Journal

Garden Journal

| Gary Webb

Remember my garden journal posts from yesteryear? Well, if you do or are intrigued to know more, I’m glad to say they’re set to rise from the ashes for 2025. Let me pave the way…

Welcome to something a little different from me for this frosty fresh brand-new year. This post is an introductory edition for what will become a regular Gardening Ways Garden Journal throughout 2025. In forthcoming entries I will dive straight into a new journal format, writing in the moment diary style articles based on my garden, green space and nature related experiences that week

Frost particles across bamboo foliage in a garden, white crystals standing proud of the leaves.
Frost coating my whole garden in crispiness today – infinitely exquisite. Image: Gary Webb 2025

Whilst I’m keen and eager to get to work on my first Garden Journal, in this initial post I’m intending to simply pave the way and describe how this garden journal has come about. Building on a previous journal style of posting, something I stopped compiling nearly five years ago, I feel it’s important for you to understand its origins, how it will sit within my Gardening Ways Substack pages overall, and what it can offer you.

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Just a Park?

| Gary Webb

A little while ago whilst staying away from home, and with a need for some fresh air, I carried myself and the little ones off to Herrington Park, Sunderland. On the surface, I simply wanted to experience some of the bracing wind, some casual walking and, I hoped, some late February sunshine. There was also an ulterior motive to get the kids away from their screens and outdoors for a while.

Landscaped over twenty years ago, Herrington Park features machine-sculpted hills and hollows and is dressed with hedgerows, trees and shrub-filled thickets. These plantations are busy and mature, now bringing life to the park with

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