tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49220364969278370272012-01-26T15:06:47.899ZAbout life and growing things in an urban landscapecamillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.comBlogger821100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-46202046152005912582011-10-10T12:53:00.000+01:002011-10-10T17:52:44.165+01:00

How did we get to October already? The golden light of disappearing rays of sunshine is has brought an unmistakable warm glow to sedums, grasses, Japanese anemones, and even the intense blue of aconitum looks somehow a little less icy cool. And that final burst of heat, or late arrival of summer, was most welcome, but the weather looks like it's reverting to type now. It's been a long while

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-23979159327778296712011-08-15T19:19:00.002+01:002011-08-16T09:51:07.042+01:00

A riot of colours is the perfect antidote to the colour of rioting. London has been a strange place this past week. For the the first time in some 20 or so years of living here, I felt unsafe in my own home, just a few miles down the road from Ealing. But with no decent local shops worth looting, we seem to have escaped trouble, for now. A flipside to the dark destruction, Kew gardens on

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-10399489761863846512011-08-04T19:45:00.001+01:002011-08-04T19:45:49.768+01:00

It's not ideal, growing vegetables and fruit in a north-facing garden. But, against the odds (and the south facing back wall) our pear tree is dripping with fruit again, for the second summer. I know I should remove a few to allow it to concentrate its efforts, but I haven't got the heart to - I would prefer many, but smaller fruits. The fig tree is also looking quite abundant, probably thanks to

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-47110912033245970102011-07-21T12:37:00.000+01:002011-07-21T12:37:56.851+01:00

I went to the Urban Physic Garden the other day. It's a follow up to last summer's Urban Orchard project at 100 Union Street, SE1. Using recyled wood, donated plants and other temporary structures, including the mossy cross below, a roving Rambulance Cafe, and all the plants grouped into medicinal wards to demonstrate which can be used to treat various ailments, it's more than just a whimisical

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-81244621462543716762011-07-15T19:21:00.000+01:002011-07-15T19:21:41.260+01:00

I had my first visit to the new Olympic Park this week. Here is a small part of it. It's being touted as the biggest new park in London, since the Victorians started building green lungs for the poor of the city, and allows LOCOG, to tick off quite a few green boxes. For example, gullies planted with wildflowers and designed to funnel rainwater run-off. Reed bed filtration systems, new wetland

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-72030828752873514762011-07-07T15:50:00.002+01:002011-07-07T15:56:17.885+01:00

There is nothing quite like the sensory overload that hits you when you walk into a floral marquee. First there's the perfume of literally thousands of blooms that overwhelms you; then you start to look at all the myriad plants; and then you just want to buy them all there and then. It's probably just as well that on Press Day at Hampton Court, most of the nurseries are either still finishing

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-54321815742400544632011-06-28T10:02:00.009+01:002011-07-01T19:55:38.147+01:00

Once of the best gardening lessons I ever had was from the esteemed designer, Jill Billington, who pointed out sagely that plants don't read books, so the only real way to see if they work in a particular spot is by trial and error. I find this a useful, comforting and entertaining gardening attitude (as long as you're not spending tons on very expensive plants). It's particularly liberating

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-57691709012537157472011-06-17T19:22:00.000+01:002011-06-17T19:22:40.721+01:00

Well, not juicy, red ripe tomatoes, but definitely a glut of plants. Can't give 'em away and most diasppointingly they were not hot sellers at the fundraising plant sale last Saturday - curse those Gardeners' Delight that are so easy to grow and the whole grow-your-own trend. Now that more folk are in on the secret of growing food, they have no reason to buy my lovely homegrown plants! I am

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-85175607546405837052011-05-30T17:43:00.001+01:002011-06-01T17:44:55.462+01:00

There's untapped soap-operatic potential around NGS open days, particularly those multiple gardens that open on the same day in the same street. I've been to two quite different days in the last week. The first was to the fve gardens on Kew Green, where you buy one ticket and it's all organised in a very neighbourly - and orderly - fashion with riverside garden gates open to allow acces through

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-79601978530799936442011-05-24T23:56:00.000+01:002011-05-24T23:56:31.020+01:00

My only regret about my day at Chelsea Flower Show yesterday was that I didn't get to a betting shop. For the second year in a row I predicted (along with most other people, I'll admit) that Cleve West's Telegraph Garden would win best in show. And it most deservedly did. But I didn't put any money it. Shame, but well done Cleve.My snap below doesn't do it justice. Although it's a show garden,

