I am aware of the admirable suggestion from ecologists of the concept of ‘No-Mow May’ as a way of increasing biodiversity and encouraging more wildlife into our gardens. The practice is a simple one – we stop mowing lawns for the month of May to encourage the hidden wildflowers within the grass to come to […]
Author Archive | Lee-administrator
June – the Month of the Rose
“It was June, and the world smelled of roses. The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside.” Maud Hart Lovelace, “Betsy-Tacy and Tib” This time last year I was busy preparing for a weekend-long ‘rose initiation journey’ with Pam Montgomery, an American- based plant spirit healer¹. The journey was profound and inspiring and […]
Celandine – my favourite ‘weed’
Early on in my gardening career, I was responsible for an estate which had a large, neglected flower bed, which during April and May seemed to be predominantly full of the weed Celandine. (I knew it was a weed because I had learnt that at college, and I even knew which weed killer was the […]
The Compost Heap – the ‘Heart Chakra’ of the Garden
Although I have written about compost before, there are many ways of thinking about compost, here is a slightly different approach… The ancient system of bodily chakras (or energy centres) which many of us know, lists seven main chakras – moving from the base of the spine – the root chakra, to the top of […]
The Spring Equinox – the festival of Balance and Awakening
Whilst writing this article in mid-February the feeling in the garden was eerily quiet. All the fruit trees had been pruned and composted, beds weeded and mulched, the compost turned. The yellowing Montbretia leaves still brought joy as did the numerous dried seed heads on the St. John’s Wort, Fennel and Purple Loosestrife. There was […]
Our Native Daffodil – the Lent Lily
‘‘I never saw daffodils so beautiful; they grew among the mossy stones about them, some rested their heads upon these stones as on a pillow for weariness and the rest tossed and reeled and danced and seemed as if they verily laughed with the wind that blew upon them over the lake; they looked so […]
The garden in January
In my last article, I wrote about the 12/13 Holy Nights (from Christmas to Three Kings Day in the Christian calendar) as a time of celebration, rest and contemplation. A time to look forward to the New Year and all that it may bring both outwardly and inwardly. So what is happening outwardly in the […]
The Midwinter Garden
As the days have shortened over the last weeks, I have been tidying beds, cutting meadows, and harvesting. Borders have been mulched with compost, roses have had a light winter prune to prevent wind-rock, climbing roses, with their still malleable stems have been pruned and trained; fruit, vegetables and seeds have been harvested.* The final […]
Think before you dig
5 benefits of the ‘no-dig’ gardening system During my career as a gardener, I have slowly become converted to the idea of the ‘no-dig’ garden. It has been a gradual journey for me, letting go of ingrained habits and concepts from the past, as science develops and new ideas come into existence. Below are five […]
Autumn in the Garden
Reconnecting the inner with the outer Many of us feel uncomfortable with climate change and the depletion and poisoning of our natural resources, but equally, we often feel powerless and unsure how to change this situation. I believe one reason for this is that through ‘civilisation’, and the (necessary) growth of materialism we have lost […]
Time for Change? – Petrol vs Electricity in the Garden
Last week I replaced my last remaining petrol-powered garden machine – a strimmer, and with that change, my garden machine system is now free of petrol. This feels significant as, like many, I grew up with the joys and despairs of petrol-driven machines. I do admit to a slight nostalgia for the smell of petrol […]
Movement is life – the garden in August
‘The flowers talk when the wind blows over them’ – Ralph Waldo Emerson Lammas time, at the beginning of August, is generally the time when I start to cut flower meadows. I begin with a few areas below fruit trees because this is when the first small apples, pears or plums begin to fall to the […]
