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 […]
Archive | Plant Health
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 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 […]
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 […]
10 Garden Tips for July
Efficient, ethical and cost-effective Now that the flush of June has taken place, where gardeners have had to dance in her vigour and beauty, we can now relax a little and reflect on how the year in our garden has been so far, perhaps noting new ways of future working. The expectancy for the first […]
Plant health – Part 2
How can we help plants heal themselves? In my last article I suggested that in my experience plants don’t get ill very much and that if they do, the first things we can offer are some simple interventions – pruning dead wood, thinning for light and air, watering and feeding the plant and the soil. […]
Plant health – Part 1
Why we need to recognise plants as sovereign beings. A few weeks ago I was asked by someone starting out in horticulture if I could tell them the main diseases that I have come across whilst gardening. This came as a surprise to me and I had to think hard before answering. This was partly […]
Winter pruning of apple and pear trees
Now that the busy days of autumn tidying are behind us, the month of January is a good time for winter pruning of fruit trees. Without their leaves, the trees in their stark beauty allow us a chance to look closely at their structural form and prune accordingly. This article will concentrate on apple and […]
