We’ve all got ‘em – those books that have changed or framed our lives. In this case I’m sticking to the horticultural, or those that have fed into that part of my life ...
What do you take when you’re going to visit Otto Fauser – the great guru of bulbs in Australia. This is a man in a category all of his own, of vast knowledge, and even vaster generosity. I settl ...
I’d hoped to have my wall finished before heading off on this tour to the US in May. But time ran short, and I did that rotten thing, right near the end of a project, when you suddenly think of so ...
Have you ever thought about how very few smallish evergreen shrubs there are with any longevity to speak of? If not, don’t. It might be best not to read on. It’s too sobering. Indeed, ever ...
If anticipation is one of the assumed but rarely articulated responses that contribute an exquisite, almost painful ache to the whole garden thing, fragility is another. There’s something so poignan ...
I’ve got to test this out. How universal is the thrill of bulbs at this phase? This eruption through the earth’s crust is the perfect physical representation of the rumblings of joy that emergin ...
Five crunchy frosts in a row. On the morning of the first of them I was forced outside to see what I could do to get some hot water out of the frozen (brand new) hot water service, and while out the ...
I was dashing through Melbourne the other day, and hurtled past a high-walled garden over which peeped the Dr. Suessy tops of one of the taller aloes, like Aloe arborescens or Aloe bainesii. The wal ...
It’s funny, that thing when you notice or see something for the first time, and then it pops up everywhere, as if your attention has nourished its multiplication. Some new model of car comes into ...
There are few individual plants for which I’d be happy to be part of a greeting party – for which I’d consider it a privilege to line up for the chance to shake their hand as they entered the wo ...
I know I go on about this, but this latest trip to the States has cemented again that there’s nothing like a loving, hands-on garden owner to take a garden to a whole new level. I’ve never previou ...
Who would have thought that Kurume azaleas could look this good? I’d always been of the opinion that Kurume azaleas with their small leaves and dense flowers were only capable of dishing up solid, t ...
Following Robin Powell’s insightful question about whether there was anything at Longwood that was so authentic as to make me want to copy it (though she put it better than that), I thought I’d th ...
This has to be quick. I’m writing between itinerary items on a USA garden tour, and there’s only ever snatched moments. I had reason yesterday to wonder again about the challenges of translating ...
Most of what I do professionally is biggish to big. I’ll be ordering perennials, for instance, with 150 or this and 200 of that, totaling in the thousands. I love using plants in vast, repeati ...
I was wandering through a client’s garden the other day, and casually said something nice about Sedum ‘Matrona’, which was looking sensational. The reply was more spat than said. “I don’ ...
The wall is coming along nicely – thanks for asking. But as is almost invariably the case for me, simple steps lead to big questions. For all sorts of reasons (septic tank placement/visual and physi ...
Give a perfectionist a pile of rough old walling stone and a straight string line, and watch him squirm. A little over a week ago I took delivery of just such a pile of stone. I’ve been dreaming o ...