Perhaps this is a terrible indictment on the state of education in the UK, but the extent of my knowledge about the bishop of Bath and Wells (of whom, presumably, there have been many) is his appearance in Blackadder. You know the one, the "baby-eating Bishop of Bath and Wells" who turns up and demands … Continue reading Bishop’s palace and gardens
Gardening
You call this June?
June eh? I've got to confess, I've had the heating on these past two evenings. And looking out of the window, I can see that one of my tomato plants has been blown over in the winds. Sigh. Good old English summers... Moaning aside, I dashed out of the back door the other evening, and … Continue reading You call this June?
Painshill Park: the weirdness of landscape gardens
Hot on the heels of my trip to Eltham Palace to check out the 1930s planting, yesterday saw me visiting Painshill Park in Surrey, this time to visit an 18th century landscape garden. A bit of potted garden history for anyone interested. The "landscape" style of gardening became popular in the UK around the 1700s; … Continue reading Painshill Park: the weirdness of landscape gardens
Grow, forage, cook: stickyweed salsa verde
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: I am just absolutely bloody loving this good weather. Oh, the sun! Oh, the warm temperatures! Oh, the chance to potter around the garden, smelling the fabulous springtime smells of new growth out there! Actually, though, not a huge amount of pottering has been done in … Continue reading Grow, forage, cook: stickyweed salsa verde
Plant it now: lavender
I thought it might be nice to start up a(nother) little gardening series, taking a look at some of my favourite plants at the perfect time for planting them in the garden (or sowing seeds). Too often, when I read about plants that I decide I simply must have in my little patch, it’s at … Continue reading Plant it now: lavender
All quiet on the blogging front
I’ve been a little quieter than normal on the blog recently. But don’t worry, I’m not stuck in the same lethargic funk as I was all over the winter In fact, quite the opposite. Chez Wolves in London has been a crazy hive of activity recently. The littlest is going to be one in just … Continue reading All quiet on the blogging front
A few flowers
We continued with Operation Sort-out-the-garden this weekend. It’s an ongoing attempt, that's been running for about, oooh, the 2.5 years we’ve lived in this house. It’s not that I’m not crazy on gardening or that I’m not actually really quite desperate to have a garden that's nice to sit in... it’s just that we’re also … Continue reading A few flowers
Gardening jargon buster: deadheading
Now, it’s highly possible I was alone in this one, but before I started on my horticulture course the principle of deadheading eluded me somewhat. Yes, I grasped the basics: deadheading meant removing old flower heads from a plant. But I never managed to find more information than that. How should I remove them? What … Continue reading Gardening jargon buster: deadheading
Spring’s sprung at Wisley
Oh, but I bloody love Spring. The lighter evenings, the bulbs nosing up through the soil, the constant refrain of birdsong. Above all, the sense of possibility in the air, a renewed energy to get up off my arse and just do stuff. Anything! For everything undertaken in Springtime can’t fail to be fun. On … Continue reading Spring’s sprung at Wisley
The garden of my dreams
The sprogs have both been ill, with various bits and pieces, these past few weeks, which means that my days have disappeared in a blur of antibiotics administering, snotty nose wiping, eyedrop dispensing, multiple night-time wakings soothing and generally feeling pretty knackered myself. There's not been much time for blogging. Or thinking. Or brushing my … Continue reading The garden of my dreams
Wolves in London 