Going to the dogs

I’ve never posted anything about my cats, so thought it was about time I remedied such an oversight. Here is Purdey squashing a rare Digitalis dubia in my alpine sink, and Poppy, the feline goddess of summertime, sensuously exposing her magnificent tum to the rays of the sun. Meowver and out.

The other day I stepped out of my back door to find the branches of a Begonia ‘Bonfire’ in a big pile underneath the hanging basket, which they had cascaded from so beautifully all summer long. Strange, as the plant had looked perfectly well the evening before, but I immediately guessed this was the handiwork [...]

I’m not really a betting man, but to celebrate this weekend’s Grand National I thought I’d come up with a list of former winners that have something to do with gardening – some are real, some are puns. Why not have a punt yourself? Any horse related gardening gag names are welcome – not just [...]

I’ve just got back from Chartwell, Winston Churchill’s former home in Kent, where a gardener told me the story of Jock, Churchill’s much-loved marmalade cat. Given to him by Sir John Colville (whose nickname was Jock) in 1962 on his 88th birthday, Churchill was incredibly fond of the cat and left a note in his [...]