Hello and welcome to my wildlife pond – it’s lovely to be able to share my pond with you and show you around! Since my last update, my wildlife pond is now looking more autumnal; the plants in this area of my garden are draining the energetic green tones from their foliage and starting to display a few yellow leaves as they gently let us know that autumn has arrived.
Hello and welcome to my wildlife pond in September! Since my last update, we’ve gone from one extreme to the other – from drought – to a stormy week of thunder, lightening, and heavy rain; followed by more rain over the last two weeks. My pond (and water butts and water tanks) are all full to the brim!
Hello, and welcome to my wildlife pond during the heatwave and drought of 2022. I’ve been anxiously watching the water level in my pond as it recedes. I’ve invested in another water tank and I’ve been busy scouring the local area for any second-hand water butts and water tanks for sale.
Hello and welcome to my wildlife pond in springtime. Over the past few weeks, our weather has been so very summery; my Marsh Marigold flowers have simply sparkled in the sunshine! I’m having an amazing time by my wildlife pond. I’ve got some really exciting news to share with you about the wildlife I’ve seen by my pond; I’ve even got a homemade video for you – so you can share in the excitement, but first of all, let me tell you about the water in my pond and show you how my aquatic plants have developed since my last update…
Water LevelsI took this picture not long after my last pond update.
To celebrate Compost Week, I’m sharing tips to help you make top-quality compost in your garden, allotment, or neighbourhood.
Why Compost?Making a compost heap or setting up a compost bin is such a positive thing to do. Even if you don’t really care about getting fabulous (free) compost delivered straight to your garden, or you’re not interested in improving your garden soil, if you compost your grass cuttings, prunings, and vegetable peelings, you’ll save yourself time and energy, and spare yourself the need to make trips to the tip to get rid of your garden or kitchen waste at weekends.
Clematis are divided into three groups. We assign each clematis to a group based upon the time of year the plant flowers, and when the growth that holds their flowers develops. By evaluating our clematis and assigning our plants to a specific group, we can establish the optimum time to prune our clematis.
Hello, and welcome to my wildlife pond at the end of August. I find peace and solace in nature and I love spending time by our wildlife pond. Usually my visits are fleeting, lasting just a few minutes, but these short burst of connection with plants and wildlife revitalise and recharge me, instantly eliminating all the stresses of life.
Have you taken a Butterfly Count this year? Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count runs from until Sunday 8th August 2021; so you still have time to participate in this lovely activity. The weather this summer has been absolutely atrocious; so far, I’ve only managed to find one 15 minute period that I was able to take a Butterfly Count in between the heavy rain showers!
Hello, and welcome to my wildlife pond in midsummer. I’ve got so much to show you, as this area of my garden is currently full of plants at all stages of growth. I can’t wait for you to see the flowers, but what you can’t see is the scent. I’ve only grown a few plants with perfumed flowers in this area, but they produce strongly scented flowers that fill this part of my garden with fragrance.
Summer has finally arrived! Hello and welcome to my wildlife pond in summertime. It’s so lovely to be able to share my wildlife pond with you through these updates; I am looking forward to taking you on a tour of the aquatic and herbaceous plants growing in this area of my garden.
Hello and welcome to my wildlife pond in springtime. Spring is a fascinating time to observe a pond and watch wildlife, as the water is literally teaming with life; amphibians are mating, and new insects are emerging and appearing every day! Whenever I’m in my garden, I’m always drawn to our pond – on the look out for newts and insects, and eager to see how my plants are developing.
Here’s my calendar with the dates and details of plant sales, festivals, and other super opportunities to buy wonderful, locally grown plants! Great quality, rare, hard to find, unusual, choice plants and old favourites can all be found at the specialist plant fairs, plant sales, plant and seed swaps, and other events that I have listed for you below.
Today the Royal Horticultural Society launched a competition inviting the public to vote to decide the winner of the prestigious accolade of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show Plant of the Decade. The nominated plants are all winners of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show Plant of the Year Competition. Here are the nominees……
Anemone ‘Wild Swan’Back in 2010, Anemone ‘Wild Swan’ ‘Macane001’ was the winner of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show Plant of the Year Competition.
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show Plant Of The Year Award was first presented in 2010 to promote and celebrate the continuing work of breeders and nurseries in producing improved new plants. The RHS Chelsea Plant Of The Year Award celebrates and recognises the exciting and diverse range of new plants which are launched at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show, every year.
I love our planet, I love plants and nature. I want to protect our environment. I want to live more sustainably. Sustainability is not a new desire for me, it is something that I have always aspired to. Firstly though I must tell you that I am far from perfect, I make mistakes and I am always learning. I want to improve, I want to make changes to live more sustainably and to live ethically.
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show Plant Of The Year Award was first presented in 2010 to promote the continuing work of breeders and nurseries in producing improved new plants. The RHS Chelsea Flower Show Plant Of The Year Award celebrates and recognises the exciting and diverse range of new plants which are launched at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show each year.
For many gardeners, the slug and snail population seemed to explode last year, with many fraught and distressed gardeners asking for my advice on the best way to protect their plants from slugs and snails. I am strongly opposed to slug pellets. I wouldn’t wish to kill any of the slugs or snails in my garden, as I believe a healthy eco system is important.
I so enjoy using my Felco model No.12 Compact Deluxe secateurs. Felco is a premium brand. I aspired to own a pair of Felco secateurs, for what felt like an eternity, before I finally got my own pair of secateurs. I am so grateful for my Felco secateurs.
My hands are very small, I require a small size of gloves, and even small gloves can at times be a little too large for me.
I use strips of material cut from stockings and twine to secure many of my plants in place. A variety of different plant ties are now available, some plant ties, like these reusable VELCRO® Brand One-Wrap Plant Ties, make life easier for gardeners as they don’t require tying in, and can also be reused many times.
I felt that these VELCRO® Brand plant ties would be ideal for everyone, but perhaps they are especially useful for those of us who have difficulty in tying knots, or have difficulty reaching up, or down, to tie in and secure their plants.
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show Plant Of The Year Award was first presented in 2010 to promote the continuing work of breeders and nurseries in producing improved new plants. The RHS Chelsea Flower Show Plant Of The Year Award celebrates and recognises the exciting and diverse range of new plants which are launched at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show each year.
