the 1920s summerhouse which is on a turntable to follow the sun.

Here’s a rose wreath with highly-scented Constance Spry, David Austin’s first rose, and Mme Isaac Periere, a heritage rose dating back to 1841.

Inside the potting shed. The wreath is made from a metal frame covered in moss. 10cm lengths of Ivy are poked into the moss all around the outside and inside of the ring. Roses and stems of elderflower are added on top. These will last a week if sprayed with water every day.

These roses are new from Whartons. They are a home-florists’ range for cut flowers. This one is Timeless Cream. Highly scented, with few thorns, long stems and it also repeat-flowers through summer to autumn. You can find out more about British rose growers from Roses UK which promotes the industry and spreads the word about new and heritage roses. http://www.rosesuk.com/

It goes well with carnation Bridal Star, white Antirrhinum Royal Bride, Ammi, and cosmos Psyche White. Blue gladioli (Pheasant Acre Plants) mint and Agapanthus Fireworks (Wyvale Nurseries) compete the posy.

Cosmos Psyche White. Mr Fothergill’s seed. Started in February and planted out end of May. Flowers from June to November.

Agapanthus Fireworks, a new variety which flowers all summer.

Calendula, a seedling from Touch of Red. Mr Fothergill’s seed.

If you’ve attended one of my talks, I hope you’ve enjoyed this reminder of some of the flowers mentioned. Your leader will e mail a comprehensive plant list, and I look forward to returning next year with a different talk on another gardening subject.

Recipes from Garden News Magazine this week

February 15, 2023February 15, 2023 / karen / 10 Comments

Updating you on my potato-growing plans:

Seed potatoes arrived promptly through the post in a paper sack from Potato House.

These are the varieties I selected. Some for containers and some for the open ground.

The potatoes were in a good condition, fresh, solid, with no mould, and an ideal size for chitting.

I set them out in a seed tray with paper strips between the varieties and labels at one end.

Seed potatoes have been placed in a bright, cool, frost free place to chit. Chitting just means to start them into growth. Small shoots will grow from the eyes, which have been placed upwards. When the shoots are 2cm the potatoes will be planted in containers on top of 20cm of compost. As the leaves grow, handfuls of compost will be added to cover them, until the leaves pop out of the top of the containers. I’ll water sparingly until the containers are half full of compost – by which time the potatoes will be growing strongly. Too much water in the early stages causes the potatoes to rot. When the leaves emerge out of the top, watering will be stepped up to make the tubers grow.

I’ll be harvesting these in about 100 days for earlies, and 120 days for main crop potatoes.

There’s nothing like the taste of newly-harvested potatoes, fresh from the garden. It’s a money-saving project, but also grown for the flavour. Only a few varieties are usually offered in the shops, and yet there are hundreds of varieties to choose from to grow.

Some potatoes I grew last year, showing the shoots starting to grow. Usually three shoots are allowed to develop. The rest are rubbed off so they produce larger -sized potatoes.

Here’s the link for the recipe: https://bramblegarden.com/2019/01/17/leek-and-potato-pies-veg-from-the-garden/

Love these two-tone white and pink potatoes.

Charlotte potatoes, just washed and ready to steam. No need to scrape new potatoes. The skin contains lots of vitamins and minerals.

I love the colours of Violetta and Shetland Black.

Before Christmas, I bought some ready-to-eat potatoes from Potato House UK as a try-before-you-grow scheme. It was fabulous to try different varieties before committing time and space to growing them at home.

I wrote about it here: https://bramblegarden.com/2022/12/14/try-before-you-grow-potatoes/

What plans have you got for growing potatoes this summer? It’s exciting to think about spring and summer harvests after such a long, cold grey winter isn’t it.

Potato House have kindly given me a code to offer to readers of bramblegarden. This is an offer independent from my blog, and Potato House will be responsible for all discussions regarding orders.

Amy from Potato House writes: Here is a 10% code for your readers for seed potatoes for orders over £15

BRAMBLE
T&C 10% Voucher valid till 31/4/23 for SEED orders over £15, includes all 6 tuber, 1 kg nets. Excludes 10kg, 25kg sacks, gift cards, patio sets, grow bags and our To Eat range. Coupon cannot be used in conjunction with other coupons. One discount per email. Usual discounts still apply. Usual web T&C apply.

Forcing Rhubarb- hints and tips and recipes from BBC Radio Leicester Gardening

February 9, 2023February 21, 2023 / karen / Leave a comment

For listeners of today’s BBC Radio Leicester gardening. Here’s what I was talking about today. This advice comes from Glenn Facer, who has worked in the gardens at Chatsworth House for 33 years. Glenn has been growing fruit and vegetables in the kitchen garden for 14 years and grows produce for the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. Glenn supplies the family in the main house and also the restaurants, cafes and hotels on the estate.

Glenn says: “I force the rhubarb by lifting small clumps off the rows out on the beds from November until about the end of march, leaving the roots on top of the ground to be frosted for a few days. This aids the forcing process.

Forced rhubarb has sweet and tasty, pale stems

In dustbins, I place a layer of compost in the bottom and place the clumps on top, filling round with more compost but not covering the crown. Then lightly water and replace the lid to exclude light.

The dustbins are placed in a heated glasshouse for a quicker crop, but can be placed in a cold greenhouse or shed. They are usually ready to harvest in about 3 to 4 weeks time.

I usually dispose of the crowns after forcing, as they are worn out and would take a while to crop again.

The varieties I use are Victoria , Timperley Early and Champagne.”

Forced rhubarb from the Chatsworth gardens. photos Glenn Facer

Recipes we talked about on the radio. These were published in the Garden News Magazine in 2022. I write a column each week focussing on what I’m growing and how I’m using the produce in the kitchen.

Smoothy recipe:

1/2 cup cooked, cooled rhubarb

1 teaspoon sugar ( optional) or maple syrup or honey

1.5 cups plain yoghurt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon fresh grated ginger

Or pinch of dried ginger

Add icecream to serve (optional)

Cut the rhubarb into 2cm pieces. Wash and place in a saucepan with just the water clinging to the stems. Cook until soft. Add the sugar or sugar substitutes if using. Cool. Add the other ingredients and whizz in a food processor. Adjust the taste/ consistency by adding milk/cream/ or a scoop of vanilla ice cream according to taste.

Enjoy!

Caramelised onion and nut roast

December 27, 2022December 28, 2022 / karen / 15 Comments

If you are looking for a special dish for New Year celebrations, I can highly recommend this recipe. It’s a really tasty onion, mushroom and nut filling encased in golden puff pastry. It’s easy to make and serves 7-8. You can also make it ahead and re-heat it, or cut it into portions to freeze. We have it for Christmas every year, served alongside roast potatoes and honey roast parsnips, greens and onion gravy. wishing you all a very happy Christmas and wonderful New Year! Thanks as ever for following the blog and leaving your comments.

Ingredients:

1 x pack 400g (approx) ready-rolled pastry

For the caramelised onions:

1 large or two small white onions, chopped

1 tablespoon butter or vegan margarine

1 teaspoon golden caster sugar

For the filling:

3 small red onions, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

250g chestnut mushrooms, chopped

Few tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary and thyme, leaves only

Or 1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs

half a lemon, juice only

1 tablespoon vegetable stock

150g mixed cashew nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, brazils

80g sliced blanched almonds

80g white bread crumbs

1 egg, beaten or 1 tablespoon vegan oat milk

Seasoning

Method:

Heat the oven to 180C / Gas 6

Take the pastry out of the fridge so that it comes to room temperature while you make the filling.

Heat the butter, sugar and onions in a frying pan. Gently cook for about 15 to 20 minutes, until caramelised and soft. Allow to cool

Use the same frying pan to cook the red onion in the 1 tbsp olive oil. When they are soft – which takes about 20 minutes on a low heat- add the chopped mushrooms, herbs, lemon juice and vegetable stock.

Cook on a low heat for 10 minutes.

Chop the nuts in a food processor very briefly. Add the mushroom mixture and process for a few seconds to incorporate. Leave it chunky, but well mixed

Add the breadcrumbs and seasoning and stir.

Mix in half the beaten egg. The other half will be for glazing the top.

To assemble, unroll the pastry on a baking tray, using the paper covering as a non-stick parchment

Spoon the caramelised onions down the centre of the pastry

Add the mushroom nut filling on top.

Cut the pastry sides into diagonal strips about 2cm wide and fold these one at a time over the filling to form a plait.

Brush the top with the reserved half beaten egg or oat milk for vegetarians.

Cook for about 40 minutes until the pastry has risen and turned golden and the filling has heated through.

Can be made the day before and reheated in foil in the oven. Also nice cold of there are any leftovers, served with jacket potatoes and salad. Enjoy!

The filling piled in the centre of the pastry. I’ve put the caramelised onions on top here. Doesn’t really matter either way.

The finished roast. Sprinkle some fresh herbs over, if you like.

So tasty!

Try-before-you-grow potatoes

December 14, 2022December 15, 2022 / karen / 23 Comments

I’ve often thought it would be a great idea to try out different varieties before committing to ordering and growing seed potatoes. Well now you can do just that. Potato House are selling ready-to-eat varieties of heritage, coloured, rare and organic spuds!

It’s a new venture for Potato House and there’s a dedicated area of the website for ordering ready-to-eat potatoes : https://www.potatohouse.co.uk/potatoes-to-eat/

I ordered five varieties, Arran Victory, Blue Annelise, Heidi Red, Pink Fir Apple and one simply called ‘Chips’ for cooking chips and wedges.

The coloured potatoes really appealed to me, as it’s not easy to buy them locally. I like the idea of keeping heritage varieties going, and it’s lovely to try something new. Potatoes arrived promptly after ordering. I was delighted with the quality. The potatoes are a good size and beautiful condition.

Amy from Potato House says

“We are renowned for our colourful range of seed potatoes. These look and taste amazing. The best thing about growing your own produce is experimenting with colours that are not readily available in supermarkets.

We grow the purples, pinks and the in-between with multi-coloured skin for you to experiment with in your gardens and allotments.

In some varieties it is only the skin which is coloured and in some, the colour goes beyond the skin for vibrant additions to any plate. Think blue mash, purple chips and red crisps!

Unusual colours on your plate is a talking point – whether it is toddlers or friends round for a meal – everyone is impressed. The toddlers get told that the blue mash has superpowers and the adults will check if blue potatoes have superpowers!

Nutritional values are the same although there are some studies which indicate that a range of food colours is better for you.

Growing and cooking coloured potatoes takes no extra skill. You grow according to the maturity and then cook according to the potato type. So if you have a second early, smooth, blue seed potato such as Salad Blue, it will grow like any other second early taking about 14 weeks to mature and then will be delicious as a mash!

Try some home made chips and crisps – a lot easier than you would think!

Some of these varieties have been around for a long time – your grandparents would have had some, and others have been bred more recently giving protection against diseases.

Our range of seed potatoes comes in 6-tuber nets and 1kg nets (as well as larger sizes) and discounts start when you buy only 5 nets of any combination. Our range of ready-to-eat potatoes comes in 5k, 10kg, and 15kg bags. Both are delivered direct to you from our farm.

We do, of course, have white skin and flesh seed potatoes too. We’re here to help you decide so let us know if you have any questions.” https://www.potatohouse.co.uk/

Some tasty purple potatoes I grew this summer. They kept their colour during cooking.

I’m using some of my potatoes for Christmas, but I’m also looking through my cookery books to decide what else to make with them. I probably won’t be able to resist buying all of them as seed potatoes too. To have beautiful varieties like these coming out of the veg plot next year is a very cheerful prospect indeed.

Are any of you looking through catalogues and on-line deciding what varieties to grow right now? What potatoes would you recommend, and have any of you tried the more unusual red, blue and black varieties? Thanks for reading my blog. Happy gardening! And happy cooking too!

Planting Amaryllis. BBC Radio Leicester gardening show notes. Christmas present ideas.

December 5, 2022December 5, 2022 / karen / 6 Comments

Christmas only really starts for me when I plant my amaryllis bulbs. For as long as I can remember, there’s been amaryllis bulbs flowering over the festive season at my family’s home. And I like to keep up the tradition by having them in my own home. If you listened in to this week’s BBC Radio Leicester show, you will have heard me talking about the amaryllis varieties I’m planting at the moment. Some are for me, and some will be given as Christmas presents.

Carmen is the deep velvety red single-flowering bulb I mentioned on the show. I was potting them up as we talked. The box kits from Taylors Bulbs contain a plant pot and compost which makes life easier. Everything needed is contained in one box.

This beautiful double white amaryllis is Marilyn. I love the lime green centre of the flowers.

This is the pink and white striped double amaryllis I’ve chosen. It’s called Lady Jane. Which is quite a fancy name for quite a fancy flower!

Amaryllis Rilona has wonderful deep apricot single flowers with a darker eye. The flowers are edged in white, and if you look closely you can see darker orange stripes or veins radiating from the centre of the flowers to the tips.

When choosing bulbs, always go for the largest you can find. The larger the bulb, the more flower spikes will be produced. Usually one single spike is followed by a second, or even a third, if you are very lucky.

I asked Taylors Bulbs for some planting and general care advice:

How To Plant Amaryllis In Pots/Containers:

1. Soak the dry roots (not the bulb) in lukewarm water for about
45mins. Make sure to cut off any damaged roots before potting.
2. Fill the base of your pot (at least 20cm) with multi-purpose
compost, covering the drainage hole.
3. Feed the roots into the pot, spreading them out onto the compost and fill in around them with more compost.
4. Bury the bottom half of the bulb, so that it is secure in the pot.
Water sparingly.
5. Stand the pot in a well-lit position and keep the compost moist, but
do not over water.

Extra Tips:

* Amaryllis are great for the windowsill. Remember to turn the pot
regularly to prevent the stems bending towards the light.

* Once your Amaryllis flowers have faded, cut the whole stem off as
close to the base as possible.
* Water and feed them with a balanced fertiliser every few weeks to
help build up strength for next year.
* Make sure to give them plenty of light, as this helps the leaves
generate energy.
* To help encourage them to flower next year cut any old foliage back
to the neck of the bulb. Move them into a warm position and continue to water them.

Re-potting Amaryllis Bulbs:

* After every two to three years it’s a good idea to re-pot amaryllis
bulbs for continued good displays.
* Amaryllis tend to grow best in small pots, so don’t be tempted to
re-pot into a larger pot.
* After flowering, remove the bulbs from the compost and gently remove the compost around the roots. Then refill your pot with fresh compost and replant the bulb.

About Taylors Bulbs:

Taylors Bulbs are a fourth generation family business, growing and supplying flower bulbs and associated products since 1919.

Daffodils are grown on our farm in Holbeach, Lincolnshire where we also design and pack a large range of products predominantly for the UK and Irish markets.

Still a thriving family business employing over 200 staff at peak times, we pride ourselves on the award winning service we offer our customers.

Here’s some more amaryllis I’ve grown at Christmas. In the second year, they often flower either very early in November, or as late as May. Either way they are very welcome at a time when there are few flowers to enjoy in the garden. Indoor bulbs fill the gap.

This white single flower has a lovely red edge. I think it is called Picotee and I’ve had it for 10 years.

Another lovely single white flower. Possibly called Lemon and Lime, however I’ve lost the label as it’s been here many years.

Sadly, I can’t remember the name of this beauty, but again, it’s been here for several years.

Thanks for reading the blog, and for listening in to the radio. I also write a weekly column for Garden News Magazine, so I’m either talking or writing about flowers every day of the week. Happy gardening everyone!

BBC Radio Leicester Gardening

November 16, 2022November 16, 2022 / karen / 7 Comments

Sweet pea varieties I’m growing again for next summer

Here’s the link to this week’s gardening section on the Ben Jackson show. We start talking gardening at 1.09 on the timeline.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0d9mn15?fbclid=PAAaYBBRlgqEoUCh8-qaN4O0nnY6iNgzuI12IfCIMpjvT5BTnfOFPNbrCQEus

Many people listen to radio on the i-player now. It’s so convenient to be able to listen when it suits you. You can stop the recording and go back if you didn’t hear a plant name correctly. You can have a cup of tea in the middle of the programme. I love listening to the radio through my i-pad or on the phone when I’m driving along.

This week we talked about sweet peas. My plants are 5” tall now and I’m pinching out the tops to make bushier plants. Sweet peas flower on side shoots, so more shoots equal more flowers.

I’m growing my sweet peas in root trainers. These are long cell trays which allow deep rooting. They open at the sides like a book so the roots aren’t disturbed when you plant them out. I use a 50/ 50 compost and grit or vermiculite mix for good drainage. There’s still time to sow your sweet peas now. Seeds packets are reduced in some local garden centres and on-line.

My sweet peas are for jam jar posies. I’m growing Wiltshire Ripple, High Scent, Albutt Blue and Chatsworth. I’m also growing about five different types of white sweet peas for my trial to grow wedding flowers for my daughter. She’s not getting married until summer 2024, but next summer will be a try-out for the flowers.

I particularly love the ripple series of sweet peas. Here shown with some sweet william.

We also talked about taking salvia cuttings.

I have a collection of really beautiful salvias, some in the ground and some in pots. They are not a hundred percent hardy, so I take ‘insurance policy’ cuttings now. Look down the sides of the plants and find some shoots that haven’t flowered. Pull gently down and they will come away with a tiny heel. Tidy up the heel with a knife and insert the cutting around the edge of a 3” pot of gritty compost. They will overwinter in a greenhouse, cold frame or house windowsill.

Here’s a pot full of salvia cuttings. I leave them in the same pot all winter and separate them in spring. This takes up less space than dividing cuttings and potting them on in winter.

They separate out into new little plants which can be grown on in their own 3” pots and planted out in summer.

I wrote about salvias here: https://bramblegarden.com/2021/06/18/new-plants-on-trial-salvias-from-middleton-nurseries/

Thanks for listening in, if you live in the Leicestershire area, and thanks for reading the blog. It’s great to share what we are all growing in our gardens all year round. There’s something new to learn every

Flowers from my garden- a week later….

November 13, 2022November 13, 2022 / karen / 24 Comments

Last week I posted an ‘all of the garden’ bouquet with everything in flower. I thought you might like to see how the flowers look seven days later. I visited my Mum today and took all the flowers out of the vase and cut four inches off the bottom of the stems. I cleaned the jam jar and added fresh water.

What a joy to see Alstroemeria Indian Summer still looking fresh and colourful. As I said last week, I bought this new plant from Mary Thomas who has a nursery in my area. Mary lives in Sutton Bonington and opens her garden for the NGS. She also has a plant nursery, Piecemeal Plants and has a stall at the Belvoir Castle Flower Show where I treated myself to one or two special plants. To have them still in flower in mid-November is making me very happy indeed!

Chrysanthemums give good value in a cut flower garden and will last three weeks in a vase, if looked after by refreshing the water and just trimming the base of the stems slightly every few days. Mum hadn’t touched her flowers for the week, but they still looked as fresh as newly picked. This variety is Swan. The pure white petals surround a green centre which eventually fades to white to match the outer petals. A good value plant. We bought cuttings from the RHS Malvern Show a few years ago. I think I shared a batch of cuttings with a friend. There was a special offer of 12 cuttings of different types. The price for the offer worked out at about 80p per cutting. Plants are grown in 10”pots stood outdoors all summer. Usually I take them in the poly tunnel or greenhouse in November as frost and rain might spoil the petals, but this year we have had such mild conditions, the plants are still outdoors.

This is the very last David Howard dahlia of the year. It’s my favourite dahlia and goes really well with the alstroemeria, as if they were meant to be together as a pair.

The petals of the rudbeckias have dropped off, but I decided to keep the stems as the dark brown stamens made interesting ‘buttons’ of colour and shape. A contrast to the flowers.

This little rudbeckia is hanging on, grown from a mixed packet of seed from Mr Fothergills. I just couldn’t throw it out. It might not last another week, but we shall see.

I was surprised and delighted to see the little wild flower Oxeye daisy still hanging on. Such a lovely reminder of the banks of white flowers which flower all summer here. It’s so strange to see them blooming in November as the days grow dark. But welcome even so.

As usual, foliage is important in my jam jar flowers. This is a lime green bedding plant I keep going from one year to the next by taking lots of cuttings and keeping them in 3” pots over the winter. They are popular for hanging baskets and containers, but also make very good foliage for cut flowers. And I’ve temporarily forgotten the name. Perhaps you know it? There’s also a grey version, but I prefer the lime green.

There’s also rosemary which goes into every posy I create. Everything I do has a meaning and rosemary is for remembrance, as you probably know. I’m surprised to see the huge 4ft high plant I have in the veg plot in full flower today. Such beautiful Mediterranean blue flowers and gorgeously -scented leaves. I couldn’t be without it.

I couldn’t be without my senecio viravira which also goes into every single posy I create. It’s such a pretty leaf and sets off all the other colours. Plants are not always hardy so again I’ve taken cuttings in 3” pots, just in case.

Also, not easy to photograph, but Salvia Phyllis’s Fancy is as fresh as the day I picked it.

A slightly better photo. You can also see the red stems of dogwood which give colour to autumn arrangements.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this weekend’s updated photos. It only took me ten minutes to rearrange the flowers and refresh them. It’s so rewarding to see how long home-grown flowers can last. And my mum’s kitchen window is full of autumn colour and scent for another week. A worthwhile project and it makes me – and my lovely Mum very happy.

Have a lovely gardening week. And thanks for reading the blog and leaving a comment below. Follow Cathy for the ‘In a Vase on Monday’ meme. She has a very special anniversary tomorrow, so many congratulations Cathy! And thanks for hosting such a lovely, friendly meme with members growing and arranging flowers all around the world for the past nine years.

https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2022/11/07/in-a-vase-on-monday-life-more-sweet/

November flowers for my Mum

November 7, 2022November 7, 2022 / karen / 20 Comments

Monday 7th November 2022

Surely, these must be the last flowers for cutting this year…. I keep going out expecting to see foliage blackened by frost and buds turned to mush. But no, the garden is still blooming!

Star of the show must be these marmalade orange flowers, Dahlia David Howard. Plants have done nothing all summer, but suddenly a month ago, after some rain, new leaves appeared and flower buds. I didn’t think they would come to anything as it’s so late in the season.

Coming into flower again is my new alstroemeria Indian Summer which I brought in July from my friend nursery owner Mary Thomas. It was in flower when I bought it, and it’s decided to get going again now. Doesn’t it look wonderful alongside the David Howard dahlias.

They look as if they are meant to be together in a bouquet. Such a pretty combination, don’t you think?

Another surprise is this red and white dahlia. It arrived all by itself. I bought a white one and a red one several years ago, and together they have produced a seedling baby combining the two colours. It’s rather pretty and flamboyant. I love the open centre as it has plenty of pollen for bees. I probably enjoy bees and butterflies as much as the flowers in my garden to be honest.

I sowed the seed for these sunflowers speculatively in August. I sowed them direct, in amongst the cosmos and calendula. Temperatures were so hot in the 30s for days on end that seeds germinated almost overnight. The result is a bed full of miniature sunflowers only 4” across. I don’t suppose this will ever happen again as we are unlikely to have another summer like this one.

Another mixed up sunflower, or it could actually be a rudbeckia. It has a very pretty chocolate coloured centre. I love any daisy-type flower.

Not a perfect flower, it’s slightly nibbled around the edges, but this is an ox-eye daisy which usually flowers in mid-summer. We have these wild flowers dotted about the whole garden, especially along gravel paths where seedlings flourish. I’m digging some up this week and moving them to a new patch of bare ground around the pond.

More white flowers just starting to bloom now are the chrysanthemums. This one is called Swan. It opens with a green and cream centre and fades to pure white. Very long-lasting in a vase, it will keep for nearly three weeks if you change the water daily. Highly recommended. I grow it in 10” pots stood outdoors for the summer and brought under cover in winter.

Verbena Bonariensis is a pretty filler for these bouquets. We often have flowers right through until Christmas, although they are starting to diminish. They are still worthy of close inspection even when there are more seeds than tiny flowers.

Also joining the last-minute party is salvia Phyllis’s Fancy. I bought this for the name as much as the flower. I’d love to know who Phyllis is. It certainly is fancy. Salvias are quite hard to photograph. I have a new camera which doesn’t seem to understand exactly what I want to focus on, but the photo is striking even with most of the flowers blurred. It’s the most wonderful purple and lavender flower.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my last-minute flowers. Can you spot the abutilon poking out of the bottom on the right. I think this is Kent Belle. Three stems of red dogwood (Westonbirt) add structure to the arrangement.

I learned from Georgie Newbery of Common Farm Flowers to add stems in a spiral by holding the bouquet in one hand and giving it a quarter turn before adding another stem. This way the arrangement looks good on both sides, and will actually stand up on its own. It’s a satisfying moment when it does!

Thanks for reading my blog. Flowers are for my lovely Mum this week. After a six week absence due to illness, I’m owing her quite a few bouquets! Join Cathy over on ‘In a Vase on Monday’ to see what others are cutting and arranging for their vases this week. It’s interesting to see the variety of flowers from all around the world. https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2022/10/31/in-a-vase-on-monday-spooky/

Flowers from the garden 31st October 2022

October 30, 2022October 31, 2022 / karen / 27 Comments

Who would think it was the last day of October? My dahlias didn’t have any flowers during August, September and the first half of October. But they have suddenly decided to put on a display. And what a display. They are all producing glorious stained-glass hues. The colours seem brighter and more glowing than previous years. They are so welcome after such a disappointing summer.

Labels have been scratched up by the hens and misplaced, but I think this is Dahlia Karma Choc, a decorative type with velvety dark red flowers. It got left behind in the garden last autumn, while most of the dahlias were dug up and stored in the potting shed. To be honest, it has done just as well as the others, so I’m going to risk it this winter, and leave them all out. I’ll cover them with a foot of dried beech leaves, a plastic cloche and recycled compost bags. They should stay fairly dry and be protected from frost. And if they don’t survive, I’ll have a rethink in the cut flower garden next summer. I might try something less trouble that doesn’t get nibbled by slugs, need staking and then can’t cope with a drought.

