It's a sultry September afternoon and I'm pottering round the garden, deadheading the dahlias as I go. I can hear the echinacea gently buzzing as a drowsy bumblebee picks its way across the tawny central cone. On the dwarf blue lavender hedge that edges the border, a green-veined white butterfly is also making the most … Continue reading Pesticide-Free Plants with the Saving Pollinators Assurance Scheme
Many of us owe our love of plants, gardens and wildlife to early experiences in childhood. Even on a small scale, places that enable young people to connect with the natural environment can begin a relationship that lasts a lifetime. At a time when we need the younger generation to understand, cherish and protect the … Continue reading Year of Green Action Garden at RHS Hampton Court
1. Wildflower Power Everywhere you turn at this year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show, indigenous trees, shrubs and perennials are interpersed with native biennial and annual wildflowers. The gardens are awash with hornbeam, birch, willow, yew, guelder rose, cow parsley, foxglove, ragged robin and sedum. The pinks of red campion and ragged robin are particularly conspicuous … Continue reading 5 Environmentally-Friendly Ideas to Take Home from the RHS Chelsea Flower Show
I have loved the marine environment ever since my first school biology field trip to Anglesey. Although I moved through a career in English to garden and nature writing, I've never lost my affinity for the sea. I became a member of the Marine Conservation Society many years ago and started learning about and campaigning on … Continue reading Plastic Pollution in the Pearlfisher Garden
Chris Beardshaw recently said that he felt Chelsea show gardens should only be accepted if they were going to be relocated afterwards. It seems that other designers may be following his lead as this year's show sees more of the gardens and planting being relocated than ever before. The recipients of the gardens are diverse; … Continue reading Health, Wellbeing and Sustainability at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show
Wild, evocative show gardens like James Basson's M&G Garden, inspired by the landscape of Malta, new plants to discover (my favourite this year is Raymond Evison's Clematis 'Pistachio') and new technologies like the use of microalgae to capture energy at Capel Manor's 'Compost, Energy, Light' Garden: these are all part of what makes RHS Chelsea such a captivating … Continue reading Gardening For A Sustainable Future