Helen

It’s raining in Torquay

Well OK, actually it probably isn’t. I refer readers to a previous post, namely ‘What’s going on in Torquay‘, an expose of a little area of my garden (in the deep shade of a yew tree) so named because, being a collection of of potted box balls, hostas, spikey things, ferns, melianthus – and also,Continue reading “It’s raining in Torquay”

Keeping control of your cistus

Last year I wrote about keeping things in my garden ‘in balance’ by cutting back the lush foliage of my border plants at this time. With hindsight – looking at pictures I took – it is clear that many of my plants were hugely over-enthusiastic – they looked as though they had been fed on steroids. I put this downContinue reading “Keeping control of your cistus”

In praise of…greenery

During a week (the run up to Chelsea ’09, my thoughts go out to the poor souls out there…) of perpetual grey skies and a nasty niggling wind, a friend (called June, ironically) emailed from southern France, with words to the effect that her garden was looking good, but then if you can’t make your gardenContinue reading “In praise of…greenery”

Assorted daisies and goat cuisine…

Hold on to your hats, this may be a long one… Getting away from my desk is hard. My weekly problem-solving column in The Telegraph gardening supplement has run more or less without a break since 2001 (apart from some jiggerypokery around Christmas times) and involves a weighty e- and snail-mailbag. I endeavour to keep thingsContinue reading “Assorted daisies and goat cuisine…”

Skirmishing in the trenches

Fabulously and at long last – I have got the upper hand on my allotment. All raised beds are built (some, to my great personal satisfaction, using recycled decking), spuds (Charlotte, Vivaldi and Anya) are up, autumn raspberries are a foot hight. Strawberry plants (Florence, Honeoye and Alice) are doing well in their smart new home and someContinue reading “Skirmishing in the trenches”

Calling all Garden & Horticultural Society Presidents

Quite out of the blue I have been asked to be the President of a local village Horticultural Society – a purely ‘ceremonial’ role, I expect, but one that I am really pleased to take on. I should love to hear from anyone else who has done, or is doing, something similar and hear about their experiences.Continue reading “Calling all Garden & Horticultural Society Presidents”

Email not working

My home email address has stopped working. If anyone is trying to get hold of me, I can be reached pretty quickly via my Telegraph address: helen.yemm@telegraph.co.uk

Control freaks and twiddlers

Are you a bit of a ruthless control-freak in the garden or do you just twiddle about? If you ask any gardening acquaintances they will readily jump (or tiptoe hesitantly) into one or other camp. I have just been rescuing a Twiddler friend’s climbing roses from years of indecisive mismanagement. You know the picture: horrid gnarledContinue reading “Control freaks and twiddlers”

Hello again

Hello, I’m back… Somehow I lost enthusiasm for sharing my thoughts. It all started to feel like a bit of a vanity trip to nowhere. However, Spring is here etc. etc… I’m sure I’m not the only one who has been enjoying several good gardening days on the trot. I absolutely adore this time ofContinue reading “Hello again”

What’s going on in Torquay? – tips on planting in the shade

My apologies to holiday Googlers everywhere. This is not about the south coast of England’s famous watering hole, but about a small bit of my garden, somewhat dismissivly described by a non-gardening friend as ‘looking like Torquay‘ when it first started to evolve. If you look at the pictures you will probably see why. I absolutelyContinue reading “What’s going on in Torquay? – tips on planting in the shade”