A popular Instagram gardener, Tom Strowlger, aka @garden_with_tom, started posting videos during lockdown and has never looked back. This inspirational garden writer captures the wonder of each plant and flower in his garden, unveiling the magic of nature with friendly ease. Find out what Tom has planned for the year ahead…
The Thompson & Morgan horticultural team produces a wealth of content around gardening and food production. Since the first seed catalogue was published in 1855, Thompson & Morgan has grown to become one of the UK’s largest Mail Order Seed and Plant companies. Through the publication of our catalogues and the operation of our award-winning website, Thompson & Morgan is able to provide home gardeners with the very best quality products money can buy.
The link between nature and wellbeing is often discussed, but award-winning garden designer Leigh Johnstone, aka @beardygardener, makes positive mental health a central theme of all his projects. Crafting gardens that specifically soothe and restore, this popular Instagrammer explains how the act of gardening has helped him to find clarity and ground himself when times are tough. Find out how this inspirational mental health campaigner uses his horticultural knowledge to help others… (more…)
The Thompson & Morgan horticultural team produces a wealth of content around gardening and food production. Since the first seed catalogue was published in 1855, Thompson & Morgan has grown to become one of the UK’s largest Mail Order Seed and Plant companies. Through the publication of our catalogues and the operation of our award-winning website, Thompson & Morgan is able to provide home gardeners with the very best quality products money can buy.
You don’t need a huge garden to enjoy a gorgeous lawn, beautiful flowers, specimen shrubs, high-yielding fruit trees and a place to grow veg. Popular Instagram gardener @gardenwithjonny demonstrates how he achieves all this and more, by sharing the inspirational outside space in which he hangs out with his family, friends and very chilled pet cat! Find out how this fun-loving, firefighting, fitness-fanatic got interested in gardening…
The Thompson & Morgan horticultural team produces a wealth of content around gardening and food production. Since the first seed catalogue was published in 1855, Thompson & Morgan has grown to become one of the UK’s largest Mail Order Seed and Plant companies. Through the publication of our catalogues and the operation of our award-winning website, Thompson & Morgan is able to provide home gardeners with the very best quality products money can buy.
If you’re looking for gardening inspiration, Instagram is a veritable treasure trove of tips! We recently chatted to the robin-whisperer behind @aoifes_allotment_adventures who has transformed her plot into a vibrant space for wildlife and her local community to enjoy and share. Find out more about Aoife and her fascinating journey here…
Vertical growing allows Aoife to make excellent use of her space. Image: @aoifes_allotment_adventures
After a challenging career in the fast-paced industry of super yachts, I returned to England with a deep desire to reconnect with nature and grow my own food and flowers. Those early memories of helping my father in the garden and living in the English countryside never left me. After waiting over 1,000 days I finally secured an allotment. Having had very little growing experience I discovered this brilliant corner of Instagram full of wonderful gardeners and allotments, and everyone has been so supportive. It was all so inspiring and I was determined to create a haven for people, pollinators, and wildlife.
The Lottie has a stream gently rippling past and a road beside it that brings a steady flow of passers-by, and it’s a true joy to share this with those curious about the unusual plants and flowers grown here. It’s incredibly rewarding to see how an allotment space can spark genuine interest and excitement.
What are your favourite things to grow?
Aoife with her colourful harvest and bustling vegetable patch. Image: @aoifes_allotment_adventures
My sensory allotment is an everchanging mix of vibrant colours and experimental crops, incorporating perennials, biennials and hardy annuals for year round interest with a variety of pollen and nectar sources.
There are scented flowers like lilies and fragrant sweet peas, fascinating textures such as velvety Senecio candidans Angel Wings and strawflowers that are crunchy to the touch. I have a massive dahlia addiction, it’s just fabulous to have such colour even in November. I’ve fallen head over heels for Californian poppies and am growing lots of different foxglove varieties too.
I’ve discovered I love growing from seed. Some of my favourite vegetables are in the curcurbit family. Smallest are the Cucamelons which I adore, and then there’s the tromboncino squash. Not only is it delicious, but it grows to over a metre long and is such a fantastic conversation starter.
What are your proudest achievements?
A variety of climbing squashes, cucumbers, beans, giant sunflowers, poppies and dahlias. Image: @aoifes_allotment_adventures
One of my greatest joys has been developing my vertical growing spaces.
I’ve created a hazel stick and hemp net 5-metre wall of sweet peas that fills the air with their stunning perfume, and I’ve constructed colourful arches with a variety of climbing squashes, cucumbers, beans and giant sunflowers. It’s all about reusing and recycling on this plot.
Harvesting my first ever homegrown veg to give to friends and family was a massive moment for me. I’m also super lucky to have won the trust of my feathered friend RicRobin. He’s such a cheeky chap full of song and has brought up 6 broods with his mate Ruby. Very little gardening gets done when he’s in a chatty mood!
What are your future plans?
Aoife is no stranger to growing show-stopping flowers. Image: @aoifes_allotment_adventures
Next year, I’m using my new greenhouse to bring a Mediterranean flavour to the allotment by growing grapes, passionfruit, and beautiful bougainvillea. There’ll also be a variety of different melons and heirloom tomatoes, inspired by my time abroad. I’ll be expanding my butterfly bed too and growing more edimentals for both people and pollinators alike. It’s going to get even more colourful next year.
Grow like Aoife
Ric Robin and some bright edible harvests. Image: @aoifes_allotment_adventures
If you want to buy some of the products Aoife grows, here’s a quick shopping list:
We hope you’ve enjoyed learning more about Aoife from @aoifes_allotment_adventures. If you want to read about other inspirational growers, check out our series of #tmfeaturedgardens over on Instagram.
The Thompson & Morgan horticultural team produces a wealth of content around gardening and food production. Since the first seed catalogue was published in 1855, Thompson & Morgan has grown to become one of the UK’s largest Mail Order Seed and Plant companies. Through the publication of our catalogues and the operation of our award-winning website, Thompson & Morgan is able to provide home gardeners with the very best quality products money can buy.
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