Well, what a week.

Basically, this:

All that planning back in the autumn was worth it - it’s been an incredible spring for the bulbs, with both tulips and narcissi going absolutely bonkers. The last couple of days have possibly been, dare I say it, too hot for the tulips in pots, but those perennial tulips that have remained in the ground, and which come back year after year, are doing exceptionally well. You can find a list of the best perennial tulips here.

I’ve been doing a lot more looking in than looking out of the window, and the tulips provided an unexpected surprise by giving double the fun, the sunlight making a mirror of the glass.

In a couple of months’ time, this window will be enveloped in foliage and flowers from these two roses and two clematis, and top right, you can just see the corner of the blackbird’s nest from last year. She’s1 out and about poking her short beak in the mown grass and I’m wondering if she’ll take up residence again….

And from inside, the view has become equally pleasing. I realise that by painting this room green, it’s become an extension of the garden - just look at the clematis starting:

I’ve been messing about with the new Drop Cap feature here on Substack - I’m nerdily excited to see which writers have already embraced this and now have a great big first letter at the start of their post. I’m thinking though, what I really wold love is the ability to create something like this:

Tell me when you see one in the wild:

Leave a comment

Here in the southeastUK, we’ve had sunny, GLORIOUS days which really have reminded us why we garden, and it’s been just so joyous that I couldn’t decide where to begin with what we might chat about today - there is just too much out there to choose from. The tulips are all out, the primroses are fabulous. Tulips? Colour? A garden design before and after? A garden corner I’ve never shown? An overlooked honey-scented plant? A planting plan inspired by the Easter Bunny?

My cup overfloweth and all that: THANK YOU SPRINGTIME.

I had to pick from the list above; including everything would have resulted in another of those bumper 20 minute reads which you very possibly have less time for, now that the evenings are lighter, the sun is a bit more present and the soil is warmer

SO I went with (drumroll….)

• The Easter Bunny-inspired planting scheme. I’m really looking forward to hearing what you think about this one, for many reasons. If you’re new here, you might think I’ve lost my marbles, but do please bear with me. It’ll be worth it. I realise Easter was last week but inspiration struck and I can’t not share it with you. It’s too pretty.

• I’m keen to tell you about a brilliant under-appreciated and overlooked plant which is in its prime right now - for invisible reasons.

• Also, we’re going to take a look at a corner of my garden that I haven’t properly shared with you before, to show what’s achievable on basically no budget and a lot of recycling.

Before we get going, a quick note on The Garden Design Studio - there is now a space free within the second group, so if you’re thinking you might actually like to join, please see below. All sessions will be recorded.

By the way, if you’re an annual member, you’ll be able to find your Crocus discount below.

I'd like to join please

If you’re new here, do have a look at the home page, where you’ll find all the goodies - the how-tos, the planting designs, the case studies, garden design dilemmas, the cottage garden design series, the border design series and the small garden series - and lots more. And if you’re new to gardening, you might find the Storecupboard Basics series helpful.

What you’ll definitely find helpful are the wonderful, funny, informative and friendly conversations that happen over in the Chat - with 38,000 members from 177 countries, you can just imagine the range of stuff that gets chatted about, especially on a Sunday, when Show Us Your Plots happens. This has taken on a life of its own - I’d love it if you could come and join in!

Wasting a lot of time looking at Vintage Easter cards for no reason at all apart from the fact that they intrigue me and that some of the hares and bunnies look a little bit terrifying, and decorating the table with all the plants that Basil has knocked down, it dawned on me last weekend how pretty this colour scheme would be as plants along a path - imagine the joy of walking along it right now?

By the way, A Good Thing about having a Labrador is that when they decide to make a nest (which is A Bad Thing) in your bulb meadow, at least you don’t have to steel yourself to go and cut the flowers. I find cutting garden flowers so hard, thinking that the removal of a few is going to completely change the picture, but Basil has made the decision for me this week. A particularly impressive feat of his was for him to do precisely THIS, two hours before the lovely team at Crocus arrived for some filming 😬

If you are similarly wracked with self-doubt and indecision every time you think you might cut a flower to bring inside, I have one large dog for hire (for sale) (not really).

Anyway, I’ve been thinking a lot about pathways, both as a means of getting from one place to another, and also as a full-blown experience. In the summer, the path leading into my garden looks like this:

In spring, however, despite lots of little treasures coming up, it’s still a little underwhelming as a whole, and needs an injection of something:

At the moment, it’s mainly green, admittedly gorgeous greens, with a smattering of bulbs, but I can’t help thinking that an explosion of colour would be bring a bit of cheeriness to the Springtime experience. Before the roses come, there’s enough light down here for other plants to survive.

Using those mad-eyed bunnies as inspiration, here’s what I came up with, and here’s also how it would look going down the path:

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And a very happy Easter weekend to you

Before we get going, here’s an enormous welcome to all new subscribers: if you’re new to The Gardening Mind and are wondering what we’re all about here, there’s all sorts: design articles, plant profiles, garden challenges, short courses, tutorials, and lots and lots more.

