Right now, I’m pruning the roses. I hate them looking so straggly and forlorn, and he-who-has-opinions can’t bear their wayward stems trying to snag him as he makes his way to the shed. I feel the ros

Make life lovely

WINTER HELLEBORES, ALSO KNOWN AS CHRISTMAS ROSES, come in many different colours. We love those with cool green petals, veined and limned with pinkish red. The fern fronds and ivy complement them perf

Few potteries operating today capture the mood of comfortable English life as well as Emma Bridgewater. Founded in 1984 when Emma couldn’t find a suitable present for her mother and decided to make on

This is my annual guilty pleasure. By early December I am as frantic as anyone. As I hurriedly plant the last of my bulbs and make sure to complete essential deadlines before the end of the year, I co

REAL readers' gardens! Lots to learn from my ...