Last week the annual invoice for our allotment fees arrived, and with the deadline unable to wait until next payday, I somewhat reluctantly transferred the required sums. I thought of the weeds and overgrown patches, the gap in the beds where my plans for successional sowing were beaten by summer heat, laziness and other distractions, …
Gardens Month Friday Feature: The Gardening Tourist
Time for my Gardens Month Friday Feature: The Gardening Tourist. Gardens are the prefect photographers canvas - with seasonal changes, colour, form and texture they are endlessly fascinating. In this series of blogs, each Friday through April I am going to share some of my favourite photos from special gardens I have visited in Sussex …
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One From the Archives: Garden of Delight
[One from the archives: This blog was originally posted Saturday 16th August 2014 on sophiecosussex.blogspot.com/ inspired by visit to Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, London] Garden of Delight Above, the roar of yet another passenger plane across the cloud-broken sky, but even as it passes directly overhead, it doesn't quite manage to drown out the hesitant high …
One From the Archives: July is a Month Made for Gardens
Originally published: Historic Gardens Weekend, Weald and Downland Open Air Museum (Singleton, West Sussex, South Downs National Park - www.wealddown.co.uk) Sunday 5th July 2015. July is a month made for gardens. For visiting open gardens with a notebook and borrowing their ideas, or peering over fences into neighbours gardens to compare competitive favourites, or allowing yourself a …
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A Nature ‘How To’: Heatwave Help
‘Flaming June’ is certainly living up to its nickname this year. In Sussex it seems as though the sun came out for the May bank holiday weekend, and never left. Much of the UK is basking under temperatures high into the 20s, a stark contrast to the cold and wet weather that dominated earlier in …
What to Look for in Nature: May
Marvellous May. Certainly one of my favourite months of the year, and the month that usually forms the bridge from spring into summer. True summer is a few weeks off yet, coming around the summer solstice in mid-June, but May gives us a glimpse of those deliciously scented, warm sunny days that enchant us. This …
A Nature ‘How To’: Plant For Pollinators
How to: plant for pollinators April marks the start of gardening season for many people. Gardening is possibly one of the UK’s most popular hobbies or past times, enjoyed by all ages and backgrounds, right across the country. Whether you live in a rural idyll or in the heart of a bustling city, have acres …
What to look for in Nature – March and April
The old folklore states that ‘March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb’. Indeed, the weather of March is particularly changeable, poised as the month is on the cusp of two seasons. Winter can still make its influence felt, especially in the northern counties, but in my home area of Sussex, …
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Patch Watch: February 15th, Bumblebee and Bullfinches
I have taken to walking often on the heathland. I leave work for an hour at lunchtime, follow the path through the wood and cross the busy main road. As soon as the gate clunks shut softly behind me, I am in a different world. For a short time I can put all thoughts of …
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What to Look for in Nature: February
The first days of February are the time of Imbolc or ‘the first showing’, the start of spring in Celtic and pagan calendars. Just four short weeks into the New Year, and already the season is progressing from late winter, into a semi-spring. It is a fickle season when there is still a likelihood of …
Sussex Field Notes 