DECEMBER AND JANUARY IN OUR GARDENS – Philippa Thomas December sees the shortest day of the year, Winter officially begins on December 21st. Really, there is a beginning, a middle and an end to winter, each of these ‘mini- seasons’ lends itself to different plants with different levels of interest. THIS QUIET SEASON OFFERS A [...]
October in Our Gardens by Philippa Thomas As our first frosts arrive by the middle of October, a whole new range of gardening tasks commence. Combined with our blazing display from our diverse range of trees, it’s our sun and red sky sunsets which gives a radiant glow to our autumnal evenings. Lots and lots [...]
September in our Gardens by Philippa Thomas After our recent record - smashing high temperatures, we now seem to be enjoying a more chilled interlude while our September rolls around. The length of our days is really beginning to narrow in. By the end of this month, sunset is around 7 pm.…. And [...]
July in our Gardens by Philippa Thomas July generally offers us some of the longest, warmest days of the year that continue late into the evening though alas, our days are already getting shorter. Fear not, there is so much of our summer yet to come. High Summer means, nature is blooming in its [...]
June in our Gardens by Philippa Thomas ‘HELLO’, SPECIAL JUNE AND ITS SOME TIME SINCE WE SAW YOU LAST. WE ARE READY TO GREET YOU WITH OPEN ARMS. June is our magical month especially for Gardeners, so let’s take time out to really enjoy it. Try to remember to simply wander around, let’s absorb [...]
May in our Gardens by Philippa Thomas May is here with its abundance of flowers in bloom that are giving us a much needed boost. Our world feels like it is changing on a daily basis and sometimes, this can feel overwhelming. Certainly, nature and gardens have helped us to cope with [...]
March in our Gardens by Philippa Thomas. There’s something about our spring light that transforms our gardens, when it’s sunny, it lights up everything with a diamond sparkle. Make sure to find time to get outside on a sunny day, wrap up warm. Some people are convinced that we are never out [...]
February in our Gardens by Philippa Thomas. HERE’S TO MAKING MORE CHERISHED MEMORIES IN 2022. A New Year Gives Us An Opportunity To Reinvigorate Our Enthusiasm For Chasing Goals And Dreams. In these challenging times, our gardens are providing an oasis of calm - always unaffected by our latest news headlines. The age-old [...]
There is a great sense of satisfaction from spending time working in the garden. There are also many benefits for our physical and mental health from being active in the outdoors. For example: Gardening involves many of our critical functions including strength, endurance, dexterity, learning and problem solving, and sensory awareness Some Benefits of Gardening [...]
If you grow lilies or fritiillaries you will have this bright lacquered red beetle pest. I first saw lily beetles in my garden about 2014. They were more a curiosity, and after I found and killed the two of them, there was no sign the rest of the year. From then I would occasionally come across them doing no particular damage and delete them on sight.