I finally made it back from Waddesdon on Wednesday evening after almost four weeks away from Leicester. I really enjoyed my extended stay in Bucks but I was pretty apprehensive about the level of carnage I’d find in the house, garden and allotment when I got back! On balance I think the apprehension was justified, although by some miracle the allotment in particular had survived … Continue reading #SixOnSaturday: Cut flower power
I’m currently having what amounts to an unplanned but, as it turns out, timely mini-break! I’m in the latter stages of recovery from last week’s ankle sprain but I opted not to go back to Leicester having found cover for all my various commitments this weekend. I therefore found myself with four days with no responsibilities but the ability to drive again! On Thursday I … Continue reading #SixOnSaturday: Waterperry Gardens
So, I readily admit that this is probably one of my least interesting #SixOnSaturdays to date!!! The main reason for this is that having busted my knee a couple of weeks ago falling over on the way to the hairdresser’s, on Wednesday I busted the opposite ankle tripping over at work at Waddesdon! I’m currently held together with tubigrip and painkillers and spent yesterday afternoon … Continue reading #SixOnSaturday: Trowels, trees and tractors
We’re back at Waddesdon Manor for #SixOnSaturday today. Watering was the dominant theme of my week this week, as it was in gardens across the UK during our little mini heatwave! On Monday I was posted to the greenhouse where I spent the whole day literally just watering. I think it’s the first time since I started my internship that I’ve had sole responsibility for … Continue reading #SixOnSaturday: Endurance watering
It’s a lesser-spotted allotment #SixOnSaturday from me today! Although I have been spending regular chunks of time on the plot in recent weeks, most of my time there has been spent trying to claw the whole thing back from the chaos that unfolded in the month after I’d started at Waddesdon when I didn’t make it up there at all. Today’s been the first time … Continue reading #SixOnSaturday: Plot 35
I’m back in my secret garden this week and it appears that I’ve managed – genuinely coincidentally – to rustle up an almost red, white and blue #SixOnSaturday! I acquired this astrantia – which I’m guessing might be ‘Shaggy’ – from the plant stall at Kelmarsh Hall last summer. I divided the clump into two; this half has done really well but the other has … Continue reading #SixOnSaturday: The Platinum Jubilee edition
My secret garden is going through what I hope will be a brief transition phase. The daffodils and grape hyacinth are finished. The tulips – almost universally underwhelming this year – won’t be around much longer. But the garden is full of buds. I acquired this astrantia from the plant stall at Kelmarsh Hall about this time last year. So far as I can remember … Continue reading #SixOnSaturday: Budding stars
It’s peak tulip season, as I’m sure is evident from the wealth of images from across gardening social media and blogs, so the time has come to join in the fun. As ever, I bought my tulips from Sarah Raven. The main image is from the Bold and Brilliant collection and I think it’s probably Mariette. Top right, Spring Green, bottom right, Groenland, and bottom … Continue reading #SixOnSaturday: No rest for the wicked
Slightly different perspective for #SixOnSaturday this week. My digs at Waddesdon are right next door to the parish church and for the last three weeks I’ve been meaning to take a wander through the churchyard. I appreciate that this might not appeal to everyone, but it’s clearly a very well-kept space, with regularly mown grass and a path lined with flowering trees which winds its … Continue reading #SixOnSaturday: Natural beauty
I suspect that #SixOnSaturday is going to be overwhelmed by clematis montana for the ext couple of weeks! Mine’s been in bud for a while and just this week has erupted into a wall of soft pink. Excitingly, after two years of prolific foliage, peony ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ has flower buds on it for the first time! My pulmonaria (lungwort, on account of the markings on … Continue reading #SixOnSaturday
My Secret Garden 