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-2596410712226002742011-05-21T22:15:00.000+01:002011-05-22T23:13:13.572+01:00

Phew. A week on from Sunflower planting day in the graveyard, the seedlings are not only still in situ, but apparently thriving; and the first showings of the Pictorial Meadows seeds are peeping through. I have high hopes for a dazzling display in late summer. Planting day was a very positive urban gardening experience. We had a good turnout of about a dozen local folk to plant out some 75

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-69895773693594099972011-05-13T18:51:00.000+01:002011-05-13T18:51:54.451+01:00

Back home again and it's amazing how in just a few days the garden has moved on a season. Husband did quite well on his watering chores while I was away. The alliums are already fading and the sweet rocket is now positively luminous with purple blooms.  And sadly, the last petals on my favourite tulip of the year - the marvellously frilly Cummins pictured below - have crumpled and the equally

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-18971617941054285162011-05-10T19:47:00.000+01:002011-05-10T19:47:39.863+01:00

I'm in Madrid for a couple of days and it's beautiful here. My guidebook tells me it's the greenest city in Europe. Surely not ? I thought it was London.  I've been to Madrid a few times before and haven't come away with especially green memories - it's the small streets and tall buildings (and the shops, bars and restaurants) that made an impression on me. I dismissed the comment as one of those

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-74455318519196333862011-04-28T16:08:00.001+01:002011-04-28T16:10:52.921+01:00

Battersea is one of my favourite London parks, dating back to when I first saw the Pogues play there in the mid-1980's, when it was more of a fun-fair-and-festival type of park in those years pre-gentrifcation. Then years later I lived up the hill and it was my refuge and escape and the destination for many a dogwalk. It's still a gem to rival those big green spaces North of the river: Regents

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-90638058820189378232011-04-13T20:23:00.034+01:002011-04-15T11:26:17.266+01:00

Today I learned that to get the blue dye from woad, Isatis tinctoria, you have to dig up the plant, put it in a bucket of water and pee on it. The water turns blue, you strain the plant debris and you have your dye; it's also a very pretty plant (see above), so two reasons to grow it. I also learned that angelica is one of the main ingredients in gin (I knew about the juniper). And sempervivums

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-13949287021706593192011-04-07T11:29:00.000+01:002011-04-07T11:29:43.595+01:00

It doesn't get much more seeds-and-the-city-ish than taking over a neglected rose garden on the Islington/Hackney borders and transforming it into a beautiful, vibrant space to teach kids about nature, wildlife and growing food. That's what The Garden Classroom is all about and thanks to a tip off from Joe Swift, who is their patron, I went to meet founder Marnie Rose today to find out more

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-43911145668616907502011-03-26T18:01:00.000Z2011-03-26T18:01:37.067Z

It's been a long while since I my last blog (can't help the Catholic guilt). But over the past few weeks Spring has definitely arrived, bringing with it a glorious embarrasment of riches: cherry blossom (check); first tulips (check); I've even spotted a precocious bluebell. But my favourite right now is this mimosa, all chick-yellow and fluffy; it has defiantly survived the cold, it smells quite

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-151870843141530302011-02-17T22:02:00.001Z2011-02-25T18:45:43.691Z

Daffs are appearing, crocuses too. But the snowdrop is king right now. It was snowdrop weekend at the Chelsea Physic Garden. I went with my sister who was unable to persuade her 6 and 8 year old boys that it would be as much fun as kicking a football around the park. I love seeing my nephews but it was probably just as well as there were over 50 varieties in flower to play spot the difference

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-61084583995192817272011-02-07T18:35:00.002Z2011-02-08T10:40:43.999Z

 I've been hiding from this blog for a few weeks, like I've been hiding from the grey cold of January dormancy. But I'm pleased to announce that it is definitely all starting up again - in the garden at least. My first Iris reticulata has put in an appearance. All the while I've been obsessively checking the progress of my crocuses and snowdrops I'd completely forgotten about these little

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-11437832003367562532011-01-16T19:59:00.000Z2011-01-16T19:59:12.595Z

They say January 17th, is the old twelfth night. I'm not sure how that works as it would mean there were many more than 12 days of Christmas, but it is quite an ancient tradition and therefore this date seems to be accepted wisdom. Time was when country folk used to celebrate  by waking up the fruit trees. They made noise, hung ribbons and toast in the branches of fruit trees and poured last