Karma Choc with grey foliage of Senecio viravira, known as Dusty Miller. I’ve taken lots of cuttings of the senecio as it’s not totally hardy. I’d be lost without it as it provides foliage for my jam jar arrangements all year round.

Dahlia David Howard has also decided to flower. These apricot orange blooms are much smaller than usual. Foliage is dark, bronze almost black. Plants were originally bred by nurseryman David Howard who spotted a promising seedling in 1960. It went on to win an RHS AGM, Award of Garden Merit. David founded Howard Nurseries in Wortham, near Diss and had a passion for dahlias and chrysanthemums. By the age of 16, he was supplying plants to Covent Garden while selecting and breeding his own varieties. The nursery thrived with David and a business partner buying first four, then 12 then 24 acres to expand. They gained such a renowned reputation that they supplied plants to the Chelsea Flower Show, and also to the Queen Mother and Prince Charles. David died aged 81 in 2019, and his daughter Christine now runs the nurseries.

This beautiful white dahlia flower reminds me of swan feathers. Sadly, I don’t know the name as this was given to me by a friend, but I’ll take cuttings next spring and increase my numbers because it’s such a lovely cut flower. The heads usually get quite heavy and dangle down, but Georgie Newbery of Common Farm Flowers showed me how to twist the stem around and turn the dahlia flowers into the centre of the bouquet which seems to work. The red stems you can see in the first photo are dogwood, Cornus Westonbirt, which also help support heavy flower heads.

Tucked in amongst the dahlias are a few teeny sunflowers. They never grew more than a few inches across! However, their bright yellow flowers are very welcome now, even in miniature.

This sunflower grown from a mixed packet of seed from Mr Fothergill’s has burnt orange flowers and a chocolate centre. Bees love them, and the seed heads are good for birds.

A beautiful double yellow sunflower with my favourite dark brown centre.

Cosmos also eventually decided to flower. I think this is Candy Stripe from Mr Fothergill’s. Another good flower for bees. And with daytime temperatures still at 18C we still have bumblebees and solitary bees out and about.

Argyranthemums braved the heatwave in summer and produced a few blooms, but now the plants have decided to go for it and plants are smothered in large white daisies. These last for two weeks in a vase, so I’m very grateful to see them in flower.

Cerise red dahlias, possibly Arabian Night, with red salvias which are also having their moment now.

And tucked in the middle is this fimbriated cactus dahlia, possibly Apache, which came from Gee-Tee Bulbs. Foliage is always important to me and in my bouquet today I have one stem each of mint, rosemary and lemon-scented santolina.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these bright jewel-like colours. I must admit, I usually prefer pastel shades. But after the summer we’ve had, any colour is certainly welcome. These flowers are for my Mum, who I haven’t seen for six weeks due to illness, so a joyful reunion, and I am pleased to have something lovely and cheerful to take from my garden.

Is your garden behaving strangely like mine, and deciding it’s summer all over again? Let me know if it’s just me, or if your flowers are blooming again. Have a great gardening week. Karen

Links: Join Cathy In a Vase on Monday: https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/category/gardens/in-a-vase-on-monday/

Book winner. Grasping the Nettle by Tamsin Westhorpe.

October 30, 2022October 30, 2022 / karen / Leave a comment

Cathy from https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/category/gardens/in-a-vase-on-monday/ Has won the free copy of Tamsin’s latest memoir. Thank you to everyone who read my review and left a comment.

My review is here. https://bramblegarden.com/2022/10/27/grasping-the-nettle-by-tamsin-westhorpe/

Book reviews and giveaways coming up this week: The Tree in my Garden by Kate Bradbury published by DK for the RHS.

Have a great gardening week everyone. All the best, Karen.

Grasping the Nettle by Tamsin Westhorpe

October 27, 2022October 28, 2022 / karen / 12 Comments

Book Review and give-away.

My BBC Radio Leicester Gardening Book of the Week

Hardback £14.99

Published October 2022

Orphans Publishing

ISBN 978-1 903-36051-4

Illustrations by Rosalie Herrera

Should any of you want to read a book which makes you laugh from start to finish, look no further than Tamsin Westhorpe’s new memoir ‘Grasping the Nettle.’

Tamsin spent her childhood mostly outdoors, by all accounts and her weekends, and after-school activities were often spent collecting snails and creepy crawlies, some she kept as pets. It was the perfect start in life for someone who would make horticulture their career. And what a career she’s had, starting with work on a plant nursery, time as an interior plant landscaper, and after college, a spell as a gardener for Bournemouth parks department and bowling greens.

Along the way, she writes about the colourful characters she meets, and the scrapes she gets into. I’m still holding my breath after reading about the clapped-out Land Rover she bought which would only start from the top of a hill, and had virtually no brakes!

Tamsin bought the rust bucket Land Rover from Southampton docks where it had been used for ferrying fish. Consequently, well you can imagine the pong!

“Fortunately for me and my newest fishy acquisition, the bungalow was at the top of a steep gravel drive. Without it I’d never have got to college. The Land Rover, which I had affectionately and very appropriately named Delilah (‘Why, why, why did I buy you?), regularly wouldn’t start but releasing the hand brake on the slope and turning the key seemed to do the trick. However stressful this daily event was, I couldn’t help but feel happy sitting in the driving seat looking over the bonnet. Now that the fishmonger’s logo had been removed, I felt like a proper horticultural student. On arrival at college- thankfully only about a mile from home- I would never experience actually turning the engine off. Stalling just as I reached my parking space was the norm. It wasn’t until I had a proper car that I realised how poor the brakes were, but thankfully I never went very far or fast.”

We’ve all had trouble starting pull-cord lawnmowers and machines. During her time at Bournemouth Parks department, Tamsin had a bit of trouble with a very heavy cantankerous leaf blower. Trying to start it while being watched by an audience of dog walkers and families heading to the beach was embarrassing to say the least.

“There was no way I could fail, so I learned to be determined and discovered how to cope with a flooded engine. I also understood why steel toe-capped boots are important- to kick power tools! On some days when the blower just wouldn’t start, instead of admitting my failings I would go hell for leather with the witch’s broom. Looking back now, I suspect I fooled no one as the engine was cold to the touch when my colleagues loaded it up into the Transit.”

Tamsin continues her story weaving in all the characters and places she’s worked, from college as a horticultural teacher, to Japan as a lecturer, on to writing for a magazine and becoming an editor. All along the way, the story is peppered with delightful observations, showing Tamsin’s joyful sense of humour and determination to succeed, whatever obstacles are put in her way, mechanical, human or animal.

Bringing things up to date, Tamsin is now a hands-on gardener at her family garden Stockton Bury in Herefordshire which regularly features in the round-up of the best UK open gardens. Tamsin also writes for newspapers and magazines and lectures at home and abroad- making her audiences laugh with tales of life spent doing something she’s completely passionate about- gardening. I think we all know that feeling of being happiest with our hands in the soil.

Congratulations, Tamsin on writing such a sparkling, charming, thought-provoking read. It had me in stitches from start to finish. I haven’t laughed so much in ages. And I learned a lot more about what it’s like to make your way in the world when you choose a life outdoors.

I’m sure Tamsin has started many more people on the path to horticulture through her wit and passion for the subject. It’s a delightfully realistic and thoroughly inspiring book.

Thank you for reading my review. There’s one copy to give away. Please leave your comments below and a name will be randomly selected by Sunday 6pm.

I wrote about Tamsin’s first book here: https://bramblegarden.com/2020/02/22/diary-of-a-modern-country-gardener/

Tamsin’s accident in the garden: https://bramblegarden.com/2021/11/03/accidents-in-the-garden/

Some excerpts from the book:

Secret Gardens of the South East- A Private Tour by Barbara Segall. Prize draw winner.

October 26, 2022October 26, 2022 / karen / Leave a comment

Jane Wightman is the lucky winner of the prize draw for Barbara Segall’s new book. Thank you to to everyone who read my review and left comments. And thank you to the publishers Frances Lincoln/ Quarto for offering a free book to readers of my blog.

Here’s a link to my review: https://bramblegarden.com/2022/10/14/book-review-secret-gardens-of-the-south-east-a-private-tour-my-bbc-local-radio-book-of-the-week/

Ramster Hall, Surrey. 20 gardens feature in the book, Wonderful photos were taken by Clive Boursnell who travelled 12,500 miles for the project.

The Hannah Peschar Sculpture Garden, Surrey

Gravetye Manor, East Grinstead, West Sussex

Thank you for reading the blog and leaving your comments. Look out for more book reviews and give-aways later this week. Suddenly there’s a steady stream of top quality gardening books arriving in the potting shed for tea break reading. To be honest, I’ve never seen such a wonderful array of subjects covered and superb garden writing. Tea breaks are getting longer and longer at bramble garden! I’ll keep you posted.

Chocolate and Beetroot Muffins- family favourite recipes

October 25, 2022October 26, 2022 / karen / 13 Comments

Beetroot was one of the few vegetables that did well this summer. Climbing beans were a disaster. Flowers failed to set and immature beans dropped off the plants. Very disappointing to see. But beetroot didn’t seem to mind the heat and drought. I write a weekly column for Garden News Magazine all about the fruit and vegetables I’ve harvested in the garden and what I’m making with them. It’s a fun project and I really look forward to my cooking and recipe-writing sessions. Sometimes the recipes come from my Mum who is a fabulous cook. Sometimes I delve into a lovely archive of recipes shared by my late mother-in-law Joan. Many happy memories swirl around as I make her famous flapjack and fruit cake recipes. Joan never came to visit without having a cake in her shopping bag. And we always looked forward to seeing what she’d got in her cake tin in the pantry at home. Some of the recipes are just ones I’ve devised for feeding my family of four (although the girls are grown up now and have homes of their own). Nothing too fancy or with too many ingredients. In fact, most recipes can be made with a few basic store-cupboard ingredients and what vegetables you might have in the veg basket or fridge. They don’t take hours to make either. I’ve always been frantically busy, so recipes have to be quick and easy. I’ve had some lovely letters and e mails from Garden News readers thanking me for the recipes which they say are simple to follow and tasty without taking too long to cook.

Here’s a recent column featuring deliciously moist beetroot and chocolate muffins. Have a go at making them and let me know how you get on. I freeze batches of beetroot in quantities required for these cakes, so I always have the ingredients to hand.

You can freeze the little cakes and they thaw out within minutes.

These photos were taken in the back-of-the house glass porch, the only sunny place at the time, and my pressed glass cake stand is balanced on top of an upturned laundry wicker basket! No one will know….

I grow a pinch of seed every 10-15cm and I let the beetroot grow in clusters. I carefully harvest the largest beetroot when needed, but leave the smaller ones to carry on growing.

When I was searching my i-pad archives for photos of beetroot, the computer offered these hyacinths. Just shows you, machines and computers still aren’t as clever as humans….yet! It made me laugh. I hope it makes you smile too. Enjoy your gardening week.

For the avoidance of doubt, please don’t eat hyacinths! They are poisonous.

Cut Flowers from my garden mid-October

October 20, 2022October 20, 2022 / karen / 23 Comments

I’ve just realised that I never cut any flowers for myself. They are always for friends and relatives, all the pleasure being in the giving. It’s nice to have something home-grown to give away. However, I’ve been ill for a few weeks and stuck indoors. How frustrating it’s been looking out from my bed while the sun shone on the garden. I made lists of all the jobs needed doing, which didn’t help at all. But when I felt a bit better, I wobbled outdoors and cut these flowers for my bedside table.

The star of my little bouquet is this highly-scented rose from a new home-florists’ range. Timeless Purple has long stems with very few thorns. Flowers have an ‘old rose’ appearance and wonderful myrrh- scent. Modern breeding means it repeat flowers and is disease resistant. Flowers stand up to the weather. Old roses tend to ‘ball’ in the rain, where buds fail to open and drop off. Such a disappointment if you’ve eagerly waited for the rose buds to open, to see them going mouldy and wilting. These flowers shrug off the raindrops, and flowers aren’t marked by the weather.

The heatwave and drought meant there were virtually no flowers in my garden all summer, but autumn has brought a bonanza. Plants seem determined to make up for lost time. The argyranthemums grown from seed by my Mum have come into flower mid-October. Who doesn’t love a daisy? The cheerful white flowers go so well with the roses and salvias.

Dahlias also suffered in the summer heat, but are coming into flower now. The first frost will finish the display, but for now, I’m just enjoying this unexpected bounty.

It’s not easy to photograph salvias. Their colours are so vibrant they tend to blur with an ordinary camera phone. This is one of the many salvias that came from https://middletonnurseries.co.uk/

I wrote about my trial growing salvias here: https://bramblegarden.com/2021/06/18/new-plants-on-trial-salvias-from-middleton-nurseries/

Their jewel-like colours are very welcome at this time of the year, and look so wonderful set against golden autumn foliage. Stems have a delicious blackcurrant scent.

Talking of foliage, I picked some stems of my dogwood, Cornus Westonbirt. Leaves are turning a lovely plum colour, and the bright red stems will provide interest all winter, especially when the sun shines through them. These are such easy shrubs to grow, they simply need a prune to the ground each spring as the most colourful stems are produced on new growth.

My grey foliage plants came from Coton Manor nursery in Northampton. Annoyingly, I can’t remember the name, but I have the label in the greenhouse and will just edit the name in tomorrow. I’m still suffering from terrible brain fog after being ill.

Fuchsias, also from Coton Manor, have decided to flower a month later than usual. They are growing in huge pots and I’ll just lift them into the greenhouse to protect them from frost. They flower till Christmas, given some protection.

Cosmos Psyche White has also decided to put on a show now. This is my favourite cosmos. It’s a messy double white with long stems and good repeat flowering. It lasts a fortnight in a vase. I’ve tried some of the new apricot cosmos, but they didn’t do well for me here, so I won’t bother with them again. I need tried and tested varieties that won’t let me down.

In the greenhouse I found this lovely pink Passion flower which was in keeping with my colour-theme posy, so I picked it an added it to the jam jar. I grow this in a 10” pot which is carried outside for the summer and brought in again before the first frosts. Usually there are one or two flowers right through winter.

I wrote about the Timeless florists’ range here: https://bramblegarden.com/2021/11/01/diary-for-garden-news-magazine/

Join in with Cathy for her In a Vase on Monday here : https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/category/gardens/in-a-vase-on-monday/

Well, I hope this little posy of flowers has given you some inspiration for what to grow to have something to pick in late October. I try to have something to pick every day of the year. Sometimes there’s more foliage than flowers, but it’s lovely to bring the garden indoors, so to speak.

After being stuck in my room for so long, it did me the world of good to wander about outdoors picking a few flowers. For once, they are just for me, and I’m thoroughly enjoying them. Have a great weekend. Keep safe and well and enjoy your gardening.

Gifts for Gardeners. Ideas and Inspiration.

October 18, 2022October 19, 2022 / karen / 13 Comments

If you are just starting to think about Christmas presents for gardeners, here are some great ideas. This year, more than ever, I’m only buying from tried and trusted suppliers- people I’ve bought from before and found to provide good value. I’ve long been a fan of Burgon and Ball. Everything I have bought from them has been good quality and long lasting. This is not an advert. I’ve not been given any samples. There’s no obligation to promote them. I just want to pass on their latest products because I believe they are worthwhile. Have a look though my selection and let me know what you think.

**National Trust Made by Burgon & Ball’ Digging Spade**
A classic garden spade with a heritage look, this National Trust spade is crafted in high-carbon steel, echoing the style, strength and quality of the garden tools of yesteryear. Dark wood and an antique bronze colour powder coating give a distinctive look. RRP £36.99

9L waterfall can in British Racing green.

This sturdy full-size watering can in galvanized steel is ideal for the serious gardener looking for a long-lasting, high-performance and stylish full-size watering can. With a five-year guarantee, this is a gift which will be used and loved. RRP £49.99.

**FloraBrite gloves**
Comfortable stretch fit gloves with nitrile-coated fingers and palm for grip and protection against dirt. Available in a choice of pink or yellow, and a choice of sizes. Ideal for messy tasks like planting or potting. And if you take them off – you certainly won’t lose them! RRP £7.99

**Fuji Japanese flower arranging bowl**
Everything needed to make a start in the elegant art of *ikebana*, or Japanese flower arranging. Decorate your home, practise mindfulness and find your inner Zen! Contains a beautiful low bowl with subtly speckled dip glaze, and a metal kenzan spike to hold flower stems.

**Indoor Plant Mister**
This stylish indoor plant mister gives houseplants the gentle humidity they crave! It’s the perfect way to provide soft hydration to moisture-loving plants without soaking the compost. A pump with metal moving parts delivers a fine spray with no irritating drips or splatters. RRP £24.99

**Indoor watering can**
An essential for any indoor gardener, this mini watering can is more than stylish enough to leave on show, on desk or shelf. Especially ideal for cacti or succulents, the narrow spout gives a highly targeted, precise pour to deliver water only where it’s needed. RRP £18.99

**New Kneelo^®**
Kneelo is the original memory foam garden kneeler, and this year has seen it relaunched with a new design to make it more comfortable than ever! New Kneelo has 30 per cent more foam than the original Kneelo design. Knees have never known comfort like this! RRP £16.99

**Monterey macramé plant pot hanger**
A 1970s favourite rebooted for today’s boho look, a macramé plant pot hanger is a must-have home accessory. This plant pot hanger quickly and easily converts your favourite houseplant into a hanging focal point. Simply add the indoor pot of your choice! RRP £9.99

**National Trust Made by Burgon & Ball’ ‘Under the Canopy’ gardening gloves**
The beautiful new pattern in Burgon & Ball’s National Trust collection, ‘Under the Canopy’ celebrates the vibrant colours and shapes of natural landscapes across our much-loved countryside. With cushioned palm for protection and gathered wrist to keep out debris. RRP £16.99

**RHS-endorsed FloraBrite Fluorescent Trowel & Fork**
The FloraBrite range was created to be unlosable – so if leaving tools behind in the borders is a frequent occurrence, or if tools tend to reappear in the compost bin six months after mysteriously disappearing, FloraBrite could be the answer. These RHS-endorsed tools carry a full lifetime guarantee.
RRP £29.98

**Seedling widger**
A handy helper around the potting shed, for anyone who grows from seed. For sowing seeds, weeding, transplanting seedlings, filling tiny pots with compost – this double-ended widger makes those detailed jobs much easier. Ideal for all kinds of sowing and growing. RRP £3.99

**Corona Max Forged DualCut Branch & Stem Pruner**
This super-tough pruner offers the ultimate in reliability and durability. Single-piece forged steel construction for maximum strength; internal spring to prevent lost parts or clogging; unique hooked blade to select cuts with power or with precision. RRP £43.99

**Corona Max Forged ClassicCUT Two-Handed Branch and Stem Pruner**
Think of this as a secateur with longer handles to give more leverage, making for easier cuts. It offers the satisfyingly crisp Corona ClassicCUT feel, plus the strength and durability of forged high-carbon steel – all in a lighter weight tool. Easily cuts up to 2cm diameter. RRP £32.99

**Sophie Conran for Burgon & Ball Galvanized Trug**
This classic-looking metal trug will add a touch of Sophie’s designer style to any garden. The two roomy compartments give enough carrying capacity to house a good selection of essential tools and other gardening bits and bobs, yet it’s not so bulky that it makes storage a problem. RRP £27.99

**Sophie Conran for Burgon & Ball apple bird feeder**
Serving as bird feeder and garden decoration in one, this cute bird feeder is a great way to give a little designer style at an affordable price. Simply pop a juicy apple or pear on the feeder to give our feathered friends a tasty treat and decorate your garden at the same time. RRP £9.99

Burgon & Ball was founded in 1730 in Sheffield, England, and is the UK’s longest-established manufacturer of garden tools and accessories, with hundreds of years of expertise in toolmaking. From its earliest years it manufactured the world’s finest sheep shears, exporting all over the world. At its peak, the annual production of its top-selling cast steel shear topped 300,000 pairs. By the 1920s gardening tools had overtaken agricultural tools as the main focus of the business, and in 2010 the company’s core ranges were awarded endorsement by Royal Horticultural Society. Today Burgon & Ball is a leading name in garden tools and giftware, enjoying an enviable reputation for quality and innovation.

Products are available from good garden centres, gift outlets and at www.burgonandball.com There’s a present idea for everyone who loves their garden.

Burgon and Ball were one of the companies that supported my Rainbows Hospice show garden at Belvoir Castle. They provided children’s kneelers in ladybird and bumblebee colours, and also children’s hand tools for gardening. Here’s a link to the story:

https://bramblegarden.com/2018/07/22/we-made-a-garden-for-rainbows-hospice-belvoir-show-2018/

Tools and kneelers donated to the Rainbows Children’s Hospice by Burgon and Ball.

Book Review: Secret Gardens of the South East- A Private Tour. My BBC Local Radio book of the week

October 14, 2022October 15, 2022 / karen / 29 Comments

By Barbara Segall

Photos by Clive Boursnell

Published by Frances Lincoln, autumn 2022

Hardback RRP £22

ISBN 978-0-7112-5260-8

One of my favourite things is to jump in the car and travel to a garden I’ve not seen before. It doesn’t matter if the garden is large or small, there’s always some planting combination or landscaping idea I jot down in a notebook, hoping to replicate it in my own garden one day.

The gardens of the South East of England are still a mystery to me. My car hasn’t ventured that far yet. But I’ve just read Barbara Segall’s exciting new book featuring 20 gardens in that region, and I’m getting out the map book already!

Balmoral Cottage, Kent. Topiary created from cuttings.

One particular garden in the book struck a chord with me. Balmoral Cottage in Benenden, Kent, where the owners grew many of the plants from divisions and cuttings from their parents’ gardens. Charlotte and Donald Molesworth bought the cottage nearly 40 years ago. Barbara tells the story of how Donald, a professional gardener, had been working next door at The Grange, the former home of Collingwood ‘Cherry’ Ingram – the plant hunter credited with returning endangered cherries to Japan.

Barbara writes, “That moment when you meet your future down a little lane, see a gate and opening it find the rest of time ahead of you…..? Well, that is literally what happened when Charlotte and Donald Molesworth found and bought Balmoral Cottage in Benenden in 1983.

For eight years Charlotte had been living in and teaching art at Benenden School, and on walks around the village, often stepped along the rough track leading to this tiny house, which had the best sunsets imaginable. Probably named Balmoral to celebrate a visit of Queen Victoria to Benenden, it was the gardener’s cottage for the Grange.

The Molesworths brought with them to Balmoral Cottage the first of many animals to share their garden lives, including bees, rescue dogs, donkeys (there have been nine) and companion sheep, hens and a cockerel.

They knew that they would need plenty of plants to make their garden and, being thrifty and resourceful they brought many plants from their parents’ gardens. From Donald’s family came woodland trilliums, dog’s-tooth violets and narcissus pseudonarcissus which have self-seeded and spread down each side of that original track. Charlotte’s mother’s garden was packed with old fashioned roses, cottage-garden plants and topiary, so her contributions included double white primroses and several thousand box cuttings.”

I love the fact they have created a special and unusual garden on a shoestring. They avoid buying anything new, scouring reclamation yards for potential items for recycling. “It’s our policy for helping Mother Earth,” they say. It’s resulted in a garden that makes you feel anything is possible. It’s not dependent on how much money you have, but on ingenuity, patience and skill. A very reassuring message for any would-be gardener, and one I welcome entirely.

I’ve picked out just one of the 20 stunning gardens explored by Barbara Segall in this richly detailed book. There’s a lovely mix of the extremely grand to the small and intimate. All are privately owned. Some have been in the possession of the same family for many generations, whilst others have recently been acquired and transformed by new owners. There’s a wonderful diversity of landscaping styles and a range of planting from traditional herbaceous borders to fashionable and contemporary prairies.

Sussex Prairie Garden, near Henfield, West Sussex

Sussex Prairie Garden. Curving paths through the grand spiral of the borders bring you up-close so you can experience the undulation of the plants and their blocks of colour from within.

Barbara is a totally engaging writer who draws you into the gardens and skilfully sifts out the essence of what makes them special. Not a word is wasted and reading her books is so easy. It’s a pleasure to skip through the pages and be transported to these glorious places.

Town Place, near Sheffield Park, East Sussex

The book includes visitor information about the gardens profiled as well as several others in this garden-rich area of Kent, Sussex and Surrey. Some open for the popular National Gardens Scheme, while others are open privately, and in some cases, for just the occasional day for charity.

Arundel Castle, Arundel, West Sussex. Caught in the early morning mist, the windows of Arundel Cathedral provide a dramatic borrowed landscape to the annual allium, rose and salvia extravaganza.

Arundel Castle team and bulb-filled borders sweeping up to the battlements. I particularly liked seeing the teams of gardeners included in the book. Credit is due for the wonderful work they undertake, looking after these special places.

Special mention must be made of the photographs by Clive Boursnell who initially visited 40 gardens and travelled 12,500 miles for this stunning project. Sadly, only 20 could be included in the book. But he talks about the warm welcome he received at every garden, as he travelled about in his camper van, capturing the atmospheric dawn and dusk photos. He turned up during a daughter’s wedding that was taking place in one garden. The owners, not phased by his appearance in the middle of a celebration, made sure he could get his photos of a particular rose trellis at its peak. Such small details and asides give an insight into the characters behind the gardens, their passions and their personalities.

Long Barn, Sevenoaks, Kent. The barn wall provides a strong backdrop as well as a hotspot for California glory (Fremontodendron californicum). Together with the lime-green touches of Euphorbia characias subs. wulfenii, they offer a counterpoint to the closely clipped hedging and lawns on the main lawn.

Barbara writes: “I hope you will find much pleasure in the book and visit the gardens when possible…opening garden gates to find untold beauty.”