It really is a community here, created by all the wonderful members over the last four years, and you’ll find lots of friendly conversations going on over in the Chat - do come and join us there on Sundays where we have the regular Show Us Your Plots show and tell. This is the easiest thing in the world, where we post photos of our gardens or a green space that we’ve seen. The photos absolutely don’t have to be beautiful or filtered or award-winningly fantastic. It’s simply the real deal there. I’d love it if you were able to come and join in.

I'd like to become a member, please

I ❤️ you!

Have I told you just how much I love Substack and this Gardening Mind community? In last week’s article, I took members for a potter along some rather fabulous front gardens in London. Well, it turned out that one of the gardens belongs to the parents of one of our members - how fabulous was that?! It was so brilliant to read the comments, and I now have an invitation to go and knock on the door!

None of this would be possible without you all - you really have made The Gardening Mind what it is: the very best gardening community here on Substack.

It’s Easter and the fact had completely passed me by until last weekend…. I’ve been racing around buying Easter Eggs and deliberating on whether to dress up once more as the Easter Bunny, or whether that now the eldest nephew is 13, he won’t fall for it any more….

This lack of awareness means I haven’t got round to making the usual Easter tree. It makes me fall about every year as the most marvellous creations start appearing on Instagram, complete with tablescaping, while I chop off a piece of goat willow and stick a few straggly chicks on it.

I realise how much I love those old-fashioned Easter cards which are very clearly NOT AI.

The pinks and yellows and general mutedness are absolutely right for this time of year - they kind of slide us into full blown colour explosions later on. The great thing about tulips is that you can change your schemes round each year, but I find it fascinating to see how I’ve changed my schemes over the years into something softer, more gentle.

From the classic pales to exploring the idea that we could play with bold, due to Sarah Raven’s Bold and Brilliant Garden - her ideas were so new at the time, and she was the inspiration for a braver kind of colour combining.

This was followed by exploring with stripes and then by going full sweetshop. Then the pastels started, and now I’m now back to pastels and parrots, which I find really soothing.

Who knows where the future will take us….

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And just out of interest, which of these two below is your favourite?

Tiptoeing through the tulips - the 2026 version

The tulips are looking TREMENDOUS generally, both in the garden and in this bulb meadow I planted at my local pub. Here, there’s a play on colour, going for a mix but with some softness to make sure it doesn’t feel too try-hard. It’s a meadow, after all. Sorry for the quality of my photos - snapped on my phone.

It makes me so happy every time I go - and actually is a very good excuse to go to the pub (oh I simply MUST check on the tulips).

There’s a mix of tulips, narcissi and fritillaria - and to find out how to make a bulb meadow, I wrote about it here.

In my garden, it’s all go:

The sun has peeked out on a few mornings and lulled the garden into thinking that summer’s on its way.

The tulips have definitely been early this year: all that rain did them no harm in the pots; although the perennial tulips still keep coming back in the beds, I’m going to continue to plant them in containers only as it keeps the soil healthier and reduces the risk of disease. Plus, it means I can shuffle the pots around and in and out as they come into flower, bloom, and then fade.

The two virus-y tulips have come back year after year, and this year is no exception. I just love how they stand proudly next to their relations, their intended colours beautiful but not half as fun as the tulip breaking virus stripes:

Tulip breaking virus sounds alarming, but it's actually what gave us those legendary feathered and flamed tulips the Dutch Golden Age painters couldn't get enough of. A mosaic virus1, spread by aphids, it interrupts the pigment distribution as the petals form: the result is this glorious, unpredictable streaking - Nature's happy accident.

By the way, don’t you just love what tulips do? They start off looking like one thing, and end up looking completely different.

Days 1, 4 and 7 after cutting of the same tulip:

Garden Design Studio news

Due to demand, I have decided to run this course again - if you were at the top of the waiting list, you’ll have received an email from me. If you’re. thinking you’d like to be on the list, do drop me an email with the title STUDIO.

Cohort #1, you’ll have received your instructions for our first session - I can’t wait to get started!

Finally, to the point of today’s post:

Right now, the roses are just getting started

There’s something going on in this photo which has got me rather excited: new rose foliage. Look at those gorgeous shades of plummy, reddy brown. And there’s one thing that new leaves mean - the buds will soon be on their way. And that in turn means: ROSES.

June is when rose gardens reach their peak in the UK, and some of these displays last just a few short weeks:

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Thank you so much for your comments on the last tiny garden design case study - today, we’re going to take a quick midweek look at the most unlikely of garden corners, and why this design works.

This is an occasional series, just a quick read, and hopefully it will inspire!

If you’re just landing here for the first time, a great big welcome, you can find out lots more about The Gardening Mind here:

A tiny urban terrace, and why this design works

If you were to have looked at this place before it became a garden, you would never have called it a garden. It was basically a narrow strip of paving between a building and right on the street, with cars whizzing by. It would have been noisy, and there’s an overwhelming sense of concrete and city and noise. Not great.

And yet, just look at it. This is a genuinely lovely place to be. A place where someone can sit, even have a coffee even with all that traffic. How has that been achieved?