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-5620209821342598422010-12-31T20:17:00.035Z2011-01-01T01:18:24.828Z

There's a lot of fuss about mistletoe, ivy, holly berries and pine trees at this time of year. Of course there are lots of other things like Christmas box and Viburnum bodnantense 'Dawn' that don't get as much press as they should. But for all the plants we bring indoors, I want to shout about the more exotic Narcissus 'Paper white' and the divine amaryllis in its many hues. It's simply a 

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-78309695242871544492010-12-17T15:08:00.001Z2010-12-17T15:08:39.254Z

The snow has arrived - again. Just a light dusting in West London, which has cheered things up immensely. Everything looked pinched and cold in the frosty greyness of the morning. Now the garden looks snug and cosy under the snow and the skies have gone blue and bright. It really is alpine fresh. And I'm enjoying the incongruity of the test match coverage burbling away in the background on the

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-74777603968028063292010-11-27T19:02:00.000Z2010-11-27T19:02:16.977Z

These leeks at Regents Park Allotment were definitely frozen this morning. It feels like we have fast forwarded to February. Only a week ago I was at Wisley, marvelling at how mild the weather was. But after that spell of warmish autumn days that lulled a few bulbs into poking some leaves above the soil and made the autumn leaves sing against blue skies, we are now in deepest winter chill, even

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-15725562161188681392010-11-13T12:44:00.003Z2010-11-13T12:49:29.482Z

There's only one thing to do on the allotment at this time of year. Dig. Very vigorous digging, just to keep warm. But this week the digging was interrupted by photographer Paul Debois. Paul has decided to shoot all the women allotmenteers he has worked with as a follow on to his gorgeous series of gardeners hand portraits (worth looking to see if you can guess which hands belong to which

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-19804812954218601672010-10-31T19:38:00.033Z2010-11-01T20:06:42.520Z

 As a passing tribute to Halloween and the Mexican day of the dead, I thought I'd dig up some advice from the past. From a time when wood veneer record players graced ladderack shelves, gold taps were de rigeur for avocado bathroom suites and full page technicolor adverts for Rothmans Select cigarettes sat opposite the gardening Q&A. I found this near-pristine copy of 1972 House & Garden

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-77111228246125874512010-10-27T13:00:00.016+01:002010-10-27T13:11:12.883+01:00

 Another frost, followed by wet and windy days this week. Summer - both the one just gone and the next one I'm already looking forward to - feels a long way away. I'm already thinking nostalgically of our late September holiday in Cornwall. I didn't blog about it at the time because it was a blissful week free from the internet and even a mobile signal. Although Cornwall is a massive gardening

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-63598395021648541302010-10-23T15:30:00.002+01:002010-10-24T15:42:59.500+01:00

It's definitely autumn. My garden isn't great for autumn colour but this bunch I put together represents the final floral fourish and it kind of heartened me that even at the end October there are still a few reasons to be cheerful.  Namely, in my tiny plot at least, japanese anemones, sedums, clematis viticella and monkshood, plus the still-blooming summer throwbacks, sunflowers, lavender and 

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-24094864411091248102010-10-10T23:45:00.000+01:002010-10-10T23:45:40.350+01:00

Gnarled, beaten oak trees, herds of deer, beautiful sun-bleached grassy plains, clear-running streams. No clouds today, and the sun, clean, sharp and October-low on the horizon. I don't know if it was the lucky combination of calendar numbers everyone was talking about, but it did feel like the gods were having a good day; a beautiful afternoon in Richmond Park.

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-52899918658945182312010-10-05T21:11:00.000+01:002010-10-05T21:11:41.777+01:00

It seems only moments ago that I was swooning at snowdrops and buying summer flowering bulbs at the first show of the year back in February. But now I really have to come to terms with the fact that it's the end of the season and time for the RHS Autumn Harvest Show in Pimlico. I took advantage of a sneak preview of the show this morning, before the crowds arrived. At this time of year, the

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-51790361290943937662010-09-30T23:32:00.000+01:002010-10-03T23:33:20.746+01:00

 Sometime back I put out a call on this blog for courgette recipes. Now I can report that the last of the courgettes have been turned into a fantastic cake by me (I used this great Nigel Slater recipe), and into chutney by my husband. The cake, as you can see, was not a pretty one, but it was quite delicious; although it doesn't do a lot to enhance the reputation of courgettes, as not even

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-60792464812998891242010-09-23T20:46:00.000+01:002010-09-23T20:46:22.338+01:00