I know that I enjoyed every page and can’t wait to investigate the gardens further.

Clinton Lodge Gardens, Fletching, East Sussex. The view through the Cloister Walk arcades, clad with white wisteria and Clematis alba Luxurians, to the Wild Garden, with its spring tide of Narcissus poeticus Pheasant’s Eye and white tulips.

Munstead Wood and the Quadrangle, Godalming, Surrey. The main flower border, some 61 metres long, blooms in waves of colour following Gertrude Jekyll’s original iconic, complicated drawing.

Malthouse Farm Garden, Hassocks, East Sussex.

The publishers are giving away one book in a prize draw to readers who leave comments below. One name will be randomly selected. Sorry, only open to UK entries due to postage costs. The draw closes at 6pm on 21st October.

I wrote about Barbara here:

https://bramblegarden.com/2021/01/10/herbs-cooking-and-reading-blogs-keeping-cheerful-through-lockdown/

And Barbara’s previous books:

https://bramblegarden.com/2017/08/14/words-and-pictures-3/

https://bramblegarden.com/2017/10/13/win-a-copy-of-secret-gardens-of-east-anglia-and-heres-an-update-on-my-fund-raising-plans-2/

Thank you for reading my blog. I hope you enjoy these words and photos from Barbara’s latest book. It was my book of the week on local radio gardening shows earlier this summer.

Melbourne Hall – a chance to glimpse inside the house.

August 20, 2022August 20, 2022 / karen / 7 Comments

Photo credit: Andrea Jones.

The best view of Melbourne Hall is from the ornate Bird Cage on the other side of the lake. But during August the house and the garden is open every afternoon, so there’s a chance to get a closer look and step inside this beautiful historic building.

When you arrive you enter by the Carriage Ring driveway, and step inside the Billiard Room, a conservatory-style addition built in 1911 by Lord Walter Kerr to add a glass roof over the area between the two wings of the house. In winter, this structure houses potted lemon trees, and mince pies and mulled wine are served to visitors on special opening dates. Last time I visited in winter, the family placed a Christmas tree in the conservatory which looked very pretty with all the tree lights and decorations reflected in the glass. It’s a very special experience to be able to look through the house windows out to the landscape and gardens beyond. It gives a totally different perspective on the planting and layout.

This is the oak panelled Dining Room. The walnut high back chairs are particularly striking. Some celebrate the return of the monarch in 1660 by having a crown carved into them. Beautiful tapestry seats have been embroidered by the Kerr family for chairs which date back to the time of William and Mary.

There are seven ground floor rooms to view. The hall opens at 2pm and there are guided tours on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays. Or you can have a leisurely wander about on your own. Guides are also on duty in the rooms, able to answer any questions. Admission tickets can be purchased online, or from the entrance hall on the day of your visit.

It’s fascinating hearing about all the characters who’ve lived in this special place. Head tour guide Gill Weston has lots of interesting stories to tell.

After visiting the house, there’s beautifully-planted gardens to enjoy. Oxeye daisies are planted in long grass in the meadow. Currently in flower in the Paulownia border beside the Millstream you’ll find Eucomis, or pineapple lilies, alongside pink hydrangea arborescence Invincible Spirit.

Thanks to Gill Weston for the stories, and thanks also to Andrea Jones for kindly sharing photos. Melbourne Hall is a very special place and one of my favourite gardens. Do take the chance to glimpse inside the hall, while it’s open for August. It’s a historic house with lots of character.

Here’s a link to https://www.andreajones.co.uk/

For more information: https://www.melbournehall.com/

In a recent prize draw on the blog, Tickets to visit the garden were won by Suella.

Thank you for reading my blog and leaving your comments in the box below. It’s very much appreciated. You are among 200 people who read the blog each day, and although I haven’t been able to write very much lately , it’s a comfort to see so many people reading past blog posts and finding useful information and recipes there. Happy gardening everyone.

Flowers in memory of Joan

August 4, 2022August 4, 2022 / karen / 24 Comments

This blog records my gardening life, growing fruit and vegetables for the family, and flowers for friends and relatives. Over the past five years, I’ve written about growing flowers for my mother-in-law Joan as a way of keeping a connection when she started to suffer from dementia. Joan and I shared a love of flowers and flower arranging. When she no longer knew my name, she still enjoyed my flowers and knew I was someone close to her. Sadly, Joan died earlier this year. All bereavements are difficult to recover from, but I’ve been surprised just how much I’ve been affected by Joan’s death. I didn’t feel like talking, didn’t feel like writing, didn’t feel like gardening. All the activities I usually enjoy didn’t seem to make any difference. I suppose, all these years I’ve been able to ‘do something.’ There’s been a purpose to all the work of growing sweet peas, dahlias and roses for cut flowers. Just to see Joan smile and feel as if I was keeping a connection with her, made it all worthwhile. It felt like an impossible challenge sometimes when she got so muddled she couldn’t remember her children or grandchildren. But challenges drive you on and force you to try harder. I was absolutely determined that dementia wouldn’t get the better of us and destroy the special friendship we had. But in the end it did. I feel as if it stole the last few years of her life and any comfort she could enjoy from knowing she had a large and loving family. Dementia took her into a parallel universe where we just didn’t exist. And Joan’s death has left such a hole in our lives, it will take time to readjust and refocus. As a start, I’ve decided to post some flowers in Joan’s memory. Thank you to all the readers who have sent supportive messages over the past five years and have been with me on this journey. I’m a ‘glass-half-full’ kind of person, so I’m thinking what good can come out of this experience and what I can do next to help families with relatives suffering from dementia. I’ll keep you updated on my plans. Meanwhile enjoy these flowers. I hope they bring you joy, as they did for Joan for many years.

I started with the galvanised bucket which came from Jonathan Moseley and contained sunflowers last week. I wrote about them here: https://bramblegarden.com/2022/07/25/sunflowers-for-my-mum-in-a-vase-on-monday/

Jonathan put crumpled chicken wire in the bucket to help support the stems. We are trying to use water and containers instead of florists’ foam containing plastic which contaminates the environment. https://www.jonathan-moseley.com/

Jonathan used lemon-scented conifer as the foliage element for the flower arrangement. I’m using purple-leaved Physocarpus Diabolo which is one of the few plants looking good in the heat at the moment. I used seven stems.

Physocarpus is worth growing for its white flower heads which are followed by these glossy maroon-red seed heads.

I thought these Persian ironwood, or Parrotia leaves would add texture. They are turning pink already. Usually they turn red and then orange in the autumn.

I only had about ten flower stems to put in the arrangement. The whole garden has suffered in the heat. Sweet peas have gone over, the earliest I can ever remember. Anything in flower when the temperature hit 40C was bleached out and dried. However, the roses have been the first plants to throw out new flower buds. This one is Compassion, a gorgeous climbing rose with a fruit-salad scent.

This is a new shrub rose called ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ – Rose of the Year 2021. I wrote about it here : https://bramblegarden.com/2021/08/23/this-months-diary-for-garden-news-magazine/

These roses are perfect for floristry as they are long-lasting and disease resistant. Stems are virtually thorn free, and the scent is a cross between melon and pineapple, fresh and summery.

I found two stems of this gorgeous gladioli growing down the middle of the sweet pea A-frame. The willow frame means I don’t have to stake the gladioli and it makes good use of the bare space in the centre. These are butterfly gladioli which are smaller in stature than the usual cottage varieties. They are also called nanus, or small-flowered gladioli. These are more reliable in difficult conditions because you need much smaller corms to obtain flowers. The large-flowering gladioli have to have good, fertile soil which is also well-drained and you must start with top-size corms. I recommend Pheasant Acre nursery for supplies. https://www.pheasantacreplants.co.uk/

Gladioli flower for a good two weeks and are the right scale to go with cosmos and argyranthemums. I recommend Atom, Carine, Alba, Charming Beauty and Nathalie. Pheasants Acre Nursery sells collections at summer shows and are worth seeking out as there are often special offers.

I added a few stems of an argyranthemum my mum grew from seed. These grow to about 1.5 metres here and are good, reliable plants for summer floristry. Bees and butterflies love them too.

There is just one stem of dahlia Nuit D’Ete. Dahlias hated the heat and are now struggling in the drought. I haven’t watered them. It would be impossible to keep watering them as temperatures are still heading for 30C. I’m hoping they are just sitting there semi-dormant, waiting for the temperatures to dip and rain to come.

My plan of action for next year is to increase the mulching with home-made compost and sheep wool and bracken clay-breaker compost. I will also buy more builders’ bags of maize-based Plant Grow fertiliser. Plant Grow is helping plants cope with the extreme heat. But where I ran out of money and didn’t mulch, the beds are suffering. It just goes to show the power of mulch to hold moisture in during the summer and combat flooding in the winter. I recently visited Chatsworth for a head gardener tour to see the new Arcadia garden planted last year. Interestingly, all the new perennials, and the new rose garden, were planted into 6” of soil improver from Veolia. A no-dig project on a massive scale. I’ll be going back soon to see how the plants have coped with the heat. I’m also liaising with the gardeners as one of many people sharing experiences of working with different types of peat-free compost. All of us are mixing our own additives to try to find something that works well for us. I’ll share our findings when I know more.

I’ve added just two stems of highly-scented Bridal Star carnation. These are recommended for home-grown cut flowers. Plants repeat flower all summer. I’m growing mine in 10” containers in the doorway of the polytunnel. Flowers get some protection from the rain, tucked just inside the door.

This flower was a surprise. It’s a spring onion, gone to seed! I might grow some on purpose, as they make large 4” diameter flowers, later in the season than most ornamental alliums.

My wild flower patch produced these flat-headed creamy white achillea. Another plant which doesn’t mind the heat. These started out as a packet of mixed wild flower seeds from Mr Fothergill’s.

These lime green flower heads are from parsnips allowed to go to seed. Jonathan Moseley allows some of his herbs and vegetables to run to seed and they make striking and unusual additions to his flower arrangements. The white flower in the photo is Cosmos Psyche White. A tall-growing, reliable cosmos. I grew the new cosmos Lemonade last summer, but it didn’t do well for me and was a bit of a disappointment. This year I’ve gone back to tried and tested white cosmos.

There are a couple of stems of blue drumstick echinops. These perennials are probably Taplow Blue, and originally came as divisions from Joan’s garden.

How is your garden faring in the heat. Have you had any rain, or are you parched like we are?

Thanks to Cathy for hosting the In a Vase on Monday meme. https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2022/08/01/ina-vase-on-monday-glad-all-over/

Sunflowers for my Mum – In a Vase on Monday

July 25, 2022July 25, 2022 / karen / 19 Comments

Sunflowers seem quite appropriate for one of the hottest July’s on record. Temperatures reached 40C here on Tuesday. The garden burned to a crisp with virtually everything in flower turning brown. So I haven’t anything from my own garden to share today. These flowers were created by Jonathan Moseley during a demonstration at Belvoir Castle Flower and Garden Show last weekend. Jonathan is a celebrity florist, writer and broadcaster and ambassador for British flowers. He’s well-known for his appearance as expert floral judge on the BBC’s Big Allotment Challenge programme. After watching his demo at Belvoir, I had to buy this gorgeous arrangement for my Mum. Here’s some photos of what the arrangement contained.

The stand-out element of this arrangement is the gorgeous sunflowers grown in the UK by a company which also specialises in growing plants for bird food. There are 11 stems in this arrangement.

Jonathan uses this galvanised metal bucket with a liner to contain the water. Some chicken wire is scrunched up and placed in the bottom of the bucket. Jonathan says he mostly uses eco-friendly techniques rather than flower foam. Many of his other arrangements were created using mini milk bottles, urns and glass jars.

He added nine stems of lemon scented conifer. These are 55cm long. And five stems of viburnum from his own garden. I’ve taken some cuttings of the conifer as it’s such a vibrant bright lime green and has a lovely fresh scent. Virtually anything will root in this heat, given plenty of misting to keep the foliage hydrated.

Next he added three varieties of eryngium. This is a new variety, not available to home-growers yet, but sold via florists. It’s a beautiful multi-headed type and I’ll be looking out for it when it becomes available in garden centres. I think the variety is called Orion.

Eryngiums or ornamental thistles like these can be dried and used for winter decorations and on flower wreaths for doors and tables. Great value plants. Jonathan mentioned a variety called Big Blue. These are a magnet for bees and butterflies and flower for a very long time.

Eryngiums start out a lovely silver grey colour and turn blue as flowers open. I love the combination of grey, blue and yellow. They look such cheerful colours, don’t you think?

Next into the mix is this blue limonium, or statice, which is another flower which can be dried and is very easy to grow as an annual at home. This variety is called Misty Blue. Mr Fothergill’s have seeds in mixed colours which I’ve grown in the past and had success with.

Here’s the link for seeds: https://www.mr-fothergills.co.uk/Statice-Special-Mixed

I love these tiny button chrysanthemums in such a pretty butter lemon. These are extremely easy to grow at home. I grow a white form called Stallion. Cuttings came from an online source https://www.chrysanthemumsdirect.co.uk/index.html

Mum is thrilled with her gorgeous arrangement- even more delighted because it was made by Jonathan who we both think a lot of. We like his eco-friendly techniques and his determination to support local independent floristry growers and suppliers. No air miles go into his creations. Quite often the flowers are sourced near his home – or in fact home grown. In another arrangement, he used branches of Ballerina roses which looked like bouquets in themselves without any other flowers needed. He uses special foliage stripper tools to remove leaves and thorns on roses. Much better than getting them in your hands and fingers.

Jonathan recommended herbs to add to arrangements. A marjoram called Hopleys has buds which are almost black. These open to sprays of scented lilac flowers.

Some alliums he mentioned as being the longest flowering are these: https://www.farmergracy.co.uk/products/allium-sphaerocephalon-bulbs-uk

Also for seed heads, he recommends Jerusalem Sage or Phlomis https://www.bethchatto.co.uk/conditions/plants-for-dry-conditions/phlomis-fruiticosa.htm

Thank you for reading my blog. I hope you’ve enjoyed viewing these beautiful flowers and have got some ideas for future floristry projects. Do look out for Jonathan Moseley’s talks. He appears at all the major shows, and also hosts special floristry workshops near his home at Christmas time. https://www.jonathan-moseley.com/category/events/upcoming/courses/

How has your garden fared in this heat? Mine looks stricken at the moment, but I’ve cut back all the perennial flowers by half and with some watering, they should flower again next month. I’ve sowed foxgloves, sweet williams and wallflowers for next year. They germinated virtually overnight in the heat and I’m busy pricking them out into seeds trays. I keep looking around the garden and feeling rather sad and dismayed at the damage, but there’s always next year to look forward to. That’s the beauty of gardening. There’s always next year to focus on. And it will be bigger, better and more flower-filled than this year, I’m certain.

I wrote about my sunflowers here: https://bramblegarden.com/2020/10/10/six-on-saturday-10th-october-2020-photos-from-my-garden/

And here: https://bramblegarden.com/2018/09/30/sunflowers-for-joan/

Info about the Belvoir show here: https://belvoircastleflowerandgardenshow.co.uk/speakers/

With thanks to Cathy for hosting In a Vase on Monday meme which I’ve been enjoying for five years. https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2022/07/25/in-a-vase-on-monday-cooler/

Attracting Garden Pollinators – by Jean Vernon. Prize draw winners.

June 20, 2022June 20, 2022 / karen / 2 Comments

Thank you to everyone who read my review of Jean Vernon’s latest book. To celebrate my return to blogging, I’m sending out four books to readers who left comments. Names were randomly selected, and the winners are Menhir1, Kate Elliott, Pauline (Lead Up the Garden Path) and Gill. I’ve sent the winners messages in the replies section, but if you are reading this please send your addresses to k.gimson@btinternet.com and I’ll get books sent out to you. Thank you again to everyone who reads my blog and takes the time to leave a comment. It’s always much appreciated.

Here’s some more excerpts from the book. There’s chapters advising on the best plants to grow to help pollinators. I grow both the blue and the white form of borage. The blue variety has flowers the colour of a Mediterranean sky. I use flowers in salad dishes and also to decorate cakes.

Cosmos is another favourite plant in my garden. Not only is it very useful for cut flowers, it also attracts a wide range of bees and butterflies. There’s plenty of space for more than one bee or butterfly to land and feed.

Here’s a photo from my garden with Cosmos Seashells providing plenty of pollen for these bumblebees.

My home-made bee hotel. These are made from cardboard tubes and garden canes. Nearly all of the canes contain cocoons. The bees plug the ends of the canes with mud to protect the cocoons over winter. I’m now looking into buying special bee chambers with removable paper tubes. These can be replaced and refreshed each year to help prevent diseases.

I also have some bee bricks which are specially made to integrate into buildings, replacing a normal brick with one containing nesting holes of varying sizes. These also seem very popular with solitary bees.

The back cover of Jean’s latest book.

Information about the author.

Jean with her new book. Photo by Hannah McVicar.

I was very pleased to take part in the blog tour launch of this beautiful and very special book which has an important message for all of us. Helping garden pollinators ultimately helps us too. Bees, butterflies, moths and other insects all help to pollinate our fruit and vegetables. Help them, and we are ultimately helping ourselves. More pollinators equals higher productivity and therefore more food. It makes sense to do all we can to provide the best habitat we can for pollinators.

I wrote about Jean’s new book here:

https://bramblegarden.com/

Jean’s previous book is reviewed here:

https://bramblegarden.com/?s=Secret+lives+of+bees

Attracting Garden Pollinators – by Jean Vernon.

June 14, 2022June 20, 2022 / karen / 24 Comments

Book review and one copy to give away.

Published by White Owl, imprint of Pen and Sword Books

Published summer 2022

Hardback. £25

ISBN 1526711907

Please leave a comment at the end of the review if you would like to be put into the publisher’s prize draw for one copy of the book. Names will be chosen randomly.

Right by my front door, on a warm, sunny south-facing wall, we have a selection of bee ‘houses’ some home-made from cardboard tubes and garden canes, and some purchased at a local supermarket. These are a source of wonder and joy as clouds of solitary bees hatch out and start to forage in the front garden. Watching a new, baby bee hatching out of its winter cocoon is such an exciting and magical moment. Thanks to a new book on attracting pollinators to our gardens, I’ve been able to identify our bees. They are red mason bees; solitary bees that nest in wall cavities and readily use bee houses like ours. In Jean Vernon’s book I’ve learned these bees are fond of fruit tree nectar and pollinate apples, pears and other spring and summer-flowering trees. So I’m expecting a bumper crop of fruit this year. And I’ve learned these bees, like most solitary bees, do not sting, so there’s no danger to me or any visitors walking past the bees to get to the front door. Reading on, I learn that one way to help my bees is to leave a mud patch nearby so there’s plenty of material to seal their eggs cells. It’s completely calming and relaxing watching the bees going about their daily lives, and I want to do all I can to help them. It would be terrible to think of these bees emerging into the world and not finding anything nearby to eat. Jean points out that some solitary bees will only travel a few metres from their nests to find sustenance and they will starve if there’s not enough suitable plants flowering at the right moment.

Here’s a photo of a red mason bee in Jean’s book. (photo by Liam Olds).

Jean’s book is split into chapters on identifying and learning about specific pollinators such as butterflies, moths, bees, and hoverflies among others, and advice on which plants to grow to help pollinators.

Hoverflies are amongst the types of pollinators highlighted in the book.

Butterflies and bees sharing the same plant.

Even small spaces can accommodate plants for pollinators. This year, I’ve taken Jean’s advice and planted my hanging baskets with calendula, lavender, nasturtium and marjoram.

Borage is one of the ‘plants for pollinators’ highlighted in the book.

Cosmos is another favourite of mine and it’s good to know it will provide food for pollinators all through summer from June to October. Flat daisy-like flowers are good because there’s plenty of room for several insects to land and feed at the same time.

Photo of Jean by Hannah McVicar.

If you’ve been listening to BBC Radio Leicester you’ll know that Attracting Garden Pollinators has twice been my Book of the Week. I’m happy to recommend such an easy to read and information-packed book. Jean writes in a friendly and accessible way. Her passion for nature and wildlife shines through and you can’t help but get caught up and carried along by her enthusiasm for the subject. Simple ways to help pollinators are suggested, and you don’t need a huge garden to make a difference. Even a windowbox or container can be a five star diner!

I wrote about Jean’s other best-selling book here:

https://bramblegarden.com/?s=Secret+lives+of+bees

Please leave a comment in the box below if you would like to enter the publisher’s prize draw for one copy of the book. Names will be randomly drawn. I will only contact you on this page and no payment of any kind will be asked for. Please be aware of scams. Please also feel free to leave a comment if you don’t want to be included in the draw. Just let me know.

Signed copies of both books are available from the author’s website here : https://thegreenjeanie.com/shop/

Thank you for reading my blog and book reviews. Are you growing any plants with pollinators in mind? Have you tried making a bee house? I was fascinated to read you can buy red mason bee cocoons to hatch out in your garden. Alternatively, invest in some special mason bee tubes and install them in a nesting box . You can replace the tubes each year to keep the nest free from pests and parasites.

Melbourne Hall -news and photos from the gardens- and two free tickets to give away.

April 15, 2022April 16, 2022 / karen / 18 Comments

Photos kindly provided by award-winning photographer Andrea Jones.

Fritillaria meleagris or snake’s head fritillary. Naturalises in grass; grows well in fertile, humus-rich soil and will seed around in time.

Melbourne Hall’s newsletter pops into my inbox on a regular basis and makes me want to jump in the car and drive straight over. The spring display is truly magical as ancient trees bust into leaf and there’s colour everywhere with beautiful bulbs and blossom.

The gardens were laid out in the formal French style by landscape designers George Loudon and Henry Wise in the early 18th century. There’s a beautiful pool, known as The Great Basin, at the heart of the garden, and paths lead off to less formal areas; the dell, arboretum, mill stream borders, and kitchen garden.

There’s a picture-postcard view from the Bird Cage across the pool towards Melbourne Hall. I particularly love the reflection of the trees in the water. To the left of the hall there’s a magnificent Atlas Cedar, Cedrus atlantica, native to the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, just as happy on the terrace at Melbourne.

Here’s a closer view of the house with Melbourne Church in the backdrop. To the far left of the gardens, there’s a 20 acre lake and picturesque mill house and weir. You can walk along one side of the lake and look back towards the church and hall for another stunning view.

I always marvel at the beauty of the cloud-pruned hedges surrounding the pool. There’s quite a skill in maintaining such a feature. The Bird Cage provides a striking focal point across the pool, looking out from the house opposite.

Following the paths radiating from the main garden, there’s a series of mill stream borders planted with moisture-loving plants. The pale pink flowers are Persicaria bistorta, a rhizomatous perennial which thrives in damp conditions and flowers for a long period. Its common name is Easter giant. There’s also a bank of hostas, candelabra primulas and ground cover geraniums with Purple Dream tulips adding to the pink and magenta theme.

Looking across from the other side of the bridge, there’s a mature yellow tree peony and a bank of pale blue camassia and blue iris.

Further along the stream, there’s scented azalea luteum and a purple acer, underplanted with hostas and camassia.

Corydalis solida, known as fumewort, a low-growing tuberous perennial which can cope with some shade and is good for underplanting of spring trees and shrubs.

Following the path round, you come to the Kitchen Garden. This pretty peach ‘Peregrine’ is beautifully trained along the walls, getting some protection from the weather. It produces tasty, white-fleshed fruit in August and September. In the Melbourne Hall newsletter there’s a recipe for ‘baked toffee peaches’ with amaretti biscuits, muscovado sugar and butter by Jane Lovett.

Reflections in the water are mesmerising. Melbourne Hall is an RHS Partner garden and is taking part in The Garden of the Year competition. The theme of this year’s competition is ‘Feel Good’ reflecting on how beneficial it is to have a connection with nature and exercise in beautiful gardens and outdoor spaces. You can vote for Melbourne and find out more here: https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/partner-gardens/rhs-partner-garden-of-the-year

Here’s the website link giving all the details of opening times and events at Melbourne Hall. Look out for special food events in the Courtyard, and celebrity appearances and live music in the Walled Rose Garden.

https://www.melbournehall.com/

Church Square, Melbourne, Derbyshire, DE73 8EN

With grateful thanks to Andrea Jones for allowing the use of her photos for the blog. Copyright https://www.andreajones.co.uk/.

Please leave a comment, and names will be put into a computer generated draw to randomly select one winner for two free tickets for entry to the garden. Sorry, this doesn’t include travel costs. The draw will be made at 6pm on Monday 18th April. P

Please feel free to comment even if you don’t wish to be entered in the draw, and let me know what you think of the gardens. Thank you for reading the blog and for getting in touch.

A previous post on the hall: https://bramblegarden.com/2019/01/08/winter-walk-at-melbourne-hall/

End of the month review. Some photos from my garden and thoughts for Ukraine

March 1, 2022March 1, 2022 / karen / 18 Comments

Early Crocus Tommasinianus and Galanthus nivalis in the front woodland garden

Ukraine is constantly in my thoughts. I will not say much, as I’m sure you have arrived here for gardens, flowers, peace and tranquility – much needed in current times. But rest assured, although I am small and insignificant I am doing all I can in the background to support the people of Ukraine in any way I can. It’s easy to think that we are powerless, but often if many people come together then their efforts can be great. Think of one small thing you could do today to make a difference. We are not helpless- and we are not without hope.

Meanwhile, here’s some photos of my garden today for anyone who needs the restorative power of plants. Here’s Galanthus Madeline at the foot of the willow and hazel trees.

Wild primroses poking through the leafmould path. The scent is honey-like and delicate. The very essence of spring.

Wild daffodils are just emerging too. This one is Narcissus pseudonarcissus. There are drifts of the Welsh wild flower, the Tenby daffodil, in honour of my Welsh grandmother. But the little lobularis daffodil is the first to open.