Let’s take a look:

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It’s nearly April… and time to think ahead

Where did March go? We had some wind, we had some rain, we had some sun, we had some warmth, and we had some cold. If you’ve never visited the UK, welcome to our weather. The magnolias don’t seem to mind all this coming and going in the slightest:

And despite the absolute FREEZINGNESS of the last couple of days, the blossom on the trees is providing one of those fleeting opportunities that memories are made of. If you’re feeling a bit fed up, may I suggest that you go and find a flowering tree and stand underneath it. It’ll change everything for a bit:

If you’re landing here at The Gardening Mind for the first time, welcome - I’m delighted you’ve found us. There’s lots going on here - garden design ideas, easy gardening how-tos, plant recommendations, general garden chat, border planting design tips and tricks, Zoom get-togethers and lots more. If you’d like to join in, I’d absolutely love it.

If you’re wondering what we’re all about here, have a look at this. Also, please do head to the Home Page on your browser. There you’ll find over four years’ worth of design articles, plant profiles, garden challenges, short courses, tutorials, and lots and lots more.

If you haven’t quite decided what style of garden you like, or want, but you want to do something to your garden, there are lots of previous posts to read through which I think you’ll find helpful. There’s the Small Garden Design course to follow, Garden Design Case Studies and Garden Dilemmas. There are sections on City Gardens, Planting Design, Country Gardens, and Wildlife Gardening. You’ll find lots of ‘before and after’ examples, too, which I’m hoping will help show you what’s possible.

I'd like to join please

And here’s what I’d love to know: are you someone who has never gardened before but who is tempted? I would be just so happy if you decided to join us: we’ve had so many complete beginners join us over the last few years, and those beginners have over time sown their first seed, harvested their first salad leaves, and are here now forming this community of garden lovers. I want you to feel confident enough to have a go, maybe even to ask questions, and to feel that amazing feeling you get when you go outside and see your very first seedling poking its way curiously out of the soil. There isn’t anything quite like it.

And one more thing
Paying members have exclusive access to the weekly Show Us Your Plots which is our regular get-together on the Chat, where we share ideas and solve problems throughout the week. This Sunday special goes bananas each week - the amount of inspiring gardens and green spaces along with is absolutely phenomenal!

Back to today

• A new month means new what-to-dos and what-not-to-dos in the garden here in The Gardening Mind, and that also means another lovely new illustration which is just so jolly - I hope you like it.

• Your feedback on the Common Garden Design Conundrums was brilliant - THANK YOU! I loved reading your thoughts about front gardens, and I’m really glad it inspired you. One member suggested we should have a Minister for Front Gardens. Wouldn’t that be excellent? I went on a safari in Kew and have gathered together a few more for you.

• Crocus have given me an amazing pair of offers to hand on to you if you’re an annual paying or founder member: 10% off products and 15% off plants - see below.

• The Garden Design Studio waiting list - there’s news below in the PS section for those of you who were disappointed first time round, I’ll be emailing you on Monday. If you’re thinking this might be for you, please do drop me an email with the subject STUDIO.

• Even if you don’t get very far down today’s lists, can I just say once again:

  SLUGS:

  They are out. They are on the march and they are approaching. Read and do.

Before I get going, if you’re heading to a garden centre, you might want to read this first to avoid those trolley dilemmas. And also it will help you avoid the dreaded scenario:

Also, I’ve been editing all your suggestions into our list of recommended seed suppliers in the UK, North America and many other countries - thank you for all your comments and recommendations. If you still would like to add yours, you can do it here:

It’s certainly a bit different to when I was writing this last year, when the sun had been out for a full week and the air had a warmth about it, but I'm not complaining, and neither are the tulips. The good thing about wind and rain after a few days of sunlight is that you are absolutely obliged to go and pick everything that might otherwise go SPLAT:

This scooping-up was just so cheering that I took it with me wherever I went in the house. I do have a study, but more often that not, I end up curled up on a sofa somewhere, laptop balanced on my knees, following the light:

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Ready? Let’s kick off then…..

The sun comes out in the UK… and I leave. Which is sort of typical but I’m not complaining as I am somewhere beautiful: an abandoned monastery island in the lagoon on one side…

…and this view on the other.

But still, I’d quite like to be back home checking on the tulips. I’m not desperate exactly, but I’m definitely curious, because just before I left, something magical was happening in the gravel garden…

All of the above have self-seeded - they are free plants - where’s the catch?! There’s nothing quite like the joy of stumbling on something you didn’t plant but which has decided that it’s very happy in its place, thank you very much. I’ll be updating you very, very soon.

A massive thank you for the feedback on this week’s CULTIVATED - there’ll be another one coming soon, and if you missed it, it’s free to read here.

If you’re new here, please do come and give us a whirl - it’s the friendliest gardening community here on Substack, and over nearing five years, you’ve grown it into a really fabulous and supportive group of garden lovers - I couldn’t have done it without you! Your support means that I’ve been able to develop and deliver original and hopefully inspirational content to you. THANK YOU.

