It is November 1964. Mr Mackenzie, in his black waistcoat, baggy black trousers, white shirt with tie, his head topped with the battered brown trilby he always wore come rain or shine, wiped the dewdrop off the end of his nose with the back of his horny hand and proceeded to dig up the maiden … Read more
Lovers of old and antique garden tools, prized for their ergonomic design and hard-wearing good looks — not to mention the history they embody — will be familiar with Garden & Wood, which is run by Piers Newth and Louise Allen. They met as horticultural trainees at RHS Wisley in Surrey and ended their gardening … Read more
It’s fair to say that 2025 has not been a vintage year for outdoor-grown sweet peas. The hot dry days of an uncharacteristic May (followed, in our case, by frost during Chelsea Flower Show week) were not good for the young sweet peas looking for cool, moist days to climb up their supports before flowering. … Read more
We moved to our Wiltshire cottage two years ago this November and, at the time, the front garden was overgrown with shrubs. However, among them I counted — with glee — 15 mature roses. Come spring, my joy was dashed because each rose, now flowering, was a different colour. And they didn’t have much scent. … Read more
Most gardens have their ups and downs, even royal ones. The gardens at Sandringham in Norfolk reached their peak at the beginning of the 20th century, when Edward VII laid them out on an imperial scale and employed some 100 gardeners. Fifty years later, they hit their nadir, when the walled kitchen gardens and most … Read more