A Mist Laden Landscape

| Gary Webb

By late afternoon on Boxing Day and with natural daylight already on the slide, I knew that if I was going to find any time for a fresh air walk, I’d have to lace my boots sharpish and get out there. Once the decision was made then, it took but a few swift minutes to don my boots, zip on a fleece and winter jacket, close the wreath-dressed door behind me and head out in search of refreshment and rejuvenation.

Clean air was needed to clear away the yearly feeling of laziness and over-indulgence, during this self-imposed Christmas lockdown, even if I had tried to steer well clear of excess this year. Just yards from the front door my dreamy festive walk met with reality though, as a freshness nipped at my cheeks and cold air tingled my nostrils. Still, as the first

Continue reading →

The Moon in My Eyes

| Gary Webb

Do you look forward with anticipation as each full moon comes around, is your sleep interrupted or does your mood change? Or are you more casually drawn to the moon’s presence each month, simply catching a glimpse here or there if opportunity presents? I ask all this of course, knowing that here in the UK, the moon is often hidden away due to an almost never-ending blanket of cloud!

If you do find fascination in the moon though you’re certainly not alone, and may charismatically class yourself a selenophile, a name based on a Greek word for moon – Selene. If a selenophile is therefore a person who looks aghast when our nighttime gardens are illuminated by that big old moon, or takes solace from the regularity of its presence, that is me, and it might be you too. Indeed, over the last few nights

Continue reading →

A Winter Walled Garden

| Gary Webb

I find myself sat under a large triangular shelter, built snugly into the southern corner of a three-sided walled garden open to visitors, known as Baddesley Clinton. In their down-season dress, ornamental flower borders line three of the garden’s walls, sprinkled here and there with red bows bringing a little Christmas cheer. The sky is fixed grey and moody, and after warming myself with lunch in the bright bustling café, this spot seemed as good a place as any other to sit awhile and write.

A Box shrub wrapped in a bright red Christmas bow, situated in the walled garden at Baddesley Clinton. Lawns and fruit trees beyond, and a moody clouds up above.
A little Christmas cheer, at Baddesley Clinton. Image: Gary Webb.

Built primarily as a shady summer retreat, I’m certain that in the heat of summer, this shelter offers cool respite for visiting guests, and for working gardeners too. In this shade, time served timbers and darkened joists support a thatched mossy roof, under which a tangled bird’s nest rests in the shadows; just like me. Red bricks line the floor,

Continue reading →

A Talking Tree

| Gary Webb

If you know me you’ll know of my fondness for trees, and even knowing they have turned on me from time to time, I’m unlikely to have anything negative to say about them. This week being National Tree Week then, is a time for me to reflect on the wonder of trees, to celebrate and be thankful for them, and if conditions permit: a time to plant one too. It would be remiss of me therefore not to put pen to paper and fingers to keys in order to show my respect for our woody friends. If you’re here though for the usual ‘love and plant trees’ kind of message, you might just be barking up the wrong tree.

Today I’m not so much going to write about trees, but write as one, and yes you did read that correctly: I’ll be morphing into an actual tree, to present an alternative tree’s-eye view. Should you choose to read on therefore, you’ll find it’s not so much me talking about trees, but talking as one, for a change. Go with it for a while, I dare you!

Now, to a point, I’d consider myself tree-like anyway, my robust trunk having grown incrementally over the years. When puzzled, my furrowed forehead isn’t too far removed from a tree’s fissured bark, and at times I can get a little creaky. Thankfully,

Continue reading →

Ginkgo Moments

| Gary Webb

The presence of trees in our world should never cease to astound. Take a look at this Ginkgo, for example, living its moments peacefully in a Herefordshire garden. Note: This article, previously posted autumn 2023 has been reworked for this autumn, renewed after meeting the tree again recently. I hope it triggers some tree-like exploration…

Standing beneath its mature crown looking up, it was hard not to be impressed by the tree’s volume and its many stems shooting out in different directions. Dare I say, the tree may not have been an artistically formed treasure like the trained fruit in the walled garden nearby, but it did hold a rugged charm. If however the tree lacked any refinement in its structural form, it more than made up for this in style, its many clustered leaves shining en masse with a fiery yellow intensity.