I'd like to join The Gardening Mind

The Garden Design Studio is one of my ways of thanking you - it’s really exciting to be able to do the things I love - write, teach and design - and you’ve enabled that.

While I’m on it, do remember to head over to the Chat on Sundays - Show Us Your Plots gets super-busy there each week. We now have members in 177 countries - imagine that?! (Still none in Greenland though, which you might remember is my mission…. if you know anyone who lives there, do please let them know).

I’ve got another Garden Design Challenge for you. Before I left, I went out on a very special mission - I want to demystify the front garden. So often, I’m asked for advice on what to do with these often small and ignored spaces - there are some simple solutions and today we’re going to take a look at some truly inspirational examples in villages, towns and cities in UK, and further afield…..

There are plenty more garden design conundrums and challenges - do have a browse through:

• How to deal with a shady garden

• Garden design on a budget

• How to create privacy

• How to screen bins and a bad view

• How to make a garden that copes with wet and dry, cold and hot

• Dealing with an overlooked garden

• How to garden with children and play in mind

• How to deal with a sloping garden

• How to deal with a wide and shallow garden

• How to deal with an oddly-shaped garden

How to deal with a long narrow garden

And based, on your requests from the Chat, coming soon are:

• How to deal with a windy garden

• How to cope with wet soils

• How to deal with areas that are hot and dry

You can catch up on other small garden ideas here. As ever, if you’ve got a garden challenge that isn’t listed here, let me know in the comments below or in the Chat, and I’ll write about it.

Easy planting ideas and combinations

Before we get going, I know you might be itching to head to the nurseries and garden centres. We’ve looked at many colour palettes and planting combinations here in The Gardening Mind, and I find it hard to pick my favourite - which is basically why I’m always creating new ones for you.

There are 100 different colour palettes and studies of real gardens in my book on colour. And, for inspiration right now, here are some I’ve shared over the years (sunny, shady, romantic, cottage, ornamental, edible) - just click on the photo of the one that works for your taste and location:

It’s taken me ages to get to the point today, but here we are, eventually:

Designing your front garden - how to create a space that looks welcoming and works hard at the same time

How many times have you walked down a street and seen joyous bursts of colour and jolliness which have really uplifted you? Front gardens are a real opportunity and I know that some Gardening Mind members are looking to deal with their forlorn patch of green but are not sure where to start.

SO, I’ve been investigating a street in my village, as well as some other urban locations, in order to hopefully inspire you. If you do decide to tackle your own front garden, I’m convinced that you'll in turn inspire and bring joy to everyone who sees it - I really am.

This garden below is one of my favourite front gardens in my village: I pass it every day and it makes me smile each time. As you can see, it isn’t a complicated design, and would be incredibly easy to recreate. This is what you see as you first approach, and then:

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This week, the garden suddenly woke up with a PING. Tulips are appearing, and amazingly, the magnolias are hanging on despite the gales. I’ll be showing you one of my favourite garden transformations: a simple rectangle that became something completely magical.

It definitely feels like colour is heading back to our gardens - a massive HURRAH for that. After months of browns and greys, those first reds, apricots and purples are really something else and I’m obsessed with trying to capture their fruity shades. More please.

Well, just as Magnolia Watch got into full swing over on Notes, of course the gales decided to arrive. I’ve had a look round and most of these resilient beauties have, however, managed to hang on to their petals.

Did you decide to include a magnolia, from the suggestions here, in your garden?

• I have a new magazine column which I’m super-excited to tell you about - more below!

• We’ve got a very special garden design Before and After case study

• The Garden Design Studio is now full (which I’m thrilled about) and there’s now a waiting list.

  If you’d like to be added, just drop me an email and I’ll let you know if a space becomes available. We begin on Tuesday 14th April at 6pm UK time.

  I’ve also decided to add something new to this course: each participant will have a one-to-one online session with me, scheduled at a time that suits you, to talk through your own garden ideas. Do keep an eye on your inbox for further details in the next two weeks.

  

  If you’re looking for small garden ideas, you can find some here, and if you have a garden design conundrum, do have a look at the Garden Design Challenges series:

  • Do you have an oddly-shaped garden?

  • Dealing with an overlooked garden

  • Easy ways to deal with a wide and shallow garden

  There are plenty more - do have a browse through the archive.

If you’re landing here in The Gardening Mind for the first time, WELCOME - I’m absolutely delighted you’ve found us. There’s lots going on here - garden design ideas, easy gardening how-tos, plant recommendations, general garden chat, border planting design tips and tricks and lots more. If you’d like to join in, I’d love it:

I'd like to become a member

Also, do remember to head over to the Chat on Sundays - Show Us Your Plots goes bananas there each week. Last time we had photos from members in Australia, Germany, US, UK, France - we have members in 176 countries - imagine that?!

If you’re a reader of the magazine Country Living, you might have spotted a new column called The Gentle Gardener - it’s me! Yes, each month, there’ll be an update from my garden - April’s edition is out now.

And they’ve made a lovely cartoon - this is possibly the most exciting thing ….