The winter aconites are just going over now. The are making a nice swathe of colour in the woodland corner at the end of the pergola.

Cyclamen Coum flowers are popping up all over the garden- not necessarily where I planted them. Apparently the seeds have a sticky substance much-loved by ants which then carry the seed far and wide. They must have carried them off into the back fields as there’s a thriving collection of plants on the other side of the fence.

Some of the cyclamen have come up with these bright silvery-leaves. These are worth growing for the foliage alone. Both white and purple flowers are emerging from the leaves.

There’s also Cyclamen persicum flowering in the greenhouse. These have been making a display since last October; really good value long-lasting plants. They are not hardy in my garden, coming from the Eastern Mediterranean region. But they thrive in a greenhouse or cool room, just watering them when they droop – and not before.

While we are in the greenhouse, I’ll show you the citrus trees which have produced the best ever crop of lemons and oranges here. We have had a relatively mild winter and the plants have been kept at 4C in the heated greenhouse. To be honest, the heater has hardly been on. A well insulated cedar-wood greenhouse keeps plants cosy. I’m just starting to water them again and top dressing with fresh compost. They are too big now to be repotted, but topdressing with new compost and adding liquid fertiliser in the watering can will perk them up and bring them into flower again.

And this is what I made with the orange zest; citrus shortbread. The recipe will be in Garden News Magazine next week, and I’ll copy and paste the article here for anyone who would like it. It’s part of my new ‘family favourites’ column for the magazine. Quick recipes anyone can make. There won’t be long lists of ingredients and fancy products you have to search high and low for. It’s mostly about simple ingredients and home grown produce, and all the recipes that have been passed down to me from my mother and my grandparents and friends.

Strawberry scones will feature in the coming weeks too, as I’m talking about bringing my strawberry plants, growing in containers, into the greenhouse to get an early crop. I grow my strawberries in 10” pots and windows boxes. They are easy to pick up and move under cover. Also easy to protect the fruit from birds and slugs as well.

Daphne and the other hens have just started laying again, so there will be plenty of eggs for cooking. The bantams are undercover in a new run, specially made to protect them from the bird flu epidemic. Usually they would be out foraging in the orchard by now, but until we have the all-clear they have to be kept in.

Walking from the hen run, out past the fruit trees and along the perimeter fence, there are more snowdrops. These are double and single types.

The doubles flower just a few weeks before the singles.

These have green tips. I believe they are a variety called Viridapice.

This one is called Walrus. It has elongated, green-marked outer petals.

A small patch of Galanthus Robin Hood.

It’s called Robin Hood because of the crossbow markings on the inner petals.

A small patch of Galanthus Jessica. I bought these because I have a niece called Jessica.

Have you all seen the news about the most expensive snowdrop ever? I think I would have been crying if I’d paid £1,850 for a single bulb of Golden Tears. Pretty as it is, it’s a staggering amount to pay. I saw the above photo on the Alpine Garden Society social media pages.

Here’s the view through the gap in the hedge. The field has been sown with winter wheat. I think the variety is Skyfall which is hardy and disease resistant and therefore requires less spraying.

And finally, just a few steps from my garden gate, here’s the view on the lane, looking across the back fields to ancient Bunny Woods on the horizon. Sometimes we walk across the footpaths to the woods. Today, I’m taking this photo in a welcome gap in the rain, but the clouds still look ominous, so I hurry home for a warming cup of tea. I hope you’ve enjoyed this tour of my garden and surrounding fields. Take care everyone and keep safe and well. And let me know what spring flowers are emerging in your gardens today.

Sarah Raven’s Grow, Cook, Eat Diary – Book Review

February 18, 2022January 14, 2023 / karen / 22 Comments

From Sarahraven.com

ISBN: 9 781529816617

I’ve never kept a gardening diary before, but I’m enjoying making daily notes in my new Sarah Raven diary. The diary is sturdy enough to take outdoors; the paper is thick, good quality so can stand up to being taken into the greenhouse and potting shed. I’m making lists of seeds I want to sow, dahlias I want to pot up, and general maintenance jobs about the garden. I love making lists- and I love ticking things off the lists! There’s a sense of satisfaction in ticking them off, especially when the list seems never-ending.

There are some beautiful and inspiring photos relevant to each month in the diary. For January, there’s a winter container planting of a terracotta long tom pot with Sarah’s favourite hellebore ‘Maestro’ which is often seen in her flower arrangements.

For March, there’s Fritillaria ‘Early Sensation’ which has a pale, greeny- yellow flower, much more delicate and easy to site than the brash bright golden variety usually found. It’s growing here in a galvanised metal container next to a patch of rosemary.

September’s photo is bright and cheerful. Just what’s needed for a cold, windswept February day as I’m making plans for lots of summer colour. Here’s Zinnia ‘Giant Dahlia Mix’, Tagetes ‘Linnaeus’ and Thunbergia alata ‘African Sunset.’

There’s recipe suggestions for each month. I’ve made these spiced ginger and oat biscuits and can report they are absolutely delicious. The family demolished them in just one day. They are quick and easy to make, which is just as well as I’ve have had another request for some more. I made the vegan version by using dairy-free margarine.

I used the chickpeas for a red onion hummus dip, which is also fast to make. Just cook a sliced red onion in 1 tbsp olive oil, add a tin of chick peas and 150ml water. Simmer for 10 minutes with the lid off. Add 2 tbsp lemon juice, garlic salt and pepper. Few tbsp of fresh parsley and chives if you have any. Whizz in a food processor and serve with toast or on jacket potatoes. Another recipe suitable for vegans, if you have any in the family as we do, or unexpected visitors. Which we also often have. They sit around the kitchen table while I quickly make this dish.

Here’s my spiced oat biscuits. Delicious with a cup of tea or coffee.

I’m intrigued by this basil icecream recipe for summer. As Sarah says, it sounds odd, but I’m going to give it a try and report back.

I’m going to have a go at these dried allium and poppy seed head decorations as well. Such a beautiful and cheerful Christmas scene from the fireplace at Perch Hill.

Other features of the book I liked: The fold-out ‘when and how’ guide on seed sowing for cut flowers. The guide to sowing and planting edibles, wild flowers, fruit, potatoes, herbs and salads. A guide to sowing and planting ‘pollinator super’ plants to attract bees and butterflies. There’s a useful ruler for seed sowing spacing. And the metal ring binder design means the diary can easily be folded back on itself.

There are not many books I carry around with me all the time, but the Sarah Raven diary is robust enough to slip into my garden tool kit bag, and is proving a joy to dip into on a daily basis.

https://www.sarahraven.com/products/sarah-raven-diary-2021

Sarah Raven also sent me a wall calendar to try, and this too has beautiful photos for each month and plenty of space to write appointments and events. Both will be ordered for 2023 as I’m thoroughly enjoying using the calendar and diary.

Do any of you write a garden diary? My father in law used to keep a perpetual diary. Sadly he died last summer, but he gave me his diary with all the daily notes about sowing dates and varieties he preferred. I check each day to see if I am keeping up with his impeccable timetable. It’s a lovely way to remember him and a reminder of all the flowers he grew for his wife Joan, and the fruit and vegetables he grew for the family.

Info from today’s BBC Radio Leicester Gardening Show -Saturday 4 December 2021

December 4, 2021December 4, 2021 / karen / 9 Comments

Here’s some links to the recipes I mentioned today, and ideas for home-made and home-grown Christmas decorations and presents.

Thanks to everyone who listens in on a Saturday morning at 11am, and thank you also for all your kind and encouraging comments. Many thanks to Tracey from Melton who says she feels like rushing out into the garden to do some gardening every time she hears us talking on the radio. It’s much appreciated.

We talked about:

Planting tulips

As regular readers know, I love to save money. If you wait until December, many tulips have been reduced in price. If you are looking for a bargain, try well-respected suppliers. I recommend:

Dutch Grown: (now sold out- but keep a note for next year)

https://www.dutchgrown.co.uk/collections/tulips

GeeTee Bulbs

https://www.gee-tee.co.uk/

Peter Nyssen

https://www.peternyssen.com/autumn-planting/tulips.html

If you are buying from garden centres, tulips will be sold in plastic bags with a cardboard front showing the photo of the variety and information about growing them. These are usually hanging up on racks. Gently squeeze the bulbs to make sure they are firm. Any soft mushy bulbs will fail to grow. They need to be firm and dry. Don’t buy any with a blue mould growing on them. Nice large, plump bulbs with the brown papery skin intact are best. I wouldn’t buy any that have been stored and displayed outside either, incase they’ve got frosted or wet. Choose ones stored inside the garden centre instead.

Here’s some inspiration for bulb planting from a previous blog I wrote. I’ll be planting my tulips up until the first week of January:

https://bramblegarden.com/tag/tulips-parrottulips/

MAKING CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS FROM THE GARDEN

Dogwood hearts are really easy to make. Take two pencil thin stems of dogwood or coloured willow. Bend each side over to form the heart. Tie with florists’ reel wire or string to secure. Decorate with foliage and berries. I’ve used cotoneaster here. Add some fluffy seed heads, such as. ‘old man’s beard’ or wild Clematis Vitalba. I’ve used string, but you can use any type of ribbon to hang the decoration. These hearts can be any size. I make a giant one with four stems to create a double heart for decorating our five bar farm gate.

Some more ideas for using natural materials from the garden. I’ve threaded inexpensive, mouldable wire lights from Wilkos to these dogwood and willow stems. I sprayed hydrangea heads with florists’ silver spray.

My front door wreath also has flowers and foliage from the garden. The flowers are hellebores from the Gold Collection. There’s a whole range of them, all recommended. Hellebore Jacob flowers for Christmas and is pure white. This one is Winter Gold, with white hydrangea flowers which have dried lime green.

I learned how to make these willow wreaths on a course by the highly respected florist, author and social media/ you tube star Georgie Newbery. Workshops in flower farming, creating a cut flower patch, growing sweet peas, and floristry, are highly recommended. Would make a perfect present for a gardener. There are also many on-line courses. Have a look at the you tube channel and on instagram to get some wonderful, original ideas.

https://www.commonfarmflowers.com/

BEETROOT…

We talked about growing beetroot today. Most of my beetroot is stored in dry sand or recycled, dry compost over winter in the frost free potting shed. I grew it in the spring and summer. I’ve left some in the ground, but it’s easier to lift and store, as it can’t be harvested from frozen ground. The best variety to grow is Bolthardy, which does what it says; it grows well without bolting or running to seed. Did you know you can eat the leaves? You can use them in salads and stir fries. You can grow just leaves now on the windowsill. Look out for Bulls Blood variety sold as windowsill growing seeds. Mr Fothergills (Johnson’s seed) sell them on-line and in garden centres. You can grow them in 9cm pots on a sunny window and harvest shoots and leaves when they are 4” tall. They will re-grow several times, making a tasty addition to salads and sandwiches.

BEETROOT CAKE

We talked about baking with beetroot and making chocolate beetroot cake. Here’s my recipe for a rich fruit/ beetroot cake. It’s tasty and good for you!

https://bramblegarden.com/2017/12/21/fact-sheet-bbc-down-to-earth-gardening-programme-recipes-and-home-made-presents/

JOAN’S CHRISTMAS APPLE CHUTNEY RECIPE

Regular readers will know that my much loved wonderful mother-in-law Joan is in a care home in Oadby, Leicestershire. She suffers from mixed dementia. Before she became ill, I wrote down all the family favourite recipes and at Christmas I make them for her children, grand children and great grandchildren. It’s a wonderful way to ‘keep her with us’ even though, sadly, she can’t remember who we are.

Here’s the link for the blog piece with the recipe

https://bramblegarden.com/2020/11/21/joans-christmas-apple-chutney-recipe/

CUTTING GRASS IN WINTER

We talked about cutting grass in winter. Twenty or thirty years ago we used to send our lawn mowers off to be serviced in October and we didn’t see them again until March. It’s an indication of climate change that nowadays we are cutting our lawns all year round. Grass grows when the temperature is above 6C. There is no harm in ‘topping’ grass if it needs it, providing the conditions are dry. Set the cutters high for winter, and don’t scalp the lawn. We don’t cut the grass if the ground is wet or frozen, as it damages the lawn and makes muddy skid patches where weeds will grow. Never walk on frozen lawns as it damages the base of the grass stems and leads to fungal diseases. I would collect clippings over the winter too, and not leave them lying on the grass. Best not to walk on very wet ground as it causes compaction, which grass doesn’t like. Remember to leave some areas of the garden with long grass as a winter habitat for caterpillars and insects – these will be food for frogs, birds and mammals. Just a strip down the edge of the lawn will help.

HOME MADE CHRISTMAS PRESENTS

I mentioned my mint sugar and rosemary salt recipes which make lovely home made presents. Nearly all my presents are made from things grown in the garden.

Take 5 stems of mint, thoroughly dry leaves on kitchen towel. Strip leaves from the stems and layer them in a clean jam jar with 350g sugar. Stir every day for two weeks. Tip the contents into a sieve and remove the leaves. Pour sugar into clean jam jars and use within a year. Lovely for hot chocolate and cakes.

I recommend Stephanie Hafferty’s book The Creative Kitchen for seasonal plant-based recipes for meals, drinks, garden and self care.

https://bramblegarden.com/2018/11/18/the-creative-kitchen-book-review/

More recipes from the garden:

https://bramblegarden.com/2020/12/08/garden-news-magazine-recipes-for-december/

And finally, Arun mentioned that I had been shortlisted for Columnist of the Year for my Garden News magazine column, and Blog of the Year by the prestigious Garden Media Guild. I was delighted to be shortlisted in two categories. A really wonderful end to another challenging year. Thank you, every one of you, for reading this blog, listening to the radio on Saturdays, getting in touch and leaving encouraging comments, it is truly appreciated. Have a great gardening weekend!

You can listen back to the gardening show on BBC Sounds. It’s at 11.12.35 on the timeline. Or ask your smart speaker to tune in to BBC Radio Leicester on Saturdays from 11am. Questions are welcome via e mail, phone, text or WhatsApp. Start your message with the word Leicester, else it goes to other radio stations.

Latest news from the plot from Garden News magazine

November 26, 2021November 27, 2021 / karen / 15 Comments

To expand the photo to read, if using an i-pad or phone, place two fingers on the pic and spread thumb and finger. The picture will expand so you can read it easily.

Here’s the link for the recipe this week. It’s apple crumble cake, making use of the windfall apples.

https://bramblegarden.com/2017/10/22/paperwhite-narcissi-for-christmas-and-my-apple-cake-recipe/

Here’s the link for Fiona Cumberpatch art work and botanical tea towels:

https://fionacumberpatch.com/

Some more photos from the plot:

Monty Kitten keeping me company in the garden while I sweep up leaves.

It’s been a productive year, growing fruit and veg in the poly tunnel raised beds. I grew Pot Black aubergines in Dalefoot sheep wool and bracken compost. I created some grow bags by cutting holes in the top of the compost bags for two plants per bag. The compost has comfrey leaves, which adds potash-rich nutrients. Drainage holes were spiked through the bottom of the bags.

Book recommended this week. It’s a thought provoking read, with lots of ideas for making our gardens more insect-friendly places. As insects are part of the wider food chain, we are helping all wildlife by attracting them to our gardens.

The garden is surrounded by mature beech trees. They turn a lovely golden hue in autumn.

Stepping out of the top gate, this is the view of the lane in all its misty autumn colours.

The weather has turned really cold here. We’ve had high winds and hail. I’ll be sorting through my seed box and making plans for next year this weekend. And keeping warm. All my tender plants have been stored in the greenhouse and poly tunnel, safe from freezing temperature. What gardening tasks have you been doing recently?

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Overwintering pelargonium (geranium ) plants – BBC Radio Leicester phone-in questions for Saturday 6th November 2021

November 6, 2021November 6, 2021 / karen / 15 Comments

Scented leaf pelargoniums in my summer containers

I grow a huge number of bedding pelargonium plants – better known as geraniums- for containers in the summer. They flower non-stop from June to November. They are little trouble and all I do is give them some potash liquid fertiliser once a week, and regularly dead-head them

These are tender evergreen perennials and can be kept over winter in a frost free place. This year I have nearly 100 4” pots, full of cuttings which will be kept in my heated greenhouse. This is a space-saving method to keep them from one year to the next. If you don’t have a greenhouse, a bright windowsill indoors is suitable. As long as the cuttings are kept frost-free they will fine. The secret is not to overwater them. In the greenhouse, I only water pots once when the cuttings are taken, and then I don’t water them again until next February when I want to start them back into growth. Cuttings kept indoors in the house will be watered very minimally as the temperatures indoors are higher than in the greenhouse. Full-size plants can carry on flowering all year round if they are brought indoors. Check them for pests and diseases before bringing them in and top the pots with horticultural grit to keep the surface of the compost dry. Wet compost promotes grey mould. Remove any damaged or diseased leaves. When watering, make sure to keep leaves as dry as possible by aiming the water at the base of the plants.

My father in law used to keep his prize-winning pelargoniums in the garage. He dug up his plants in autumn, shook off all the compost, removed all of the leaves and wrapped the remaining stumps and roots in newspaper. They were kept cool, dry and frost free until the spring. I’ve tried this method, but only found it partially successful as my potting shed got damp in winter.

Here’s a blog post I wrote about overwintering my pelargoniums: https://bramblegarden.com/2019/09/15/clearing-out-the-greenhouse-taking-pelargonium-cuttings-sunday-september-15/

Are you planning to keep your pelargoniums over the winter? Or do you sow yours from scratch each spring? Or buy them ready to plant from the garden centre in early summer?

This year I grew all my bedding plants, including some new varieties of pelargonium, from packets of seed. I was amazed how many pelargoniums could be grown from such tiny dust-like seeds. It was a money-saving option that worked out well.

Some more photos from my greenhouse and garden to brighten your day:

A collection of bedding pelargonium plants making a display in the greenhouse.

Common names can be confusing. Most people use the word geranium when they are talking about pelargoniums. But geraniums are a different plant genus. So to avoid confusion, people refer to them as ‘hardy geraniums’ – the sort you grow in beds and borders, as ground cover amongst other plants, and ‘tender geraniums’ (pelargoniums) grown in hanging baskets and containers.

A variety I’ve kept going for more than 20 years, taken from a cutting from my grandfather. It was his favourite pelargonium.

A miniature pelargonium which flowers all year round. This one came from Fibrex Nurseries, a specialist grower, highly recommended. https://www.fibrex.co.uk/. Miniature pelargoniums are wondrous things. I’ll write a new blog post explaining how to grow them. They are easy to grow and once you’ve grown one, you’ll want to start a collection. I warn you, they are addictive!

If you listen in to BBC Radio Leicester, the gardening programme has moved to Saturdays at 11am. Josie Hutchins and I take it in turns to answer phone-in questions and talk about what gardening jobs we are doing each week. If you have a question, please get in touch with The producer, Dale. We are one of the few local stations now offering gardening advice on the radio.

Overwintering Dahlias – BBC Radio Leicester phone-in questions for Saturday, November 6 2021

November 6, 2021November 6, 2021 / karen / 11 Comments

Dahlia Nuit D’Ete in my cut flower garden

Dahlias have been fabulous this year, giving masses of cut flowers from mid June until November. We’ve had unseasonably mild weather, which means we still have flowers today. But other areas in the county have had night-time frosts. So now is the time to dig up and protect your dahlia tubers for the winter.

Frost-blackened foliage . Photos taken last autumn.

There are two methods for saving dahlias for next year. You can either dig them up and store them in a frost-free place, or you can leave them in the ground and cover them with dry leaves, straw or horticultural fleece. Leaving them in the ground is only possible is you have well-drained soil. In heavy clay, and or where gardens flood, the tubers will rot.

Method 1. Digging them up:

If you are planning to dig them up, wait until the foliage has been frosted. This makes the dahlias absorb goodness back into the tubers and sends instructions to become dormant.

Using a fork, carefully dig up the tubers, taking care not to damage them. Remember to keep any labels with the tubers. Brush off the soil if you can. If they are wet and muddy you can wash off the soil and use a soft brush to clean them up. Or you can put them in a shed to dry and brush the soil off in a week or two. Washing and brushing helps to remove slugs and earwigs and other soil-borne pests and diseases .

Cut back the stems leaving about 3”. Turn the tubers upside down so moisture drains out of the stems. After a week, turn the tubers the right way up and store them in pots or seed trays. You can use dry compost or horticultural fleece to cover them. Keep them in a cool, dry frost free place such as a garage or potting shed.

Tip: You can plant tulips in the space left behind in the garden. I dig up the tulips next spring to make way for the dahlias again.

Method 2. Leaving them in the ground:

If you have well-drained soil, you can try to leave some dahlias in the ground. In a very cold, wet winter, this is risky.

To leave them in the ground, do not cut off the stems. Fold the stems over and collapse them back onto the tubers, this will stop the stems becoming like ‘straws.’ Cut stems will direct water straight to the tubers, causing rotting.

Cover the tubers with a thick layer of dried leaves, straw or horticultural fleece. I usually try to keep them dry by covering them with sheets of recycled corrugated plastic or old compost bags. Plastic cloches can also be used.

Tubers will be started back into growth next spring.

Here’s some dahlias from my plot. Nuit D’Ete with cosmos and persicaria.

My favourite orange dahlia, David Howard, shown here with chrysanthemum Swan.

Dahlia Evelyn with carnations and senecio grey foliage from the plot.

Dahlias can also be started from seed in early spring . This was from a mixed packet which included lots of jewel-like colours. This summer I’ve grown the ‘Bishop’s Children’ range which has lovely bright reds, purple and orange with attractive, dark-coloured foliage.

I wrote about Naomi Slade’s new book on dahlias here: https://bramblegarden.com/2018/06/24/dahlias-beautiful-varieties-for-home-and-garden/

How have your dahlias fared this year? Which method are you using to save them over the winter? Do you have any further tips to share?

Thanks for reading my blog, and listening in to BBC Radio Leicester for the gardening show on Saturdays at 11am. If you have any questions for either me or Josie, please leave a message here or get in touch with producer Dale. We are very pleased to still have a gardening programme when many other stations have now cancelled them.

I am @kgimson on twitter and karengimson1 on instagram.

Accidents in the Garden

November 3, 2021November 3, 2021 / karen / 8 Comments

Winter is just around the corner and there’s a feeling of urgency to get on with gardening jobs, before the weather turns cold. I’m always rushing around. There’s tender plants to bring under cover, pots to plant and bulbs to sort out. There’s never enough time to do everything. However, gardening tasks can end in accidents causing painful injuries. Here’s a reminder to take extra care this autumn and winter when working in the garden.

TAMSIN’S STORY

Tamsin Westhorpe. A photo I took in 2018 at Chelsea Flower Show where Tamsin was one of the judges.

We were all shocked to hear news that Tamsin Westhorpe had suffered a fractured spine in a recent gardening accident. Tamsin is a writer, and editor and works as a gardener at her family’s farm, Stockton Bury Gardens, in Herefordshire. I wrote about Tamsin last year when she published her country diary book. Here’s a link: https://bramblegarden.com/2020/02/22/diary-of-a-modern-country-gardener/

Tamsin at her book launch at Hatchards, London.

I asked Tamsin to tell me what happened when she had her accident in the garden, and here’s what she said:

It was a sunny Saturday at the start of September. I had a rare day off from work, so I was determined to make a mark on my much-ignored home plot. My day job is to help my uncles garden their four-acre open garden, so my plot gets pushed to the back of the priority list.

What task were you doing when the accident happened?
I have a row of six aronia trees that I like to keep to a manageable height of about 9ft. My aim was to remove the very enthusiastic young growth and give them a neater shape. To reach the centre branches I needed a ladder. In my haste a grabbed a lightweight A frame ladder and headed down the garden armed with enthusiasm and secateurs. I was on a mission to get as much done in a day as possible.

Describe what happened next.
Standing on one of the top steps I simply leant forward to reach a central branch and the ladder went from under me. It happened so quickly, and I found myself flat on my back on the lawn in agony.

What were your first thoughts?
My first thoughts were for the garden. Who would lift my dahlias and plant the tulips? Being part of a small family business, I was concerned how the other members of the family would be impacted. Physical fitness is essential for my work.
My second thought was that I’d been a complete idiot and should’ve waited for someone to hold the ladder. To say I was cross with myself was an understatement.

How did you get help?
My garden is in a rural location and not looked over by any other houses. I shouted but no one came as my family were out. I know only too well that you shouldn’t try and move if you have an accident, but I was struggling to breath, so somehow struggled to the house to get my phone. How long this took and how I can’t recall.

What were your injuries?
My spine has a stable fracture and I cut the back of my leg quite badly. However, I have been incredibly lucky. I’m so thankful that my spinal cord wasn’t damaged, and I didn’t hit my head. As far as I’m concerned, I have had a very lucky escape.
When working from a ladder in future I’m going to ensure that the pots and tools are placed well out of the way and I always have a friend or family at the foot of the ladder.

How long will your recovery take?
All being well I will make a full recovery in about 12 weeks. I should be able to plant my own tulips this year! For now, I’m not lifting anything and I’m focusing on doing all the right things to speed up my return to the garden. I’ve already seen the impact of trying to rush things so I’m not about to make the same mistake twice.

Anything happened like this before?
I’ve been gardening since the age of 16, spending time as a parks gardener, greenkeeper and interior landscaper. In all those years I have only succumbed to one nasty incident with a pair of secateurs (again caused by trying to rush a job) and a few splinters. So, all in all I’ve been lucky and don’t see gardening as a dangerous hobby – far from it in fact. Gardening has kept me physically fit for decades. I’m the only danger! By being impatient and trying to garden at speed I’ve caused this accident to happen and only have myself to blame.
Having said all that I think my steel toe capped boots have saved my toes on many occasions.

