I love the quote above from Alice Walker, the American writer and author of ‘The Colour Purple’. It resonates with me and encapsulates so much in just a few words. Although I never set out in search of my mothers garden, her gardens were magnificent and memorable. When you grow up playing in a beautiful…

What gardener hasn’t dreamt of the possibilities of a new garden and lost themselves for hours in catalogues for bulbs, seeds or roses? Imagination can run amuck with ideas of glorious garden vistas, the beautiful colours and colour schemes. One can spend hours planning and researching trees, shrubs, roses, grasses and perennials. This is gardening,…

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant.” Anne Bradstreet, 1612-1672, I am enjoying the changeable weather of Spring, including the early morning and evening cool weather of the past few days. Although the wind, typical for Spring, has been excessive and not so enjoyable as it has blown all the…

Spring is here that wonderful time of the year when gardens come into their own and the colours entice us to spend more time outdoors. The signs of new growth in the garden is enchanting. Plants look like perfect, healthy specimens before the heat of summer ravages them. I love the anticipation of the colours…

Roses exude charm and beauty, but why are there so many different types and where did they originate? Today I’m uncovering the mystery of rose classes and what is meant by Heirloom, Heritage and Old Garden Roses. Roses come in three distinct classes; A. Species Roses see post Wild Roses B. Old Garden or Heirloom…

What continues to astonish me about a garden is that you can walk past it in a hurry, see something wrong, stop to set it right, and emerge an hour or two later breathless, contented, and wondering what on earth happened. The Palm Garden is the name chosen for a large garden bed started in…

Spring is here although in some areas the season has been slow in starting with unusually cold, frosty mornings contrasting with high daytime temperatures. Patience is needed, as I wait for the leaves to sprout on the bare root roses. I can see that the sap is moving and there are signs of life and…

My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant’s point of view.  Evidently the idiom having a ‘green thumb’ dates back to the early part of the 20th century and means  a person with a gift for gardening or who can easily grow…

This week, I enjoyed working in the garden, hand in glove with one of my son’s. Our main task was to mulch the garden in preparation for the hot, dry summer ahead. It was wonderful to spend time gardening closely with someone else and even more special when it is family, and you work so…

In Aix en Provence quite close to the town centre there is a beautiful Hotel, called Le Pigonnet from the French word Pigeonniere ( Pigeon House). We fortunately were able to stay at Le Pigonnet in June 2019. I must confess, I chose this hotel because it sits in a glorious garden that forms a…

Giardino in Passagno These lovely, pastel pink blooms are from the Giardino at the Gipsoteca in Italy. The word gipsoteca means ‘the plaster works’. It is where the Antonio Canova museum is located in the small Italian town of Possagno, not far from Asolo in the Veneto region. As one enters the Museum, one passes…