The Fantastic Mr. Frog

Some plant names are simply quite dull; others applied for good reason while some are purely fanciful. “Common Spotted Orchid” does not evoke images of anything especially beautiful or even interesting. “Early Purple Orchid” is, likewise, an uninspiring title. Other names are functionally descriptive: “Early Marsh Orchid”, “Western Marsh Orchid” or “Northern Marsh Orchid” come …

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Drummond and Nelson

Dr. E. Charles Nelson has enriched my gardening for over twenty five years though it has been a disappointment that I have never had a plant from him – he has a special interest in plants of Irish origin or connection and he grows a few that I would give my eye teeth for. Charles …

Seeking the Elusive Emotive Element in Garden Design

Nigel Dunnett wants his gardens to reach those parts that other gardens cannot reach. In his thoughts, plans, designs and creations he aims to go beyond that found in most gardens; he wishes to create something which will elicit an emotional response – a basic human response deeper than the simple appreciation of beauty, of …

A Good Orchid Day

The journey from home to Gortlecka Crossroads, in the heart of The Burren in Co. Clare, takes two hours and forty minutes according to the directions from Google maps and to drive there and back in one day would be a hard day indeed. The offer of travelling part of the way and taking a …

Shredding it!

I'm not one for "boy's toys" but a recent arrival in the garden has made me a happy boy. My garden shredder/chipper of almost ten years gave up the ghost and needed to be replaced. The new model was simply the same under a new name and with a different colour. Otherwise, it was more …

I am People!

I had not previously realised my plurality nor the multiplicity of my personalities but, it appears, It has been the case for some time. What brought it to my attention was a chat with Mary, my wife, about an hydrangea in the garden – Hydrangea ‘Hot Chocolate’. This is a cultivar of Hydrangea aspera, a …

The Hidden Horticulturists

When historic account is populated with individual stories it becomes real, all the more interesting and more accessible to us. Should we read of a First World War battle, with deaths in the thousands, we are duly shocked but should we be told of a young Lancashire lad, who was under age when he enlisted, …