By Andrea Jones I love fritillaries – they are so elegant and graceful. Most of the species below were photographed at the nursery of Jim and Jenny Archibald in Wales, JJ Archibald Seeds. Very sadly our friend Jim died of cancer in August last year; so this was a particularly good opportunity to pay tribute[...]
It was a serious fumble. In bulb-planting terms, it was as close as I ever want to totter on the brink of disaster. Are we all in agreement that autumn bulb planting is akin to gambling? You continue ordering bulbs until suddenly the game shuts down. In a good year, the stakes aren’t shut down[...]
Just call me a relic. That’s right — rub it in — I’m obsolete. And guess what. Some of my best friends are equally archaic. And here comes the confession — my garden is a total museum. If something is old (the older, the better), I automatically yearn to grow it. It’s not hip, it’s[...]
Daffodils at Acorn Bank garden, Cumbria, UK, mostly wild Narcissus pseudonarcissus crossed with some old varieties genetically close to the original wild species. Photo:NK. Daffodils are somehow the quintessential spring flower. The appearance of their distinctive yellow flowers is a sure sign that winter has either ended or is about to soon. Unlike the tulip,[...]
Gardening in Israel: By the time June comes along, you might as well call it a wrap….except for the once in a while deadheading, pruning (which I’m always a bit shocked at how vigorously it’s done throughout the summer here) and making sure that watering systems are intact. From mid-winter until mid-spring, the blooms are[...]