How do you feel now, mentally and physically?
I am feeling better by the day and although I can’t do anything for long, I’m seeing improvements in my physical heath. A gardening friend suggested I put comfrey oil on my back to help with the healing process. I have no idea if it is working but I love the idea of a plant being involved in my recovery.
Having not experienced an accident of this nature before I was surprised at how much shock has an impact on your mental wellbeing. It’s been difficult having to scratch out events in my diary, but I have the good fortune that I will recover. The messages from fellow gardeners have been a great help and I’ve been thrilled to hear from many who say they now won’t go up a ladder without an ‘assistant’. I’m glad that my accident might prevent others from having a similar experience.
This time has made me feel such concern for those who won’t recover from an accident or can’t tend their garden due to old age. I can only imagine how frustrating and devastating this must be. I’ve also experienced the healing power of nature. Thanks to a wonderfully warm September I have been able to recover under a blue sky outside. Watching the birds and insects flutter around me has been just the best medicine. It’s given me time to realise how important gardening is to me and my health.

What advice would you give other gardeners?
Invest in a proper gardening ladder for one. Secondly never use power tools and climb ladders when on your own in the garden. Thirdly keep your mobile phone in your pocket but put it on silent so your gardening time is undisturbed. But, the most important thing is to never rush gardening – sip it like a good glass of wine and savour every moment. It’s not a race.

Update: Tamsin has made a good recovery, and is now back at Stockton Bury making a start on light gardening duties.

Here’s some photos of Stockton Bury taken when I visited the garden this summer.

Have you any experiences to share involving injuries while gardening? Please share any advice and suggestions.

Please feel free to share this item on social media. Thank you for reading my blog.

Diary for Garden News Magazine

November 1, 2021November 1, 2021 / karen / 7 Comments

Latest news from the plot. Click on the photo to enlarge the print. There’s never enough room for all the photos I take. So here’s a selection of pictures to go with the diary recently published in Garden News Magazine.

I’m looking forward to growing this Limonium Pink Pokers next spring. The photo above was taken at Mr Fothergill’s seed trial grounds in August. I love the two-tone flowers and their delightful habit of twisting and turning as they grow towards the sun. They remind me of fireworks. I’ll start seed sowing indoors in February at 20C in a propagator and plant them out in June. They will be perfect for my jam jar posies. In addition, flowers can be hung up to dry. It will be useful to have flowers for winter decorations. Limonium, a half hardy annual, grows to 80cm and flowers from June to October. Available from Johnson’s seed, the premium range from Mr Fothergill’s.

In the article above, I mention growing dahlias from seed. I’ve been so delighted with the success of my seed-sown dahlias this year. I’ve had outstanding flowers, large single blooms with bright, jewel-like colours. It’s a money-saving option too. My Mum manages to fill her back garden with dahlias grown from a packet of seed. Started early in February, seedlings make small tubers and grow to full-size plants by mid-summer. There’s a non-stop supply of flowers for our vases. Plus bees love them too, so it’s an wildlife-friendly option. Pollinators have easy access to the flat, open centres of these flowers. You can sometimes see the ‘bee lines’ showing pollinators the way to the centre. If you don’t have any storage space for dahlia tubers over winter, don’t worry. You can get excellent results by starting from seed in spring.

Another beauty- grown from a mixed packed of seed. I also grew some ‘Bishop’s Children’ types
this year with very good results. Each plant had dark leaves which set off the bright flowers a treat.

I mention the new Home Florists’ range of roses specially bred for cut flower gardens. I’ve been amazed by the sheer number of flowers these provided. Such good quality flowers which last a week in a vase, if water is refreshed each day. The scent is reminiscent of old roses, particularly old-fashioned bourbon roses. The roses, by Wharton’s Nursery, can be found in most good garden centres, or on line. Look out for Timeless Purple and Timeless Cream. Both recommended.

In amongst my cut flowers, I grow vegetables such as peas, climbing beans, courgettes, sweet corn and beetroot. I’m growing Valido peas, a new maincrop variety which is disease resistant. Luckily it is resistant to mildew which means the plants keep cropping right through to the autumn. Often pea plants turn brown as leaves and stems die back. Valido copes with anything the summer weather can throw at it, and produces a heavy crop of delicious peas. I’ve saved some of my seed for growing in seed trays over the winter. Pea shoots will be harvested just a few weeks from sowing – and won’t have cost me a penny. Lovely nutritious shoots to add to my salads and stir fries.

Monty Kitten is more like a dog than a cat. He follows me around the garden and likes to get involved in everything I’m doing. He followed me out onto the grass verge when I put my jam jar flowers out for sale.

Finding newts in the garden is always a cause for celebration. It’s reassuring to find them under stones by my mini-pond, and in the greenhouse and polytunnel. They must be attracted by the moisture. I only use natural seaweed-type feeds, diluted in a watering can, to feed my fruit, vegetables and cut flowers on the patch.

Fruit and vegetables have grown well this year. In my basket there’s white-stem chard, perpetual spinach, herbs, white-flowered runner bean variety ‘Moonlight’ onions, tomatoes Blaby, Marmande and cherry types. There’s been a steady flow of blueberries from the plot. Ivanhoe is growing in a large 40cm diameter pot.

Here’s the link for the blueberry French toast recipe I mention: https://www.martinfish.com/in-the-kitchen/super-blueberries-in-julys-kitchen/

This is made by Martin and Jill Fish who provide cookery talks and demonstrations and have written a favourite book ‘Gardening on the Menu’ with advice on growing fruit and veg, and how to cook and preserve them.

Thank you for reading my blog, and my diary in Garden News Magazine. If you also listen to BBC Radio Leicester, the gardening show has moved from Wednesdays to Saturdays, 11am to 11.35. If you get in touch with the producers, I’ll answer any questions live on the show.

Have a great gardening week!

Rosa Timeless Cream (Home Florists’ Range)

The View From Federal Twist- Book review

October 28, 2021October 29, 2021 / karen / 39 Comments

By James Golden

Published by Filbert Press

UK publication day 28 October 2021 £40

ISBN: 9 781999 734572

The publishers have kindly offered one copy to give away. Please leave a comment at the end of this review, and one name will be randomly selected on Sunday 31st October 6pm.

Books have a power to move. To tears, to joy, to despair. Sometimes they transport you to another place. James Golden takes you by the hand and leads you through the garden he’s created, and it’s one of the most beautiful, inspiring journeys you’ll ever take. In his new book, The View from Federal Twist, he describes what it’s like to create a garden from scratch in western New Jersey, USA. His garden is set in a clearing in the woods. He made a conscious decision not to improve the land. Instead he ‘listened to the site,’ placed large competitive plants into rough grass and watched and waited as sustainable plant communities emerged. The result is a magical place, a naturalistic garden -with a difference.

James describes the book as a retelling of the making of his ‘first serious garden.’ It’s a triumph of ecological planting and clear design aims. James is part philosopher, part experimental horticulturist. The result has such an emotional power- it’s breathtakingly beautiful. Evocative photographs capture the effects of light shining through the canopy of trees, grasses and shrubs. Just the scale of planting is mesmerising.

A view of garden taken from a drone. The stone circle is the largest structure in the garden. It’s made of a hard local mudstone called argillite ( ‘blue jingle’ in the local argot, because the stones ring when hit together) that is ubiquitous in this area. Here the circle is like a plant dam, preventing spillover of the prairie into one of the few open spaces in the garden. Like the rest of the garden, James says, it has no utility. It exists to add visual weight, atmosphere and to serve as a stopping place, perhaps to “sit, observe, or let your mind wander.”

James writes: “Further along the terrace, towards its sunny eastern end, this small rectangular reflecting pool makes an elegant contrast with the surrounding naturalistic plantings. The juxtaposition of the sharply defined pool, the repeated domes of miscanthus, and the flowing vegetation give this part of the garden a ‘designed’ look not typical of the garden as a whole.”

Clockwise from top: Hosta sieboldiana, Iris virginica ‘Contrabrand Girl’ Cephalanthus occidentalis, the canal pond, the bare garden in spring after cutting back, Euphorbia palustris, Dryopteris erythrosora, Maianthemum racemosum – about to flower.

A clearing in the woods. The Federal Twist road is not well-known. It’s hidden in the woods above the Delaware and is only four miles long. James says “I accepted a very ungarden-like place as my garden destiny.”

“I am Federal Twist,’’ says James. He realised this when he looked at photos of the garden from above. He put the images side by side with those taken from ground level. “When I put the two images side by side, my reaction was immediate- and astonishing. I felt icy fear. The drone image showed a flat piece of earth totally devoid of feeling, offering no comfort, no warmth, no humanity, no place for me. I felt as if I were seeing with the eyes of an alien being. In contrast, the ground-level photography held me firmly within the garden; it gave me a place to be, a protected place under trees; it made me feel a part of the landscape. I felt comforted, and a sense of belonging.”

Later, he writes “…my life and emotions are closely bound with this place I call my garden. I understand physics well enough to know that my physical body intersects with the garden, interacts with the garden, responds to the garden in some kind of mutual way. I ‘live’ the garden every day. I am Federal Twist.”

Thank you for reading my review. I believe some books come into your life at just the right moment. It’s almost as if they were ‘written’ for you. To give you joy, to give you inspiration; to give you hope. I haven’t been able to write for a while. Grief affects people in different ways. I’ve sat with grieving friends and relatives and they’ve wanted to talk non-stop for hours. Others write sonnets, pen poems, write books. Grief suddenly and unexpectedly silenced me. I didn’t want to talk. I didn’t want to write, I am someone who tries to make things better for everyone. Perhaps I just didn’t want to make anyone else feel sad. There’s no easy path back from grief, it takes time. But reading this book has helped. It’s put into words how I feel about my own garden- how my little plot has kept me afloat these past few months. I, too, feel I ‘live’ my garden. It responds to me; it’s like enfolding arms around me, lifting me up and helping to turn my face to the sun again.

Home. Sunshine lighting up the field maples. There’s tiny hazel catkins forming in the native hedgerow. They will sit there and wait till spring. Rosehips and sloe berries for the birds. Viburnum and hawthorn berries shine, sealing wax red. Life goes on.

This month’s diary for Garden News Magazine

August 23, 2021August 23, 2021 / karen / 15 Comments

Enjoy this month’s column from the Garden News Magazine. I love sharing all my ups and downs, growing cut flowers and vegetables. And if I can get a mention for Monty kitten and the hens, then that’s a bonus.

Here’s some additional photos to go with the write up.

My beautiful new rose, It’s a Wonderful Life. Rose of the year for 2022. Available to buy from October. It’s proving to be a good strong, disease resistant rose. Flowers stand up to the rain and it’s a repeat flowering rose. Highly recommended.

Pearl Drift. Another long-flowering disease resistant rose. No sprays are needed to keep it healthy.

Clematis Prince of Wales growing over a mature olearia shrub at Stockton Bury Gardens, Herefordshire, where the Rose of the Year was launched.

The view from the cafe at Stockton Bury Gardens. We enjoyed a lovely lunch outdoors, watching the sheep grazing in the orchards. Highly recommended for a day trip out.

I mentioned starting off new house plants from cuttings grown in vases of water. I was delighted to see new roots on my cuttings. I’ve potted the plants up and they are thriving. I haven’t tried this technique before for house plants and I’m pleased it’s worked out well. My daughter gave me the cuttings and it’s a great money-saving idea.

And finally, here’s a photo of Monty kitten, inspecting my flowers. He’s offering free purrs with every bunch of flowers sold. He’s much loved by everyone visiting Bramble Garden.

Thanks for reading, and have a great gardening week!

Monty -enjoying the shade along the woodland walk in the garden.

Flowers for the care home, at last….

August 17, 2021September 16, 2021 / karen / 33 Comments

It’s almost two years since we’ve been allowed to take flowers into care homes. Any flowers, shop-bought or home-grown, were deemed a covid risk and banned. But this weekend the rules changed, and suddenly flowers are allowed again. I am beyond excited and relieved as flowers from my garden have a special meaning for my mother-in-law Joan.

Dahlia Nuit d’Ete grows to 1.2m with deep red semi-cactus flowers.

I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy as I was this weekend wandering around my plot choosing flowers for Joan. It’s been such a sad time not being able to visit, or send flowers. I started growing cut flowers when Joan began showing signs of vascular dementia. Flowers have always been our special connection. We loved arranging them together. I realised she would one day forget who I was, but hoped the flowers would always remind her of me. And for many years it worked. Even when she forgot my name I was ‘someone who brought flowers.’ While she was still in her own home, I took armfuls of flowers- one of everything in flower- and foliage as well, to give a flavour of what was growing in my garden. I didn’t make them into arrangements, they were just loosely tied with string. Then Joan would spend the day creating her own posies, selecting vases and deciding where to place them- one in the front window to cheer up passers-by, one on the hall table to welcome carers who came twice a day, a few vases for the fireplace. We sat and surveyed her work, ate home-made cake, sipped tea and marvelled at the beauty of flowers, noting all the different colours and shapes. I included lavender, mint and rosemary for scent and the memories they evoked. Joan remembered a lavender bed at her childhood home and the Sunday meals with mint sauce and rosemary. It’s strange how childhood memories are the last to fade. We talked for hours about the flowers, fruit and vegetables her father grew. They had bee hives at the bottom of the garden, and the taste of honey took her right back to those happy times. There have been many heartbreaking moments, but one I particularly remember is Joan thinking her father was just upstairs. I had the choice of going along with it, or telling Joan her father had died many years ago. Neither was an easy choice, and whatever I said, five minutes later, we’d have to go through the same conversation. Flowers were a welcome distraction and something we could both agree on. Eventually, Joan lost the ability to arrange her own flowers. I did them for her and raged at the disease for stealing something that Joan so much enjoyed. Dementia, bit by bit, destroys all happiness as the processes for even the smallest task are completely forgotten. And people too, are forgotten, even those who’ve been very close and much loved. It’s so sad to watch someone desperately fighting to hold on to names and relationships. Joan would say, “I know you are someone dear to me, but tell me who you are and who am I to you.” When Joan moved to the care home, I continued the tradition with the flowers. But the pandemic meant the home was locked down for almost all of last year. Leicester remained in lockdown when other cities were released from restrictions. There were 16 deaths at Joan’s care home. Just a few weeks ago we were all set to visit when the home was locked down again due to another covid outbreak. This weekend the all clear was given and we were allowed in, and here’s some of the flowers I took with me.

Cosmos Psyche White. Ruffled, semi-double flowers. Grows to 1.2m and flowers from June to October.

I’m so pleased to be able to join in with Cathy and ‘In a Vase on Monday’ meme again as you’ve all followed my journey from the beginning. It’s been a comfort to write about my ups and downs here on the blog. There’s been laughter at times- there have been quite a few predicaments as you can imagine- and many challenges. I can’t pretend there haven’t been many tears too, and rage and sadness. But now there’s a kind of acceptance and peace. Joan doesn’t have the faintest idea who I am, but she does think I’m a ‘very nice lady’ come to visit her, and I can live with that. And the flowers still give us something cheerful to talk about.

A scented-leaf pelargonium I’ve kept going from a cutting my father-in-law gave me.

Thank you for reading my blog. I hope my story helps if you are going through a similar situation. At any rate, keep trying, because any small kindness will always be appreciated. Even if it’s just a few flowers.

I chose bright red dahlias as Joan’s husband used to grow these for flower shows and at one time almost all the back garden was given over to straight rows of dahlias and chrysanthemums.

I took jam jars filled with sweet peas. Joan recognised these immediately as they had once been grown by her father, and she remembers picking them and arranging them in vases for chapel. It’s so sad that dementia is almost like a time travelling disease. It transports Joan back to when she was a young girl, but completely erases the past 80 years and with it her husband, three children, grandchildren and two new great grandchildren. She’s left walking amongst the ghosts of long dead relatives- her mother and father, cousins and school friends. It’s a tragedy for her, and all of us trying, and loosing a battle to keep her in the present.

Rudbeckias, calendula and green seed heads from Ammi majus

Joan loves sunflowers, but they aren’t quite ready in my garden yet. These rudbeckias grown from a mixed packet of seed look just as bright and cheerful.

These calendulas are seedlings of C. Snow Princess, a lovely pale butter -yellow flower. They bloom from May to October if deadheaded regularly. Very good for attracting bees and butterflies.

Flowering marjoram, rosemary and mint add a lovely fragrance. As soon as you lightly touch the posies, the herbs release their scent, and unlock all the memories associated with them.

White snapdragon, Antirrhinum Royal Bride. Joan knew to press the sides of the flowers together. A favourite childhood game was to make the flowers open like a mouth. We used to call them bunny flowers, she said.

A photo of Joan on her wedding day carrying a bouquet of carnations and asparagus fern. The photo is in a metal Players cigarette box frame my father-in-law made to protect the picture while he carried it around during National Service in Korea in the 1950s. He didn’t smoke, I hasten to add, but he was good at recycling and ‘making-do’ all through his life.

There’s nothing nicer than being able to give someone a gift of flowers you’ve grown yourself. Are any of you growing flowers for cutting this year? I feel as if I haven’t any other weapons in my battle to defeat dementia. Flowers are holding us together, that little bit longer. Let’s hope they continue to work a kind of magic. I’m hopeful they will. I’ll keep you updated.

Notes and links:

For more information and help with dementia: https://www.dementiauk.org/

Calendula: Mr Fothergill’s https://www.mr-fothergills.co.uk/Flower-Seed/Calendula-Seed/Calendula-Snow-Princess-Seeds.html#.YUMiaxB4WfA

Cosmos: https://www.mr-fothergills.co.uk/Flower-Seed/Cosmos-Seed/Cosmos-Psyche-White-Seeds.html#.YUMi9hB4WfA

Rudbeckias: https://www.mr-fothergills.co.uk/Flower-Seed/Rudbeckia-Seed/Rudbeckia-Rustic-Dwarfs-Mixed.html#.YUMlPhB4WfA

Rudbeckias: https://www.mr-fothergills.co.uk/Flower-Seed/Rudbeckia-Seed/Rudbeckia-Gloriosa-Daisies.html#.YUMlmRB4WfA

Sweet peas: https://www.mr-fothergills.co.uk/Flower-Seed/Tall_3/Sweet-Pea-Horizon-Mixed-Seeds.html#.YUMmLRB4WfA

Heritage sweet peas: https://www.visiteaston.co.uk/shop/easton-walled-gardens-sweet-pea-mix/

Ammi: https://www.mr-fothergills.co.uk/Flower-Seed/A-Z-Flower-Seeds/Ammi-majus_2.html#.YUMmeRB4WfA

Herbs from https://www.pepperpotherbplants.co.uk/

Dahlias from https://www.gee-tee.co.uk/product-category/summer-bulbs/dahlias

Peat free compost I use is from https://www.dalefootcomposts.co.uk/

Plant mulch and feed I use from https://www.plantgrow.co.uk/

You can also find me @kgimson on twitter and karengimson1 on instagram.

Vivara Butterfly House Review and Giveaway. #BigButterflyCount #ButterflyConservation

July 31, 2021July 31, 2021 / karen / 11 Comments

*Gifted item.

Are you taking part in the Big Butterfly Count this year? I’m just about to settle down with a cup of tea and count the butterflies in my garden.

Wildlife specialists, Vivara, are sponsoring the count this year and sent me this butterfly house to promote the citizen science project.

I’ve placed the house in a sunny sheltered spot in the cut flower and vegetable garden. I’ve put some twigs inside the house and hopefully butterflies will use it to shelter from bad weather. If I’m lucky, some might use it to overwinter in my garden. Last year we had peacock butterflies hibernating in the hen house and the potting shed. Adults overwinter in dark places such as sheds, bird boxes and holes in trees, and left undisturbed, they will be dormant until spring. As soon as the weather starts to warm up, they emerge and look for nectar-rich plants to feed on.

The butterfly house has a hook on the back and a screw and rawl plug for hanging it up.

I always look for the FSC mark on any wooden product which shows it’s been made from materials sourced from well managed forests. The butterfly house is a sturdy product which should last for years.

Vivara have one butterfly house to give away. Leave a comment at the end of this piece and a winner will be randomly selected.

A Comma butterfly on an echinacea plant in my garden.

Butterflies need all the help they can get. Numbers are falling drastically. The Butterfly Conservation charity which runs the Big Butterfly Count says last year a record 145,000 counts were submitted, but worryingly 2020 saw the lowest average numbers of butterflies logged since the event began 12 years ago.

Cold, wet spring weather is thought to be a factor. Here in Leicestershire we had a cold, dry April, followed by the wettest May for 50 years. It rained every day, and right at the end May, we had a week of frost with temperatures dipping to -4C. This week we’ve had flash floods with 15mm of rain in one day, and hail stones the size of marbles.

Taking part in the Big Butterfly Count helps scientists assess the health of our environment, and helps us understand how the climate is affecting butterflies.

To take part, spend 15 minutes counting the maximum number of each species you can see at a single time. You can do this in a garden, school grounds, or public park. Go on to the Butterfly Conservation website and record your findings, or download the i- record App. There’s a downloadable wall chart showing all the different butterflies which helps identify them.

Here’s some butterflies I spotted in my garden:

Cabbage White butterfly on echeveria flowers in the greenhouse

Five Ways You Can Help Butterflies:

1. Join Butterfly Conservation. It’s half price until 8th August. There’s magazines and leaflets on gardening for butterflies. Also, invitations to local guided walks, and conservation volunteering days.

2. Run an event on behalf of Butterfly Conservation. Every little helps. You could host a coffee morning, a plant sale, a sponsored activity.

3. Volunteer for Butterfly Conservation. There’s office and outdoor work available.

4. Grow something for butterflies. They need nectar-rich plants for food, but also trees, shrubs and plants for caterpillars.

5. Take part in the Big Butterfly Count which runs until August 8th. It’s the biggest survey of butterflies in the world and provides a valuable insight into the health of our UK butterfly species.

Plants I grow to attract butterflies:

Buddleja is the one everyone knows about. Literally called the ‘butterfly bush.’ There’s some new miniature varieties for growing in small spaces and in containers. Look out for the Buzz series in lavender, magenta and white.

Lavender. Hidcote is my favourite as it is compact and doesn’t sprawl. Of all the lavenders, this one seems to cope with wet winters better than most. It needs well-drained soil and a sunny site.

Perennial wallflower- Bowles Mauve. Rarely out of flower all spring and summer. It’s a good idea to have a variety of plants from early spring through to autumn so there’s always something in flower for butterflies.

Marjoram. I discovered this when I let some marjoram or oregano plants escape from a pot. They grew to 60cm and scrambled through the bottom of a sunny hedge, providing pink/purple flowers all summer.

I also grow a selection of plants for caterpillars. Fruit trees, alder buckthorn, holly, blackthorn, oak, broom, lady’s smock or Cardamine pratensis, nettles, bird’s foot trefoil, all important caterpillar food.

Thank you for reading my blog. And thank you for all your kind comments on here and via other social media, letting me know how much my posts have cheered you up during the past two very difficult years. It’s much appreciated. Good luck in the prize draw! I’ll announce a winner on Sunday evening, 1st August, 2021.

Links: https://butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies

Vivara: https://www.vivara.co.uk/wildlife/bees-insects

This Week’s Garden News Magazine Column -July 10 2021

July 8, 2021July 8, 2021 / karen / 8 Comments

This week’s ramblings from the plot. If you click on the photo you should be able to zoom in to read the column. I’ve been writing about my garden for a year and a half. I love sharing the ups and downs of growing fruit, veg and cut flowers. Not everything goes according to plan. But it’s good to share the disasters as well as successes, so everyone can learn from it.

So pleased to see Monty kitten gets a mention. We always send eight photos each time and never know which ones will be used. It depends on the layout. As you can see, Monty is turning into the best ever gardening cat. He is always by my side, whatever job I’m doing in the garden. He takes an interest in everything and likes to get involved. To be honest, I’m sure he thinks he’s a dog and not a cat, as he’s so loyal and often likes to come for a walk with us along the back field footpaths. If we get too far from home, I pick him up and carry him back, as I’d hate him to suddenly dart into a hedge and be lost. All our previous cats have been rather aloof and independent. Monty is one of a kind.

I’m getting on well with the paper mulch. It’s saving so much time. I can’t understand how I never heard of this product before, but now I know, I’ll be using it every summer under my dahlias, courgettes, cosmos and pumpkins. It saves so much hoeing and back-breaking hands and knees weeding.

I wrote about the mulch here: https://bramblegarden.com/2021/06/10/products-on-trial-weed-control-paper-mulch/

I’ve taken lots of cuttings of my new salvia collection. They seem to flower virtually non-stop from june to first frosts. Such beautiful colours and so easy to grow. The cuttings will ensure they survive over the winter, as they are not always hardy in my cold wet clay. I wrote about new salvia varieties here: https://bramblegarden.com/2021/06/18/new-plants-on-trial-salvias-from-middleton-nurseries/

And finally, I loved taking part in the social media event, GardenDayUK where we all made a flower crown, and spent some time reading, resting, having a tea party, enjoying being in our gardens, and sharing our gardens with the hashtag #GardenDayUK. This was the first time I’d joined in, and I enjoyed being a part of the celebrations.

Next time, I’m writing about butterflies, the new Rose of the Year ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ a visit to Stockton Bury Gardens in Herefordshire, and my success with my sweet pea pavement flower sales for charity. I hope you are having a great gardening week. Thank you, as ever, for taking the time to read my blog. It’s much appreciated.

Plants on Trial – from Love Orchids

June 30, 2021June 30, 2021 / karen / 10 Comments

I always seem to have a bowl of orchids somewhere in the house, usually on the hall cupboard or kitchen table. They are easy to grow and often flower for several months with minimal care and attention. Love Orchids have sent a sample box to try out. I haven’t paid for this orchid, but in common with other bloggers, I’ve accepted their gift in return for an honest opinion. Maybe you would like to treat yourself, or want to send a gift to someone for a birthday or other celebration. In which case, you might find the review helpful in deciding whether to buy and send orchids mail order.

