Day 22 Life Cycle of a Poppy – a Study This time of year it’s definitely poppy time in the garden. Once you have the Californian poppy in your garden you will always have it as it self seeds beautifully. I spent some time this week looking at a large double petalled red poppy in […]
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30 Days Wild. Days 13- 15. Sound, Wild Flowers in Central London & Flower Colour Treasure Hunt
We have been concentrating on the garden over the last couple of days although the wet weather has prevented us from undertaking much actual gardening. Day 13 Sound Map of the Garden It’s years since we last created a sound map of the garden. One afternoon about 5.00 pm we just closed our eyes, […]
30 Days Wild. Days 4 to 6 Patterns in Nature, Giant Leaves & A Mini- Beast Hunt
We are on a roll with our 30 Days Wild with the Wildlife Trusts. You can read about our earlier adventures, shades of green and buttercup wanders here Day 4 Patterns in Nature We took the time to really look what is growing in our garden, large & small, colourful & plain. Here’s what we […]
Making A Bee Watering Hole
Everybody now knows how important our bees are and that some species in the UK are in difficulties. As gardeners we can help by encourage bees to our gardens by planting bee-friendly plants. We can also provide a water source for bees who regularly visit us. Many gardens, like mine, may not have any water […]
Our Summer Holiday Bucket List
If you are like me you’ll have a long mental list of activities for the school summer holidays. I often see some great ideas on other people’s blogs and I squirrel them away for the long summer. However just like the squirrel forgetting where he has buried his nuts those bookmarks get well and truly […]
The Abandoned Garden
Creating a garden is a very personal and individual activity. I have often visited gardens where the person or couple are quite elderly and have wondered what will happen to that garden when they are no longer around. This week I have had the opportunity to see for myself what takes over when a garden, […]
Make Space in your Garden for Hedgehogs: The Hampton Court Flower Show 2014
A vivid memory from my childhood is putting out cat food in the garden for the hedgehogs and then creeping out into the dark to spot them munching away. I haven’t seen this iconic mammal in the wild since then. The photo above was taken when we handled one from a Dorset Hedgehog Rescue Society […]
Music and Sundials at the Horniman Museum & Gardens
I wanted to share with you our day out at the Horniman Museum and Gardens in South East London. We had never trekked across south London to visit before and I had always assumed that it was a mini-version of the Natural History Museum. To some extent it is, but it so much more, […]
Nature at the London Wetlands Centre
My family and I just love the London Wetlands Centre. We have enjoyed so many visits over the years. My son held his 6th birthday party there, when the sun shone for us even in January. Our visit on Sunday did not disappoint. In fact it was perfection and lovely to revisit it after a gap of […]
Hampton Court Flower Show: The Birds and the Bees
I was lucky enough to visit the Hampton Court Flower Show on Monday. A wonderful visit made after a gap of several years with a New Zealand friend. I hadn’t really briefed her about what to expect from the Show. It made me realise that, of course, it’s not all about plants, flowers and vegetables. […]
OUT TO WATCH THE BIRDS
This is a regular January event in our household. It’s a really good family nature activity. I’m talking about the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch. A nationwide event where you count the largest groups of birds in your garden and submit them to the RSPB so they can find out what is happening to our garden bird […]
Watching Birds in the Garden: A Great Kids Activity
Just now there is quite a lot in the media about garden birds. Next weekend 28/29 January 2012 is the RSPBs Great Garden Bird Watch and people have been noting that they are not seeing so many birds in the garden during this, so far, mild winter. This article reckons there are staying in the […]
Six Resolutions for my Garden in 2012
What are Yours? Spending time in my garden, gardening with my son, and thinking and reading about all things horticultural, provide me with inspiration, stimulation and a sense of purpose. I’d be lost without a garden. So the New Year brings new thoughts on how I get to grips with my garden. This time last […]
Where Am I?
A pictorial post and a quiz for the summer. This garden is in the heart of a large city in the UK. Can you guess where it is? It has a pond, a meadow and one of the cties busiest roads on its southern boundary It is a real oasis in the heart of the […]
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