Traditional is what you make it at the end of the day, but green and red is the theme, and in late December your suitable plant options are limited. Only evergreens are in leaf, and few plants are flowering in the house or in the garden; florists can source flowers from greenhouses.
Chadderton Plants Community Orchard for Giants
Making Community Orchards work is blooming tough, and it helps if you start with the right size trees We are in full armchair gardener mode on this one. Granby Street in Chadderton, Greater Manchester, is bravely attempting a community orchard, the first of 4 planned in the area. Community Orchards, like communities in general, are usually… Continue reading Chadderton Plants Community Orchard for Giants
Chelsea Garden Shows for 2025
Garden design is inherently divisive: different gardens please various tastes, and serve a range of purposes from practical to political. What to choose? The best way to consider something serious, according to kings and queens of yore, is to drink on it, and to think on it, on separate days.That’s a useful approach if you’re… Continue reading Chelsea Garden Shows for 2025
Urban Fruit Growing: Soft Fruit Edition
Wiltshire-based garden designer Dan Combes wonders why there aren’t more berries, especially in urban areas and their small gardens where a fruit tree might be too big Over the last the weeks, I have planted thousands of bulbs: all inedible. But why (London, I’m talking to you especially) am I not being asked to plant… Continue reading Urban Fruit Growing: Soft Fruit Edition
Forestry Commission Agroforestry Tree Species Guide
Agroforestry is primarily practised by farmers, but elements are increasingly applied to homesteads and large gardens If agroforestry is new to you, one really should start with ART – Agroforestry Research Trust. Agro-forestry means cultivating trees with other agricultural crops and/or livestock, in the same field. The trees are grown in lanes an appropriate distance… Continue reading Forestry Commission Agroforestry Tree Species Guide
English Christmas Biscuits Recipe
There’s something magical about the aroma of freshly baked biscuits wafting through the house during the lead-up to Christmas. These English Christmas biscuits are a timeless classic—crisp, buttery, and lightly sweet, with a touch of vanilla! Perfect for sharing with family, giving as gifts, serving alongside a steaming cup of tea, or even leaving out… Continue reading English Christmas Biscuits Recipe
Why Willows and Drains do not Mix…
A video on why willows and drains should not be too close together…
National Tree Week 2024
National Tree Week, 23 November – 1 December this year, was launched in 1975 to raise awareness of the huge role that trees play in all of our lives. It coincides with the start of the winter planting season, an ideal time to get people working together in the rain and cold to improve their… Continue reading National Tree Week 2024
Cooking with Cider this Christmas?
How about pheasant with caramelised apple and cider sauce! Ingredients (to serve 2-4) Method Pheasant and cider sauce Caramelised apples Once the sauce mixture is reduced, pour over and serve! Top tip This is a lovely, tasty wintery dish using well hung pheasant but if you’re not the gamey type, it works equally well… Continue reading Cooking with Cider this Christmas?
Monty Don’s Urgent Hessian Sack Advice
BBC presenter Monty Don makes a helpful suggestion about caring for bareroot plants on delivery, but do you have enough hessian? Monty Don has done more to get girls in the garden than any other handsome, famous face: those cheekbones and that cheeky grin. For that, he is eternally forgiven for everything as far as… Continue reading Monty Don’s Urgent Hessian Sack Advice