I’ve chosen a white and pink orchid in an oval white ceramic container. Plants arrived in good condition, well packaged and there’s plenty of flowers and buds for more blooms to follow. My orchid was already planted in its container and flower stems were well staked. The pot was topped with moss which is a pretty finishing touch.

The ordering process online was simple to follow and straightforward. Plants arrived promptly in a sturdy cardboard box. The parcel delivery company handled the box carefully and it had obviously travelled the right way up- which always helps! It wasn’t just dropped from a height on to the doorstep, but carefully set down, which I much appreciated.

The box is designed to open out, so no pulling plants out the top and potentially damaging them, which I’ve done in the past in poorly-designed boxes.

Plant pots are securely held in another box taped to the base. There was also a spare pack of orchid compost as the company supplies extras for your own potting- up purposes.

Orchids are wrapped carefully in cellophane. I must admit, a compostable wrapper would be preferable, and I would be willing to pay more for a more eco-friendly material. However I just decided to use it to cover my cuttings and seed trays to maintain humidity, so mine will be re-used and won’t be put in the bin.

As you can see, the flowers spread out as soon as they were unwrapped.

There are three plants in my container, with eight flower stems. I’ve brought the pot outside simply to take advantage of the light in order to take photographs. It was too dark in the house. However, my orchids will live indoors, out of direct sunshine.

Regular readers of my blog will know that I like to highlight and support family businesses. The Stevenson family have been growing plants at their New Forest nursery for more than 60 years. When the pandemic struck, the family launched an on-line company, Love Orchids, to market and sell plants via mail order.

The family say they started out ‘with little more than a few glasshouses and a can-do attitude.’ They have grown and developed into a multi-generation business and say they are the largest growers of phalaenopsis orchids in the UK.

For sustainability, they use a biomass boiler, turning waste wood products into heat for the greenhouses.

Here’s some care tips provided by the nursery :

I signed up for a newsletter and received a discount code for future purchases. In fact, I sent an orchid to a friend for her birthday, and one to a relative who recently suffered a bereavement. Both sent photos of their orchids and were delighted with them. Orchids last much longer than a bunch of flowers and the plants from Love Orchids are top quality and expertly grown. The range of good quality containers also means there’s plenty of options for everyone.

For more information, here are the links for Love Orchid:

https://www.Facebook.com/LoveOrchidsUK

Tweets by LoveOrchidsUK

https://instagram.com/loveorchidsuk

And on the website https://www.loveorchids.co.uk/

Have you tried mail order plants before? Get in touch and let me know of any recommendations. We are all finding new ways to obtain our plants and gardening materials. It’s good to share news and views when we find an excellent supplier.

I also mentioned Love Orchids in my Christmas, birthday, anytime present list here : https://bramblegarden.com/tag/loveorchids/

My Garden Diary -June 2021

June 19, 2021June 20, 2021 / karen / 27 Comments

Life seems to have been incredibly busy these past few months. Two family members have been desperately ill. I’ve sat by their beds and held their hands. Willed them to stay with us. One emerged from a deep deep coma, and returned to us. The other one passed away, peacefully in his sleep. And so, I sit in the garden now and think of them. Hoping the one returned to us as fragile as a butterfly, will spread his wings and fly, and mourning for the one who did not, although it was his time to go and we must celebrate a life well lived, well loved, happy and fruitful. The garden, as ever, becomes a place of solace. I’ve ground to a halt after months of literally running from one place to the next, almost in a permanent panic. Back here, in the shade of the trees, there’s peace and calm. Whilst I’ve been busy, the nesting birds have raised their young, and many have fledged. A highlight of a particularly difficult and stormy day was suddenly finding six long-tailed tits, newly emerged from the nest- all gathered along a hazel branch, at eye level, fluffing up feathers, preening, eager darting eyes. Almost like pom poms on a string. What a day to fledge! We had 40 mile per hour winds and torrential rain. With the storm coming from the south east, the westerly edge of our wood was weirdly still and silent, and this is where our little flock gathered. The parents desperately calling to them, ‘tsuk, tsuk, tsuk’ but the chicks totally unafraid, studied me as much as I studied them. In all the excitement of leaving the nest, I was just one of the new wonders for them to discover. I’ve stored up this moment as a happy memory during a difficult time. It’s amazing the little things that give you hope in times of need. You never know when or where these moments will come from, do you. And often it’s the simplest things that provide a balm.

Enjoy this week’s views of the garden and ramble along the back field footpath where there’s masses of white cow parsley and the last of the hawthorn blossom now festooned with ribbons of fragrant dog roses. Thank you for reading my blog.

Cow parsley and wild three cornered leek, where snowdrops bloomed in winter.

Viburnum plicatum at the edge of the horseshoe pond. Layers of flat white flowers, covered in bees.

White Roses. Pearl Drift requires minimal pruning and no chemicals. It is resistant to blackspot due to it’s LeGrice breeding. Grows to 4ft and is reliably repeat-flowering. Highly recommended.

Semi-double flowers allow bees to access the pollen. Sweetly scented.

Dianthus Mrs Sinkins. Another highly-scented flower in the June garden. Repeat flowers if cut back and dead-headed. Grows in the overspill gravel alongside the drive.

White campion – Silene latifolia alba- arrived by itself and grows amongst the cow parsley. Much less rampant than the pink variety.

Wild dog roses, great big swathes, overhang from the top of the high hawthorn hedges. There will be plenty of bright red rosehips.

Along the holloway walk. The pathway is edged with snowdrops in winter, and white starry stitchwort in summer. I’m adding white foxgloves for next year.

I’ve left gaps in the trees to look out from the pathway, towards the back fields, this year planted with spring wheat. I’m looking forward to having a golden backdrop for the garden. Wheat and barley are my favourites.

Step out of the top five bar gate, and on to the lane. The cow parsley has never looked as lovely. Or maybe, I just haven’t had time to stand and survey the scene before.

Looking across the fields towards Bunny Wood. There’s an ancient footpath to the woods.

A well-trodden path, very popular with hikers and dog walkers. We sometimes see deer. Usually there’s hares – more this year than usual. At dusk we watch the barn owls quarter the fields. At the moment they are out in the day as well as at night, which means they are probably feeding young. Tawny owls also call out across the fields at night.

A hawthorn ‘archway.’ A favourite viewing point.

Plenty of cow parsley. As pretty as any florists’ flower.

Thank you for reading my blog. Let me know what gardening jobs you are doing at the moment. I’m catching up on planting and weeding. Everything is very late this year, but I expect things will catch up in time. Have a peaceful happy week.

New Plants on Trial – Salvias from Middleton Nurseries

June 18, 2021November 12, 2023 / karen / 33 Comments

UPDATE: NOV 12 2023. There’s a prize draw for a £50 voucher on instagram. Take a look @middleton_nurseries. The prize draw closes on Sunday 19th November. Terms and conditions, see Middleton’s instagram post.

Salvias provide such a welcome zing of colour from mid summer to first frosts. In my garden, pale blue and white ‘Phyllis’ Fancy’ was still in full flower on Christmas Day. Specialist growers, Middleton Nurseries, have sent me a collection of new varieties to try out. I haven’t paid for these, but in common with other bloggers, I’m happy to trial plants and products in return for giving my honest opinion. Here’s some of the plants they sent.

Plants arrive via mail order and were carefully handled by the delivery company. I always think it’s worth giving a good report when plants and products are delivered in a good condition and the drivers have taken the trouble to ensure the contents are undamaged. The box was also placed on the doorstep the right way up! These things always help somewhat. It’s exasperating when ‘this way up’ arrow stickers are not heeded.

Plants are snugly nestled inside a sturdy cardboard box and as you can see arrived in good condition even though temperatures were very high.

The cardboard container is easily folded open so plants are not pulled about when extricating them from the packaging. You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve nearly decapitated a plant trying to get it out of the box. Some thought and care has gone into the design of this one, and it’s appreciated.

Plants are carefully tied to supporting canes and plastic bags are wound around the plant pots to stop compost drying out. My only criticism would be that the plastic bags could be biodegradable instead of single use. However, I’ve reused these on top of pots of cuttings to maintain humidity. So mine won’t be thrown away, and will be kept in the potting shed and reused time and time again.

There’s a very useful plant care leaflet included in the box, and a discount code for further purchases. I’ve signed up for more discounts, special offers and gardening club newsletters.

Each plant has a label which is packed full with information. It’s great to see the Union Jack flag on the label, indicating the plants are grown in Britain. I like to support British nurseries as much as I can.

I love this pretty, pale variety Salvia microphylla Delice Fiona. It has rich green leaves, pale pink flowers with a deeper pink centre. Instructions say it can be grown in part shade to full sun, requires moderate to occasional watering and grows 60-90cm high. Can be grown in containers.

Another pink variety is Salvia greggii Shell dancer with large pink flowers with the basal tubes and base of the lower lip coloured deep rose. The outer portions of the lower lip start with ‘hot salmon’ shading then lighten to nearly cream as it ages. The label says the plant is ‘seldom completely out of flower.’ That’s my experience of salvias, they do have a long-flowering period, which makes them such good value.

If you like the paler salvias, this one’s stunning. It’s from a new ‘So Cool’ range. This one is Salvia So Cool Pale Cream. Utterly captivating. New for 2021. Compact-growing, 30-40cm tall.

The first salvias I grew were blue. I love this variety, microphylla Delice Feline. The plant label says the flowers are deep violet with a white centre, flowers profusely until autumn and grows 60 -90cm tall. A new hybrid for 2020.

Another 2020 hybrid is Salvia microphylla Suzanne which has bright red upright flowers with white markings. 60-90cm tall.

And finally, Salvia microphylla Carolus has pretty mauve flowers which look striking set against the darker almost black stems and dark coloured basal tubes. Has a smaller-spreading habit than most microphylla varieties.

I can wholeheartedly recommend Middleton Nurseries for mail-order plants. I’m delighted with my parcel of new and very pretty hybrids. High quality plants, well-grown and expertly packaged. I’ll be posting photos throughout the summer to let you know how they develop.

Here’s some more information about the nursery:

Middleton Nurseries are located in the village of Middleton in Staffordshire and have been growing plants since 1975. The nursery is dedicated to growing a wide range of new and unusual herbaceous, perennials and rare breeds of salvias. Middleton Nurseries was started in 1975 by Stephan Zako and at first grew ‘pick-your-own’ strawberries. John Zako went into the family business after leaving Pershore College with a National Diploma in Horticulture. Using his expertise he slowly transformed the business into ‘one of the leading plant specialist nurseries’ with an extensive block of greenhouses.

In April 2012, the family sold the retail/ garden centre portion of the business and kept the nursery which enabled John to focus on his true passion of growing and breeding plants. The nursery specialises in salvias which they sell up and down the country at RHS gardening shows each year. Since 2021, Middleton Nurseries has become a third-generation family business after John’s son, James, joined the business.

Here’s a link for the nursery website: https://middletonnurseries.co.uk/

Are you growing any salvias this year? Are you as passionate about them as I’ve become? Get in touch and let me know how you are getting on with your gardening and growing this summer. Thank you, as ever, for reading my blog.

Products On Trial – Weed Control Paper Mulch

June 10, 2021June 10, 2021 / karen / 19 Comments

I’m trying out a sample roll of paper mulch in an attempt to cut down on weeding in the flower and vegetable garden. I haven’t paid for this product, but in common with other bloggers, the agreement is to unconditionally try it out and give an honest opinion.

Monty kitten was keen to help. To be honest, he gave more help than was strictly necessary, getting in and under the paper roll. He’s such good company in the garden, always by my side, climbing in and out of my wheelbarrow and tool bag. But paper’s a new attraction for him!

Instructions say place a heavy stone on each corner as you start to unroll the paper, and toss soil along both edges to prevent wind from blowing it away. Monty jumped all over it, which kept it in place nicely until I’d sorted out stones and compost.

I used a Hori-Hori to cut the paper to length, then set out the plants. I’m trying the mulch for dahlias and cosmos in the cut flower beds , and for courgettes, squash, sweetcorn, and strawberries in the veg beds. It would be good for garlic and chard too.

These are the cuttings I’ve been taking since February from dahlias overwintered in the potting shed. They are exact clones of the parent plants, so I now have about 100 new plants for free. All my favourite varieties.

I used my Hori-Hori knife to cut a cross in the paper and then dug out planting holes for the dahlias. A new sharp-pointed trowel made the task quick and easy.

The paper is thick enough to block out light, and therefore suppress weeds, but there are microscopic holes to let air and water permeate. Plants are so far growing well. I’m having to do much less watering than usual.

This product is supplied by Mulch Organic, a family business which offers environmentally-friendly alternatives to black plastic for mulching. They say the products are natural, made from renewable sources and eliminate the need for chemical herbicides. The paper mulch is 100 percent organic and biodegradable. It should last a whole growing season, and at the end of the year, can simply be tilled into the soil to decompose naturally.

There’s also a crepe version, with expansion ribs to allow for stretch for use over mounded beds. These also work well with drip irrigation systems, and can be used in poly tunnels.

As well as the paper rolls, there’s a mulch film made from cornstarch.

Here’s one last photo of Monty. We were out in the garden until 10pm as the temperatures were too hot in the day. I’m hoping the mulch will save time – giving me more time to spend sitting in the garden reading, with Monty on my knee. That’s the plan anyway. I’ll let you know if it works out!

Here’s some of the dahlias I’m growing again this year. This one is Nuit d’Ete.

Dahlia David Howard. A lovely deep orange flower. Cut flowers last 10 days in a vase.

Eveline is a lovely white decorative dahlia with a delicate blush pink centre and tips to the petals.

Thank you for reading the blog. Have you tried any products to combat weeds? Let me know how you are getting on with your gardening projects.

Here’s the links for more information: https://mulchorganic.co.uk/

I wrote about the Hori-Hori here https://bramblegarden.com/2020/07/10/niwaki-tools-review-and-some-garden-snips-to-give-away-gardening/

The trowel I’m using is this one: https://marshallsgarden.com/products/kent-and-stowe-capability-trowel-10907234?variant=32599100424243&currency=GBP&ds_rl=1278790&ds_rl=1284267&ds_rl=1278790&ds_rl=1284267&gclid=Cj0KCQjw8IaGBhCHARIsAGIRRYoqnS-u91aeS1AJK273Nb2YXeLUfNBNiKVEBso0HNaTi-PeyK5Fiq4aAp6zEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Visit to Goldstone Hall Hotel and Gardens – 7 June 2021

June 9, 2021June 9, 2021 / karen / 23 Comments

I’ve been out! Actually out in the car, driving to a garden. It’s only the second time I’ve been out for a garden visit in 16 months. A few weeks ago I visited Belvoir Castle, and this week, I chose Goldstone Hall for my floral excursion. It seems so strange to be out and about, meeting up with friends. Everyone’s experience of the pandemic has been different. Some say their lives changed very little, they continued to travel to work and managed to get out and about when lockdown eased. Others, like me, had to stay at home. Anyway, I’m picking and choosing which outings to go on, and slowly emerging back into a normal life. Here’s a slide show of photos I provide when I’ve been out. Goldstone Hall in North Shropshire didn’t disappoint. It’s a beautifully- designed and immaculately-managed 5 acre garden surrounding a pretty Georgian manor house. Although I didn’t stay overnight, (there are 12 bedrooms) I am planning to return with my Mum for a short break soon. The idea of waking up early, and quietly wandering around the masses of roses, vegetables and herbs, definitely appeals.

This Abutilon vitifolium is one of the first shrubs you see when you step into the garden. It’s a fast-growing shrub from Chile with vine-like leaves and abundant pale mauve flowers. It flowers mainly in spring and early summer, but can flower all summer long if happy in a sheltered warm position. It can easily be grown from seed and cuttings.

The main flower border runs along a sunny wall. There’s roses and clematis all along the walls, with perennials and grasses in front.

Here’s another view of the wall, taken from the front of the border. Some pretty wine-coloured aquilegias grow in patches all along the border. This one looks like the variety Bordeaux Barlow.

Lupins in the cutting garden look particularly lovely in early June. There’s masses of sweet peas, cornflowers, sunflowers and gladioli to follow.

A herb walk is a scented pathway with 100 different herbs planted alongside heritage vegetables, salads and heirloom fruit trees and bushes.

More herbs are planted within a parterre of box plants. The creeping thyme looks colourful in Summer.

The polytunnel is packed with produce. I am going to copy the idea for growing strawberries in lengths of guttering with a drip watering system attached. Would keep the plants off the ground and away from slugs- and it would be much easier to pick fruit.

Not an inch of space is wasted in the poly tunnel.

After a head-gardener tour of the grounds, we enjoyed a delicious lunch in this open-sided oak pavilion. Perfect for a lovely warm summer’s day.

We had new potatoes, freshly dug from the plot, a spinach and asparagus quiche, and salad – all grown in the gardens we had just walked around.

Here’s the recipe for the panna cotta we enjoyed.

The view of the garden from one of the reception rooms in the hotel. There’s a sense of peace and tranquility here.

More information about Goldstone Hall.

Goldstone Hall is an Royal Horticultural Society ( RHS) partner garden, and opens for the National Gardens Scheme and for garden group tours. There’s more on the website at https://goldstonehallhotel.co.uk/.

I wrote about Belvoir Castle here: https://bramblegarden.com/2021/05/21/visit-to-belvoir-castle-gardens/

Many thanks to the Garden Media Guild for organising our tour.

Thank you for reading the blog and getting in touch. Enjoy your gardens during this spell of lovely sunny weather we are having.

Views from my garden 29 May 2021

May 29, 2021September 15, 2021 / karen / 15 Comments

It’s a while since I’ve joined in with the Six on Saturday meme. Caring for family members has had to come first. However, here’s a few photos from my garden diary today. Have a great bank holiday weekend. The sun has decided to shine at last, and there’s no rain, so we can all start to get on in the garden.

The last of the tulips. My favourite white tulip, Mount Tacoma.

Double tulips seem to last longer than singles. Petals keep opening out until the flowers are almost flat. Some tulips are better at coming back into flower each year and this one is reliable here, planted in a sunny border, baked dry in the summer. This is the secret of keeping tulip bulbs going. Plant them in maximum sun where the soil will dry out to give them a dormant period. You can also plant them at the base of deciduous trees, which will also give them a dry period, as trees take all the moisture in summer. Tulips will flower the following year before the trees come into leaf. Tulips planted in rich soil are pulled up, stored dry over summer, and replanted in November. I’ve also tried planting them in plastic pond containers, which are simply lifted out of the ground and stored at the back of the shed for the summer. The holes left in the ground are then filled with tender salvias which have been stored in the poly tunnel over winter.

Double – late flowering tulip Carnival de Nice is sometimes mistaken for a peony. Red and white striped petals slowly unfold until the flowers are flat. Lasts 10 days in a vase as a cut flower.

Here’s some more tulips still in flower today. Cold temperatures and rain virtually every day in May has suited tulips. They have provided a much-needed cheerful display all through spring.

We think this is Pink Diamond. It came in a cut flower collection from Gee Tee Bulbs. Extremely long-lasting flowers. Strong and resilient.

Flamboyant Parrot tulip, Texas Flame. Looks lovely amongst the blue love-in-a-mist flower buds just opening. These are enormous flowers when fully open, almost the size of my hand.

There are still some parrot tulips in bud.

The darkest plum coloured tulip is Queen of the Night. Some varieties offered under this name can be almost black. But they have a habit of ‘melting’ in wet conditions. And they don’t always come back the next year. I like this velvety deep red strain from Taylors Bulbs. Flowers are long lasting and cope with the rain. They have reliably returned for four years now, and seem to be increasing in number too.

The last tulip to flower here is Bleu Aimable. This single late tulip has lavender, mauve and blue shades. Flower colour improves with age. A great way to end the tulip season with a flourish.

Thank you for reading my blog. Are you heading out into the garden this weekend to catch up on jobs? The weeds have got away from me here, as it’s been so wet. But with lots of tea and cake and a determined list of tasks, I’m hoping to get on top of them. Have a great weekend!

Lilies: Book Review and Giveaway

May 25, 2021May 25, 2021 / karen / 24 Comments

By Naomi Slade

Published by Pavilion Books

Hardback. 240 pages. Photographs by Georgianna Lane

Published May 2021. RRP £25

ISBN: 978-1-911663-00-3

Lilium African Queen. An outward-facing trumpet lily. Suitable for large pots, planting at the back of the border, and for cut flower gardens.

For many years, all down the sides of my greenhouse, I grew tall pots of lilies. My favourites were the towering, elegant trumpet lilies, African Queen. They grew to 5ft and produced masses of rich apricot flowers with rose garnet blush shades on the reverse of the petals. Stunning to look at, and the scent was equally wonderful. That spicy, heady scent drifted all around the orchard, wild flower meadow and up through the mini-woodland. Beautiful, intoxicating and memorable.

It was lovely to stand in the greenhouse and see the flowers reaching almost the roofline. A good background for my summer container display within the greenhouse where rows of scented pelargoniums lined up amongst the citrus trees.

African Queen is just one of the many varieties featured in Naomi Slade’s new book, Lilies. The book is written in the same style as Naomi’s 2018 publication, Dahlias. I wrote a review of Dahlias here : https://bramblegarden.com/2018/06/24/dahlias-beautiful-varieties-for-home-and-garden/

Naomi’s new book is a celebration of all kinds of lilies. There’s an introduction, a section on the history and botany of lilies, followed by detailed instructions on growing and caring for lilies. Advice is given on where to buy bulbs, how to prepare the soil and plant, and how to water, feed and deadhead lilies. There’s enough information for beginners to get started, and enough detail for more experienced gardeners to have a go at propagating and preparing lilies for shows. Everything you need to know to get the best out of these lovely summer bulbs.

The lilies chosen for in-depth study are split into sections; Elegant and Dainty, Wild and Wonderful, Fiery and Fabulous, and Majestic and Magnificent.

Mascara is a black Asiatic hybrid featured in the Fiery and Fabulous section. It grows to 1m with upward and outward-facing blooms. It will grown in any good garden soil and makes a stunning cut flower.

Helvetia is in the Elegant and Dainty section. Upward-facing with reflexed petals, these lilies grow to 1- 1.2m tall and are highly fragrant. Recommend for the front of a border and containers. Would make a wonderful cascading wedding bouquet.

Another very pretty white flower is Polar Star. I’ve grown this in pots many times. 25 bulbs in a large Italian terracotta pot makes a stunning summer display. These have large fully-double upward and outward-facing flowers and grows to 70-100cm tall. Very long lasting in a vase.

lilium leichtlinii is one I haven’t grown before. It is not that common in cultivation, says Naomi. But well worth seeking out. Small pendant flowers with reflexed petals, growing to 1-1.4m tall. Unscented. Suitable for a naturalistic garden. Sophisticated in a vase.

Another lily with swept back petals is Ariadne. This Turks cap type grows to 1.2-1.8m with small pale, dusty rose flowers. Good for the back of the border and set against a foil of dark foliage, or a contrasting painted surface. Could be used for cut flowers, but you’d need a tall vase.

Georgianna Lane is a leading floral, garden and travel photographer whose work has been widely published. She captures the timeless elegance and beauty of this summer garden favourite.

Naomi Slade is a well-known figure in the world of gardening media. She writes and broadcasts about horticulture, design, environment and lifestyle. Lilies is beautifully well-written. A book you’ll delve into time and time again, and it’s so full of joy it will make you smile every time.

The publishers have one copy to give away in a prize draw. Please leave a comment below and names will be put in a hat and a winner randomly selected next Sunday.

Thank you for reading my reviews and for taking the time to comment. The comment box is below the hashtags at the bottom of the page. Or click on ‘comments’ next to the title.

Get Up and Grow- book review and giveaway

May 16, 2021May 16, 2021 / karen / 20 Comments

By Lucy Hutchings

Published by Hardie Grant Books

Hardback 159 pages

ISBN 978-1-78488-392-8

Growing fruit, vegetables and herbs doesn’t require acres of ground. In fact, you can grow virtually anything in pots, on a balcony and even indoors- if you just have the right techniques and equipment. In Lucy Hutchings’ new book, Get Up and Grow, there’s tips on everything you need to step up your gardening to a new level and grow whatever you fancy in a fresh and exciting way. Judging by the photos in Lucy’s book, the results will not only be a feast for the table, but a feast for the eyes too. Everything looks absolutely stunning.

Here’s a selection of my favourite projects from the book:

An indoor greenhouse, made from a glass display cabinet and fitted with full spectrum grow lights. IKEA sell similar cabinets or you could recycle some furniture.

I love this idea – growing microgreens in self-adhesive window trays. These are the sort you can buy for showers. Usually they are used for storing shampoo and soap. Ingenious idea, using them for growing nutritious microgreens.

Lucy also shows you how to convert an over-door hanging storage rack into a window herb garden. These can be moved around the house, or can be hung on a sunny wall or fence outdoors in the summer. Lucy has one hanging on her greenhouse sliding door, making use of all available space.

A salad garden on wheels! It can be moved around the home to make the most of natural light, or be wheeled out on to the patio on sunny days.

More projects from the book. Lucy, a former couture jewellery designer, is @shegrowsveg on instagram and writes a blog at http://www.shegrowsveg.com

The book covers the basics of potting up, using lights, feeding, watering and trouble-shooting. Perfect for beginners, or more experienced gardeners looking for a bright and modern new way to garden. The ‘suppliers list’ at the end of the book is also quite a revelation with lots of suggestions I’d never even thought of. I can’t wait to get started on my own growing projects. With Lucy’s step-by-step illustrations and clear instructions, I should soon be growing kokedama oranges, having a go at hydroponics and making a ‘living wall.’ I’ll report back on my progress!

Thanks for reading my blog.

The publishers have kindly offered one copy for a prize draw. Please leave comments below to be included in the draw. A name will be randomly drawn on Sunday, 23 May at 6pm. There will be nothing to pay and I will contact you from my e mail which is k.gimson@btinternet.com.