A Garden Design Before and After

I do love what I do, and each garden brings its own magical moments. Designing a garden for someone who DEEPLY loves plants is particularly exciting, so here’s the story oof one very special garden. I’m going to take you on a journey through the garden design, showing you how an empty space was transformed into a flower-lover’s paradise. I’ll be showing you the drawing of the garden design, along with the initial sketches, so that you can see how the design developed.

This flower-filled, maxi-textured, multi-coloured, happiness-bringing garden belonging to the hairstylist Sam McKnight never fails to put a pep in one’s step. Zigzagging along the garden, you also zig-zag back in time: the simplest of winter structure shows bare bones and curving ways which suggest both a journey and a hint of things to come. The energy and hope naturally twined with the beginning of May are prefaced by thousands of tulips, an education in the possibilities of colour taught to me over the years by a dear friend. Roses, whose gentle tones feel quiet in contrast to the preceding tulips, are followed by an extravaganza of colour from a dahlia explosion, surprising and at the same time completely fitting, the last high peak of colour in the growing season.

The Before:

The garden started off as one of those green rectangles which you’ll probably be quite familiar with. Here’s what greeted me when I first visited - as you can see, at first glance, there didn’t seem to be much to work with:

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Thank you so much for your comments on the previous Tiny Garden Design case studies - today, we’re going to take another quick midweek look at the tiniest of garden corners, and why this design works.

ALSO:

On Sunday I emailed paid subscribers about the new Garden Design Studio - this is now full, but if you’d like to go on the waiting list, please follow the instructions at the end.

If you’re just landing here for the first time, a great big welcome, and you can find out lots more about The Gardening Mind here:

I'd like to read more

Here’s another garden jewel, Libby Webb’s little gem of a space in Edinburgh, full of romance and cosiness. It sits perfectly in its spot and it feels bigger than it actually is - let’s look at the garden design tricks that have been used to achieve all this in such a tiny space:

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I met the deadline! The copy for my next book has been delivered to the publisher - the captions have been written and I’ve found hundreds of spelling mistakes. There’ll be a version sent back for me to check all over again, but for now, THE RELIEF. We’re currently having an interesting back-and-forth about which of two photos to use for the front cover - this is fascinating, as the prettiest photo isn’t always the most commercial, apparently. I’d personally always go for pretty, but then I’m not a publisher… watch this space.

I can’t wait to tell Gardening Mind members more - you totally inspired this book.

I'd like to join The Gardening Mind

Magnolia Watch

One morning last week, I noticed that a magnolia in my village was full of fat buds. “Not long now,” I thought.

Sure enough, later that day, after the first few hours of warming, continuous sunshine that we’ve seen in ages, many of the buds were already opening. I nipped over to nearby Sissinghurst to check what was happening there, and sure enough:

Those buds had been waiting patiently: all they’d needed was a tickle of sunlight and BOOM - it was flower-explosion time. Today I’m taking a look at some that we could plant in our own gardens - there’s still time to plant them now.

A lost daffodil

Also, there’s a daffodil mystery - do you have one of these rare daffodils in your own back garden? You may very well have, especially if you’ve followed my lists in the past. All to be revealed…

If you missed the midweek rose advice, you can find it here:

Also coming up: hedgehogs and tiny greenhouses (not tiny greenhouses for hedgehogs though that would be sweet)

SO HERE IT IS

This is properly exciting, and I think we deserve it: there’s little quite so uplifting as a magnolia tree in full bloom. A true springtime tonic.

Every year in Cornwall in the southwest of the UK, a network of gardens keep careful watch of six champion Magnolia campbellii – one in each garden.

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When all those six trees have at least 50 open blooms on each tree, they declare that spring has arrived in England.

And… the news is:

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There’s lots in store for this weekend’s article, though, as those of you who joined in our Gardener’s Question Time on Monday will know - you witnessed the lightbulbs firing live with “Ooooh and I must tell you about this… and write about that…..” and on it went. I did write a list, and it will all be coming to you on Saturday.

If you haven’t yet seen ’s gorgeous colour studies, do go and sink yourself in them. I was thinking that her sherbets and peach melba were particularly mouth-watering, and then I realised I love them so much because they work so well with the new rosebed that I planted last year.

I had a bit of a play and look! Heaven!

I don’t know if, last May, you made the connection between this article on new roses from last February:

and this article in May:

Yes, that’s right, that rose bottom centre of the grid of my suggested roses, was in fact this beauty which has been a sell-out ever since:

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Hello - and it’s very nearly the end of February and I’m imagining that there are going to be A LOT of garden-related posts saying Well thank goodness for that. To be fair, there was one very exciting day last week when all the colour came back to the world: it was extraordinary:

It was just a teaser though, for the next day was back to grey, but that colour and light had so clearly uplifted everyone, so I decided to grab some instacolour. To jolly things up, I did this, which involved nothing more difficult than scooping up a few primulas from the stand outside my local grocer’s, and shoving them in a pot.

I plonked this pot on the Table of Joy, which is now just by the garden gate, so that it cheers everyone - the postman smiled.

