Garden news

You might think I am making excuses, but I'm pretty sure all the problems I have with my garden today can be traced back to the fact that I wasn’t here to do work when it needed to be done in spring. I was away in the UK all of May and the first part of June and when I...

Emma and Julie start work on their container project What to do with my granddaughters, Julie, 3, and Emma, 2, on a snowy day when it is really a little too slippery and messy to play outside: how about a fun gardening project. We decided to make a...

In September, 2015, I led two tours back-to-back in Italy, starting in Venice and moving to Tuscany before continuing on to Puglia (in the heel of Italy) for the final days. When we decided to launch this tour, we told our booking agent that we were only interested in doing one tour, even though we realized it might be popular....

Williamsianum Taurus Sappho PJM Ken Janeck Cinnabarium Impeditum Hotei Dora Amateis Rhododendron augustinii, lovely rhodo for any garden 10 OF THE BEST FOR YOUR GARDEN AND WHERE TO GO TO SEE MOREApril and May are prime months to see rhododendrons at their best. Since it has been such a cool, sunless spring, many rhododendrons have been slow to bloom. The good news is that the ones that did bloom were able...

Namaqualand, one of the world’s top landscape wonders for majestic spring flower displays, is in the grip of the worst drought in 100 years. As a result, there are few, if any flowers. It is a total waste of time coming to Namaqualand right now to see blooms - there are none. I spent all day scouring the landscape here with...

In October, 2012, we went for the first time to South Africa with an ambitious plan to take the Garden Route from Cape Town before moving on across the Little Karoo to Knysna and George and then on to Durban, Swaziland and Johannesburg. In addition, we had a stopover at Kruger National Park for a game-drive. Forty people came with...

Once the Southern Italy came to a happy conclusion in Catania, Sicily, we flew to Aix-en-Province to get ready for our next tour, one from Provence to the Cote d’Azure. With a few advance days in Aix to prepare for the tour, we managed to see a few sights, such as Cezanne’s studio, and pausing for a cafe latte on...

Chelsea Flower Show, the classiest garden show in the world, will be held this year from May 23-27 on the famous Chelsea Hospital site next to the River Thames in London. You can find out all about it and how to get tickets at the Royal Horticultural Society site.

What new and upcoming garden tours do I have planned for the remainder of 2018 and into 2019? In May, I will return to Italy for the ninth time to lead a very special Islands and Lakes Garden Tour, starting in Lugano and moving quickly to the Milanese lakes. You can see details here. From there, we will head to Sardinia...

What kind of first impression does your garden make? The entrance is an important first feature. Being the first thing visitors see, it sets the tone for what is to come. Like all first impressions, an entrance can say a lot about who you are. In a glance, it give ups clues to the kind of style and detail likely...

Hard to believe, but while I've lived in BC since 1979, I've never visited Salt Spring Island. Fact is, I’ve only been to one of the Gulf Islands - Pender - and that was a long, long time ago. Later this month, I'll be going to Salt Spring to give a talk, Great Gardens, Great Ideas, to the local garden...

If you're anything like me as a gardener, you have probably hugely over-planted your garden. At one time, you might have thought - as I did - that you needed every lovely plant in the book. As a result, you bought too many, planted too many, planted too closely and overfilled the space available. Now this does sound like a problem....

I’ve been growing paperwhites in glass vases for more than 20 years. I remember buying a bag of these amazing little bulbs for the first time to do a project with my daughter Aimee when she was about 11. This week, I...

There are hundreds of varieties of rhododendron. But I always fall in love every spring with the one in my front garden, Rhododendron augustinii.It is a mesmerizing, electric blue and looks amazing set against the yellowing leaves of the Acer pseudoplatanus 'Brilliantissimum' planted right behind it.The two blend together against the blue sky to make a perfect combination. R. augustinii...

October 6, 2017Today, I am delighted to announce the launch of our 15-day Italy Islands and Lakes Tour for May 6 to 20, 2018. THIS TOUR IS NOW SOLD OUT.There is no other tour like this being offered anywhere. It is one of a kind - unique in design, pacing and content.The tour will start in Lugano, Switzerland, where...

My friend Rob Cannings and his wife, Joan, have a fabulous garden in Victoria. They have been working on it for many years. It is special not just because of the wonderful variety of plants with different shapes and textures and sizes but also because it is a very dragonfly friendly garden. But there’s a reason for that. Rob is...

Here are a few untold stories from my recent India Tour, stories that for one reason or another just didn’t fit into posts I published each day. Head injury The first and most important untold story is about how Bev Morris, one of the women in my tour group, slipped and fell and cracked open her head when she got up...

Today, I am delighted to announced the official launch of my 15-day Ireland Grand Circle Tour.It will start in Dublin on Oct. 1 and circle around the picturesque south coast and along the sensational west coast and up to Northern Ireland, Derry, Belfast and out to the Giant’s Causeway before returning to Dublin. We will be staying in excellent hotels including a...

Next month, I will be leading two back-to-back garden tours to England, North Wales, Ireland and then to the Chelsea Flower Show in London. Each day of these tours I will be posting stories and photographs here. You can follow along with us as we move. And you will get to see and hear about some of the fabulous gardens...

Austin roses has introduced several new varieties over the past few years, including Sir Walter Scott, Desdemona, Roald Dahl, Bathsheba, The Ancient Mariner, Olivia Rose, The Lady of the Lake, Poet’s Wife and Imogen. To see them all go to Austin Roses UK site. “Our new roses each make their own special contribution to the diversity of our collection. Whilst all...