GARDENER'S WORD - IDEAS AND TIPS

I first planted the Anemone sylvestris that I have in my garden in 2014 and yet each year it appears again.  I have moved it once or twice but it has been in its present position, right next to a path leading to my garden room, for years and years. It is looking fabulous right now and so I thought it deserved another mention on my blog. It has flowers in abundance right now and will provide flowers more spasmodically through summer as long as I keep dead-heading.  Anemone sylvestris May 2026 The label said that Anemone sylvestris is a clump forming herbaceous perennial with divided green leaves, fragrant white cup-shaped flowers with yellow anthers, on upright stems.  It should be grown in well-drained soil in full sun and achieves a size of 40cm x 40cm (18in x 18in). The RHS webpage indicates that it is unfussy about soil, aspect, exposure, tolerates full sun or partial shade, and is hardy at H6 (down to -20c).  Anemone sylvestris May 2015 Apparently it spreads...

What a fantastic plant Veronica gentianoides (also known as speedwell) are!  I first planted a veronica with pale blue flowers  over ten years ago in my garden and it is still going strong, making a fine display every spring (May June) just about the time that many spring flowers from bulbs and corms are past their best. This year I introduced the Tissington White variety which, in truth, is not much whiter than the pale blue one but I am happy to have any variety of this plant in my garden.  Veronica gentianoides Tissington White Veronica gentianoides is as hardy as they come -  which no doubt is the reason I still have it after ten years - is easily divided and pretty unpicky.  The RHS says it prefers loam and moist but well drained soil of any PH, apparently. It likes full sun or partial shade. They are excellent for the front of a border because the spikes (about 40-50cm tall) grow from a low mat which is easily divided.

My garden is at about 860ft above sea level on the Pennines of West Yorkshire and I have been watching out for an opportune moment to overseed my lawn.  I do it every year. I always listen to what the experts ( RHS ) have to say, and there are a lot of expert websites out there, but then make my own decisions. The weather has been mercurial. We have had dry spells and wet downpours. We have had cloudy cold spells and spells of glorious sunshine and warmth, like in just the last couple of days, BUT today it is cloudy, mild, and very lightly raining.  I decided that now was the time as the light rain will gently send seed down into the grass and onto the soil without washing seed down my sloping garden onto the patio.  I know some of you will be thinking but what about scarifying first, moss removal, top dressing the grass, and you will be right to wonder but I have my own style of gardening and the less work is involved the better.  I get very little moss, only at the...

It was a couple of years ago, August 2024 to be precise, that I decided to train Japanese acer palmatum 'Katsura' into a multi-stem tree so that I could underplant it and make more use of my small garden.  I asked the advice of a friend who owns Ichi-Coo Park , part of the National Garden Scheme , in Surrey.  He said to go for it.  So I went for it, and this is the result. Acer palmatum 'Katsura' - 28 April 2026 It had been encroaching on the territory of the dwarf James Grieve apple tree just in front of it, and so it was a matter of necessity as much as anything.  Further horticultural problems were that I had planted Acer shirasawanum 'Jordan' in a place it was not happy.  I placed it in one west-facing position, it got scorched.  I moved it to another position, and it gets scorched.  Now I cannot move it at all without risking destroying it because it has managed to run its roots under rocks (my garden is high on the Pennines and the rock is sand-s...

I have never had great success with Campanulas overwintering and coming back the next spring in my garden but I keep on trying.  This year I have bought the Campanula 'Takion' white as well as the Campanula 'Takion' blue. The latter, Takion blue, is not yet in flower but is loaded with buds and I will add it to this post in due course.  Campanula  persicifolia  'Takion' white Campanula  persicifolia  'Takion' white According to the RHS Campanula persicifolia 'Takion ' series are not picky.  They are hardy perennials that will tolerate any aspect except total shade, soil type, and they even say it is okay when sheltered or exposed.  Hmm, I'm not too sure about exposed where I live, at 850ft above sea level on the Pennine Mountains of West Yorkshire but my garden is surrounded by shadow-fencing and to some degree by other properties.   Campanula persicifolia 'Takion' forms a clump with tall flower stems making it suitable for the front ...

I introduced yet another narcissus variety of bulb to my garden last autumn, 'Ice Follies', and it has put on quite a display in its first spring in a tub at the top of my garden where it faces south-west.  It is quietly understated and yet manages to attract the eye. Just look at those frilly yellow trumpets which fade delightfully with age. Narcissus 'Ice Follies'  16th April 2026 Narcissus 'Ice Follies' has received the RHS  Award of Garden Merit (AGM).  Narcissus 'Ice Follies'  26th April 2026

I first posted about  Lathyrus vernus in April 2020 , a year after I first planted it and now, seven years later, it is still putting on a show.  It remains in place, a neat and beautiful clump of foliage and flowers, not wandering and never growing very big. I can see that a ground cover geranium is encroaching so I'll need to check that out and move the geranium if it is going to cause a problem.   Lathyrus vernus (spring pea) 'Rainbow' Mine grows in a situation near the bottom of my garden where it gets partial sun and a moist neutral soil.  According to the RHS Lathyrus vernus , is category H6, which means it is hardy down to -20c, and it has the RHS AGM (Award of Garden Merit).