XROOTS in action

With my new found enthusiasm for Chrysanthemums I thought I would have a day reviewing my gardening performance, sorting out my Chrysanthemums in the greenhouse and planning actions to improve my show of next year.

2019 was off to a great start in Yorkshire; weather-wise at least.

Roses can be a center of attraction in a photograph as these local garden subjects show. With the morning sun behind the photographer the intense colour shows through despite some risk of colour burn-out. However, for me it is the petal pattern and form that takes center stage. Roses can also hold your center of attention for both colour and scent in many a  garden Photographs with a dark background help with the contrast and emphasise the quality of the rose flower. A shame about the black spot on the lemon sorbet. Is this a  hover fly or a randomly attracted flying creature that wants the nectar or to have a rest & bask in the sunshine.

IF YOU ARE STILL USING any synthetic chemicals on your lawn, I hope you will stop. So does Paul Tukey. When he founded SafeLawns in 2006, Paul says, “It didn’t occur to people that their lawns could be dangerous.”“The sad reality is that we know that a lot of the chemicals used to grow the lawn (the fertilizers), or the chemicals used to control weeds or insects or fungal diseases—all  of these chemicals are designed to kill things, and they can make us very sick, and they make the water very sick, and the soil very sick, and the air very unhealthy.”Giving up chemicals doesn’t mean you have to pave over your front yard.“We will have lawns long after all these chemicals are banned in the United States, as they have been banned in Canada,” says Paul—explaining that more than 80 percent of Canadians cannot use weed and feed products, or glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup herbicide) because they are

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Monarch butterflies perform one of the most mind-bending feats in the animal kingdom. Weighing just half a gram, they fly on wafer-thin wings through cities and across interstates, migrating up to 2,800 miles from Canada and the United States to their wintering grounds in the forests of Mexico.

There are clear signs that spring has arrived, even though we currently have a brief return to arctic weather. The furry catkins on the pussy willow are fattening and showing silver, the first few flowers are unfurling on the apricot tree (I fear they won’t survive the cold) and, in amongst the bulbs and emerging perennials, the weeds have started growing. Once the east wind departs it is the time to get out and deal with the annual weeds while you can still get on the borders – it really is a case of a stitch in time saves nine – it’s fiddly work, but well worth the effort.   In good w

If there seems to have been a bit of a gap in the posts, and not as much as usual about the garden, it’s because Andrew and I got married a few weeks ago and we have been away on the first two of our three honeymoons!  So here are a few photos from our big day with suitably horticultural references. ..

Braced for Action Three months on from fracturing my kneecap I’m back out in the garden – and it feels wonderful. I am being sensible(ish).

Hundreds of farmers and farmworkers gathered in Washington, D.C. this week to demand that Congress prioritize farmer-led climate solutions in the 2023 Farm Bill.