You can find many things in London Parks. Some things are quite unexepected: a group of Scottish country dancers at a bandstand in Kensington Gardens, kilts and all, a couple of Saturdays ago. And this weekend I heard the Pope was in Hyde Park... Some things are expected: deck chairs. If you were inclined to spend a lot of time watching out for random park eccentricities, you can buy a Deck Chair

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-52587090485539597812010-09-12T16:59:00.002+01:002010-09-12T17:03:32.206+01:00

Abundance is not a word that I often associate with what I grow in my 15x35ft garden. I squeeze in what I can and I kind of like our micro-harvests. But this year, I am proud to announce the arrival of a bowlful of pears. There have been three barren years leading up to this momentous event - one fruit the first year, then a few promising small fruits in the second year were abducted by the

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-74610810074874341792010-09-07T20:11:00.001+01:002010-09-07T20:13:55.153+01:00

                          A while back I blogged about pigs in Holland Park. This week I found pigs, sheep, echiums, the Women's Institute, Morris Dancers, and a Punch and Judy stall right in the heart of the theatre district in the West End. Plus cheeses and a grumpy shetland pony. It was the 2nd annual  Phoenix Garden Agricultural Show.In all the years I worked in the West End, I never knew the

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-85736680647352686862010-08-24T14:35:00.000+01:002010-08-24T14:49:06.223+01:00

I've visited a couple of  inner-London garden centres on this blog, each very different. If you're in the Portobello/ Westbourne Grove area, looking for a bit of respite from shopping and Notting Hillites with loud, intrusive voices, I can recommend taking a brisk 15 minute walk north-eastwards and heading under the Westway to Little Venice. (You could of course pick up one of the Barclays Bikes

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-6688476549279563682010-08-17T22:38:00.000+01:002010-08-17T22:38:28.779+01:00

I visited two gardens this weekend. They couldn't have been more different in style, size and location. The first was Nymans, in Sussex. I have been driving up and down the A23 for years now, seeing the sign and thinking: next time I'll go and visit. Finally, this weekend was that next time. It's a National Trust classic: an Important Garden. The wealthy Messel family collected plants through

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-580687929206863022010-08-14T21:45:00.004+01:002010-08-16T17:36:32.701+01:00

This is my haul from the allotment this week. I don't expect you to be impressed (but please note the size of the onion, which I am quite proud of). We share what we grow at work between at least 6 or 7 of us, and if you add one bulb of garlic, some tomatoes, french beans, rocket, one carrot and the smallest spuds you have ever seen, from the garden at home, I have managed to accumulate enough

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-11880883563294649812010-08-06T12:29:00.000+01:002010-08-06T12:29:13.886+01:00

 I don't think I'm in for a tomato glut, judging by the rather demure way my Gardeners' Delights are ripening one at a time. But I think that this year, I could be in the running for domestic level EU courgette mountain status. I have five plants that have so far produced approaching 30 beautiful green specimens - of varying dimensions. Five plants is definitely too many for a household of two

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-37970684931934163352010-07-23T23:01:00.000+01:002010-07-23T23:01:14.125+01:00

After a wander round Borough Market, I can highly recommend popping into the Union Street Urban Orchard which is empty of tourists and full of fruit trees, flowers and birds. Borough Market is great for sampling food treats - cheeses, salamis, sauces and marvelling at beautiful, pile-em-high vegetable displays. But the price tags are exorbitant: can you imagine paying £2 for a single tomato?

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-79608091599138159992010-07-13T20:49:00.000+01:002010-07-13T20:49:50.695+01:00

At the work allotment today I got chatting to one of the gardeners who maintains the workscape. It was just before they were rudely moved on by some officious jobsworth in the overlooking building, for eating their packed lunches in an inappropriate location - why they couldn't picnic by the allotment I have no idea. Dan, a young guy from Grenada with the gentlest of Caribbean accents, is still

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-78039475509558280452010-07-05T22:42:00.000+01:002010-07-05T22:42:48.494+01:00

It's another big flower show week for London, with Hampton Court bringing together lots of out of town nurseries, designers and plenty of other gardening treats. Hampton has been suffering in recent years from the poor relation syndrome. Inevitably compared to Chelsea - and never in the same league - it has been struggling to find its own identity. Once known for its water gardens and the big

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-57766127419907295092010-06-30T11:20:00.056+01:002010-07-03T16:58:13.944+01:00

