Your Stories Archives | Page 17 of 31 | Thompson & Morgan Blog

Was buying a house called ‘Brambles’ an omen? (Part three)

by Rachel Davidson-Foster | May 24, 2013 | Your Stories | 30 Comments

Was buying a house called “Brambles” an omen? (Part three)

“Every snow drift has a silver lining?” or “Is it true that gardeners are the world’s greatest optimists?”

Rachel is the Marketing Director at Junari Ltd, a bespoke software company that has developed the JunariCRM+ product. She spends her time at work ensuring that the Junari team continues to place the customer at the centre of the universe. Whenever free time presents itself, Rachel likes to practice horticulture! She is Junari’s resident (cough, only!) ‘gardening expert’ and is well known for her admiration of the gardening maestro and all round plant-guru Monty Don. If you have any questions you get in touch via Twitter (@RDavidsonFoster).

Behind the scenes at Chelsea Flower Show 2013 (press day)

by Amanda Hurrell | May 22, 2013 | Your Stories | 2 Comments

Behind the scenes at Chelsea Flower Show 2013 (press day)

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show celebrates its centenary birthday this week, and I was very lucky to receive a press pass for Monday 21 May for a sneak preview and behind the scenes look at the most prestigious event in the gardening calendar – a money can’t buy experience for any keen gardener!

Amanda Hurrell

Learn more about Amanda by checking out her blog over on Eight-by-Six, or by visiting her Instagram account @eightbysix

Gardening Adventure – Gardening Beginner!

by Elizabeth Dyer | May 22, 2013 | Your Stories | 0 Comments

Gardening Adventure – Gardening Beginner!

My beginner’s garden is still very much that. I still don’t seem to know what I am doing but I think it’s coming together. Though I do know that I am not dedicating enough time to it. Still, I spent a sunny day back in April (that seems a loooong time ago) planting up my onion sets and getting some broad bean plug plants in. I think I must have a reputation for ‘playing’ at gardening still, so the onions were leftovers from my mum and grandparents – all 63 of them. My garden is far too small for that – however, I planted them all in anything I could find that would be deep enough! I’ve got Golden Gourmet shallots, Stuttgarter Riesen and a heritage seed from my granddad (all I know is that they are from his personal seed stock, Cornish in origin and taste fantastic!)

Elizabeth Dyer

Elizabeth is one of the Woolly Gardeners at Woolly Green. She recently moved out of London back to her roots in Devon because she loves sheep and to be nearer her family and friends. She knows she sounds like a Miss World contestant, but she really wants to leave things a bit better than she finds them 🙂

twitter.com/woollygreen

Your local allotment needs you!

by Deborah Catchpole | Apr 23, 2013 | Your Stories | 1 Comment

What can we do to ensure that our allotments are getting the love that they deserve? Locally to me in Hertfordshire, there are some sites which have been threatened with closure, due to planned developments – the people who grow on the sites are understandably battling hard to try to keep their beloved allotments, and it made me think about what it is that we love about our allotments, and why some sites are now struggling to fill plots, or why councils are trying to close them down for development.

Deborah Catchpole

I’m a 30 year old, writer, photographer, gardener, and sweetpea obsessive! I did a degree in English Literature at The University of Liverpool, and when I am not writing I’m often found in my garden.

Deborah has also written gardening articles for The Herts Advertiser

The Good Life in Practice

by Katy Runacres | Apr 9, 2013 | Your Stories | 1 Comment

I am a 24 year old attempting to live more eco-friendly. I first lived in Suffolk but now live in a small flat in a village in Switzerland. I have been living in the Berner Oberland canton since April 2012 (so just over a year!) since getting a job here. My boyfriend Michael and I have been trying to live as sustainably as we can by growing herbs and salad, recycling, composting and sourcing other food locally. He is a local grounds man and also has skills in carpentry so comes in handy for woodwork projects too!

Katy Runacres

Katy is a smallholder, cook and writer. She keeps Chickens, Bantams, Meat Rabbits and has a resident cat called Podge. She takes an interest in all aspects of homesteading and has written pieces for a number of magazines including Backwoods Home, Bushcraft, Country Smallholding, Home Farmer and Smallholder. Katy is a member of the Essex and Suffolk Poultry Club and has a Diploma in Countryside Management.

How to improve clay or sandy soils with leafmould

by Catharine Howard | Mar 18, 2013 | Your Stories | 2 Comments

Leafmould is the black gold of gardening. Ten or more years back, I worked in nursery on a rare hill on the Suffolk Essex border. We are talking small scale, husband and wife team, working all hours of day and days of year. The only time off was to load a large blue van with unusual and mouthwatering plants – arisaemas, trilliums and the like and drive to London to set up a mini fairy garden for the Chelsea Flower Show or exhibitions in the RHS’s Floral Halls. Bulbs and other woodland plants were their speciality. Anyway, I digress: their potting medium was leafmould.

