Once a friend told me “Gardening is all hard work and disappointment.” Well yes to the hard work, but along with the disappointment you get some successes too: the fantastic buzz of picking your own broad beans, the smell of the lawn just cut, or burying your nose in that wonderful rose with the crazy French name “Cuisse de nymphe emu” (Aroused nymph’s thigh — generally more prudishly labelled “Great Maiden’s Blush” in the UK).
Home & Garden
Home & Garden
I’ve lived in the Cotswolds for over forty years. My first house was a big old house with a ramshackle garden with the bones of good design still visible in the trees and hedges. When we took possession, I couldn’t tell an oak from an ash, had never grown so much as a tomato plant, and had little idea where to begin. But ignorance truly is bliss, and gardening quickly became addictive. I loved all my attempts at tree planting, making borders, growing veg – until they failed.
Explore Home & Garden articles
View all articles
Home & Garden
Children’s Classic Books
I am always asked what books I would buy my Grandchildren. For me the classic books that I grew up with are wonderful and would still delight children today. My...
Home & Garden
Wreaths – Decorate your front Door
On my recent book tour promoting PRUE; my all- time favourite recipes, I saw this wreath by Cut Flower Kitchen, hanging in the Broadleaf bookshop in Abergavenny. It...
Home & Garden
Books by my bedside
Are you oppressed by the sight of a pile of unread books by the bedside? I am. I don’t know what’s the matter with me. I keep buying more books...
Home & Garden
Moroccan Influence hits home
Add rich Moroccan tones to your home with wonderful woven baskets and ornate cushions – move over grey it’s time for Turquoise, Saffron and Tangerine colours to have their moment....