GARDENER'S WORD - IDEAS AND TIPS

This post is, in particular, about a Japanese maple that I planted years ago in the wrong position at the top of a slope and rather exposed,    (yeah, I know!),   and which I now cannot move because it has jammed its main roots under sub-surface rocks and under my lawn. The chances of digging it up without killing it are low and so it has to stay put.  A couple of days ago the wind was so fierce here, at 850ft high above sea level on the Pennine Mountains of West Yorkshire, that I thought it was going to rip the canopy off poor old Acer shirasawanum 'Jordan' that I am growing, for practical* reasons, as a multi-stem tree:   multi-stem Katsura / multi-stem Jordan . Acer shirasawanum 'Jordan' after ferocious winds You can see that there is a little wind burn but not half so much as I was expecting.  The above image was taken two days after the strong winds had hammered it. It seems like the olla pot that I embedded a couple of feet uphill from ...

Despite having gardened for over fifty years, it never fails to surprise me just how beautiful different flowering plants can be. This year I have bought and planted the Bearded Iris 'Stepping Out'. I cannot recall growing bearded irises before although I might have, in the distant past, and I decided to plant it into a terracotta pot, for now.  Iris reticulata is something I am familiar with and have often grown for spring displays but this year I also chose three types of Iris hollandica (Dutch Irises) and I don't recall planting them before either.  I chose 'Purple Sensation', 'Blue Magic', and 'Carmen'.  I tell you, they have put on a fabulous display.   Dutch Iris 'Blue Magic' with 'Carmen' in the background Out of the three already mentioned, Blue Magic was the first to start opening, followed by Purple Sensation.  The RHS  describes Blue Magic as a bulbous perennial which achieves a height of 65 centimetres, with narrow upright...

Recently I reduced the size of my lawn, increasing the size of my borders, and that gave me an area at the top of my sloping garden which was perfect for dianthus (Cottage Pinks).  It is east facing (south-facing is also good), gets sun almost all day until sundown in warmer months, and is very free draining. Perfect for pinks. The three I chose are Valda Wyatt, a strong pink; Letitia Wyatt, a mid pink; and Cranmere Pool which is described as white but really it is more a very pale pink which fades to almost white with age.  Dianthus 'Valda Wyatt'  The label describes Valda Wyatt as having large double rose pink blooms with a wonderful perfume through summer.  A good garden variety and prolific bloomer. Perfect for cutting to enjoy indoors. A very popular border plant, also good in rockeries and for gravel beds. Evergreen and perennial.  It achieves a height of 80cm and spread of 30cm, preferring full sun or part shade. It has the RHS Award of Garden Merit....

In 2009 I moved to where I live now and my small garden was a blank page, just grass and a couple of neighbours' encroaching shrubs.  I love being able to create a garden entirely of my own making with no permanent fixtures. My garden constantly changes over the years without any planning. Plants that I had years ago might not still exist and that contributes to the ever changing appearance as new plants take the place of old. Today I took a short video of my approximately 30ft x 30ft garden and I will point out below what plants are shown as it progresses with links to posts where applicable. My Garden 05 May 2026 You can hear the wind making noise on the iPhone's microphone, even though it is not strong today.  At least we can hear the birds singing too. At the beginning of the video you can see my 17 year old Ragdoll cat, Alfie, in his favourite hot spot.  Above him is one of four hanging basket planted on an east-facing wall with a Gold Edger hosta which is virtually...