We noticed an example of life in miniature this week as we cut back some storm damaged perennials in the flower border. With their minute green cotyledons stark against the...
The remains of the runner bean wigwam were looking rather forlorn this week with the skeleton of hazel sticks and string wrapped in its coat of desiccated bean stems. Several...
With guests due at Genus HQ last week we wanted to create a festive table setting from plants in the garden. We were surprised at the selection we were able...
With leaves blown from trees, flowers absent from most perennials and shrubs, and the sky often grey, winter can be a time when finding things of interest in the garden...
After our recent talk of mild weather and plants still in flower, temperatures around the country plummeted overnight killing off any borderline hardy perennials or ‘last-man-standing’ annuals. Away from the...
For the last few years we’ve been planting out our pelargoniums, commonly called geraniums, into several troughs around the garden. Being tender they need to come in over winter to...
The mild autumn has extended flowering in a lot of gardens this year and the garden at Genus HQ has been no exception. Nasturtium, Cosmos, snapdragons, roses, Hydrangea, Geranium, Dahlia,...
You may be on first names terms, after-all they’ve been good friends for six months or more, but there comes a time when you have to accept that your greenhouse...
We often refer to the dry stone walls that act as a boundary to the western edge of the Genus garden. These walls built without mortar throughout the Cotswolds are...
Our pond in the Genus garden comes alive every spring when our resident toads leave their winter quarters in the dry-stone walls and head for the water. Much merriment ensues,...
Our orchard has had an underwhelming year - cherries non-existent, plums, so-so, and apples patchy. ‘Beauty of Bath’, a pillar box red apple from the 1860’s bucked the trend as...
We were having a bit of a move-around this week. Digging up perennials, splitting them, replanting, and potting up any excess. Recent downpours will instantly date this blog but we...
When you’ve been gardening for several decades the ebb and flow of the seasons come as second nature. Snowdrops in winter, apple blossom in spring, dahlias in summer. Simple. So...
We suspect it’s a common experience amongst most gardeners. You go away for a summer break, two weeks if you’re lucky, and return to a garden that has outgrown its...
The dearth of insect life in 2024 hasn’t gone unreported and as gardeners, we’ve perhaps noticed more than ever the distinct lack of buzzing around our flower beds. A long...
When visiting a friend's garden in mid-summer, it's often a surprise to spot plants acting out of the ordinary. What’s usually brought to our attention is a spring flowering shrub...
This year we dedicated one of the vegetable beds to a selection of flowering annuals. About 5 metres long by less than 1 metre wide, we wanted to inject some...
‘It takes a skilled gardener to grow a decent cauliflower’. That's what we were told many years ago by a local expert- one of the old boys in the village...
It’s peak daylily season in the Genus garden at the moment. Daylilies (Hemerocallis), are reliable rhizomatous perennial plants that bulk up quickly providing newly planted borders with rapid cover. Hemerocallis is...
Our early January planting of white ‘Sturon’ and red ‘Retano’ onion sets was ready to be lifted this week. In the adjacent bed, our garlic was starting to show symptoms...
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The Genus Garden - Musings From Joff, Our Head Gardener