Happiness is colour - there’s no colour scheme here at all, just pure, unadulterated, saturated joy. I can totally recommend this bit of colour therapy.

If you’re new to The Gardening Mind and are wondering what we’re all about here, have a look at this. Also, please do head to the Home Page on your browser. There you’ll find over four years’ worth of design articles, plant profiles, garden challenges, short courses, tutorials, and lots and lots more.

If you haven’t quite decided what style of garden you like, or want, but you want to do something to your garden, there are lots of previous posts to read through which I think you’ll find helpful. There’s the Small Garden Design course to follow, garden design case studies and planting lists for roof terraces, and sections on Country Gardens, and Wildlife Gardening. You’ll find lots of ‘before and after’ examples, too, which I’m hoping will help show you what’s possible. It’s all there on the Home Page.

I post twice a week, with a shorter article midweek - here’s the latest in case you missed it.

Then, the bumper edition comes each Saturday. It isn’t always meant to be a bumper edition, but what happens is that I start writing, and think of something else I need to tell you about. And then something else…. and so it goes on. I’ve seen that today’s post is apparently a 22-minute read - I don’t really think it is - but you can always skim!

I'd like to join please

Back to today

The last couple of days have been back-from-Denver-jet-lag kind of days, straight back into the studio, looking for a new designer to join our team, taking the dog to the vets, sorting out a leaky bathroom and general life: this is of course because my book deadline is this coming Wednesday evening. Because of the rushing around chaos, I do massively apologise in advance for any typos here in today’s post - I’ve been checking the book manuscript for typos and nonsense (there’s a lot of both) and I think I’ve become typo-blind at the moment, so please forgive the errors. Pant instead of plant seems to be the one that plagues my posts the most.

The sun is higher in the sky and the days are feeling noticeably longer, which is frankly brilliant. Have you sensed that excitement yet when it’s STILL LIGHT WAY AFTER 5 O’CLOCK? This month in the Northern Hemisphere, on Fri, 20 Mar 2026 at 2.46 pm precisely, we’ve got the Spring Equinox to look forward to.

Yes, you read that right. The actual equinox of actual spring. Friends, we are really, nearly there. For readers in the southern hemisphere, thank you for passing on your spring to us, and we’ll be thinking of you as we wheel around.

• A new month means new what-to-dos and what-not-to-dos in the garden here in The Gardening Mind, and that also means another lovely new illustration by which is just so jolly - I hope you like it.

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• I’ve started to think about cottage gardens in towns and cities - you may have been following the Cottage Garden Design Course here and thinking that you won’t be able to achieve this look in an urban environment. I’m here to tell you the twenty ways that you absolutely can make a cottage garden in the city. It’s all below.

  

• Your feedback on the questionable love/hate plants was brilliant - and I particularly enjoyed the fact that some readers were palpably swaying in their opinions - thank you for the entertainment!

• On 2nd March we are having our Gardening Mind Gardener’s Question Time online - you can find the link below.

• Even if you don’t get very far down today’s lists, can I just say:
  

  SLUGS:

  They are out. They are on the march and they are approaching. Read and do.

I’ve been editing all your suggestions into our list of recommended seed suppliers in the UK, North America and many other countries - thank you for all your comments and recommendations. If you still would like to add yours, you can do it here.

Every year each month is different - this time last year I was writing about warm weather and the fact we shouldn’t be fooled by a Fool’s Spring. I’d say we’ve had one day of a Fool’s Spring this year, and in fact it’s very unlikely that we’ve been fooled by that at all.

Let’s look on the bright side

It’s March tomorrow. That’s it - January and February will be done and dusted for the year and we’ll be officially able to say that meteorological spring is here. We’ve got through the bulk of winter, the Wheel of the Year has wheeled itself around once more, and it’s time for the garden to start showing us that it’s waking up. Time to get excited….

And remember, on Sunday mornings we get together on Show Us Your Plots - if you haven’t tried this out yet, why not make this March the month in which you do? It’s easy, honestly, and most importantly, it’s fun:

I’m reminding myself it’s really sort of Spring - and there’s a sense of life - can you sense it?

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Have you had snowdrops this year?

If you did, in a few weeks it’ll be time to divide them and plant them all over the garden. If you didn’t have them but saw pictures like this:

and decided that next year is going to be the year of the snowdrop in your garden, then I suggest you get ordering them right now. Snowdrops are best planted ‘in the green’, which means they’ve just been lifted and are positively stuffed with energy and raring to get going as soon as they’re replanted. Details of where I’m ordering mine are in the PS section below.

Free plants:

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Thank you so much for your comments on this small garden design and this one too.

Today, we’re going to take a quick midweek look at another of these tiniest of garden corners, and why this design works.

If you’re just landing here for the first time, a great big welcome, you can find out lots more about The Gardening Mind here:

Thanks to its thousands of members all over the world, The Gardening Mind is the No.1 gardening newsletter here on Substack - please do come and join us. There’s a lot going on here, and it feels like a nice, cosy place to be.

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Below, you’ll also be able to find the invitation to our Gardening Mind Gardener’s Question Time on March 2nd.

