Winter cut flowers
On a quiet day at work once, we were playing a game of ‘If you had a plant named after you, what plant would it be?’ (such are the conversations … Read more
people
The Secret Garden market
Just off the buzzing Columbia Road is the quiet oasis that is the Secret Garden Market. It’s in Annie Derbyshire’s small back yard, and the evergreen-clad walls are used to … Read more
Paperwhites
Every year I think I’ll plant paperwhites in autumn to flower at Christmas, and every year I don’t get around to it. Just as I never get around to posting … Read more
Grassy Knoll
Neil Lucas, grass expert and owner of Knoll Gardens in Dorset, says that grasses look best backlit by the sun. And of course he’s right. He couldn’t have asked for … Read more
Exhibition veg
To be honest, I’ve never really got exhibition veg. Why would you go to extreme measures to grow an onion the size of a football or a parsnip that’s a … Read more
Henry Moore at Hatfield House
I can’t read maps and now I know where I get it from: my mum. She’s kept this under wraps until now as my dad does all the navigating in … Read more
The Olympic site
I went to Stratfield today – not to go to Westfield with the masses, but to the Olympic site. I donned a hard hat and hi-vis jacket and was shown … Read more
Becky’s garden
Also on the E17 Art Trail we passed this little gem, which belongs to Becky Wynn Griffiths and her partner. From the Art Trail map we weren’t sure whether the … Read more
The street of blue plaques
This weekend, I had a legitimate reason for ogling at other people’s front gardens. It was the E17 Art Trail and my friend Danny had transformed his road into the … Read more