Last summer I spent a week with some friends on Mull, a large and beautiful island off the west coast of Scotland. You reach it by ferry from Oban, home of one of my favourite whiskeys. From Mull you can then … Continue reading →
Image – James Field, CC BY-SA 3.0 We had a lovely weekend in Cambridge last weekend, staying over with a friend. We’d come up to attend a talk called “Challenging the gender binary through science fiction and fantasy“, given by … Continue reading →
The big cycad broke her* pot recently (which goes to show the power of plants). So this weekend it was a trip to the local garden center, always such a chore, to buy a new and bigger pot. It was … Continue reading →
The weather this weekend was fantastic – more like June than March – so we were outside and working hard. Achievements included planting potatoes, potting on various plants, tidying up the fruit canes. I also did half of my least … Continue reading →
Back on the first of September I wrote about how I hoped I had successfully propagated tree ferns for the first time. Two months later and I’m still not sure whether I have, or if the hundred or so that … Continue reading →
OK, so this may not be much to look at, but for a fern geek like me this is exciting stuff. I’ve been growing and propogating ferns and their ilk since my early teens, and this is the first time … Continue reading →
When I moved into my new home in winter 2010 the garden had two greenhouses. One was a brand new metal frame, with automatic vents, the other, bigger one, was an ancient wooden one that needed much TLC. So I … Continue reading →
This week the Friday Flash is a ‘guest post’ from my alter-ego, Lord Plott. ~ Ulysses Plot was thinking about his book. This meant walking around in the garden and staring at plants. The sunflowers were doing well, a few … Continue reading →
I’ve always been loved ferns and other ancient plants. They hold a fascination I can’t fully explain. It’s partly it’s their ancient lineage, their strange way of reproduction, their fractal symmetry. In the end it’s just because I like them. … Continue reading →
I found this in the greenhouse today. Some people might say it is the fruit case of a Physalis, or cape gooseberry. I would like to think something of such fragile intricacy might have a less mundane origin. What, I … Continue reading →