There’s something about this absolute oasis of a tiny garden designed by Tony Woods/Garden Club London, nestled in the bustle and noise of nearby London Bridge. It works so well: I want to work out why this is. What is it about this design that makes the whole thing work?

Here are the eight ways in which it works so well, making a brilliant small garden that feels exactly right in its space:

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Have you had any little shafts of sunlight poking through in the garden? Does it feels like spring might just be on its way? I’m lucky enough to be sitting writing this in sunshine, with the blue skies of Denver creating an utterly gorgeous backdrop, and I’m hoping that wherever you are, you manage to get at least a glimpse of sun this week.

Thank you so much for your input into last week’s article:

If you haven’t yet added your best plants, please do: I’m collating the list of truly resilient plants - for different conditions and different locations - and will be sharing it in a couple of week’s time, so there’s still time to contribute here.

Your contributions are absolutely invaluable: our favourite worldwide seed suppliers list, which you helped create, is here.

This may be your first time reading The Gardening Mind or even Substack, and I really, REALLY hope you enjoy it. Come and join in the Chat, or just observe, Sunday’s regular Show Us Your Plots in the Chat - it’s a lot of fun.

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Check out the Home Page too - you’ll find links to all sorts, including the Small Garden Design Course, Garden Design Masterclasses, the Border Planting Design Course, ideas on how to make a romantic garden, and lots more:

Can I make myself - and you - love this plant?

The colours here have got me thinking - I’ve been hunting around for uplifting colour in the garden at home, and I realise the solution is virtually right under my nose: the camellia.

Now, I’ve a confession to make. I’ve never been a huge camellia fan. I mean, I like them in other people’s gardens but, along with the fact that I worry about their need for acidic soil, I’ve always been a bit stuck as to how to use them: their chunkiness has always made feel they’re a bit inflexible, and a bit brash.

But, as the camellias start to flower, I realise I’ve been missing a trick, especially for one gloomy corner where nothing ever grows - it is a REALLY BAD spot in my garden and I’ll be showing it to you below - I’m going to be a bit embarrassed but I’ve abandoned all pride: we’re all about the honesty here in The Gardening Mind and the photo is REALLY HONEST.

A planting combination and a list of places to visit

Camellia colours are joyous. And so, ever up for a challenge, I’ve taken a deep dive into them, picked out some star performers, and also created a planting combination for you. Oh - and also there’s a list of where to go and visit them over the next few weeks. And there’s also an edible surprise:

And another love/hate plant with a planting design explanation

We’re also going to be revisiting one of the most marmite plants ever (if you’re in N.America/Australia/anywhere else, I’d love to know if you use this marmite1 Love it/Hate it expression - does it mean anything to you?)

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Here’s that photo of that really terrible corner - prepare yourself for the grimness.

Just look at it: that hideous trellis and the even more hideous view through it. The forlorn planting, and the general air of neglect. That sad bit of hedging, and the non-existent planting at ground level. It’s rubbish, I know.

I’m thinking that a camellia or two would be just the thing here:

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It feels funny sitting in my hotel room at 4am whilst you are probably well into your day. It also feels exciting to be waking up at the same time as you if you’re a US member - hoping to see you at the Garden & Home Show this weekend - please do come and say hello!

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With all The Weather that we’ve been having, plus your reaction this weekend to the rather controversial photo I posted on the Chat of a very-out-of place public planting scheme, along with a rant, I thought it would be helpful to revisit this conversation that we’ve been having since almost Day 1 of The Gardening Mind.

We do ask a lot of our gardens, don’t we?

We want them looking good from May-October.

We want herbaceous plants to survive both the wet, soggy winters and also the searing heat which even over just a couple of days can mean the end for some less resilient plants.

As I say, we ask a lot.

After 6 weeks of rain, all the gardening media turns towards plants that survive the sogginess.

And you can bet your bottom dollar that after two days of heat in the UK, the ‘Mediterranean garden’ articles will start appearing online and in the papers, telling us to adjust our planting and to turn our gardens into places which look like they belong in parched sunnier climes.

And there’s the contradiction

It’s vital that we remember that UK gardens also have to tolerate below freezing temperatures and endless (I mean ENDLESS) rain. So a lot of the plants that are often suggested in these lists simply won’t cut it in the UK. And I know many of our US Gardening Minds have been having the same issue.

Today I’m looking at plants that will survive both of these, and I’ll also be

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Hello and a massive welcome - we had lots of new people joining in with Show Us Your Plots in the Chat last Sunday, so a great big THANK YOU to everyone for giving such a fabulous welcome - you’re utterly brilliant. It was just so much fun to see your February garden photos from your location: we had pictures of snow in the US, mud in the UK, and sun in Australia…. really from all over the world.

This may be your first time reading The Gardening Mind or even Substack, and you may be wondering what it’s all about, and what I’m doing here. Hopefully this post is a good taster of what’s on offer. Essentially, I set out to share with you everything I’ve learned over the past nearly 35 years: it’s a place for us to have some gardening fun, to share thoughts, ideas and those gardening queries that nibble away at you, and for us to have a chat and generally have a very mellow time.