This is Eucalyptus leucoxylon 'Rosea' at the Chelsea Physic Garden. I love the tassel-like flowers - they're kind of burlesque and cheeky. The Physic Garden is one of those special London spaces - positively bursting with historical gems: over 300 years old, it's the cradle of botany and has features like the Grade II listed, oldest rock garden in Europe (surely that must be the world? does

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-10625586569939979462010-06-27T20:08:00.000+01:002010-06-27T20:08:24.892+01:00

On the hottest weekend of the year, it's been hard prizing myself out of my stripey deckchair. It was just so nice sitting under the olive tree watching the bees decide whether to land on the lavender, peek into a foxglove, or buzz ecstatically in a poppy flower. It's not often that you get to say this about a British summer, but it really is too hot to do any gardening after about 10.30am. So

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-47501444709748100382010-06-13T20:00:00.040+01:002010-06-14T22:47:42.573+01:00

It's just been Open Garden Square's weekend. It started out in 1998 as an opportunity to peek inside those private communal gardens bordered by wrought iron railings that pepper children's story books, black and white films and Frank Sinatra ballads about London. This year 200 places were listed and all sorts of usually private gardens were throwing open their gates, even prisons. I went to 

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-55311164151250735012010-06-11T16:10:00.002+01:002010-06-11T17:05:03.646+01:00

Most home-grown vegetables are better than shop bought, that's a fact. But sometimes the taste index is off the scale. I raved about rhubarb and now I'm going to pronounce on peas. Those first ripening peas are so sweet and succulent that they are hard to resist eating straight from the pod. They are more like sweets than vegetables. So not many have made it to the dinner plate. To think that I

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-16221824127825330242010-06-06T14:53:00.000+01:002010-06-07T14:53:40.857+01:00

I went to my first garden party this week. It was quite an exclusive address in North Kensington, just around the corner from PM David Cameron's house, before he moved to no.10. Being a garden party in June, of course it rained, but the combination of flourishing vegetable beds, brightly coloured umbrellas, wellies and cagoules made it quintessentially English. It was the first summer gathering

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-75624583975617887842010-06-05T09:24:00.001+01:002010-06-06T16:49:01.319+01:00

I have mentioned that my garden is very small. One of the consequences of having a diminutive outdoor space is that some of my wildest fantasies involve sheds and greenhouses and what I would do in them if I ever have enough room to have one. Disappointingly, there are no Carry-on Mellors style steamy windows or swoonings going on, but visions of many happy hours sowing seeds and potting on while

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-61624886932776727952010-05-30T21:06:00.022+01:002010-06-06T16:27:10.631+01:00

Chelsea is all over for another year. After so many hours of TV coverage and acres of print and digital media, it was a great addition to the week to have a Vista night at the Garden Museum on Thursday with some real life chat and amicable banter about the show. Top billing was winner Andy Sturgeon and his best-in-show rival Tom Stuart Smith, chatting to Tim Richardson and Noel Kingsbury.

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-28868476445224249782010-05-25T00:26:00.000+01:002010-05-25T00:26:16.049+01:00

  Sunny and Chelsea Flower Show are not words I have used in the same sentence very often over the last 7 years. But today, instead of taking shelter in the floral pavilion for reasons of cold or wet, I was one of many people trying to get out of the sun. Hats and red shoulders were the latest accessories and the heat was the big talking point: wilting flowers and people. The tulips were

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-19191683239260057472010-05-19T22:26:00.001+01:002010-05-25T16:53:42.544+01:00

I used to have a thing about shoes. These days I get the same sugar-rush when I see gorgeous plants that I simply have to have. Invariably (as with the shoes), I have no room for them, nothing to pair them with and probably can't afford them. The good news is that plants are a lot cheaper than shoes and there's no risk of turning my ankle on impractical but gorgeous heels. So I don't have to

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-82221455525660333372010-05-13T22:14:00.002+01:002010-05-14T11:41:58.310+01:00

My favourite place to see bluebells in London is Holland Park. You can't stroll through them, but you get these gorgeous views through the trees across a sea of shimmering blue that momentarily makes you feel like you're miles away and that a haywain might suddenly appear round the corner. Or even a pig. Only this year, you might actually get to see a porker in the park in one of London's best 

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-84193693620024815912010-05-07T18:03:00.054+01:002010-05-14T11:36:34.657+01:00

