Yesterday, at their invitation, I drove to The Cotswold Wildlife Park near Burford in Oxfordshire. I hadn't been before and only a complete cupcake would say no to an invite for a free lunch, a guided tour by head gardener, Tim Miles, and free access to the Park, its marvellous animals and lovely grounds. Lunch … Continue reading Win A Copy Of ‘The Cotswold Wildlife Park, A Celebration Of The Gardens’
Gardening
You Would Cry, Dave
It wasn't my garden, of course. I didn't own it, I didn't pay for it - at least not with money. And when I left The Priory, my responsibility for the garden ended. I stopped being its gardener in August 2018 but my love for the place didn't end then, nor my fascination. It's been … Continue reading You Would Cry, Dave
At Last, The Priory
So that's that then. The end. Ten years after starting work at The Priory - almost to the day - I'm leaving. I've spent about a fifth of my life here: a sobering realisation as I hurtle through time with no brakes. If this summer has been too fiercely hot and dry for Sussex gardening, … Continue reading At Last, The Priory
Fritillaria Meleagris – The Snake’s Head Fritillary
A couple of weeks ago, after months of squelch, The Priory meadow was dry enough to support the weight of the Etesia ride-on mower ... as well as my added bulk sitting on top. Had I tried to use it before the ground was firm, the Etesia would have carved up the grass like a … Continue reading Fritillaria Meleagris – The Snake’s Head Fritillary
Anemone nemorosa
April brings wood anemones to The Priory and about time too. Of all the wildflowers that were already here when I arrived, the gradual increase of anemones over the past ten years has given the best reward. They have burgeoned in number using that simple - if obscure - technique of not strimming and mowing … Continue reading Anemone nemorosa
My Old Wheelbarrow
I am ridiculously fond of some inanimate objects. Too fond probably. Long association with a non-sentient - some may say soulless - thing can forge an intimate bond and I am sometimes stupidly upset by its loss. Affection for my childhood collection of Biggles books needs no explanation - obviously - but take The Priory's … Continue reading My Old Wheelbarrow
Waiting For Snow
It has been a terribly long wait since The Priory had snow enough to show and tell: a five-year wait. The Beast from the East didn't bring huge amounts of snow to my corner of Sussex; but if we were spared the havoc meted out to parts of the Kingdom, we had sufficient for me … Continue reading Waiting For Snow
The Anxious Gardener 