The Garden Companion

The Garden Companion Former vet turned horticulturist, I’ll teach you how to create and maintain your dream garden.

26/08/2026

I’m trialling a new compost blend by sowing a container of late carrots. A nifty trick is to cover the soil surface afterwards to trap in moisture and prevent the compost from drying out, which is what carrot seed hates and results in erratic germination. I’m using a plastic saucer but you could use wood or a plastic bag. Just keep checking for signs of germination and then remove immediately.
Did you know carrot fly struggles to fly much higher than 60cm? By placing my pot of carrots on a table my crop is far less likely to be targeted by this pesky little pest!

Results to follow!

23/08/2026

I’ve been growing ‘Melon Rich Sweetness’ from this year. These are small, beautifully striped fruits which promise to deliver on taste. Melons have been loving our hot summer!
One of these jewels harvested itself in the greenhouse and it took me a couple of days to find it after it rolled under a cucumber plant!
Despite that it smelt lovely and sweet and although the flesh was slightly overripe, it tasted great. I’ll definitely grow these again next year.

19/08/2026

What is this curious stuff falling from the skies?? And crucially, will it fill my pond?!! 💦💦💦🌧️🌧️☔️

15/08/2026

Take stock of what is surviving in the garden right now. This will help us plan for next year, focusing on these family groups for new planting schemes. We need to adapt to the changing climate but we should still be able to achieve beautiful, colourful summer gardens.

What is working well in your gardens at the moment? Please share so we can all garden smarter. 😊🌺🌼🌳

12/08/2026

Back from holiday to face a very sad garden. Our poor pond has disappeared, reduced to a small puddle in the centre where I assume all the newts and insects are huddled 😞.
It’s getting pretty desperate here in East Anglia and still no sign of rain any time soon.
We’re going to have to review our water storage here as even 9 water butts have not been enough to sustain this garden.

How are you folks faring? What will you do differently next year?

04/08/2026

Whole day trek in the Pico de Europa - part of the Cantabrian Mountains in Asturias. We saw vultures, wild horses, goats, cows and of course beautiful wild flowers - autumn crocuses, gentian, hellebores, eryngiums, heather, gorse, monkshood and much more! We explored caves and hiked around the Covadonga lakes, through stunning valleys and eventually down the mountain to the Basilica Covadonga which marked the end of our epic adventure. It’s fair to say I was feeling ruined by then - nothing that a large meal and a glass of Albariño couldn’t fix though!

30/07/2026

Currently exploring Asturias in Northern Spain and enjoying the flora on offer. Hedges full of cobalt blue Morning Glories and vibrant violet or fuchsia pink Bougainvilleas hugging the sides of buildings. Then every so often we stumble across the exotic trumpets of Brugmansia. Such a beautiful region, still lush and green despite the current climate.

27/07/2026

Spent too long admiring my cabbage so it went past its best! It’s often too easy to forget to harvest your produce when it looks so lovely in the garden! Anyway the chickens were happy with their offerings and we still had some left over for our plate.
Have you done this? Which veggies have you left too long in the plot?

24/07/2026

If you prune or dead head many of your garden plants in late July you will encourage a new flush of growth and late summer blooms.
I like to do this before we go away on holiday, when we wont miss the flowers.

Plants that can be cut back hard:
* Hardy geraniums
* Catmint (nepeta)
* Achilleas
* Alchemilla mollis
* Perennial salvias
* Delphiniums
* Lupins
* Geums

Plants to dead- head:
* Roses
* Dahlias
* Zinnias
* Rudbeckias
* Echinaceas
* Heleniums
* Lavenders
* Echinops

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