It’s been a while…

Well, here we are again at the intersection of spring & summer '26. Sixteen months after my first post, (which was meant to publish quarterly), I'm rather sheepishly tying myself to the keyboard for a few moments to catch up with one of my favourite elements of what I do- communicating directly with all of you.

I do recognise this delay as a really good thing- I've been blessed over the first year of my business to be so busy that I couldn't find the time to blog with the regularity I intended. So, I guess the first thing I would like to say is a sincere thank you to all who have supported me so far....and for messing with my blog routine!

I'm thoroughly inspired by this time of year as I'm sure many of you are too. The first flush of bulbs has already given us multicoloured carpets of hope for the year ahead, seeds are poking through the soil we toiled over a month ago, and birdsong shapes our early mornings again. With the daylight hours expanding every day, our plants are waking up which gives us more to do to care for them, but also more time to do it in - a reminder that nature can have its own balancing effect. I love noticing the micro changes from a tiny bud one week, to a cluster of leaves opening up like an eye lash the next… and finally on to a canopy of green in such a short space of time. It feels like everything is coming together at this time of year and we can start to reap what we sowed.

May is the perfect time to prune any Camelias which have gotten too big for their space. As the new buds for next year will form in summer, you have a relatively short window if you need to reshape them, without removing next years flowers.

It’s also a great early season task to apply mulch to your borders- not only does it; inhibit weeds; provide nutrients & retain moisture for your plants to keep them healthy; it also has an instant transformational quality- brightening up tired, dry borders. Clay soil dominates in this area and water run off often leaves us with tired looking, baked, cracked beds. Mulching is a bit of a one stop shop for all of the above!

We can also look to enhance this with annual bedding plants in May for those who like to plant them. The frosts are on the way out and the light and rain conditions should create the perfect environment for them to thrive at this time of year.

We have a few weeks left for spring overseeding of lawns and scarification before it generally gets too hot and dry for the seed to take- if you can’t get this done now and keep on top of watering, there’s another window in Autumn and it’s best to wait until then.

Vigilant hoeing of weeds in our borders is an absolute must at this time of year as well, keeping them suppressed so that our plants can out compete them - and preventing them ever going to seed later in the season.

I’m off to four more gardens this week so I really must run off now! Thank you for reading and see you all soon :-)

January ‘25- An introduction.

“It all begins with an idea.” Actually, to let you in on a secret, (whispers) that quote was scripted by the A.I which helps to lay out a website whilst you decide exactly what you want to post…..The rest of that filler script got a bit nonsensical, but I thought there was something in that.

It’s probably more accurate to say that it begins with hundreds of them. Ideas that come and go in the space of a day; some that linger with you for a while, saved for a rainy day or a ‘better time’ which never comes. And now and then, ideas that root deeply with you, returning through the changing seasons; growing, spreading out and forming new branches which can bear fruit if nurtured properly. If you’ll forgive the clumsy metaphor, my business has evolved along these lines.

Whilst servicing people’s gardens, each of the lovely people I meet have inspired me, in their own way, to focus on bespoke services based around them. The scale of the gardens and the nature of the services may vary but I have noticed a common denominator: people really value the personal nature of the services I provide. I care for their gardens as much as I care for my own and this is the very simple core idea which has led me here. This in turn, is incredibly satisfying to me because it is the way I love to work anyway.

Without getting too philosophical, the talk of the day all seems to centre around automated systems, A.I and big businesses furnishing us with our every desire. These things have their place - none of us are immune to them completely; and the sheer convenience that technology provides can be so alluring at times. But there’s also something almost noble in the way that hand crafted, small businesses are undergoing a resurgence in such a highly technological time. TV shows like The Repair Shop have shone a light on the skill and fine detailing involved in a wide range of traditional crafts - and sites like Etsy and Big Cartel have enabled the small custom sellers and artists of the world to reach customers across a greater geographical area than they ever could have before. I think it’s an interesting time in that way.

I have noticed a similar ‘hand crafted’ character emerge in my work as a lone gardener as well. A homespun, cobbled quality which grounds us in the nature of our surroundings, which has been a wonderful thing to find in life. I say ‘us’ here because so many of my customers love to garden as well. I can lighten the load and free them up to do the tasks they enjoy the most, or alternatively take on the bulk of the work if they require. My skills up until now have all been ‘learnt by doing’ over the years whilst working for landscapers, gardening companies and franchises but I am currently studying for my formal RHS qualifications as well to increase my range of services. My intention is that this blog will publish 4 times a year, once for each season and share a few reflections on the season past plus tips and inspiration for the season ahead, for those who love to engage in their own gardens. I hope that you can use it as resource or just a bit of light reading along the way…..