Now that the drought is over

2022 has been an extraordinary year which has tested the garden hard. I have been keeping rainfall records for over 20 years and have never experienced 32 days without any rain at all as we had here in July and August. And the extreme heat added another dimension. Now...

Peonies to die for

It is hard to decide what is the best thing about the month of May but I think peonies must win the prize. The early tree peony Lutea, its yellow flowers gone almost before you have seen them, our various plants of seed grown (I know I should not boast but I am rather...

SNOWDROPS IN MARCH

This has been an extraordinary season. In January it was so cold that we feared there would be little to see on our snowdrop open days. Then a week of warm weather brought many snowdrops into flower and they were looking brilliant for the NGS days. Since then we have...

The peak of our snowdrop season

Dreadful weather with storms Eunice and Franklin doing their worst has spoilt the end of the snowdrop season. Galanthophiles are a hardy bunch of necessity but there is no pleasure at all in walking slowly to peer at clumps of snowdrops while huddling in a heavy coat...

A festival of snowdrops

Our NGS open days have come and gone. The weather was reasonably kind and we enjoyed seeing old friends and some new ones too united in a love for these remarkable plants which provide cheerfulness and hope on gloomy days. Our copse is now filling up with snowdrop...