The first time we were in lockdown it was a rather wonderful novelty. The sun shone, we took on allotments, tended our gardens and enjoyed our unexpected freedom from work, apart from those who could work from home. We got our bikes out and had them serviced, or bought new ones. Of course, there were…
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The re-opening of garden centres after a period of lockdown has been a huge relief for those of us who love gardening and find it immensely therapeutic. I’m sure that this period will have encouraged many of us to grow more of our own food. The queues at supermarkets have reminded us that we cannot…
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Did you know that there is a condition called nature-deficit-disorder? For many of us, both adults and children, there is insufficient experience of the natural world for us to enjoy both mental and physical health. Research has shown that a 10% increase of exposure to green space translates into an improvement in health equivalent to…
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We must green our cities to help combat climate change and promote well being. I love Salisbury, it’s been my home city for most of my life and my children have grown up here. Its rural setting is a delight. We’ve swum in its rivers, walked its drove roads and woodlands, taken visitors to Stonehenge…
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Catherine Thomas sings the praises of meadows and wildflowers. When I drive around the Wiltshire countryside in summer I take care not to spend too long enjoying the roadside verges. I find them so inspiring that I’m in danger of not looking at the road ahead. So many garden plants are descendants of our native…
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Catherine Thomas enjoys the romance and versatility of the rose, exploring what this beloved bloom can do for your garden. We love our roses, and with good reason: there are our native species (such as Shakespeare’s eglantine and the Scottish burnet rose) and so many luscious varieties and cultivars with different scents, flowers, foliage, hips…
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Catherine Thomas sings the praises of nature gardens and explains how to create a welcoming haven for wildlife. One of the delights of gardening is the wildlife that shares our gardens with us. There are few sights more joyous than that of the first brilliantly golden Yellow Brimstone butterfly fluttering through early daffodils. We all…
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Hedges are a stalwart of garden design – Catherine Thomas explores the versatility of these structural plants. The garden of rooms is something of a cliché these days but it is an apt description of the sense of enclosure most of us enjoy in our gardens. This is where garden design most closely resembles architecture….
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Catherine Thomas pays homage to the changing season with a celebration of some floral favourites that signal the start of spring At this time of year our gardens are full of the promise of future delights. The ochres, fawns and russets of winter are gradually showing the green shoots of new life. Low springtime sun…
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Catherine has been thinking outside of the box for Valentine’s Day. How on earth did flowers, especially red roses, become symbolic of such an ancient festival as Valentine’s Day in England? I’ve checked my Wildflowers of Britain book and it confirms my certainty that the only native flowers which bloom in February are hazel and…
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