Cor, the Fringe is now in its eleventh year! What is the Chelsea Fringe I hear you ask? The Chelsea Fringe is an alternative to the Chelsea Flower Show, with many small and quirky, horticulturally-related, often free events wrapping around the dates of the Chelsea Flower Show, in London and also much further afield. I’ve noticed that Seattle has a really exciting list of events this year. This Fringe, the Blackstock Triangle Gardeners (BTG), our community gardening project, is holding our second ever Dog Show on Sunday May 29th, 2-5pm in Finsburuy Park, North London. Come and marvel at the d ..read more

Cor, it’s been a while since I’ve blogged, but having been on such an inspiring rose pruning day with Jenny ‘Niff’ Barnes at the gorgeous Cottesbrooke Hall and Gardens last week, I just couldn’t contain myself. I love rose training, but Jenny Barnes (above) takes this art to a higher level. Her objective is to create a structure that is aesthetically pleasing throughout the winter months (although this rather glorious framework won’t be visible once the rose is in flower come summer). Niff isn’t sure that you necessarily get more blooms with this style of training, but loves the look of it a ..read more

Salvias are just starting to flower in my garden and in a few of my client’s gardens and it’s the perfect time to add these to a border or plant in a pot or two. Usually I head down to a plant fair in Highgate (in North London) in May and pick up some gorgeous specimens from Dysons Salvia Nursery, but as  this couldn’t take place this year, Dyson’s have over 50 Salvias on offer on their mail order service. And their nursery (near Sevenoaks in Kent) has just opened again to the public. Hurrah! Above is Salvia x jamensis ‘Nachtvlinder’, a most elegant plant (growing to about 75cm tall) and ..read more

Cor, how time flies. This time last year we held a most enjoyable Chelsea Fringe Dog Show. Probably one of the most enjoyable get-togethers our community project has held during the last ten years. Sadly, it hasn’t been possible to hold another such event this year, but have a listen to last year’s show here. It’s a real hoot!!! One of the categories in last year’s dog show was Best Floral Crown, so we’ve teamed up with East London florists extraordinaire Rebel Rebel, to hold online The Rebellious Floral Crown Competition, opening it up to all pets (that’s Emile from @emileandhector above), sm ..read more

Last year our community gardening project held a hugely enjoyable Dog Show in May as part of the Chelsea Fringe. For obvious reasons, we can’t all get together for such a hoot this year, but the Chelsea Fringe is still happening in a smaller, virtual way from 16th-24th May. Hurrah!! So this May, we’ve joined forces with the fantastic Rebel Rebel florists (Athena and Mairead above, and their team) in Hackney in E. London, to hold a virtual Chelsea Fringe Floral Crown Competition on Insatgram. Have a listen to our latest podcast to hear all about the competition, and to hear how Rebel Rebel is ..read more

I love Allium time of year. Daffodils and tulips, having riotously heralded spring, are nearly over, and now these purple explosions are starting to take centre stage. This is Allium ‘Purple Rain’ which is a glorious cross between A. cristophii and A. ‘Purple Sensation’. It’s a bit wilder than Purple Sensation, but it still has relatively well behaved leaves that won’t clobber everything around them. It’s supposed to flower in June, but along with everything else this year, it’s starting to open much earlier. Have a look at Avon Bulbs for more exciting bulbs to experiment with come autumn. Al ..read more

Since 2009 we’ve had a front garden community growing project on the go in Finsbury Park in North London and we’ve all hugely benefitted from knowing our neighbours during this crisis. As some have been self-isolating, other have shopped and dropped for them, and knowing that you are cared for by those living around you has been great for morale. Over the past 10 years or so, we’ve held Cake Sunday community get-togethers in a number front gardens, two or tree times a year, and we’ve also closed off the road à la street party for Chelsea Fringe Mega Cake Sundays every year or so too. Unable ..read more

Ah, we’re getting into the swing of this. Here’s no. 2. Apple blossom has taken up the baton from the Pittosporum, and once again, bees are vibrantly humming around the garden. It’s a glorious time of year as plants and flowers begin to unfurl and bloom. For our second podcast, I’ve been talking about sowing wildflower seed mixes. Some people are worried that sowing flower seeds at this strange time is a bit frivolous, but I say, not a bit of it! Flowers attract pollinators for our fruit and veg and also give a huge amount of much-needed joy! For those with a precious bit of spare ground (and ..read more

Hurrah! My first Podcast is now live. I’ve been chatting with my neighbour Simeon about greening up his garden now that he’s spending a lot more time at home during the Lockdown. Come and join us for a few minutes as we discuss what he’d like to grow. At the beginning of the podcast, I mention that tiny flowers on my Pittosporum tennuifolium are enveloping the garden with a heavenly scent. So here they are, above, and here’s the whole tree which was once a small shrub. Pittosporums come in all shapes and sizes and are great for edging, hedging and will happily grow into trees if you let them ..read more

I’ve been madly seed sowing during Lockdown, but as as well as planning for annual flowers and veg, I do have some gaps in my garden in want of a few lush perennials. And the nurseries that I’ve spoken to, having geared up over autumn and winter for visitors and the show seasons ahead, now have oodles of stock waiting to be bought. Great Dixter (above) has closed its nursery to visitors, but is still operating its mail order service, and would welcome and appreciate customers support by placing orders online. Daisy Roots, (above) near Hertford and St. Albans is offering free delivery and Nu ..read more