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…
Whether you're a fan of golf or not, you might know that this year The Open has returned to Northern Ireland and the town of Portrush on our north coast for the first time in 68 years. If you've seen any of the coverage on TV, you may have caught a glimpse of our beautiful…
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…
'Pausing for Thought' … I don't do it every day or even every week but then, suddenly, I reach a point where I need to stop and reflect on the weeks gone by - to celebrate the highlights, the little moments of joy, the beauty in the everyday. I'm sure there are many of us…
Call me biased, but this place we call home has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I don't get to see them nearly as much as I would like. And this past while back, I've really felt like I needed to escape there - for the sea air, the scenery, the…
'Live Green' - it's what we all want to try and do isn't it, to live our lives more simply, more sustainably, more in harmony with our natural environment. We've all seen the distressing images of plastic floating in our oceans and heard the news of how the earth is heating up and that time…
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…