Catharine Howard

Catharine Howard is a designer, garden coach, the gardening editor of Essential Suffolk Magazine, and garden writer. Topics are anything to do with horticulture and the inspiration behind design. She lives and gardens in Suffolk. Catharine also contributes to ThinkinGardens, Guardian garden blog and IntoGardens.

www.catharinehoward.co.uk

How To Landscape Your Garden and Backyard Like A Professional

by Thompson & Morgan | Feb 27, 2013 | Your Stories | 2 Comments

How To Landscape Your Garden and Backyard Like A Professional

Outside, the temperatures are dropping. In New York, it has started snowing on a regular basis and residents are getting used to bundling up and trekking through snow and slush. But while the winds outside are gusting and homeowners are cuddling up on their sofas and sipping some hot cocoa, a lot of people are already thinking about the upcoming spring. Dreaming of warmer weather, fresh vegetables at the market, and a lush and blooming backyard, many of these people start to make some plans on the landscaping front. Are you thinking about how to landscape your garden and backyard like a professional? Then good news is on the way. Below are some tips and pointers for making your outdoor areas look their best without paying a pricey professional to do it.

Thompson & Morgan

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.

Under the Weather

by Thompson & Morgan | Feb 19, 2013 | Your Stories | 30 Comments

‘Under the Weather’

As I sit here at noon on a Wednesday, my home has been enveloped by a huge dark cloud once again and the rain is misting out the houses across the street. It is utterly miserable and I am going to have to turn the daylight stimulation bulb on any minute before I give up on the day altogether. The ground is already saturated out there and I can hear the cars driving through the laying water on the road outside, oh and then there’s the wind. All in all I think maybe today was a day for staying in bed and dreaming of Spring.

Thompson & Morgan

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.

Trees for small gardens

by Catharine Howard | Feb 13, 2013 | Your Stories | 7 Comments

Deciding what small tree to squeeze into a modern pint-pot garden can be a real problem. A look at a tree nursery list will have you salivating but if space is challenged, stop right there. Drool away by all means but do not buy anything on impulse.

Catharine Howard

Catharine Howard is a designer, garden coach, the gardening editor of Essential Suffolk Magazine, and garden writer. Topics are anything to do with horticulture and the inspiration behind design. She lives and gardens in Suffolk. Catharine also contributes to ThinkinGardens, Guardian garden blog and IntoGardens.

www.catharinehoward.co.uk

Wild Ferments!

by Phillippa Lambert | Feb 6, 2013 | Your Stories | 12 Comments

Wild Ferments!

Most of us tend to view the world of microbes with some suspicion, convinced that these bugs can do us harm or make us unwell, in fact there is a whole world of beneficial organisms out there that can help us unlock additional nourishment from our food, and at the same time populate us with ‘probiotics’. Thinking about the foods and drinks we value for their taste and beneficial qualities – wine, sourdough bread, yogurt, olives, blue cheeses, to name but few – all these are created or processed with the help of the ‘good bugs’, without which many gourmet foods would simply not exist.

Phillippa Lambert

Phillippa Lambert is a landscape designer based on the Isle of Wight at a unique site in the Undercliff of the Island — a favoured microclimate sheltered by enormous south facing cliffs. In 2002 Phillippa and Stephen Lambert came across the ‘lost’ gardens of a Victorian mansion dating back to the 1820s, managed to acquire part of the site, including the walled garden and ornamental lake, and have since worked on their restoration. The result is not an ‘expert’ garden and does not try for technical perfection in any sense. ‘Make do and mend’ is the keynote — most plants being raised from seed or cuttings— and self-sufficiency is the motivation for all the growing in the walled garden. In essence, this site goes back to the philosophy of ancient gardens in sustaining the body as well as the soul. Read more at Lakehouse Design.

Posts from expert gardeners just like you!

Was buying a house called ‘Brambles’ an omen? (Part three)

Behind the scenes at Chelsea Flower Show 2013 (press day)

Gardening Adventure – Gardening Beginner!

Your local allotment needs you!

The Good Life in Practice

How to improve clay or sandy soils with leafmould

How To Landscape Your Garden and Backyard Like A Professional

How To Landscape Your Garden and Backyard Like A Professional

Under the Weather

Trees for small gardens

Wild Ferments!

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Posts from expert gardeners just like you!

How To Landscape Your Garden and Backyard Like A Professional

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