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.
Letting the Lawn Grow: What Comes After No Mow May? Why the end of No Mow May isn’t the end of the story—and what to do with your wild patch
The Gentle Art of Growing Hostas: A Full Guide to Care, Colour, and Keeping Them Happy There’s something almost meditative about tending to hostas. The way their leaves unfurl each
Caring for Roses in June: Keep the Show Going All Summer You know it’s June when the scent of roses stops you mid-step. One moment, you’re walking through the garden
Top Shrubs for Clay Soil: Tough Beauties That Truly Thrive If you’ve ever tried to dig a planting hole in a Bishops Cleeve garden, you’ll know the feeling—spade hits the
When the Shade Disappears: Recovering Your Garden After Tree Loss It often starts with a crack you don’t quite hear, then a splintering, a shift in the skyline, and suddenly,
Understanding Shade: Light Levels, Canopy, and the Secret to Happy Plants A Quiet Kind of Light You step into the garden on a summer afternoon. The sun is blazing overhead,
Improving Clay Soil: What Actually Works? Gardening on clay is a bit like living with a moody but brilliant neighbour. It can be obstinate, heavy-going, and unforgiving in wet or
After the Leylandii Are Gone What to Plant in Dry, Rooty Soil Once the Conifers Have Been Chopped Down In Part One, we looked at the classic conifer problem—trying to
The Quiet Fireworks of the Shade Garden: Spigelia, Soil, and the Power of a Well-Placed Plant There’s a little patch of ground near the back of a garden I once
Planting Under Conifers Dry Shade & Fence Screening Ideas: Real-World Solutions Beyond Ivy There’s a certain part of the garden that gets quietly ignored. You know the one I mean.