The last two and a half weeks at Hampton Court have been spent erecting green oak structures and planting thousands of oak seedlings, as well as over a thousand purple heather plants. All of this and more in order to create the second Quilted Velvet garden of the summer. This garden is much easier to... Read more..

We received our Gold medal for the Quilted Velvet Garden at Hampton Court Palace last Monday evening and started building the third Quilted Velvet Garden at Tatton Park at 8am the next morning! No time to bask in the glory and enjoy the garden. This was the strangest feeling of the whole campaign - never... Read more..

Three Quilted Velvet show gardens in one summer! It did seem like a tall order back in the autumn of 2008 and believe me it has been extremely hard work. I have only had two days off since March and it’s starting to show! However, despite the stress it’s been a fantastic experience made all the better... Read more..

It’s that time again………… early February and every kitchen gardener is itching to get outside and sow their first seeds of 2010………..but mother nature is slightly against us as not only are my raised beds far too wet – but also ever so slightly frozen, so unless things change quickly I’d say its going... Read more..

I met the school council at Ferring primary school the other day. I don't know who was more daunted - me (I'd never met a school council before), or them (many had never met a horticulturalist before, never mind a 'royal' one). But how exciting. They have decided to put on their own show... Read more..

Gardening shouldn't be a bore or a chore, though it sometimes feels like this - when we've got a hundred other things to do, or when it's so cold your feet are freezing inside , or it's all a bit damp and wet out there. But a bit like Mr Happy encouraging you to smile (just try turning... Read more..

Sometimes all you have to do is plant an idea, provide the tools needed and step back (http://www.ted.com/speakers/sugata_mitra.html). You have to be prepared for the end result to not be yours, but theirs. There’s a chance it may not be what you hoped. But there’s every chance it is what you hoped and... Read more..