Digging and weeding, planting and sowing in a Sheffield garden.
What a month it’s been! What February lacked in days, it certainly made up for in weather. We went from rain to snow, back to rain again, severe frosts, gales, more snow and now double digit temperatures and enough sunshine to make us all start to unfurl. A big fall of powder snow transformed the … Continue reading February round up
During 2020 I kept a spreadsheet of everything I spent on gardening and reviewing this has been a really interesting exercise. I had always considered myself a fairly frugal gardener. My plants tend to be swapped with friends or grown from seed and cuttings rather than bought from the garden centre and I reuse and recycle where … Continue reading The cost of gardening
I’ve noticed with gardening that things have a three year cycle. In the first year you create something new and it all looks a bit bare. In the second year the plants come into their own and your border or bed fills out nicely. By the third year things have reached bursting perfection, but after … Continue reading A pond in rehab
In todays vase are my red and orange dahlias. I don’t know what sort these are, I bought them as £1 bargain tubers from Wilkos about four years ago and have been amazed they have done so well. They never get lifted in the winter and yet go from strength to strength each year. The … Continue reading In a vase on Monday: October
Yet again, I haven't written much over the summer - there is just too much temptation to be outside gardening, not indoors blogging. Despite 2020 being a bid of a mad year for the world, I got my greenhouse installed and my mosaic built so it feels like I have a couple of hefty projects … Continue reading September round up
My borders and plants have been very neglected this season, as I’ve been putting lots of time into two big garden projects. The first was my beautiful greenhouse, which arrived in April and now looks like its been here forever. My second has been building a large pebble mosaic bee in the front garden. This … Continue reading Building a garden pebble mosaic
The dry spell has finally come to and end and the garden heaved a sigh of relief in the rain. Its been hard work keeping everything alive through this Spring, and I wish all the new ‘lockdown gardeners’ knew that it isn’t usually this difficult and hope they don’t get too disheartened. The break in … Continue reading June round up
One of the nicest things about my current garden is having a bit of space to experiment and try news things. It’s given me room to dabble with dahlias, germinate exotics and try out plants I’d admired on visits to famous gardens. I’ve moved things around as the garden develops, so this year my veg … Continue reading Desert Island Plants: Part 1
I’m lucky enough to have my Himalayan blue poppies in flower at the moment. I say ‘lucky’ as they are temperamental beauties with no guarantees. This year I’ve been honoured with a good show of flowers and a more buds on the way. Meconopis, the blue Himalyan poppy, is a truly beautiful flower. I can’t … Continue reading Growing Meconopsis from seed
Things are dry as dust here, with no significant rain for weeks and soaring temperatures. While its been lovely to enjoy the garden in the sunshine, all three water butts are empty and the ground is rock hard. Hard to believe we were swimming in mud back in February. This is a quick round up … Continue reading May roundup
Ian Rotherham's Blog
Life in a Burngreave garden and beyond
Gardening and watching local wildlife
Because a community is more than just people
.....and nurturing my soul
"The love of gardening is a seed once sown never dies" - Gertrude Jekyll
Ideas from a Suffolk garden
Gardening, growing and rural living
Gardens, gardeners, and growing ideas
Blogging about cottage garden style in a town garden
The cow parsley diaries 