Category Gardening
Blenheim Palace
The morning after the Chelsea Flower Show I drove out to Oxfordshire in search of some of the masterpieces of Lancelot “Capability” Brown, the 18th Century landscape designer who perfected the English “Landscape Style” and is considered by many to be the Shakespeare of gardening, so great has been his influence through the centuries. Before […]
Chelsea Flower Show
The thing I love the absolute most about the UK is the country’s deep cultural fondness for gardening. I see it everywhere I go — in the vines twining up the front stoops of Georgian row houses in the city, the charming villages in the country, the Facebook feeds of my English friends, and the […]
Cornwall!
Last night I flew from Brussels to Cornwall because it’s a bank holiday weekend and this piece of England needs some extra time. The initial impression was a bit grim. I was on the last flight into Newquay, managed to pick up a rental car right before they closed, and checked into a rather shabby […]
Glasgow!
What to do with the four-day Easter weekend? Go to Scotland! In a fit of unreason I booked a 7am flight from Gatwick to Glasgow, which meant I had to get up at 3am to get to the airport on time. Since with work and packing and watching Fleabag I didn’t get to bed until […]
I’m in Singapore!
What to do with a seven-hour layover in Singapore? Well, start at the famous Gardens by the Bay with their famous “trees” . . . . . . and strange and beautiful real plants . . . . . . and views across the marina . . . . . . and that big iconic […]
Exploring the Royal Botanic Garden
After that glorious day at the beach, we decided we needed a day off to let out little sunburns subside, and to let our crevices remember what it felt like not to have sand everywhere. We set out for the Royal Botanic Garden, which Ananda had not yet seen, and which I was eager to […]
Christmas Eve down under
Have I ever enjoyed the weather on Christmas Eve so much? I doubt it. Sunny and clear, in the high 70s and with a light breeze — it could not have been more perfect. I started the day with a visit to the Royal Botanic Garden. The lush expanse of green lawns and colourful flower […]
“The ‘breast of the nymph in the brake’ astounds no one”
Ever vigilant in keeping my gardening standards at the cutting edge of taste, Lady took to heart Muriel Stuart’s sage advice that gnomes and pheasants are out . . . . . . but stone nymphs are in . . . . . . with the happy result that my window boxes are now graced […]
Window boxes, autumn edition
Back at the beginning of the summer I wrote about planting some flower boxes outside my kitchen window. They were full of pink geraniums, yellow snapdragons, and a mass of trailing petunias. I never followed up with a “here’s how they turned out” post because, well, they never quite lived up to my hopes. This […]
I’m in Wales!
After a nearly sleepless night in sweltering London, we left early for a weekend road trip to Wales. By early afternoon we were in the green, hilly, blessedly cool Welsh countryside where all the road signs have more Ys, Ws, Ls, and Ds than you ever thought possible. First stop: Powis castle and gardens. It’s […]
A More Gentlemanlike Manner 