Pat Duke

In the Garden It’s not taken very long for people to say ‘its too hot’ or ‘we could do with a bit of rain’. We seem to have gone from digging into mud to hoeing dust in the blink of an eye. If we’re struggling with it, imagine how the plants are feeling. They all ...

In the garden July is usually the hottest month if we go by previous records, but this month has had a spluttering start. We are supposed to average around 250 hours of sunshine in July! During rain breaks, take a leisurely stroll around the garden to assess things. Surprising as it might seem, it's...

In the garden Whilst making your weekly rounds in the flower beds you will hopefully come across alliums that have gone to seed and look like a medieval mace standing tall but out of straw coloured context with the rest of the bed that is flowering with intensity. Pulled out with ease, they can eith...

In the garden During last week’s ‘global IT outage’ most of us sensible gardeners were oblivious whilst trying to plant and sow late seeds. Cramming in as much colour as the summer will allow is the name of the game but don’t forget about biennials. Planting these magical see...

In the garden None can have failed to notice the spiralling spindly stems of wisteria hanging over and through neighbouring hedges, walls and rooftops. It’s the time of year where wisteria makes a late bid to take over the world and we have to gently remind it that it’s actually our gard...

In the garden How many of us have been looking at the evergreen hedges itching to give them a decent trim and keep things in order? Hedges are similar to the edges of a painting in that they can make or break a garden if they are what is technically termed ‘a mess’. This is a task that c...

In the garden As flowers give way to brown desiccated heads then it’s time to go round and give the garden a quick tidy. This will make all the difference and extend the flowering season at the same time. It can be quite therapeutic taking your time snipping heads off and dropping them in a bu...

In the garden Strolling around the cutting garden with a critical eye at this time of year can lead to the neighbours overhearing loud tutting, sighs or the odd repetition of the word ‘no’. There are now gaps of bare soil and any distinct lack of colour can be obvious. Due to warmer cond...

SEPTEMBER can sometimes offer drier weather than even August so we will probably need to keep watering during dry spells to keep flowers going after dead heading. Changes in climate and us having warmer, drier winters, especially here in the South West mean planting spring bulbs later so it gives us...

In the garden When it rains the garden can soon look like nobody owns it, especially at this time of year. To regain some order any spent annuals need to be combed out and carried by the armful to the compost heap. Not only does this make everything look neater and tidy, it also lets air flow throug...