Monthly Archives: October 2017

It seems that succulents are trendy. I am appalled. I hate to be trendy. My grandmother was very fond of succulents and cacti. For years I always thought that they were old-fashioned, nasty, pricky, fleshy or spiky things. I love them … Continue reading →

‘To set budding more, And still more later flowers for the bees Until they think warm days will never cease For Summer has o’er-brimmed their clammy cells.‘  Keats.

Zinnias are wonderful cut flowers, like sweet peas the more you cut, the more they flourish and they are so long lasting in a vase.  They go on blooming until the first frosts. I started growing them when I saw … Continue reading →

‘Nerines, like some plants and many  people, give no trouble provided that they are given precisely what they want’.  Peter Smithers. I wrote an article about nerines recently for the Suffolk Plant Heritage Journal and since then people keep ringing … Continue reading →

There is always a long awaited treat in October when my nerines come into full beauty. Some of them start in September, but October is the month when they are all strutting their stuff, each more lovely than the last. … Continue reading →

Last week I celebrated autumn in my arrangement, but today is October and I feel I need  to recapture the memories of summer with some lush shades of  purple, mauve and violet.  Tyrian purple was a costly imperial colour made … Continue reading →