Garden Day UK 2021

May 8, 2021May 8, 2021 / karen / 23 Comments

My flower crown for Garden Day UK, made by Bloom.co.uk

It’s time to celebrate Garden Day UK again. Garden Day, on May 9th, is a chance to down tools and just enjoy what you’ve achieved on your plot. It’s one day when you don’t have to do anything really. Just sit in the garden, allow yourself a moment to pause and reflect.

One of the lovely features of Garden Day is the wearing of a flower crown. Take photos of your crown, and upload them to social media. Tag @GardenDayUK to share photos of your creation.

I’ve been sent this beautiful crown to wear tomorrow. It’s made from miniature cream roses and pink and blue statice. There’s some gorgeously-scented herbs, rosemary and thyme, and some grey foliage as a background foil for all the flowers.

Flower crowns are really easy to make. Take a length of florists’ wire, wrap it around your head to check the length. Add about 8” so you’ll be able to twist the ends together. Add a circle of olive foliage, or lengths of rosemary as a background. Make little bunches of flowers, any you fancy, from your own garden or from the florists. Lay each bunch along the wire and bind in with thin florists’ wire, paper-covered wire, or string. When you have covered the circle, check the crown fits, and twist the bare lengths of wire together to form the crown.

I’m looking forward to sharing my day with my Mum. Whatever the weather, we will be either sitting in the orchard, or if it’s raining, in the greenhouse.

How will you be spending Garden Day tomorrow? Do share photos of your garden on social media. It’s a good way to connect with other keen gardeners and to share ideas and gain inspiration on growing plants.

Here’s some photos of my garden today:

There’s still some Pheasant’s Eye narcissus under the cherry trees.

There’s white bluebells under the beech trees. These are albino flowers, lacking the pigment that makes the traditional flowers a rich purple/blue. They have creamy-coloured pollen and a delicious scent.

Narcissus Geranium in the cut flower patch. Lovely white flowers with a deep yellow centre. The scent is glorious. Something to look forward to each spring. Reliably comes back each year. Lasts at least a week in a vase.

Creamy white quince flowers. Chaenomeles Yukigoten. A sprawling shrub which is best trained along a sheltered wall. Flowers are sadly not frost-hardy and have to be protected with sheets of fleece. Good for pollinators. Worth the effort of protecting the blooms.

Lady’s smock, or Cardamine pratensis. In flower in the boggy area around the horseshoe pond. This year we have seen more orange tip butterflies than ever before. Lady’s smock is a food plant for the caterpillars. Also known as milk maids, moon flower and cuckoo flower. Sadly, there are no cuckoos again this year. The last time we heard them was five years ago.

Cowslips have taken over from daffodils, flowering in the leafmould under the field maple trees in the wild garden.

For a few glorious days, emerging field maple leaves glow a bright emerald green. It’s a sight to gladden the heart.

Finally, we will be accompanied by Daphne ( speckled hen) Daisy and Dot, and Merlin the cockerel, as they search for slugs in the cut flower patch. If we are very lucky, there will be eggs for tea!

Happy Garden Day everybody!

Thanks, as ever, for reading my blog. Please leave comments in the box below the hashtags, right at the bottom of this post. Or click on ‘comments’ under the headline and the box will drop down.

Prize draw winner: ‘herb/a cook’s companion’ by Mark Diacono

May 5, 2021 / karen / 3 Comments

Thank you everyone for reading my review of Mark Diacono’s latest book and for taking part in the prize draw.

The winner is Suzanne! Names were placed in a hat and the winning name was selected randomly.

There are more book give-aways to follow and some gardening tools and equipment too. Thanks again for reading and leaving comments.

My book review was posted here: https://bramblegarden.com/2021/04/30/herb-a-cooks-companion-book-review/

Some photos from the book: Herbs to grow. Fenugreek

Bread and butter pudding- with a herb twist to the recipe

Herb/ a cook’s companion. Book Review

April 30, 2021May 4, 2021 / karen / 28 Comments

By Mark Diacono

Published by Quadrille, an imprint of Hardie Grant Publishing

RRP £26 Published spring 2021. Hardback. 272 pages

ISBN 978 1 78713 6359

Reading corner in the orchard, currently under cherry and pear blossom

At about five or six, I was given the task of ‘collecting the mint.’ My grandmother, who was cooking lunch, had a huge patch of mint in her farm garden. Basket in hand, I carefully plucked the sprigs of mint and laid them neatly in rows, tips all the same way. No higgledy piggledy stems for me. Even at that young age, I took things seriously. Given a task, I wanted to do it right. I smile now, looking back at what a serious little girl I was. The first grandchild, surrounded by adults, there were no siblings or cousins for five years. I listened intently to all the adults talking and took in every word. Through their conversations, I formed a view of the world. Many years later I can still hear their voices quietly reporting the day’s events, whispering a neighbour’s misfortune, a sadness, a death. Murmuring sorrow for some, and joy for another- a wedding, a birth, some good fortune achieved. Conversations at the kitchen table brought the world into the home. I listened and learned, but cocooned in the routine of work, gardening, farming, cooking and eating, nothing appeared to change for us. It seemed as if everything happened to other people, but my world stayed the same, stable and safe.

The scent of fresh-picked mint still has the power to transport me back to happy childhood days. My mint was sprinkled over home grown new potatoes, tiny and white, as shiny as pebbles, with creamy home-churned butter and a sprinkle of grainy salt. Something so simple, delicious and ultimately, memorable.

This last 12 months, many of us have found comfort in baking. Focussing on the past, perhaps I’ve attempted to bring back the security and safety I felt as a child. I’ve found myself cooking hearty soups, casseroles, and vegetable pies. The spicy, buttery Welsh cakes my Welsh grandmother cooked on a griddle. Rice puddings, fruit crumbles and sponge cakes. Separated from family and friends, these old favourite recipes have been a comforting presence. Sights, sounds and scents of cooking, recalled as if they were only yesterday.

However, we have now emerged from lockdown, and I’m looking for a new way forward. I’m keen to try new recipes and new ideas. I’m eager to welcome family and friends back into my home and garden and I’m looking forward to making new memories for them- and for me. While not forgetting all the echoes from the past.

Mark Diacono’s new book ‘Herb, a cook’s companion’ is a good starting place. Recipes such as Lemon Thyme and Leek Tart have a rich butter and egg pastry base with a leek and cream filling. Lemon thyme leaves and nutmeg add a delicious twist to a familiar recipe.

Here’s my first attempt. I must admit, it’s not perfect. My pastry needed to be folded over more firmly, as the lovely egg filling escaped over the side. My second attempt was better and everything held firm. I’ve never thought of adding herbs to the pasty base before, and it was a triumph. The lovely buttery lemon-thyme pastry melts in the mouth. A perfect complement to the leek and creme fraiche filling. Again, adding nutmeg and bay leaves lifts this recipe out of the ordinary. It looks beautiful too. Presentation is something I’m trying to improve on. This looks as good as it tastes and received thumbs up from the family.

Greek Herb Pie.

Mark says: “This Greek summer favourite, aka Spanakopita, is so worth making a delicious regular. Heavy with spinach, salty feta and crisp laminations of filo, it’s as good cold as hot, early in the day as late. This version nudges the spinach (which can be a bit of a grump at times) towards the cheerful with the brightness of dill and mint in generous quantities, and parsley anchoring the leeks to the cheese. A delight.”

Herb Soda Bread

A buttermilk, oat and wholemeal flour bread, with a small bunch of chives or sweet cicely, or either of the savories, finely chopped.

Lemon Lavender Meringues

A twist on the usual meringue recipe. Between 5 and 8 lavender heads are whizzed with caster sugar in a spice grinder and added to whisked egg whites and lemon zest.

Fig Leaf and Lemon Verbena Rice Pudding.

Even my family favourite rice pudding is given a new lease of life with the addition of fig-leaf infused milk and lemon verbena leaves. Such a lovely change from the usual.

The book covers how to grow and harvest herbs and how to preserve them in sugar, vinegar, oil and salt, and how to dry and freeze them.

There’s comprehensive coverage of choosing what to grow, how to grow herbs from seed, taking cuttings, propagation and planting out. There’s full plant descriptions of many popular herbs such as anise hyssop, Korean mint, basil, bay, chervil, chives and parsley for example. Then there’s suggestions for more unusual plants such as shiso or perilla – which I’ve always grown as a purple ornamental bedding plant. Seems it can be added to salads and used with recipes containing aubergines, grilled or barbecue prawns, and with eggs and avocado. I shall experiment!

Following the growing section, there’s recipes featuring soups and side dishes, main meals, puddings, biscuits and drinks. There’s something surely to please everyone – especially people like me, looking for a special dish to make for friends and family, as we start to reconnect.

The publishers have kindly offered one copy to give away. Please leave a comment in the box below to be included in the prize draw. A winner will be randomly selected. International entries are welcome.

Please look back on Wednesday 5th May to check if you have won a copy. I’ll announce it on the blog. (Please do not give out your address or any other details to anyone. Be aware of scams.)

Have you found cooking a source of comfort over the lockdown times? Are you, like me, looking to try something new this year, as we start to feel more positive and move forward. Get in touch and let me know your thoughts. And thank you, as ever, for reading my blog. It’s always appreciated.

* comments box is right at the bottom of the blog, past all the hashtags. Or click on ‘comments’ under the headline.

Quick link for Garden News Magazine Readers – Peach Crumble Cake- and spring flowers 10 April 2021

April 10, 2021April 10, 2021 / karen / 15 Comments

Here’s a quick link to the recipe mentioned in this week’s Garden News Magazine. Let me know if you make my peach crumble cake. The recipe is great with tinned or fresh peaches, apples, plums, cherries, rhubarb and blueberries- anything you have to hand. Thanks for reading my garden diary column and for all your lovely kind comments and encouragement. It’s always appreciated.

Peaches and Plums – Crumble and Plum Jam

Some more photos from my April garden diary. Enjoy the spring flowers- and new additions to the garden, Merlin the cockerel, and Daphne, Daisy and Dot bantam hens.

Here they are, enjoying a dust bath. They soon found a cosy corner in the garden where I’d piled some old compost. Perfect for their favourite daily activity. I love the contented little sounds they make as they swoosh compost into the air in all directions. Hens are certainly messy creatures.

Here’s Merlin, searching for slugs, snails and grubs in the veg plot. I’m hoping they will help me with my organic gardening, no chemicals- approach.

I’m not forgetting Monty kitten, looking quite windswept as he sits on his favourite look-out post on top of the boat cover.

The greenhouse – with barely and inch to spare. I can just about still get in there.

The poly tunnel swathed in fleece as we hit -3.5C two nights in a row. It’s currently 7C at lunchtime with a freezing icy wind and sleet. The old peach trees are flowering despite the cold. I’ll have to pollinate them with a paintbrush. There’s no bees about in these cold temperatures.

Despite the cold, daffodils are looking lovely. So cheerful.

My favourite narcissus Snow Baby looking lovely in spring pots planted three years ago and still going strong.

My new spring pot with ‘instant’ plants from the garden centre. Cheering up the front doorstep.

Wild anemones flowering in the mini woodland garden. Bluebells are just starting to raise their heads above big strappy leaves and potted Lily of the Valley is scenting the potting shed.

A few flowers fresh picked from the veg plot.

My wild Tenby daffodils, flowering around the pond, still look good at dusk. These are planted in memory of my Welsh grandmother, HM Foulds. A very reliable and hardy daffodil, highly recommend.

You might like to read my last post here: https://bramblegarden.com/2021/04/08/garden-news-column-spring-flowers-and-peach-crumble-cake-april-8-2021/

Thanks for reading. Enjoy your weekend, and hopefully the weather will improve where you are soon.

I’m @kgimson on twitter and karengimson1 on instagram live.

Garden News Column, Spring Flowers and Peach Crumble Cake. April 8 2021.

April 8, 2021April 10, 2021 / karen / 22 Comments

Bulbs and spring bedding plants are making me smile, after such a long, cold winter. I couldn’t get out last autumn to buy any plants, so I’ve reached spring with nothing to put into containers. But restrictions have lifted- and I’ve had my jab (hurray!) and I’m able to get out there! I can’t adequately describe the shear delight of actually being able to visit a plant nursery and buy a few flowers. Never in my life did I think such a simple thing as going out and buying plants would be so joyful- and appreciated. I’ll never take it forgranted again. Never.

I bought some potted anemone blanda, Bridal Crown narcissus and bellis daisies. I didn’t go mad with my first trip out. Every plant was savoured, the scent enjoyed, the colours marvelled at. I set the Bridal Crown in the centre of a favourite terracotta pot, and nestled the anemones and bellis daisies around the edge. Bridal Crown is perfect for a centrepiece as it’s multi -headed, which means it flowers for a long time. The stems twist and turn in different directions, giving a fountain-like centre to any pot. Anemones have a charming habit of scrambling between the narcissus stems and filling the gaps. Bellis daisies are just so cheerful. I particularly love the double pomponette types. All in all, my plants have provided a much-needed breath of spring, and the containers are cheering up my front doorstep and all the garden table tops, just in case we have visitors, which is now allowed. It will feel strange to have friends and family walking around my plot, after a whole 12 months without anyone visiting.

Here’s this week’s Garden News article, mentioning my treasured plant pots.

Peach Crumble Cake Recipe can be found here:

https://bramblegarden.com/2017/08/22/peaches-and-plums-crumble-and-jam/

And more photos of the containers, which have survived two windswept nights of -3.5C temperatures.

The scent is wonderful.

Just planted. Instant plants can be put together to make a colourful display. No one would know the containers hadn’t been planted last autumn.

Anemone blanda, mixed blues and whites.

I popped in two large anemone coronaria. I would usually grow all these bulbs myself, starting them off in September and October. But there’s so much choice at the garden centres, you can easily catch up now, and they don’t cost a fortune.

Bulbs and corms usually from https://taylors-bulbs.com/

Blue anemone coronaria. I love the inky black centres. Bees love them too.

Bellis Daisy. I usually grow these from seed. Mr Fothergills have this variety: https://www.mr-fothergills.co.uk/Flower-Seed/Bellis-Goliath-Mixed.html?ccode=F21PGP&gclid=CjwKCAjw07qDBhBxEiwA6pPbHkNeoDM1SLR8gcldYQP_rNdLZWfQ9HtAJHyWNs49sqz6to8sDiHbthoCV0oQAvD_BwE

Here’s the Superseed Trays I mention in the article. I’m trying to reduce my use of flimsy plastic trays which are not recyclable. The plastic breaks down to smaller and smaller pieces and gets into rivers and streams and out to the ocean.

https://superseedtrays.co.uk/

Behind them there’s a Bustaseed tray, made from recyclable plastic. Again, with divided module cells which can be lifted out without disturbing plant roots. These will be useful for taking cuttings.

https://www.bustaseed.com/

More details of Whinnypoo manure Tea. Very easy to use and it’s making my lemon trees green up beautifully after a long cold winter.

https://www.whinnypoo.com/

I love trying new products and I’m always amazed by the ingenuity of new business enterprises.

I’ve adopted a rescue cockerel. His days were numbered as there were too many cockerels where he came from. Sadly, if you hatch out chicks, some of them with obviously be cockerels and then they become unwanted. I’ve named him Merlin because he has the most gorgeous petrol -coloured feathers. And he has magiced his way into my life, just when I needed something to make me smile again. He’s now been joined by three beautiful bantam hens, so he’s in heaven here.

And finally, the latest photo of my lockdown kitten Monty. He’s been a constant source of joy since arriving here last summer. Hasn’t he grown into a beautiful boy. He’s enormous and very fluffy, but he has such a kind and gentle temperament. And he’s always by my side, keeping me company in the garden.

How are you all doing? Are any of you managing to get out and about and see friends and family again? It’s a while since I last wrote on here. We had several very sad deaths amongst friends and family. The latest being a dear friend, Jo, who died just six weeks after a diagnosis of cancer. We will be attending her virtual funeral on Friday, and I’ll be planting a tree in her memory.

Take care everyone, and thank you for reading and for your friendship and kind comments. This has not been an easy time for any of us, but there’s always hope for the future.

I’m @kgimson on twitter

Karengimson1 on instagram.

Lemon Crunch Triangles Recipe

February 24, 2021February 24, 2021 / karen / 16 Comments

Temperatures are reaching 16C here today, just a week after snow and lows of -5. I’m working in the garden in shirt sleeves. Heavy coats and warm jumpers are left indoors. My lemon trees in the greenhouse have started to grow and I’m feeding and watering them now. They have been relatively dry over the winter. To promote more flower and fruit, I’m harvesting all the lemons and making cakes and biscuits. Spare fruit can easily be frozen whole and microwaved when juice and zest is needed.

Here’s a tasty recipe for a February pick-me-up. You can eat these lemon crunch triangles on their own with a cup of tea, or add vanilla icecream. They can also be frozen. I’m making some for now, and a batch for when we can open up the garden for visits from friends and family. I can hardly wait to see everyone! This has been a long winter and one we will never forget. I’m making videos of the garden to send to my mum, and to relatives and staff in the care home, to give them a flavour of spring. They can’t get out to see any flowers are the moment, so the videos of our snowdrops, hellebores and crocus are an escape to the outdoors for them. You can see the videos over on instagram where I am karengimson1.

Let me know what spring flowers are growing in your gardens. Are you cooking anything new this week? Freezing temperatures are due to return by the weekend, so I won’t be putting anything delicate outdoors just yet. But it’s lovely to see all these jewel-like spring flowers, and fresh lemons from greenhouse are very welcome indeed.

Here’s a link to my recipe for lemon crunch triangles:

https://bramblegarden.com/2019/02/08/lemon-crunch-triangles-family-favourite-recipes/

February Recipes : Pear and Almond Pastries

February 20, 2021February 20, 2021 / karen / 33 Comments

I’m making these again today. I opened the kitchen cupboards and there was literally nothing cheerful in there! No biscuits, chocolate, cake. We’ve run out of everything. I wonder if we will look back on these times and ponder how we lived through this pandemic and learned to appreciate the simple things in life. I shall certainly never take for granted being able to just pop to the shops. Everything has to be so well organised. Lists on top of lists. All food is being delivered, for which I’m extremely grateful. But, oh, the dismay at discovering that I’ve forgotten something- just as I’ve pressed the button to order supplies. It’ll be a week before I can get another delivery. We do see an end in sight with vaccines on the way, so keep going everyone. Keep smiling. And make pastries, as there’s nothing nicer to cheer you up than the sight of these lovely tasty treats. Any fruit can be used, they are just as lovely with apples, frozen plums, raspberries, tinned peaches – any combination you like. Let me know what recipes are keeping you cheered up, and report back if you make any of these delicious pastries too.

Here’s the link for the recipe: https://bramblegarden.com/2020/11/02/pear-and-almond-pastries-family-favourite-recipes/

And a photo of spring flowers to bring some joy as well:

White primulas. My favourites. Though I have seen some deep red double varieties mixed in with burnt orange which might look lovely in a blue China casserole dish…. if only I could get out to buy some.

Narcissi Geranium and cut flower collection tulips from last spring. All my tulips are poking through the ground now, and daffodils are in bud and flowering early. The veg patch is covered in forgetmenots. I use them as a green mulch to protect the soil and keep down weeds. Some are potted up to stand on the summerhouse steps. They are very easy to dig up as they have a shallow, fibrous root system. They do well when lifted and grown on in containers.

Daffodils make a very welcome return. I’ve watered them with potash or tomato fertiliser, having taken advice from a medal-winning grower. The liquid feed helps to strengthen the stems and enhances the colour, making them stronger and brighter. A good tip as we regularly seem to be getting stormy spring weather. It’s so sad to see daffodils flattened by the wind.

Eranthis hyemalis – winter aconite in the woodland garden. They won’t last long as temperatures are currently 13C.

Green-tipped Galanthus Viridapice looking pretty on the potting shed window. Snowdrops too have been a very welcome and joyous sight. But in the mild weather, they have opened right out and will be going over sooner than usual. I shall water these too with weak tomato fertiliser in the hope of boosting the size of the bulbs and increase the number of flowers for next year.

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

*I’m trying something new- doing Instagram live sessions from the greenhouse every day, essentially to keep in touch with my Mum and MIL Joan, and also to show my daughters how to grow plants from seed. Under normal circumstances I would be by their side helping them with their new houses and first gardens. But I can’t while we are in lockdown, so I’m doing what I can from home. I’m karengimson1 on instagram.

Apple and Berry Crumble Cakes – Recipe

February 1, 2021February 5, 2021 / karen / 11 Comments

If you are reading this week’s Garden New Magazine (February 6 edition) here is the recipe I mention for apple crumble cakes. Our stored apples usually last until the end of February, but the autumn, and winter up until Christmas, was so mild the fruit started to go soft. I sliced and froze some of the apples, and turned the rest into delicious little cakes. These too can be frozen and will thaw within a few minutes, or defrost in a microwave. Let me know if any of you try the recipe, and how you get on with it. I’ve added frozen blackberries and raspberries to my cakes. Or you can just make them with apples on their own. All equally tasty. It’s lovely to have something reminding us of summer – right in the middle of winter.

You’ll need three or four apples, and a handful of berries, if using them. Use what you have. Equally good using tinned or fresh peaches, plums, blueberries, apricots, pears. It’s a very versatile recipe, using up store cupboard and frozen fruit.

I’ve made mine in silicone muffin trays, but you could just make one large cake and slice it. Use oat milk and egg substitute for vegans.

Muffins cook in 25 to 30 minutes. But check they are cooked through.

We store the apples wrapped in newspaper in the unheated glass porch and potting shed.

There was a good harvest from the orchard last autumn. Plenty of apples and pears.

I’ve been making apple crumbles all winter. Such a simple dish, so lovely and warming on a cold day.

Thanks for reading and getting in touch. I’ve started doing live videos from the greenhouse over on instagram as a way of keeping in touch with family and friends.

I’m karengimson1 on instagram

And @kgimson on twitter

Update: Sue Appleton on twitter used blackberry jam instead of berries and sent this message:

A walk around my garden 26 Jan 2021

January 26, 2021January 26, 2021 / karen / 30 Comments

I thought you’d like a calming walk around the garden today. We’ve had snow for two days now, but it is starting to melt. It’s currently 3C and rain is forecast. Snow covers a multitude of sins. You can’t see the brambles or stinging nettles. I’ve made a start on tackling the thickets- they have grown up in only three years of neglect. It’s interesting to see how nature is always trying to reclaim the garden. Always trying to take back what we’ve borrowed. We only carve out this place for a short while.

Bellis daisies. In flower despite the cold. We planted some in pots years ago and they’ve seeded about the plot. They pop up in borders, the gravel paths, and in small colonies in the lawn. I rather like them for their tenacity. Stamp on them (accidentally) and they do not flinch.

By the front door there’s a patch of Algerian iris (Iris unguicularis). It grows in the gravel spilling over from the path. There is no soil here. And yet, with minimum fuss and no maintenance, it flowers its heart out from October to March. Friends say it can be difficult to grow, so I’m grateful for my little patch of thriving iris. Last year it produced this pretty lilac sport. The mother plant is deep purple. I love it when plants suddenly do the unexpected. Don’t you?

The bank of wild cherry trees look like charcoal drawings in the snow. They are full of buds. I’ll cut a few twiggy branches and bring them into the house. They’ll flower readily in the heat of the kitchen. One way to bring spring forwards a little. It’s cheating, I know, but I can’t resist.

More trees surround the wildlife pond. It’s wonderful to think we are only four weeks to seeing frogspawn in the pond. Spring always starts for me when we see frogs again. You can learn more about frogs by following Froglife, a wildife charity dedicated to the conservation of frogs, toads, newts, snakes and lizards.

Here’s the link https://www.froglife.org/

We are seeing a lot more deer in our area. We think they might be Sitka deer. Sometimes I just catch sight of them out of the corner of my eye. They are almost like ghosts, drifting silently along the dark hedgerows. They seem to blend into the shadows and become part of the landscape. Sometimes, in spring, if we are really lucky, we’ll come across a fawn in the long grass. The mother is never far away, and we tiptoe quietly away, so as not to startle her.

We’ve turned the summerhouse towards the sun. Amazingly, it’s quite warm in there. Such a well-made building, insulated with thick, wavy-edge oak. They knew how to build in the 1930s. We are grateful for our sturdy and peaceful sanctuary. It’s the perfect place to sit for a while and read, or watch the birds. Sometimes we see a fox. At dusk, a barn owl quarters the back field. They hunt methodically, searching for prey by flying back and forth. We worry when the weather is stormy and wet, as it increasingly is nowadays. Barn owls have no waterproofing. Their soft feathers help them to fly almost silently, but it’s at the expense of being weatherproof. They struggle to hunt and find food in the rain. One heartbreaking evening last summer, we saw the female out in heavy rain. She looked off balance, her flight hampered by the wind. We watched as she wobbled and barely made it over the top of the hedge. Desperation must have driven her out in poor weather. She had two chicks to feed. Later, the farmer who checks the nests, found only one chick had survived.

I’ll leave you with two happy photos. Snowdrops always make me feel hopeful. They return every year, whatever is happening in the world around them.

And this beautiful glass ‘vase’ of flowers- a present from a kind friend. Certainly. We are all looking for anything that brings joy at the moment. Thank goodness for kindness, friends and family. And for flowers which always make us smile.

Let me know how you are all getting on. Are you managing to sow any seeds or do any gardening yet. Take care everyone. And thank you for reading.

I’m on instagram at karengimson1 and twitter @kgimson. Come over and say hello!

January in the Garden

January 7, 2021January 7, 2021 / karen / 19 Comments

Here I am, pottering about in my garden again. I must say, the weeks fly by and it’s soon time to write another column for Garden News Magazine.

