April showers have turned up well into May, and it is terrific. You can almost hear the rustle of everything growing and the beds and shrubberies are filling out beautifully. Of course, it is a little cold which means that we are, I am told, around 3…
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With the May bank holiday behind us, our NGS garden Ferns Lodge opening, on the 5th and 6th June, is now getting dangerously close! Cold weather and little rain have been less than helpful but as I settle down to write this blog, the rain is coursing…
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We are definitely making progress – especially for our opening in June. The polytunnel is not a simple construct! With masses of experience, a degree in nuclear physics and plenty of time – putting it up is possible. Dan, Simon and Dan’s crew have wa…
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I hope that you all had a Happy Easter. Here at NGS garden Ferns Lodge it was great to be able to dispense cups of tea (or better) to visitors and to enjoy the spring weather and to see the garden really coming to life. It is a wonderful time of year…
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Despite the continuing rain (I really think that the UK could use a roof!) and cool east and north winds, now that we are in March, when the sun peeps through, Spring has definitely arrived here at NGS Garden Ferns Lodge. The low overnight temperatur…
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As I scribble this blog, we are in the first week of spring and the sound of birdsong and the green shoots that herald the arrival of spring flowers and perennials are clear to see. No rain and some sunshine also adds to the moment! The count down to…
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In the midst of lockdown and working in the garden shed at home, amidst the mud and dark that is an English January, nonetheless, bulbs are peeping above the earth, buds are appearing and the beds are starting to look a lot more cheerful as they are…
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As I sit in the garden shed to write this post, 2021 has brought with it a chill wind and the rain keeps coming in fits and starts. As ever, Ghillie snores at my feet and the grass looks less than prime. However, the wonderful thing about this time o…
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I always felt that ‘the Fall’ was a funny name for autumn and wondered at this strange American-ism until I started to garden seriously at NGS garden Ferns Lodge, which of course is a place of many lovely, mostly deciduous trees. I now get it totally…
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What a funny old year 2020 has been for all of us! With some wonderful weather, although little rain when it mattered and plenty of breeze throughout the season, the black cloud of the COVID-19 pandemic made for a different rhythm for the garden this…
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