Everything is late this year. It's official. Late spring, late sowing of seeds, transplanting, flowering. That long winter has a lot to answer for.  And we're experiencing some pretty brisk temperatures again this past week. Consequently, the at-work allotment is looking a little skimpy and the turnout for seed sowing has been thin - unseasonal weather and too many meetings sometimes get in the

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-16550250373867975892010-05-03T08:15:00.000+01:002010-05-08T21:23:50.948+01:00

It's not been bad for a May Day bank holiday. Gusty and cold after a month's worth of rain, but enough sunshine to make it worth seeing some gardens. So I persuaded Dan, Nick and Ian to join me on the Great Garden trail. This grand title makes it sound like a horticultural magical mystery tour; the reality was not so much a trail, as an alternative NGS open day - without the cakes. We picked

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-12446832396801592392010-04-26T20:09:00.004+01:002010-04-30T11:41:01.465+01:00

 Yesterday I took a trip out of town with the dog (am husbandless due to a certain sporting event in Sheffield). We went to one of my favourite places, to visit Jan at Pook Hill Barn in deepest East Sussex. In addition to endless cups of tea and gossip around her kitchen table, with assorted visitors, dogs and chickens, we popped down the road to Firle Place, near Lewes. It's one of those big

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-56564418089333804572010-04-24T15:53:00.005+01:002010-04-26T12:25:57.026+01:00

TThe tulips we coaxed into the concrete-like soil of St. Mary's Burial Ground back in October have arrived like a spring carnival. I'm not sure that 400 made it through the combined ravages of squirrels, November rain and frozen ground, but there are enough to make it feel like it was worth all the effort and subsequent aches and pains. And they are doing a great job of distracting from the

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-30837522176606588562010-04-16T11:32:00.003+01:002010-04-16T11:40:26.274+01:00

That manicure is not going to happen now. The days are longer, the temperature a few degrees warmer and the sun, comfortably clearing the rooftops by mid-morning, is now bathing both my little north-facing garden and the work allotment for a good portion of the day. My hands are in and out of the soil as much as possible: in the morning, in between sips of coffee - a little tweak here and there;

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-66415438596587379312010-04-09T18:16:00.008+01:002010-04-09T21:53:05.046+01:00

Back in London; fuzzy with jetlag; delighted to find that spring has arrived. Too busy out seeing stuff to blog more than twice from SF,  I'm already looking back nostalgically at some of the people and places (and trees) I encountered. At the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show, I got my first taste of the California obsession with succulents. Planted in frames, wreaths and whole carpets of

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-29166450686943767062010-04-05T01:36:00.000+01:002010-04-05T01:36:37.937+01:00

 Every front patch, alleyway, rooftop and roadside in San Francisco seems to be cultivated in some way. Even in the wonderfully named Dog Patch, a neighbourhood that is currently sitting somewhere in that post-industrial, pre-gentrification time zone, streets are tree-lined. Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised in a city where Golden Gate Park, the biggest green space, was built out of Sand Dunes.

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-71933301171313408122010-04-02T16:37:00.000+01:002010-04-02T16:37:26.976+01:00

I've been in San Francisco for a week now where I've found an explosion of colour and plants that has sent my head spinning. Wild lupins and roadside echiums; lush lollipop-pruned fig trees lining the streets; unpicked lemons dripping from front garden trees, succulents galore and California poppies, of course. Magnolias are in flower, and ceanothus; at the same time as bluebells; daffodils

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-69556585938712775282010-03-22T12:52:00.000Z2010-03-22T12:52:00.408Z

Every time I drive out of London westwards on the A40, I pass these primeval looking mounds on the outer reaches of Ealing. They have only been there a few years and tower above the road; and there's always someone walking on them. I've always wondered what purpose they serve and have been trying to persuade a reluctant husband and dog that they are worth further investigation. Husband's

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-27475920107580441652010-03-14T20:08:00.001Z2010-03-15T20:37:18.246Z

The florists have been in overdrive. Can mother's day possibly be bigger than valentine's? And if so, is that a positive thing? Anyway, it's one Hallmark holiday that it's hard to be sniffy about. The news was full of reports about the tardiness of this year's daffodils; and although my lovely Narcissus February Gold put in a timely appearance (well, several weeks late if their name is what you

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-37110051020775580552010-03-07T21:00:00.002Z2010-03-12T08:45:06.118Z

I feel normal again. The sun shone, I indulged in my first bit of horticultural retail therapy of the season, visited a beautiful garden and got my hands in some soil at last. It was a frisky 4 degrees, but the blue skies drew crowds of buyers and sellers to Chiswick Car Boot Sale. First Sunday of the month is always a good opportunity for a gardening bargain. In amongst the original Home Pride

