Category Archives: open gardens

Six or Seven on Saturday: Striding Ahead

I came very close to cancelling our open garden this year, Covid fatigue and brain fog making the prospect unthinkable for a period; but the fog lifted, tests were no longer positive and there was still a full four weeks … Continue reading

Posted in borders, boundaries, cutting beds, dahlias, Gardening, Gardens, open gardens, Six on Saturday | Tagged | 26 Comments

End of Month View: April is the Busiest Month

For the last two or three years I have kept a rough record of how many hours I spend gardening (excluding things relating specifically to our charity openings). It’s usually the afternoon before any gardening can be done, and a … Continue reading

Posted in borders, cutting beds, End of Month View, Gardening, Gardens, grasses, greenhouse, herbaceous perennials, open gardens, seasonal tasks, Spring | 22 Comments

Reflections

This isn’t quite the view that visitors to our garden on Sunday afternoon were met with, as an overcast day meant the single common snowdrops were still mostly not fully out, unlike today. However, from comments made to the Golfer, … Continue reading

Posted in early spring, Gardening, Gardens, open gardens, snowdrops, Winter, winter interest | Tagged | 31 Comments

In a Vase on Monday: Elephant in the Room?

Today’s vase is teeny tiny, no more than three inches tall, but rather than a bland teeny title,  I opted for something more provocative, as you will see. With our garden opening yesterday, when this post was written, I knew … Continue reading

Posted in early spring, Gardening, Gardens, In a Vase on Monday, open gardens, winter interest | Tagged , | 31 Comments

Six on Saturday: Gearing Up

With our open garden tomorrow, I wasn’t sure if I would have time to prepare a Six on Saturday post for Jim’s weekly meme at Garden Ruminations. However, I have been busy today with all the remaining tasks that can … Continue reading

Posted in bulbs, corms and tubers, early spring, Gardening, Gardens, open gardens, Six on Saturday, snowdrops, winter interest | 16 Comments

In a Vase on Monday: Fairy Tales

The Tulip Fairy on the cover of my copy of Cicely May Barker’s ‘Complete Book of the Flower Fairies’, the prop for today, looks as if she is just stepping down from it onto the stand holding the test tubes, … Continue reading

Posted in bulbs, corms and tubers, early spring, Gardening, Gardens, In a Vase on Monday, open gardens, snowdrops, Winter, winter interest | Tagged | 39 Comments

Six on Saturday: More Bewitching

I am fortunate to have a number of witch hazels in the garden and this year, for some reason, given the summer drought and severe pre-Christmas freeze, most of them are flowering better and more profusely than ever before. You … Continue reading

Posted in Gardening, Gardens, open gardens, projects, Six on Saturday, snowdrops, Winter, winter interest, woodland | Tagged , , | 19 Comments

Six on Saturday: Timetables

With only 3 weeks to go till we open the garden for ‘snowdrops, witch hazels, hellebores and other plants of winter interest’, it is still far from clear what plants of winter interest will be in flower by then. We … Continue reading

Posted in Gardening, greenhouse, open gardens, plants in pots, Six on Saturday, snowdrops, Winter, winter interest | 30 Comments

In Our Stride

I promised an update about our garden openings and I am pleased to say that over two afternoon openings and a group visit we raised just over £1070, £840 of which will go to the National Garden Scheme charities and … Continue reading

Posted in Gardening, Gardens, open gardens | Tagged | 14 Comments

In a Vase on Monday: Tea, Anyone? Cake?

With our second open garden afternoon yesterday, I knew I would not be able to squeeze in the creation of a vase for today’s IAVOM, but had the presence of mind to take a few photographs of one of the … Continue reading

Posted in Gardening, Gardens, In a Vase on Monday, open gardens, Summer | Tagged | 34 Comments