With confidence the tree spoke too, proving it wasn’t all about the frilly foliage display. A soft purposeful sound emanated from its crown, a tune that hushed with each southerly breath of wind. As this cool November breeze blew in from the park, I moved in closer,

Continue reading →

Worth and Wonder

| Gary Webb

It’s about more than just buying a specimen plant or container, its the journey and experience it offers along the way. Let me explain, through Worth and Wonder.

Growing large plants in containers can be hugely rewarding, whether you’re looking to create an eye-catching floral focal point or simply provide some seasonal screening. Once you’ve found your specimen plant however, selecting the right container can become a trying task due to the seemingly infinite selection on the market. Furthermore, should design, depth and diameter of drainage holes not present enough challenge, the high cost just might, often nudging that idyllic pot solution into the ‘out of reach’ zone.

Putting aside aesthetics for a minute, one judgement we need to make is whether any given pot is sturdy enough to stand the test of time. In that respect it’s worth remembering that it’s not just the ageing process that dictates longevity, but damage from

Continue reading →

Pulling Pollinators

| Gary Webb

Food plants and flowers aren’t always seen as bed companions, yet there’s so much to gain from squeezing in a few ornamentals, aside from pollination of course! Let me briefly explain…

When first acquiring an allotment plot, an aspect that wasn’t lost to me was the opportunities it presented to support wildlife. As a result, one of the first areas to be established on our Warwickshire plot was a flower-focussed border, or ‘Nectar Bank’ as we call it. Wildlife borders, nectar banks, pollination stations, call them what you will, they’re undeniably valuable, but on an allotment, a space traditionally reserved for food production, should this be the norm?

If you’re familiar with my green gardening ways, I think you’ll know what my answer to that question would be, believing as I do that wildlife supporting elements should be considered in all gardens. Indeed, if you’ve paused your day

Continue reading →

Rain’s Good for the Garden

| Gary Webb

We often hear it said that rain is good for the garden, a typical response meant to lighten the mood of a rainy day. Where though, does a rainy day leave the gardener, is a rainy day good for them too? Well, after years of living and around gardens, here’s my naturally positive take on this situation.

After what seems like days and weeks of rain, autumn’s dampness has well and truly settled in, and it feels like I may not see dry soil in my own garden again for some time. I don’t state that as a complaint though I have to say, as I’m understanding that weather’s balance constantly moves back and forth, some days or weeks sitting wet, some dry, and in between, hopefully, there comes some useful middle ground.

An image of a lake with swans, and autumnal trees in the background. Above is a sunny and dark sky and rainbow.
When the weather turns – Sourlands Pool, nr Farnborough Hall, Warwickshire. Gary Webb.

Where gardening and garden visiting is concerned, striking that perfect balance between weather and conditions can be a fine thing indeed, and most of us do live in hope of this garden idyll. If, however, I’m to wait until the soil is dry, or postpone

Continue reading →

Trim and Propper

| Gary Webb

Today I’ve brought forward and rewritten an article originally created whilst working at a garden in Northamptonshire, called Sulgrave Manor. My aim now as then, is to pay homage to the formal garden hedge, an often overlooked feature that in my opinion deserves more understanding and appreciation. After all, given that much of our land is laced with hedgerows of one form or another, is it that we’ve grown to see hedges simply as dividers of territory? 

If like many other garden folk you already have a longstanding respect for a good garden hedge, not just those ones between gardens but those placed within gardens themselves, you’ll understand exactly my angle of approach to the subject. If however you’re a ‘flash the trimmer over and move on’ kind of gardener, and don’t wish to hedge your bets by reading to the end, (pardon the pun) then I wish you well on your own hedge trimming journey of discovery; farewell my friend.

Continue reading →