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It’s summer bulb time

I’m beside myself with this my most favourite - and easy - summer bulb collection yet for you to order, along with a look at that glorious absolute stunner in the photo above.

I’m going to be sharing this planting combination and list with you, as well as look at how and why this palette works so well in the garden.

Is that seedling a weed?

If you’ve ventured out in the exciting glimpses of what’s something nearly like sunshine, you might even have noticed some small glimmers of excitement - of STUFF going on in the garden. A seedling you can’t remember sowing, and that sense that the garden might just be getting on with things by itself. That means it’s time to spot and look after all those potential free plants.

I’m at the stage when I’m looking at the tiny seedlings trying to figure out whether it is Friend or Foe:

Two of the above are annoying weeds (though you might want to leave a few early ones of the pollinators). The other two are brilliant plants which, if happy, can colonise your garden in the very best of ways, multiplying with no effort from you and providing many many many free plants.

I’m all about the free stuff and the self-seeders- and as well as being a great way to reduce the amount of money to spend, this self-sown ‘relaxedness’ is what gives your garden that romantic, cottagey feel - you’ll find the ‘how to’ below.

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A garden design before and after

Oh, and because I’m trying desperately NOT to include too many subjects and today set out to write to you about Just One Thing, I’ve naturally completely ignored my own decision and added a quick Before and After garden design too.

This garden smacks of 1980s style, but it did have Vita Sackville-West connections. However, too much had been tinkered with. I’ll be showing you what I did to make it better.

With all that to come, let’s get down to business

The summer bulb catalogues are arriving, and as usual, we are spoilt for choice - if you’re mesmerised by the beauty of these summer colour-bringers, and if you’ve been determined for ages to be organised enough to order your dahlias and other summer bulbs but you’ve no idea where to start, then do please read on:

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With its hooded beauty in colours that are properly hyperbole-inducing, this plant fits in anywhere: cottage or container, town or country.

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Last year, I wrote about buying the plants in order to have this display in February.

It’s now February, and guess what? You can still make this display. It’s easy to achieve, and even more importantly, it has pretty much instant impact. And goodness, do we need that colour boost right now…

There’s also a bit of controversial advice:

Designing for right now

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OK so I am going to start with rain, but I know you’re probably fed up of seeing it and reading about it and being in it so please don’t worry, I promise I’ll swiftly move on to sun and sunny thoughts and colour and inspiration and all the smile-making things.

Apparently it’s been raining for 36 days non-stop. My goodness did it feel like it.

I went to London to escape the mud and finish some edits, and discovered some beautiful places I’d never seen before:

BUT, just at that point when you think that there can’t possibly be any more rain, it stopped for a few hours. The sky went blue - remember that colour?!

It was a subtle light that the sky made above soil still black with rain-heaviness and squidgy underfoot. The change altered the mood immediately. The edges of everything were a bit clearer, and for once I didn’t find myself longing to get back inside. I got to see the treats that are slowly pushing themselves up, and for a minute I wasn’t impatient or rain-grumpy.

There were some surprises, and that’s what we’re starting off with today.

Have you signed up to The Gardening Mind yet? Free subscribers can preview the first few items here, and paid subscribers can see the full article every week, including: the to-do list, solutions to your gardening challenges, the small garden design and cottage garden design course, planting ideas, gardeners’ question times, and more. Paid subscribers also have exclusive access to the weekly Show Us Your Plots, our regular get-together on the Chat, where we share ideas and solve problems throughout the week.

The next instalment will be in your inbox on Wednesday.

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• I’m an incredibly impatient person. I have an idea and I drive it forward before anyone else thinks of it. (I know - terrible. But exciting). If I can see the solution to a problem, I drive it forward. If I see a set of circumstances and the solution isn’t immediately clear, I push through various options so that a solution will eventually present itself. What I’m incapable of doing is waiting for something to happen all by itself without getting involved. It’s a visceral need - I can’t bear standing by.

  But somehow, gardening is the one thing that doesn’t play ball with this approach to life. And it’s good for me. I’ll be looking at an example of this.

• I’ve found the most fabulous idea for a Valentine’s Day present.

• The most powerfully-smelling, majestically-smelling, seductively-smelling plant in my garden at this very moment. It’s sexy.

• If you’ve seen your first bee, that bee will be out looking for food to forage. We’ll be looking at what you can do right now to help:

  

• Plus - dahlia collections - nope, I still haven’t ordered mine either… and some of the easiest ever recipes to feed a crowd.

  

If you’re new here - welcome! Have a scroll around, and do message me in the app if you have a question. Remember that we have our Gardening Mind Question Time next month, so start getting your queries ready if you’d like to join in. It will take place on Monday 2nd March - the invitation is below. Do pop those questions in the comments and I’ll answer them on the day.

• This gardening myths article is a good one for beginner gardeners:

• Got a small garden you want to design? Have a look here.

• You’ll find lots of border planting design ideas here - here’s an easy one complete with plan and quantities:

Garden surprises

So this is what happened:

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