In the early 1960s I lived in Malaya and travelled from Singapore to Ipoh on the west side and from Johor Bharu to Kota Bahru on the east. Read more about Every Grain of Rice
I’ve finally learnt not to fight the climate. The garden is situated on a windswept plain some 70 miles from the sea at an altitude of 400 metres. Summer temperatures can reach 47 degrees C. during summer although it mostly doesn’t top 42 C. Winter temperatures can go down to -6C. Read more about Soil Preparation
Two plants flowering in the garden at the moment remind me of Ellen Willmott, a woman who inherited two nineteenth century fortunes, one from her father and another from her godmother, and spent the lot on her gardens and died in penury. Read more about Ellen Willmott
In October in chilly Central Victoria that sublime time of the day just prior to dawn is rich with the promise of warmer days. An early morning foray with camera and tripod reaps a rich harvest of beauty. Read more about October Dawn
My younger brother has ten acres of ancient woodland on his farm in Nottinghamshire. This wood is at least four hundred years old and may be much older. Like many such woodland it is carpeted by hundreds of thousands of bluebells during spring. As a boy in the 1950s I was besotted by a nearby bluebell wood. Read more about Bluebells
My younger brother has ten acres of ancient woodland on his farm in Nottinghamshire. This wood is at least four hundred years old and may be much older. Like many such woodland it is carpeted by hundreds of thousands of bluebells during spring. As a boy in the 1950s I was besotted by a nearby bluebell wood. Read more about Bluebells
There are two viola species flowering in the garden with the tulips this year. Both are more tolerant of hot weather than pansies and commercial viola strains. Both are perennials or at least they are in my garden. Read more about Two Violas and Tulips
Sixty years ago when I worked for my uncle he used to grow tens of thousands of wall flower plants every year. He would thinly sow seed in outside beds during late June and July and the following spring would lift them and bundle up a dozen at a time, wrap them in newspaper and take them to market where he had a permanent stall. Read more about Wallflowers