I hope you enjoy today’s article. I’ve had some lovely letters of support from readers saying my ‘potterings’ have kept them upbeat and busy during the pandemic. I’m pleased to see many readers have been inspired to have a go at different gardening techniques, or decided to grow something new. And many say the recipes are tasty, and always turn out well. What a relief!

Here’s some additional photos the editor didn’t use for the column. It’s fascinating to see which ones they choose. I submit about 10 for them to select from. It takes about a day to decide what to write about, take the photos and then actually sit down and compose the piece. It’s 350 words – which is actually quite a challenge. I try to say a lot in not many words. I edit it three times before I send it, taking out any spare words each time. What a luxury it is to write the blog. No one is checking the word count on here.

My hazel plant supports in the snow. New rods have replaced any that snapped, and have been woven along the centre to add strength. We seem to be getting stormier summers, so plant supports have to be extra sturdy.

Some sweet peas I grew last summer. I’ve sown some in autumn, but the second sowing now will provide plants that flower right through to November. Successional sowing extends the season.

Seeds come from https://www.mr-fothergills.co.uk/Flower-Seed/Sweet-Pea-Seed/#.X_dxARDfWfA.

And https://www.visiteaston.co.uk/shop/gardening/seeds/easton-walled-gardens-mix.

Here’s a photo of ‘Sunshine’ climbing French beans. Highly recommended, easy to grow and prolific. We have a freezer full, and they only take a few minutes to cook from frozen. All the flavour and goodness is captured for tasty winter meals. I’ll be starting my bean seed in May. Don’t start them off too early as they cannot be planted out until the first week of June. If sown too early, they become leggy and weak. They are very fast growing.

Bean seeds come from https://www.mr-fothergills.co.uk/Pea-and-Bean-Seeds/Climbing-Bean-Seeds/Climbing-French-Bean-Sunshine.html#.X_dw0hDfWfA

Here’s a larger photo of the willow heart flower arrangement in the potting shed window. It’s made from Paperwhite narcissi, alstroemeria from the poly tunnel and dried gypsophila and honesty seeds from summer. The foliage is eucalyptus saved from Christmas floral arrangements. Flowers are held in a jam jar covered in moss which has garden string twined around it, kokadama -style. We are all trying to do without florists’ foam, and using jam jars, and tiny glass test tubes works really well.

See more ideas, join zoom -and in person lessons- with Georgie Newbery at Common Farm Flowers : https://www.commonfarmflowers.com/collections/workshops

Paperwhites came from Gee-Tee Bulbs https://www.gee-tee.co.uk/

Gypsophila and honesty seeds from https://higgledygarden.com/

I mention new birds boxes. I wrote about CJ Wildlife supplies here: https://bramblegarden.com/2019/01/30/nest-boxes-and-bird-feeders-for-the-garden/

The RSPB nesting material is from: https://shopping.rspb.org.uk/nest-box-accessories/nesting-wool-refill.html

And finally, the rhubarb upside down cake recipe can be found here: https://bramblegarden.com/2020/04/18/rhubarb-cakes-family-favourite-recipes/

Thank you for reading and getting in touch. It’s much appreciated. And a very Happy New Year to you all.

I’m @kgimson on twitter

Karengimson1 on instagram

Do say hello on social media.

Birthday, Christmas and Anytime-Presents for Gardeners

December 16, 2020January 26, 2021 / karen / 14 Comments

Just a few of my favourite things. Send vouchers if you can’t get deliveries in time. After the 12 months we have had, I’m looking through and choosing a few items for myself. But I think we all deserve a treat or two. Don’t you agree?

Feel free to add your favourites in the comments below, and I’ll add them too. I’ve not been paid to recommend anything. Views, as usual, are my own. Keep this list handy all year round. I’ll be adding to it from time to time.

EASTON WALLED GARDENS

Easton Walled Gardens. Sells lovely little tins of sweet pea seed including heritage varieties, gardening gloves, twine, plant supports and all manner of gardening treats. There’s tickets for the snowdrop festival- or why not buy an annual pass. Worth more than one visit, all year round.

https://www.visiteaston.co.uk/shop

ORCHIDS

Orchids by post. High quality plants from the UK’s largest grower of phalaenopsis orchids. I like to support UK growers and these have proved to be reliable suppliers. Plants are well-grown and carefully packaged for posting. Beautifully displayed in glass vases and troughs.

https://shop.loveorchids.co.uk/

PIPPA GREENWOOD

Why not buy a voucher for a veg patch- whatever size of plot you have. I’ve had plants from Pippa Greenwood before and they are beautifully fresh and well packaged. The best aspect of buying from Pippa is the e mail guides that accompany the kits giving expert hints and tips on getting the best out of your plants. Highly recommended. Good value.

https://pippagreenwood.com/product/grow-your-own-gift-card-pack-c/

GEORGIE NEWBERY FLOWERS AND COURSES

Photo credit: Common Farm

Floristry courses, how to be a flower farmer, growing wedding flowers, and a multitude of other wonderful inspirational floral courses are on offer at Common Farm Flowers. Georgie Newbery is running the courses in person in Somerset, and delightfully, you can now also join in from anywhere in the world, via zoom courses.

I wrote about taking part in one of the courses here: https://bramblegarden.com/tag/onlinecourse/

To buy vouchers, flowers etc : https://www.commonfarmflowers.com/collections/workshops

GENUS GARDENWEAR

Cotswold-based Genus Gardenwear has been making quality clothing and accessories since 2013. Well respected amongst gardeners, the clothing helps keep us warm and dry. Well made and long lasting. Above is the women’s Eden gardening jersey. There’s also silk liner gloves, merino wool wrist and neck warmers- amongst other clothing items. Also on the website, there’s Japanese secateurs and Hori Hori tools.

Beautiful seed packets and greeting cards. Gift cards start at £10.

https://www.genus.gs/

BURGON AND BALL

Everything I’ve had from Burgon and Ball has been good quality. Tools and equipment are well made and long lasting. Something for every budget.

https://www.burgonandball.com/pages/gardening-gifts

BELVOIR FLOWER AND GARDEN SHOW

Advance tickets are on sale for the Belvoir Castle Flower and Garden Show. A lovely event held alongside the picturesque lake, set in the Capability Brown landscape. Plants and gardening equipment on sale, gardens to view, and horticultural talks to enjoy. A highlight of the summer calendar. 17-18 July 2021.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-belvoir-castle-flower-and-garden-show-17th-18th-of-july-2021-tickets-131319563349

Read more about the show here: https://m.facebook.com/BFGFJuly/

AQUAPROOF CLOTHING

Warm and waterproof clothing for gardeners. I haven’t tried these yet, but they are on my Christmas wish list. One thing I hate is to be cold and wet when I’m out and about. These look well made and stylish too.

https://aquaproofs.com/

THE LAUNDRY RETREAT – NORTH WALES

I’ve followed Tom and Jenny’s progress from start to finish creating a dream retreat at their beautiful North Wales home. I’ve earmarked a visit for myself and Mum as soon as we can travel. Vouchers for a holiday would be a welcome present for anyone, particularly garden-lovers, as Jenny has a dream garden alongside the roundhouse retreat.

https://thelaundryretreatnorthwales.co.uk/

ORGANIC PLANT FOOD -RICHARD JACKSON

This is what I used for my greenhouse and cut flower garden this year, and the results were fabulous. Everything grew robustly and flowers seemed to last longer. Using organic feed is important to me. I don’t want to kill beneficial insects, or poison the hedgehogs. Because plants were well grown and healthier, they were better able to fight off pest and diseases, and I didn’t need to use any chemicals. I’ll be ordering more for next season.

https://www.richardjacksonsgarden.co.uk/product-category/planting-feeding/

THE NGS – NATIONAL GARDEN SCHEME

The NGS has had a difficult year with most garden visits cancelled due to covid. One way to help is to buy something from the website. There’s cards, notebooks, aprons and tea towels, for example. Also look out for zoom lectures of NGS gardens. It all helps the NGS support nursing charities. I’ll be giving a zoom lecture next spring, talking about how to get colour and interest in the garden 12 months of the year.

https://ngs.org.uk/product-category/merchandise/

RAINBOWS HOSPICE

Rainbows Hospice helps children and young people who have life-limiting illnesses. They are £1 million down on fund raising due to covid lockdown and restrictions. Buy something from their website, or make a donation in the name of a friend or family member. You’ll be helping a wonderful charity doing essential work.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/rainbowshospiceshop

https://www.rainbows.co.uk/ways-you-can-help/shop

Buttonbury Bags

I treated myself to this gorgeous bag this summer. It’s beautifully made and I love using it. It’s hand -made in Shropshire. I like to support local businesses. Good value and unique.

https://www.buttonburycrafts.co.uk/

GOLD LEAF GLOVES

I’ve found these to be the best gardening gloves available. The gauntlets protect my hands from brambles and thorns. Comfortable and hard wearing. They make gardening a pleasure when there’s painful weeds to tackle, or rambling roses to prune.

http://www.goldleaf-gloves.com/drytouch.htm

GREENWORKS LAWNMOWER

I found this small, compact and lightweight lawnmower a dream to use. No pull cord start. No electric cable to trip over. No running-out-of-petrol to worry about. Just an easy to use battery -powered machine. The 48V machine has a 35cm cutting path and a 40ltr grass collector. It has a fold-down handle for easy storage. It will cut 250m2 on a single charge. The battery can be used for 21 other tools in the Greenworks range, including a hedge trimmer, line trimmer, and leaf blower. More are listed on the website. As regular readers know, my youngest daughter is a nurse, often working on covid wards. To protect us, she could not come home at all. Luckily she managed to buy her own house this summer, and we gave her this mower to help her look after her first garden. It makes cutting the grass a quick and easy task, which is really important if you’ve spent 12.5 hours on your feet working.https://www.greenworkstools.co.uk/product/40v-35cm-lawn-mower/

NIWAKI

I reviewed the Hori Hori here : https://bramblegarden.com/2020/07/10/niwaki-tools-review-and-some-garden-snips-to-give-away-gardening/

Buy from here : https://www.niwaki.com/store/hori-hori/

Garden News Magazine

A magazine subscription is such good value. There’s often free seeds. And you get the chance to peek into my greenhouse, potting shed and poly tunnel once a month, as I write a regular column all about what I’m growing on the plot.

https://www.greatmagazines.co.uk/garden-news-magazine?gclid=CjwKCAiA_eb-BRB2EiwAGBnXXmwcVhWNwLRIEx6Z9oW6jtqzkmpWu2C4E1lgcJIoLUvkgE78yeJU5xoCBMEQAvD_BwE

HENCHMAN LADDERS

One piece of equipment I could not have managed without this year is my Henchman ladder. No more wobbling about on unsafe steps. This one is solid and stable, with wide steps, side grab bars and a platform at the top for tools and baskets. The tripod shape means you can get closer to the tree, shrub or climber you are working on. No need to stand sidewards and lean over to work. Much safer to face forwards. It means I’ve been able to reach the top of my fruit trees safely in a year when all the fruit was needed, and it felt as if nothing should be wasted. Trees have been properly pruned for the first time in years. And now we are using the ladder to put up Christmas lights. No more swaying at the top of step ladders!

https://www.henchman.co.uk/winter-offer.html?gclid=CjwKCAiA_eb-BRB2EiwAGBnXXne0Otc_s-oPnxdWoe41YfH1j3HZ4Dhv2-SOl-DgsWoChSv4tk8lgRoCg04QAvD_BwE

HEDGEHOG BARN

We love this little hedgehog house from WildlifeWorld . And what’s more our hedgehogs do too, as we have a nice plump hedgehog in residence! The hedgehog barn won new product of the year at the virtual Glee awards in Birmingham this year. It’s well-designed with FSC -certified timber, weather proof, and strong enough to keep hedgehogs safe from predators.

https://wildlifeworld.co.uk/products/the-hedgehog-barn

BIRD BOXES – THE POSH SHED COMPANY

While on the subject of helping wildlife in our gardens, these bird boxes are well-made and look beautiful.

https://www.theposhshedcompany.co.uk/posh_gardening

EDIBLE FLOWERS

Adds that special touch to your cakes and biscuits. Especially beautiful on wedding cakes (my daughters – please take note!)

https://maddocksfarmorganics.co.uk/maddocks-farm-organics

BUY A ROSE.

Rose of the year 2021 – Belle de Jour

This has become my favourite rose this year. Flowers start bright yellow and fade to myriad apricot shades. There’s a lovely fruity scent, and flowers open out enough for bees to access the pollen, so it’s good for wildlife too.

Our rose came from Pococks Roses. Well packaged with eco-friendly materials. Compostable bags and cardboard. A sturdy, disease-resistant rose. Highly recommended.

https://www.garden-roses.co.uk/shop/BELLE-DE-JOUR-floribunda-M1518

CAKES AND BROWNIES BY POST

Just received a parcel (from my brother and sister-in law ) of the most delicious brownies I’ve ever tasted. Sadly they are sold out for Christmas, but keep hold of the details, and remember them for birthdays, weddings, thank-yous, friendship. Highly recommended. Ours was the classic brownie. I’m going to try salted caramel next!

https://bowlandwhisk.co.uk/

CHOCOLATES BY POST

While we are talking about food, I’ve also just received a gorgeous box of salted caramels from a dear friend. It was just what the doctor ordered today, as I was starting to flag somewhat. These picked-me-up no end.

Beautifully packaged. Wonderful ingredients. Simply delicious.

https://www.bchocolates.co.uk/online-shop

CLAUDIA De YONG

Aprons, garden baskets, trugs, garden labels, garden tools, watering cans, garden bags. Stylish and rather lovely gifts for gardeners. A range of prices to suit all pockets.

https://shop.claudiadeyongdesigns.com/product-category/the-garden/

VISIT CHENIES MANOR HOUSE

One of the UK’s finest Tudor mansion houses. Grade 1 listed. Magnificent, inspirational gardens. Gift ideas include annual membership, guided tours, afternoon tea. See website for offers.

https://www.cheniesmanorhouse.co.uk/about/

PROPAGATORS

I have a Vitopod propagator, a present from a friend. I use it with grow lights, which stops seedlings becoming leggy. I start off all my flower and vegetables seeds in it, and have never had any problems with the kit.

https://www.greenhousesensation.co.uk/vitopod-heated-propagator-bundles.html/

Do add any of your own suggestions in the comments below. This year we have all shared information, hints and tips to help one another get through. Gardening has been a great distraction from all the problems we’ve faced. And we are all looking forward to a better 2021, full of flowers, fruit, vegetables – and quite a bit of garden visiting, I hope.

Wishing you all a wonderful, happy Christmas. Thank you for reading and keeping me company this past year. It’s been much appreciated.

You are amongst 100,000 people who have read my blog posts. I’m truly grateful.

I’m @kgimson on twitter and karengimson1 on instagram.

Links:

Reader Sophie Boxall recommends Hive and Well https://www.thehiveandwellcompany.co.uk/

And Nutscene twine: https://nutscene.com/collections/twines

Christmas Cake Recipe

December 14, 2020December 14, 2020 / karen / 13 Comments

For my daughters, who are making their own Christmas cakes this year.

I stand on this lane, and what I want more than anything else in the world is to see your cars driving this way. But it is not to be. We must all keep to our own homes, until we’ve had a vaccine, which hopefully will be soon. I’m so proud of you both. Not a single complaint has been heard this year. Things have not been easy for you, but you’ve taken everything in your stride and met every challenge with courage and determination. I’m so heartened to see you have both turned into such capable young women. Keep strong, as I know you will. And look forward to the day when we can all be together again, around our table, with grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, celebrating all the occasions we’ve missed this past year. Love Mum xx

Grandma’s Christmas Cake Recipe

9″ loose bottom cake tin, 4″ deep

Baking paper to line. Foil for the top

Oven preheated at 140C

INGREDIENTS

1lb currants

6oz sultanas

6oz raisins

2oz glacé cherries, cut in half

2oz mixed peel

Soak all the above ingredient in 3tbsp brandy overnight.

8oz plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp mixed spice

2oz chopped or flaked almonds

2oz ground almonds

8oz soft brown sugar

1 tbsp black treacle ( run spoon under boiling water so treacle won’t stick)

8 oz unsalted butter or vegetable margarine (vegan)

4 eggs, or egg substitute (vegan) lightly beaten.

1 lemon rind

1 orange rind

METHOD

Sift flour, and all dry ingredients together.

Soften butter in microwave and mix with black treacle.

Mix all ingredients together using a wooden spoon.

Make a wish!

Spoon into the prepared cake tin and place a double layer of foil on top.

Cook for 3.5 – 4 hours and check with a skewer to see if it’s cooked. The skewer will come out clean if cooked. Cook for another 30 minutes if not ready. Leave in the tin to cool for several hours or overnight. Re-wrap with fresh foil and place in a tin in a cool dry place. You can ‘feed’ the cake with table spoons of Sherry or more brandy. Make holes with a skewer and drip the alcohol over.

This cake is best made in November, but will be fine make now and iced nearer to Christmas. Add ready rolled marzipan, icing and decorate.

Have a wonderful first Christmas in your own homes. Hopefully, you’ll remember all the happy times growing up here with simple pleasures. They are always the best.

Garden News Magazine recipes for December

December 8, 2020December 9, 2020 / karen / 14 Comments

If you’ve received your copy of Garden News Magazine this week, here’s the recipes I mention in my column. Above is the summerhouse where I write my pieces, and where I sit and make my cherry marzipan chocolates.

The recipe link for Cherry Marzipan Chocolates is here :

https://bramblegarden.com/2018/12/04/family-favourite-recipes-chocolate-marzipan-cherries/

They are very quick to make and children love creating them. They make tasty home-made presents for Christmas.

I also write about Chocolate and Orange Panettone. Start saving your tins now to make these delicious treats. They are very easy to make and look beautiful. Get the children to make potato stamp labels. Be as creative as you like. Everyone can get involved.

Here’s the link: https://bramblegarden.com/2019/12/02/christmas-recipes-chocolate-panettone/

I write about turning my satsumas from the greenhouse into a liqueur. The recipe comes from Bob Flowerdew, replying to me on twitter when I asked what I could do with this year’s prolific harvest. It’s been a good summer for growing citrus. Bob always has great suggestions for what to do with produce from the garden, and is generous with his advice.

Here’s Bob’s recipe for Satsuma Liqueur :

And finally, I was talking on the radio last week, when I mentioned I was making Sloe Gin. Here’s the recipe, with thanks to garden writer Barbara Segall, who inspires me on a daily basis to try something new.

Sloe Gin

450g sloe berries -or whatever you can find. If you only have 300g, use those.

350g caster sugar

710ml gin

Kilner jar or lidded jar

Place the ripe sloe berries in the freezer to break the skins. Add all ingredients to a large kilner jar. Swirl the contents every day for a week, every week for a month, and every month for a year. Strain the gin. Use the berries for cakes or trifle.

It’s wonderful to have a bottle on the north-facing kitchen windowsill. Mine has changed colour now and it’s a joy to see. Almost like a stained glass window.

Barbara Segall has written many garden books, all highly recommended. One of my favourites is The Christmas Tree. A beautiful stocking-filler. Find out more here : https://thegardenpost.com/category/christmas-tree-book/

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/The-Christmas-Tree-book-by-Barbara-Segall-NEW-/174501320740?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

For more suggestions on books, I also recommend The Creative Kitchen by Stephanie Hafferty. I reviewed the book here:

https://bramblegarden.com/2018/11/18/the-creative-kitchen-book-review/

Here’s a link for Georgie Newbery at Common Farm Flowers for growing cut flowers, floristry and Christmas wreath workshops and courses, in person, and on-line. Vouchers make a great present for any gardener. https://www.commonfarmflowers.com/collections/workshops

Thanks for reading! Have a great week.

In a Vase on Monday- virtual flowers for Joan

December 7, 2020December 7, 2020 / karen / 20 Comments

Chrysanthemums are in full flower in the poly tunnel. They’ll provide cut flowers from now until January. I grow hardy varieties in 10″ pots. They stand out on the gravel paths, next to the greenhouse all summer. Chrysanths can cope with the cold, but wet weather spoils the flowers, so I lift the pots into the unheated poly tunnel the first week of November.

I don’t know the name of this bright yellow chrysanthemum. It came from my father-in-law Keith. He had been growing it since the 1950s, having been given a cutting from Aunty Dorris. When Keith was no longer able to garden, I took over the tradition on growing the yellow flowers for his wife, Joan. Until this year, I’ve managed to supply Joan with a bunch each week through November and December. They are her favourites. This year, covid has interrupted our plans – and I’ve had to e mail photos of the flowers instead.

I’m growing these pretty little white chrysanthemums too. These are called Stallion. They are multi -headed and last at least a fortnight, sometimes three weeks, in a vase. Flowers have a bright yellow button centre, and take on pink tinges as they age. Very useful as a filler in a bouquet.

We’ve had a message from the care home saying one family member can visit before Christmas. They will have to take a rapid covid test, sit in their car for half an hour to wait for the results, and then spend 30 minutes visiting our relatives in their own rooms. We can’t visit any communal spaces. And we still can’t take flowers, for some reason. But we can take tins of biscuits and jars of jam- anything that can be disinfected before being giving to the residents. I’m writing about it here because the blog has become a record of our times, living through this covid pandemic, and the effect it’s had on people living in care homes.

Hopefully, soon we will be able to have the vaccine and this nightmare will come to an end. I’m hopeful it won’t be long now.

Thank you for reading. I’m celebrating reaching the milestone 100,000 readers on the blog. When I started writing, I had no idea so many would read my potting shed musings. Thanks for being one of them. Have a calm and happy week.

In a Vase on Monday : Cathy https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/category/gardens/in-a-vase-on-monday/

Turning Garden Twigs into Christmas Decorations

December 4, 2020December 4, 2020 / karen / 40 Comments

As a few of you know, I talk on the radio once a fortnight, chatting about what I’m doing in my vegetable and cut flower plot. This week, I tried valiantly to make a few twigs from my garden sound exciting. It really tested my powers of description! Anyway, if you were listening in, here are the photos to go with my interview with Ben Jackson. I was waving my arms around, explaining how you can gather foliage and off-cuts from the garden, make them into a twiggy bouquets, add lights, and plunge them in a pot. I do hope it enthused a few people to have a go and make their own Christmas decorations.

Willow stems, dried oak twigs, pine foliage and Hydrangea Annabelle flower heads with orange lanterns, Physalis alkekengi.

I decorated the hydrangea heads with some florists’ silver spray from Oasis. You only need a tiny amount.

Some old man’s beard, wild clematis vitalba adds a fluffy texture and movement to the arrangement.

Mouldable copper wire fairy lights from supermarkets only costs a few pounds. Mine came from Wilkos and use rechargeable batteries.

Tiny flowers from the hydrangea heads flutter down around me. I scoop them up and use them as table decorations. They are like nature’s confetti.

Wire lights can be threaded through dogwood stems and any greenery from the garden. This ‘bouquet’ of twigs is pushed into a plant pot of garden soil and stood by the front door. It looks like a container full of expensive plants, but in truth, it has cost me nothing. Stems will stay fresh until after Christmas due to cold and wet weather. They can be composted in the new year. So there’s no waste to go into bins.

I’ve used pine, spare Christmas tree stems (the tree was too tall), ivy, dogwood and willow to give height, and skimmia at the front. You could pop some hellebores and white heather either side to cover the base of the pot. If you have plastic pots, why not cover them with hessian to give them a natural look.

Here’s some more ideas using willow. Wind the willow or dogwood into a rough circle and keep adding more stems. Eventually you can pull it into shape and secure it with thin lengths of willow. Kept dry in the shed, wreaths will last for years. Each Christmas, I add new foliage, pine and rosemary for scent, rosy-hued hydrangea heads and clematis seeds. These are simply fed in amongst the willow stems and secured with string or florists’ reel wire.

You can add rosehips and crab apples to the willow frame. Birds tend to enjoy them, so I have to replenish the decorations every day. We were very excited to see some very small birds, possibly long-tailed tits enjoying the clematis seeds. It becomes almost a cross between a Christmas decoration and a bird feeder.

Add whatever you can find in the garden and hedgerow. In this silver birch wreath, I’ve added ivy, with green and black ivy berries, and dried cow parsley seed heads. The wind sometimes blows the clematis across the back fields, but there’s plenty more in the potting shed, ready for the festive season.

These willow stems have been folded over to form a heart. Hold ten stems in one hand. Bend half of them over and tie in the middle. Bend the other half over to form the other side of the heart, and tie in. Tie further up the stems to keep the heart shape secure. Disguise the ties -or the mechanics, as we call them- with a mini bouquet of foliage. Here I’ve used Holly, ivy, Garrya elliptica, hydrangea flowers and a few crab apples.

Willow wreaths don’t always need any decorations at all. A pretty ribbon is all that’s used on this wreath for a simple shepherd’s hut.

I decorate five bar gates around the plot. A single heart is often all that’s needed. It will cheer any Christmas Day revellers, walking along the lane. From this gate we can hear the church bells ringing. The sound carries far across the fields. It’s a wonderful spot to stand and listen for a few moments, mug of tea in hand.

Let me know what decorations you are putting up in your house and garden this year. Will it be old favourites, like mine, or something new? Get in touch and let me know, and thanks, as ever, for reading. Today, I’m celebrating my milestone 100,000 blog visitors. When I started writing, I thought just a handful of people might see my posts. I’m absolutely thrilled to see 100,000 have read about my little plot. Have a great weekend everyone.

Links:

Listen to Radio Leicester, Christmas decorations, at 3.16.57 on the timeline on BBC Sounds https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08ymt0t

I learned how to make my wreaths at Common Farm Flowers with Georgie Newbery. Georgie is running online courses and sells wreath -making kits.

https://www.commonfarmflowers.com/collections/workshops

I wrote about Georgie’s courses here: https://bramblegarden.com/2020/07/01/online-hand-tie-posy-course-with-georgie-newbery/

There’s also lots of Christmas recipes on the blog. Just scroll down to view them.

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