My relationship with slugs and snails is a simple one; they vex me greatly so I kill them. I read somewhere, probably Twitter, that this year was going to be a bad one for slugs and snails because it had been such a mild winter. That is to say, it was going to be a…
Author: Jim Stephens
Gardener, no-dig allotmenteer, camellia enthusiast.
I love colour, it cheers me up.
Retired nurseryman.
End of month view May 2016
One of the fascinating things about the end of month meme is that it provides an opportunity to compare one month with another. Up until the end of April there seemed to be very little to comment on by way of change, with one month end being little different from the one before. Not so this…
Trial by allotment
I went up to my plot yesterday morning, did a bit of weeding and thinned my autumn raspberries. On the way out of the fruit cage, heading home for lunch, I noticed a branch on one of my gooseberries was almost bare of leaves. It could only mean sawfly, so I set to squashing them.…
Shopping trip-2
A week ago, I went to Barracott Plants on a plant hunting expedition, coming home with enough goodies to write a blog about, which I duly did. Trouble was , a couple of things I'd been wanting I was unable to find and the nursery owner was away so I was advised to come back.…
Allotment update
No dig veg growing throws up the odd dilemma, like do I or do I not earth up my spuds. I chose to do so, but not to the extent that everyone else has done theirs. Having made and carried out the decision, it seems a bit late to turn to Charles Dowding's book and…
Shopping trip
You know how it goes; you go to a garden, Rosemoor in this instance and see a plant you simply must have, Polygonatum x hybridum 'Betburg' on this outing. You get home and look at the RHS website to see who is listing it; excellent, a nursery quite close by, Barracott Plants, at Gunnislake. Thought…
Wordless Wednesday 18/05/2016
A day in May
I see myself as the sort of gardener who is very interested in individual plants and rather less interested in the overall composition. That said, I am not indifferent to it and to group plants by their cultural requirements often leads to a visually harmonious effect. I don't have a large garden and in order…
garden ruminations 