I’m working away, in the spare moments (yes, both of them), on building a vegetable garden. It’s been something of a laborious process as I’ve winched myself up the learning curve. I wish my Dad was here, he would’ve knocked it together in an afternoon – he of the ‘I built my own pig sty, [...]

Having just returned from Austin, Texas I can thoroughly endorse the hospitality of the people of Austin. True, we did get into trouble, regularly, by taking photos, but hey – we’re tourists, that’s our job!
And now it’s your turn – a bunch (now there’s a good gardening term that also sounds appropriately Texan) of Austin [...]

My projects for May were:
Plant bulbs – now getting increasingly urgent to get the last of them in
I did manage to get the last of the bulbs in place. I’ve planted tulips (assorted), purple crocus, daffodils (assorted), dutch iris, cyclamen, muscari, blue hyacinth, gladiolus byzantium (the cerise ones), narcissi (assorted), and some white Amaryllis [...]

Last night the stars were sparkling bright – should’ve been a frost but for the warm still air. We’re not very far off the Winter solstice, but what I’ve learned is cloudless skies, warm evenings – bad weather on the way. Sure enough, this morning dawned bright but cloudy, and as this evening has worn [...]

The darling buds of May here don’t mean blossoms, rather coloured leaves giving the clear impression that Autumn is here, and Winter is on the way. There’s a lot to do in the tea garden at this time of year. I’ve already brought in the very tender house plants – the anthurium and the spathiphyllums [...]