The Chelsea Flower Show, the premier UK horticultural event, is here again. All week crowds throng the the Chelsea Hospital grounds admiring the show gardens and the floral exhibits. Medals have been awarded and my local garden center, Hilliers, has received its 67th gold – a quite remarkable achievement. Each year the exhibitors have to [...]
I have been keeping a close eye on my small garden pond since the annual explosion of frogspawn appeared a few weeks ago. The eggs have hatched and the pond is full of tadpoles which seem to be even more prolific than usual this year. My two young grandchildren came to stay for a few [...]
Last week I wrote about the preparations for the Chelsea Flower Show and included some links to pictures of some of the more unusual show gardwns. One of these was the Irish Sky Garden designed by Diarmuid Gavin which won a Gold medal and The RHS People’s Choice Award. I found this video tour of [...]
Tags:Chelsea Flower Show·Irish Sky Garden·japanese maple·rooftop garden
In my last post I mentioned the preparations for the Chelsea Flower Show and this is the week that the show opens its doors to the public. Each year sees more and more ambitious designs to the extent that there is some adverse press comment that the structures are taking over from the flowers. For [...]
“Why garden high in the sky?” asks Linnea Due writing in the East Bay Express. The obvious answer is to increase the growing area by making maximum use of the space. Mind you to describe it as “high in the sky” is somewhat of an exaggeration when what the article goes on to discuss is [...]
Tags:bee nest boxes·Chelsea Flower Show·skyfarming·vertical gardening
Controlling broadleaf weeds in the lawn has always been a problem and particularly so for organic gardeners who do not use chemical weedkillers. In my garden I have several clumps of wild promroses that self seed naturally through the borders and provide a fine display in the spring. What is not so welcome is that [...]
Tags:broadleaf weeds·Chelsea Flower Show·daisies·dandelions·lawns·organic weed control·weedkillers
The Chelsea Flower Show, that highlight of Britain’s gardening year, opens to the public today. At the preview yesterday Prince Charles was presented with the Royal Horticultural Society Victoria Medal of Honour by the Queen. This is the highest award the society grants. Only 63 people can hold it at a time in recognition of [...]