Month: October 2018

  Five stories up, a rooftop garden is a retreat from the lively streets of London below. The L-shaped garden, full of fragrant plants and cozy seating, wraps around the top floor of the triplex apartment which writer and garden historian Catherine Horwood shares with her husband Paddy Barwise. When the garden was created they installed wood trellises, a pergola and side rails with built-in plant troughs. The garden faces due south so the hardscaping structures provide a break from…

  When Sarah Green and her husband Richard moved into their home 20 years ago, she brought roses from her previous garden 10 minutes away.  Roses are notoriously uncomfortable with being transplanted, but the ‘Queen of Denmark’ and other old fashioned varieties Sarah had received as a wedding gift from her uncle held sentimental value. “I rushed them over,” she recalls, “and planted them in the new garden where they are still going strong.” An enthusiastic gardener and plant person,…

  When Daisy Garnett and her husband moved into their London townhouse 10 years ago, the garden was overgrown with ivy and other entrenched species.  It was evident to Daisy that the previous owner, who had lived there since the 1940’s, had been a good gardener when she was younger. There was a well situated apple tree, a mulberry, a lilac and a bay tree, all of which still stand.  There was also a greenhouse that was falling down. After…

  Kiftsgate sits dramatically on the edge of the Cotswolds escarpment in Gloucestershire County, England, an hour’s drive from Oxford and 2 ½ from London. The name Kiftsgate is thought to be the name of an old saxon meeting place, marked by a stone that rests nearby to this day. When Anne Chambers, the present owner, was raising her 3 children in London they would visit Kiftsgate, her childhood home, on…

If you have an orchid and its flowers have fallen off and you don’t know what to do, read on. Chances are your orchid is a Phalaenopsis, or phals for short in orchid circles, since it is the most common available commercially. You have two choices: throw the plant out or follow the instructions below for encouraging it to rebloom! I confess I have thrown my share of orchids on the compost heap because they sat there flowerless for months…