The late Doris Day once said ' Well I do find the beauty in animals. I find beauty everywhere. I find beauty in my garden'. And, despite the extremes of weather that have left my little garden battered and rather bruised around the edges (and myself a little downhearted), I still find beauty in my…
Hillsborough Castle, in the pretty village of the same name, is the residence of the Royal Family when they visit Northern Ireland. Originally built in the 1750s, the running of the castle and the one hundred acres of garden that surround it was taken over in 2014 by the charity Historic Royal Palaces who then…
Can I just say quietly, at the outset, that I have relationship issues with roses ? In my head, I see these beautiful flowers as the preserve of 'proper gardeners', and I don't fall into that category (being slightly more haphazard in my approach and infinitely less knowledgeable). And so I don't have any in…
Our front garden is a tiny affair - approximately 8x7m. When we first moved into our bungalow, it was just a patch of boggy grass. After a few years, I figured I couldn't look at the grass anymore and we hired a local landscaper to do some work for us. Tony was a friendly chap…
It seems, when other cherry blossom trees have flowered and faded and their petals lie strewn on the ground like confetti, that the one in our garden is only getting started. I'm not sure why that is exactly, but I kind of like it so. And although the spectacle comes round reliably every year, it's…
In recent years, snowdrops have grown hugely in popularity. Perhaps it's because they are so pretty, perhaps it's the Instagram effect. Perhaps it's simply because in the dark days of winter , when clumps of their delicate white flowers start to emerge from the undergrowth, they are so welcome. In response to their increasing popularity,…
As winter calls for snuggling up with a good book, I thought I'd share a few of my personal favourites. With common themes of nature, gardening and seasons, I love these books for their storytelling, illustrations, language and photography. 1.The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett I'm sure many of you will already know this…
