Welcome to The Garden Notebook — a journal of thoughts, tips, and seasonal musings from life among the borders.
Here you’ll find a growing collection of reflections from my own gardening journey — practical advice, stories from the soil, and inspiration drawn from the ever-changing rhythm of the year. Whether you’re battling clay, coaxing colour into shade, or simply enjoying a quiet moment among the plants, I hope these posts offer encouragement and useful ideas to carry back into your own patch of earth.
Settle in, have a read, and feel free to share your own garden stories along the way.
Where Have All the Butterflies Gone? And What We Can Do About It—Right Now This afternoon I was out mowing—not a grand job, just tidying what’s left of the lawn,
The Quiet Green Guest: Rethinking Moss in the Shade Garden You step into the garden after a rain. The air is cool, still. Leaves drip quietly from the canopy overhead.
What to Do Now the Heatwave Has Passed: Helping Your Garden Bounce Back (and Plan for the Future) According to the Met Office, the recent heatwave has finally broken, and
Do Garden Ponds Attract Mosquitoes? What You Need to Know—Especially in the Shade You’ve found the perfect shady corner. You’ve been inspired by the idea of adding a little pond.
by Bee50 Garden Ponds: Why Adding Water Might Be the Best Thing You Ever Do for Your Garden You can be pottering in the borders, watering the veg, or sitting
Oakleaf Hydrangeas – A Shade Garden’s Hidden Treasure You know those plants that quietly win you over—not with fireworks, but with a slow, unfolding charm? That’s the oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea
The Secret Power of Scent in the Garden You might walk into a garden and admire the colours first, or the way the light falls through the leaves, but the scent often stops
Why Aren’t My Irises Flowering? Common Reasons and How to Help Them Bloom Again There’s a quiet kind of majesty to an iris in full bloom. Those ruffled petals catching
The Woodland Enchantress: Growing Anemonopsis in the Shade Garden There are some plants that shout for attention—big leaves, loud colours, standing proud and tall. And then there are those that
Mid-June and the Mood of the Hydrangea – How to Keep Yours Thriving as the Season Shifts There’s a particular feel to the garden in mid-June. Spring’s softness has hardened