“There are two sorts of people in the world. Those that have eaten fresh peas straight from the garden and those that haven’t” My grandchildren looked up, puzzled, as they absentmindedly threw empty pea shells onto the midden between the rows of pea plants in the vegie garden, momentarily forgetting Jeddah, my old Labrador, waiting to scoff any pods thrown his way. Read more about Gardening With My Granchildren
The garden at Lambley is a joint effort between my wife, artist Criss Canning, and I. The planting and the weeding, the pruning and the mowing is my responsibility whilst Criss, who paints full time and has a very busy exhibition schedule, is the chatelaine, the designer, the colour coordinator, the final arbiter. Read more about Gardening at Lambley
There are two acquisitions of Euphorbia rigida growing here at Lambley. The first was collected more than twenty years ago “….just north of Sparta” in the Pelloponese. The second more recent collection was from north east of Gulnar in the Taurus Mountains “Among stones on limestone hills”. Read more about Notes on Euphorbias
A deep violet blue form of the Algerian Iris, I. unguicularis (syn. I. stylosa), has flowered in the dry garden all winter. Iris 'Mary Barnard' flourishes in a very difficult, very dry spot at the base of an olive tree where it also competes with a nearby privet hedge. Read more about Notes on Iris
Forty eight years ago I was working as a propagator for Boulters Nursery in the Dandenongs. At that time it was the biggest Rhododendron nursery in the country. My personal passion at that time was the alpine rhododendrons which cover high Himalayan passes as heather covers Scottish moors. Read more about In My Late Winter Garden
This year the first Snowdrop (Galanthus) bulbs started flowering well before we’d seen the back of June. Normally at Burnside it is well into July before they flower and are at their best during the second half of the month. A planting of some mixed Galanthus caucasicus seedlings under an olive tree in the dry garden has given much joy. Read more about Snowdrops