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-37715948725081011092010-02-24T21:00:00.028Z2010-02-27T16:58:46.638Z

There's something quite therapeutic about standing in a pile of rotting horse manure on a weekday lunchtime. After many months of good intentions and bad weather, three of us (Kate, Tamsin and me) made a dash for the stables on the other side of the Westway. This has been a good source of fertiliser for our at-work-allotment the past couple of seasons and, lucky for us, it really couldn't be

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-24172035015319880552010-02-22T15:59:00.005Z2010-02-22T18:02:28.122Z

This is not some rare, undiscovered snowdrop bulb. If it were, it might change hands for £20 or more; some galanthophiles might even resort to theft and deception to have it in their possession. But plant addiction is a curious condition with many and varied symptoms. My own obsession manifested itself most recently by being strangely drawn to this gnarled and woody corm in a roomful of delicate

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-26379615538448623832010-02-07T18:49:00.003Z2010-02-19T14:54:58.542Z

There are snowdrops, aconites and even crocuses beginning to colonise the park and the little graveyard at the end of my road. Another sure a sign that spring is imminent is the launch of the 2010 Yellow Book. It's one of a string of events at this time of year aimed at whetting the appetites of garden writers and editors. The bible of the venerable National Garden Scheme seems to go from

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-14398079673312437772010-02-07T11:44:00.002Z2010-02-07T11:49:54.017Z

It's been a good gardening week, though not in the outdoor, productive sense. The Vista lectures resumed their first Tuesday of the month slot at the Garden Museum. It's always a good chance to talk gardens with designers and writers and eat some great food. This month, Tim Richardson and Noel Kingsbury quizzed artists Kate Whiteford and Julia Barton. They discussed how they used landscape,

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-53814373122298319682010-01-11T19:33:00.000Z2010-01-11T19:33:25.669Z

It's all turning into a grubby puddle like the wicked witch of the west. But some things look quite lovely, half-frozen.

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-66472194528149123112010-01-09T18:20:00.004Z2010-01-11T19:25:06.422Z

It very much puts the kybosh on gardening all this snow. I have sorted out my tin of seed packets (they're all neatly labelled now), thought about which new veg I want to try this summer at the allotment and organised all the back issues of my gardening magazines in newly-assembled ikea shelves (in a mildly obsessive compulsive fashion). In the garden, I've brushed what snow I can off more

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-81295802105883073832009-12-29T22:39:00.004Z2009-12-30T18:40:13.422Z

I inherited two mature olive trees with my north-facing back garden. They aren't quite in the right place - no self-respecting gardening book would advise planting Olea europea in a location where not even the slightest ray of sunshine peeps over the rooftops in deepest winter. However, it is a very sheltered spot and  the high summer sun is soaked up and absorbed by the brick paving to create a

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-60868931157498477582009-12-08T15:46:00.000Z2009-12-08T15:46:12.206Z

I try to get to the office allotment about once a week. Even though it's only round the back of the building, it's not easy to prize myself away from the tyranny of Outlook (emails, meetings, more meetings). But today I did sneak away for a soul-enhancing half hour, returning to my desk with mud on my jeans, an armful of assorted leaves, and some almost fresh air in my lungs; the ever-busy

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-71079792862928663792009-11-23T19:07:00.053Z2009-11-23T20:39:20.838Z

My weekly botany course is coming to the end of term. Taught by the wonderful David Bevan - a former conservation officer who is a curious, gentle hybrid of David Attenborough and Patrick Moore; we convene on Monday afternoons in Highgate to hear his stories of the plants that live alongside us. So what have I learned? To name and love those rogue weeds that appear in my garden. It sounds so

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-17070467689644236882009-10-18T21:00:00.020+01:002010-04-23T15:55:46.465+01:00

Bulb planting causes quite a specific range of gardening aches and pains. Apart from the prolonged crouching and bending, which are more or less de rigeur for most types of gardening activity, there's the repetitive strain of digging many small holes in hard ground, deep enough to put off greedy squirrels, who treat bulb planting as an easy treasure hunt laid on by kind humans. In a couple of

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-49536354101938964632009-10-10T12:44:00.000+01:002009-10-29T14:55:31.943Z

Not very season-of-mists-and-mellow-fruitfulness. Instead, my garden this month is summed up by these amazingly intense colours from an unnamed pompom-flowered purple aster, an equally purple aconitum (monkshood) and the barbie pink salvia. A bit of subtelty from the caryopteris just going to seed and a viburnum on the verge of flowering, with backing foliage from the olive tree, plus an olive

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-37588709303858761162009-09-30T15:22:00.008+01:002009-10-01T14:24:43.613+01:00

Here's a selection of what I've grown (successfully) at home in pots and on the allotment at work. Shiny homegrown peppers before they went under the knife - a record crop of five this year.Tomatoes a-ripening - but they may yet end up as green chutney as the shadow of White City is looming a little longer every day and we are running out of sun.Winter minestrone ingredients coming along nicely.

