The Wildflowers of Istria

With its long history of medicinal use, I find yarrow to be one of the most incredible and fascinating common garden plants.An herbaceous perennial and member of the

The gardens at Great Dixter.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission if you make a purchase using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Chitting potatoes is also called gree

Fothergilla Monticola a shrub which I was not familiar with

It’s an age-old debate that’s almost impossible to avoid when living with another person: Does silverware go up or down in the dishwasher? And is there even a right answer? Since the popularization of the dishwasher, how to load this appliance has been a hot point of contention, particularly when it comes to silverware. Should silverware be rinsed first? Should you organize each utensil so like is grouped with like? Should you use the silverware basket or the rack, if your dishwasher is a newer model? Some people are adamant that silverware should be placed handle-up, while others insist on handle-down—but those aren’t actually the only options.

Zinnias are truly marvelous flowers, spectacularly colorful annuals that are incredibly easy to grow.And they come in a dizzying array of colors,

Whether it was steeply sloping meadows of Orlaya grandiflora, the brilliant blues of Salvia pratensis and Nice milkwort, or Dittany dotted grasslands there was always something to keep me interested. Lanes were lined with starbursts of Dianthus carthusianorum, the deadly poisonous Swallowwort was deceptively attractive and the flowers of wild lettuce looked much nicer than the bitter taste of the somewhat narcotic leaves. Among the plants I would happily have in my garden was the large-flowered Austrian flax, the lovely purple-flowered Jurinea and a rather fine cerise-flowered clover. Of course, the chances of them growing in a coastal garden in the south-east of England are remote, but I can dream.  

I did have the opportunity to see four shrubs that do grow in my garden in their native habitats – I wasn’t surprised to see the white-flowered Cistus monspeliensis close to the coast, nor the lovely Etruscan honeysuckle, but cotinus grew in abundance on rocky slopes and coronillas provided splashes of yellow along the roadsides. ..

We have just returned from a week revelling in the abundance of wild flowers, birds and butterflies of Istria. We try and do one of these holidays somewhere in Europe each year with the specialist wildlife travel company Naturetrek (We pay – this is not an advertorial!). I love to see plants in their native habitats, partly because it helps me grow them better in my own garden, but mainly because my idea of heaven is to wander through meadows, explore woodlands and climb to high places to see what grows there in the company of botanists who know more than I do. A quick note of apology for the lac

Retail therapy at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2014 by Daniel Carruthers The Chelsea Flower Show, now in it’s 101st year, is revered for its wonderful gardens showing the latest trends in garden design. The show does also have many other elements of inspiration too with a wide and often unsung retail section. Predominantly the Eastern Avenue is the shopaholic gardeners first port of call with everything on display ranging from hats and gardening apparel to seeds and works of art.

Wildflowers of Ireland We were slightly late for most of the spring flowers, but there was still some loveliness to be seen. There were boggy fields of flag iris, cliffs and shoreline banks were vertical gardens smothered in sea thrift and orchids were everywhere.