offtheedgegardening

Sharing

A near perfect day at The Farm. Only ice cream, a visit from David Essex or the news that Mr and Mrs George were providing an on-site masseur for employees would have improved it. The weather was perfect, not too hot to work without getting an attack of the vapours, but warm enough to stripContinue reading “Sharing”

Proverb

Proverb of the Day: Never get between a man and his meadow, especially when he is wielding a recently sharpened scythe. I didn’t. Now the cut wildflower hay is laying in state for a couple of weeks, spread on the ground from whence it came. This will allow the seed to ripen and spill onContinue reading “Proverb”

Invention

I may have said before (on several occasions) that my favourite gardener is/was the late, great, Geoffrey Hamilton. He appeared as a gentle soul, he loved wildlife, promoted organic growing before many of the others caught on, and most charmingly, was a proud inventor. Whether it was making cloches for a fraction of the priceContinue reading “Invention”

Lack of Lilies

I can’t understand why I don’t grow them.

Land of the Giants

I’ve always loved stories that involve mini people living in the world of mega people. These include Mary Norton’s classic The Borrowers and the 1960’s American TV series The Land of the Giants. Giant safety pins as grappling hooks, sleeping in match boxes, finding enormous crisps to snack on and escaping from hungry cats (usingContinue reading “Land of the Giants”

Perfect Partners

I had a day off today. A day off from gardening anyway. Not however a day off from garden ephemera. The weather was forecast “dire” getting “dire-er” later. So we went for a little jaunt to the seaside, another seaside from the one we have already. Like true British tourists, we didn’t let a littleContinue reading “Perfect Partners”

Iris ensata ‘Moonlight Waves’

An altogether satisfactory day at the Mantle Estate with a plethora of subjects for discussion. Being so spoilt for choice it has been difficult to decide which highlight to share. Should it be: Top tips on getting raspberry jam out of a pale blue linen shirt two minutes before Lord Mantle was due to headContinue reading “Iris ensata ‘Moonlight Waves’”

Salvia argentea – The Silver Sage

Salvia argentea, the Silver Sage. Do I sound like The News at 10.00? If so it should go something like this: First I will tell what is coming: we will be featuring Salvia argentea, the Silver Sage. Then I will cover the main story of the day which just happens to be Salvia argentea, the SilverContinue reading “Salvia argentea – The Silver Sage”

Taxing

Today I did my tax return. It is not particularly complicated and the on-line submission is relatively straightforward, especially if you are paying attention and not distracted by someone blithering on in the background. The figures involved are rather petty, I am computer literate and love a good spreadsheet, but all the same it tookContinue reading “Taxing”

Nameless

There has been another label malfunction. This little veronica is nameless to all but its close relations. The use of a non-permanent, water-soluble pen when labelling this little beauty was perhaps a mistake. Let us not beat about the bush, it was daft. Of course if I had realised any writing was going to disappearContinue reading “Nameless”