Remember those wildlife documentaries where a pride of lions slowly circle a herd of wildebeest picking off the oldest, youngest or sickest animals to hunt down and devour? Gardening can be a bit like that sometimes. Insects instinctively know when a plant is undernourished or dry, and target their attacks on weakened specimens. Sick plants…
In the Night Garden
Hot summer nights, some plants come into their own. Daytime flowers are bold and brash, relying on bright colours to attract pollinating insects; night-blooming flowers are more subtle, white or cream-coloured to glow in the dark. Often insignificant in looks, they announce their presence with blasts of powerful perfume. One such is Brugmansia, sometimes mistakenly…
Lotusland
“In the afternoon they came unto a land In which it seemed always afternoon. All round the coast the languid air did swoon, Breathing like one that hath a weary dream…” – Tennyson, The Lotos-eaters First stop north of LA on our California trip (thanks to the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship!) was Ganna…