Karen

Roses have a reputation for being fussy, but in reality they’re tough plants that respond well to a little routine care. One of the simplest ways to keep them healthy and flowering well is to prune them during the winter months. Why Winter Is the Best Time to Prune Roses* 1. The plant is dormant In winter, roses are resting. With sap flow reduced and no new soft growth to damage, pruning causes less stress. You’re working with a quiet plant rather than one in active growth. 2. You can see...

Perennials and grasses are really having their moment in the sun, and I absolutely love them. I’m a huge fan of Piet Oudolf and the new perennial movement. However, I’m increasingly warming to shrubs, and particularly flowering shrubs. These somewhat unfashionable plants do an enormous amount of quiet, reliable work: they hold their structure through winter when perennials disappear, they cope with the ups and downs of our changeable weather, and they anchor the garden from one season to the...

“Garden Maintenance” is such an over-used term, and I admit, I use it myself. But when I stop to think about it, it doesn’t really make any sense. Maintenance suggests keeping something as is, upholding the status quo. But rarely do gardens stay still. And neither should they in my opinion. They’re not museum exhibits, it’s their growth and evolution that makes them special. I suppose those achingly modern outdoor spaces with ice-white patios and plastic grass might be an exception. But I...