Europom 2026
This is an apple but it's also a mystery. It's known on the Swedish island of Gotland as stenkyrke, meaning 'stone church', but its real name is currently lost to [...]
Ben Probert
My Current Project
I don't want to rant this week or talk about some big issue. I think the world is rather too full of big issues at the moment, and that in [...]
Gardens As Art
Much to my shame I cannot draw. Give me a pencil and a ruler and there's a moderate to fair chance I can give you a straight line, but beyond [...]
Is Gardening Good For The Mental Health Of Professional Gardeners?
I'm not into 'trigger warnings' and the suchlike, but this article is going to cover the challenging subject of mental health and its effect on gardeners. It's easy to shrug [...]
Apple Season Returns
As I walked through the garden I heard a thud. It was a particular type of thud, one that has become familiar to me over the last decade of gardening. [...]
Six Things About Hiring A Gardener
I've had a rather adventurous decade as a professional gardener. Lots of great experiences of course, but some difficult ones and even one that left me concerned for my life. [...]
Reclaiming The Sunflowers
The common sunflower, Helianthus annuus, is probably one of the widely recognised flowers on Earth. Native to a range across the US, from Mexico in the south to Canada in [...]
Plant Shaming
I love a good strong opinion. Something robust, well considered, and even backed up with a few facts and figures just to round it off. For example it is my [...]
Championing Professional Gardeners
I've recently noticed a gentle increase in the number of well-known and fairly well-known garden designers championing the work of professional gardeners. Podcasts, articles and social media; there's sense that [...]
Storm Goretti: Six Months On
On the night of the 8th of January 2026 my fellow gardeners down in Cornwall went home after a long day's work. There was a rare official red warning for [...]
Baptisias On Trial
It might just be an impression but I think British gardens have fairly few North American plants, compared to how many European, Asiatic, and even South African plants that are [...]
The Perils Of International Garden Writing
I've just been out planting a trough in front of my house. In it I have plants from Asia and North America, plus some British-raised snowdrops. Hopefully things will settle [...]