Pollarding And The Zest For Life

Flowers are returning to the Priory ... after selfishly leaving me all alone for long dank months.   Still, no hard feelings. There are cautious whispers and murmurings as my fair-weather friends slowly heave themselves out of bed. Beneath large oak and ash on the meadow, small pockets of snowdrops have returned.  I did wonder whether … Continue reading Pollarding And The Zest For Life

Win A Copy Of ‘Shakespeare’s Gardens’ By Jackie Bennett

As 2016 is the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, here's the perfect book to hunker down with (until decent gardening-weather returns). ‘Shakepeare's Gardens’ by Jackie Bennett hasn't been released yet but Anxious Gardener Inc. (East Sussex) has a shiny new copy up for grabs.   If you’d like the chance to win it, I’ll tell you … Continue reading Win A Copy Of ‘Shakespeare’s Gardens’ By Jackie Bennett

Almost Wordless Wednesday: That Darn Owl

I don't see him very often but when I do, the Priory tawny owl brightens up my day. He'd be so much easier to photograph if he roosted in a less twiggy tree. But he likes his lofty, camouflaged perch and my focusing challenge just puts a twinkle in his eye.

A Frosty Pause

After my last doleful post, winter got her act together. For a couple of days last week the rain stopped, the skies cleared, temperatures plummeted, mud froze, and, at long last, it was shiveringly cold. Not on a Siberian or Alaskan scale but at -5°C, Sussex was cold. My first chore on arriving at work … Continue reading A Frosty Pause

Blight, Rain and Flood

This is a rubbish winter. No snow, no ice, barely a frost, just rain.  Lots and lots and lots of rain. Day after day of tedious, repetitive, flooding rain.  I'm not prone to depression but weeks of non-stop rain is twisting my arm.  "Rain, rain go away, come again another day" is too polite by … Continue reading Blight, Rain and Flood

Google Search Terms

Four years ago, I wrote about the unusual, odd and funny search engine entries that -  often mystifyingly - lead visitors to my blog (see - 'Anxious Hog').   Hot on the heels of that post, here's a few more search words and phrases that made me smile, raise an eyebrow or grimace. I felt … Continue reading Google Search Terms

Garden Media Guild Awards 2015

Here's a quick, belated thank you to the Garden Media Guild for giving The Anxious Gardener their Blog of the Year award.  I was astonished to learn that I had won - if a little embarrassed that my last post admitted to a gardening enthusiasm gone AWOL.  Oops. But I am very honoured to win.  … Continue reading Garden Media Guild Awards 2015