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-26299762832784910272009-09-24T12:46:00.006+01:002009-09-24T13:54:37.612+01:00

I went to the Garden Museum last night for a sneak preview of the photos in Dan Pearson's gorgeous new book. The museum has become a vibrant hub for gardening glitterati, repositioning itself a la V&A, with less emphasis on the artefacts and more on looking at design, and gardens, today. I like what they're doing. It's a great space, the Vista talks are stimulating, the changing exhibitions are

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-56763132176208161982009-09-21T21:10:00.006+01:002009-09-28T15:47:16.245+01:00

September in my garden brings pink to the flat heads of sedum, the first flush of autumn burgundy to the forsythia leaves, crocosmia seedheads, caryopteris in bud, speckled trycirtis and pale anemone in full bloom and a few sprigs of rosemary and pineapple mint.

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-82647285103701681302009-09-07T14:02:00.005+01:002009-09-07T14:34:45.663+01:00

When you live in such close proximity as a London terrace, it helps if you can borrow your neighbour's garden. I am lucky that I have generous gardeners next door, who have planted bananas, echiums, a gingko tree and as much as they can cram in, so we have a wonderful view to the rooftops beyond. And closer still, the wisteria is shared over the trellis that divides our plots. Yesterday Fabrice

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-47996281091025020442009-09-01T17:26:00.006+01:002009-09-04T14:11:02.994+01:00

That autumn back-to-school feeling never really goes away. And it feels especially acute after a long weekend. The trees seem to have started shedding lots more leaves just because it's the official first day of autumn; Radio 4 is glumly predicting the onset of winds and bluster. What happened to the joys of an indian summer? Against the odds, I am clinging onto a faint whisper of optimism.

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-57989009802861484922009-08-30T14:29:00.000+01:002009-10-18T13:12:13.693+01:00

I'm staying in my garden this weekend and that's just fine. In fact it's the perfect thing to do on a bank holiday weekend when everyone else is either doing things out of town or at the Carnival. Last week though, I had an attack of urbanitis and had to escape for a dose of Country. Joyfully, I didn't have to go too far - a long drive and traffic jams are guaranteed to aggravate the symptoms.

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-31496541602622750212009-08-29T15:25:00.003+01:002009-09-07T14:01:18.803+01:00

City seeds should be standard issue. If we all carried around a handful in our pockets and scattered them as we walked, colour would slowly colonise the capital. Seeds I'm saving this year: nasturtium, foxglove, poppy, hollyhock. These are earmarked to bring some colour to the little graveyard at the end of my road next summer. Seeds I don't need to save: red valerian - these morph quickly into

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-16934705447013882972009-08-27T13:59:00.000+01:002009-10-18T13:08:59.020+01:00

It's not hard to imagine how the story started. Beans are really quite magical. Fast to germinate, natural climbers and prolific too. It just takes a small leap of a childlike imagination to think that your climbing french beans could go on upwards forever if you didn't pinch out the tops. And when the flowers actually turn into beans, it is nothing short of miraculous, never mind finding a

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-4941139146075764662009-08-23T23:11:00.001+01:002009-09-01T11:39:39.026+01:00

This week's colours in the garden are: nasturtium red, orange crocosmia, pale pink succisa, ruby valerian, blue ceratostigma and yellow courgette.

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922036496927837027.post-80739402140637320182009-08-16T14:52:00.000+01:002009-08-16T17:08:15.023+01:00

Columbia Road is a small kernel of London greenery. We may be feted for our parks, gardens and tree-lined avenues, but here is a nugget of lush, growing urban outdoor life, flourishing in a very ungreen, densely populated part of town. It's as as much about the people as the plants; as every city space should be. From the overstuffed balcony of foliage that graces the tenement flats at one end,

camillaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245844398206954552noreply@blogger.com0