I caught myself apologising for my garden again yesterday. Then I thought: what are you doing? You have a garden sparkling with flowers: buttercups, cow parsley, campion and dandelions. It's jam packed with butterflies, birds, and bees: it would have none of these without the nettles & brambles. 1/4

Peak crabapple blossom and Clematis montana going 9n in my front garden right now 💚💚💚 best display for years #gardening 🌱 #flowers #bloomscrolling

There is no politician - and I mean none - who is better-placed than Ed Miliband to get us through this fossil fuel-driven energy crisis. No-one in politics understands the energy system better. That’s why the billionaire fossil press hate him www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Ed Miliband to double down on net zero with measures to combat Iran energy shock

As fossil fuel prices soar ‘the era of clean energy security must come of age’, energy secretary will say

theguardian.com

When rhubarb flowers it's pretty - but also a sign of stress. The trick is to work out why... usually it's overcrowding (lift & divide clumps every 5 years then replant in a new spot to keep healthy). But this one just hasn't thrived so I dug it up - turns out the roots were rotting 🥺 #gardening 🌱

I planted this tree as a tiny whippy thing late one winter with my youngest daughter, then a teenager; we chose it together because she wanted a blossom tree. Now it fills the hillside with clouds of flowers. My daughter is now 24; every time I see it I think of her & smile 💚 #gardening #memories 🌱

Spotted out in the wild 😊 this was a fun book to write for the RHS, packed with tips & ideas for more sustainable ways to grow your own food 💚 www.waterstones.com/book/rhs-can... #gardening 🌱

If you have baby figs on your tree congratulations - you'll have a crop of ripe fruit this year (as long as there's no late frost) 💚 figs in the UK rely on embryonic fruits formed late the previous year to overwinter, so don't remove them if you're pruning #gardening 🌱

Something's been eating the rhubarb 😳 well this is a first. I thought the leaves were packed with oxalic acid and v poisonous so something out there has a sore tummy today! I think it might be rabbits as there are a lot in this garden but they've never chewed the rhubarb before #mystery #gardening 🌱

There is much attention given to cherry blossom at this time of year... and for good reason, as it is very lovely. But for my money plum blossom is every bit as beautiful 😍 💚 #gardening 🌱

True blue, baby, I love you... 💙💙💙 the wonderful colony of wild English #bluebells in my rewilded orchard are in full glorious flower right now #gardening 🌱

Mowing the lawn; or as it's referred to around here, "collecting mulch" 💚 #gardening 🌱

The #houseplant propagation adventures continue! Discovered these weird nodules on my String of Hearts (Ceropegia) - turns out they're tubers 😍 I've now snipped some away with a short stem attached. Buried to half their depth in compost and... we'll see what happens 💚 #gardening 🌱 #plantsforfree

Salads on the way! I have a 3 pot veg system for babyleaf salads - sow half a tray of mixed salads each month (Feb-Oct), then transplant into a big 14" (35cm) clay pot. Once you have 3 pots sown you can just clear & resow pots immediately after last harvest to keep fresh leaves coming 💚 #gardening 🌱

Time to sow all the big stuff 😁 big, jungly pumpkins, winter squash & courgettes are among my favourite veg to grow 💚 seeds are big enough to cope with multipurpose compost (smaller seeds need finer seed compost) - sow on their edge or not, I've never found it makes a difference 😉 #gardening 🌱

Uh oh 😂 there are peach and apricot trees trained against a trellis across the end of this polytunnel in a garden I look after... I thought they were doing pretty well (loads of peaches last year #nomnomnom).. and then I went and looked round the back 😱 any idea how to fix this?! #gardening 🌱

Such a privilege to be asked to give evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee on the importance of leaving peat in the ground where it belongs 💚 #endpeatsales #peatfree #gardening 🌱 #horticulture @peatfree.bsky.social

House of Commons Committees@hoccommittees.parliament.uk · 4mo ago

“One of the most important defences against the threat of climate change” The Environmental Audit Committee heard from @sallynex.bsky.social, Advocate at the @peatfree.bsky.social Partnership on the importance of protecting UK peatlands and their capability to store large quantities of carbon.

Happy April! 💚 This month's #moon phases: 🌜1: waxing: flowers & salads 🌜2: full: rest 🌜3-10: waning: roots 🌜11-16: waning: rest 🌜17: new moon: rest 🌜18-24: waxing: leafy veg 🌜25-30: waxing: above ground annuals #gardening 🌱

Such a feeling of anticipation right now 😂 I have a Clematis montana 'hedge' in the front garden along the lane, about 30ft long and a little unruly, and right now it is jam packed with fat little buds just flushed pink and getting ready to burst 🌸 #gardening is so exciting isn't it 😁 🌱

Is there any seedling quite so pretty as a nasturtium? I grow lots - they're not only pretty, they're completely edible and both leaves and flowers make deliciously peppery salad ingredients (even the immature seed heads can be pickled and turned into ersatz capers 😋) #gardening 🌱

I love #ferns and this time of year lose my heart to them all over again 💚 I have several varieties from harts tongue fern (naturalised here and self seeding everywhere) to big handsome shield ferns - these little dinosaur tails are unfurling all over the garden at the moment #gardening 🌱

First batch hardening off ready for planting outdoors 😊 now there's a greater temp difference between greenhouse and outside so I take 2 weeks moving them outside more & more each day: you can reduce that to a week or so by June 💚 but don't skip as otherwise seedlings get cold shock #gardening 🌱

It's important to write the date sown on labels when you're sowing #seeds, especially parsley as it takes forever to germinate & even then it's erratic so it's easy to forget how long they've been in. I leave it at least two months before giving up on any that haven't emerged by then 😊 #gardening 🌱

If it looks like nothing's going on up top... pick it up and take a look underneath. These are the shallot sets I started a few weeks ago, now ready to go out in the garden: it's all about the roots, baby 💚 #gardening 🌱

Spring is waking up the peatlands! 🌱 Did you know peatlands are home to a wide variety of plants? From fluffy Cottongrass to insect‑catching Butterwort, there’s plenty to spot at this time of year. Swipe through to meet the species that make peatlands so uniquely alive. ✨

I'm backing @peatfree.bsky.social's campaign for a peat free future . Last October the UK Govt committed to ending the sale of peat– but we need action . Sign the petition calling for legislation in 2026 to bring peat sales to an end at long last . actnow.peatfreepartnership.org.uk/end-peat-sal...

When #houseplants are mainly grown in #peat & more expensive by the year you can still feed your habit #sustainably & cheaply: learn to propagate 😊 it's really easy 💚 I've just snipped a small branch from this Crassula - I'll now be leaving it to callous for 2-3 days before planting #gardening 🌱

Signs of progress! 😍 the garlic is coming up nicely (in the greenhouse as protection against rust) 💚 After harvest in late June/July I'll follow on straight away with cucumbers, grown in 2ltr pots till the space comes free. Garlic is allelopathic so can't plant in amongst them sadly #gardening 🌱

Who needs to bother forcing #rhubarb when you have a stand of Timperley Early 💜 the clue's in the name - this huge clump has been pickable for a month already & will supply as many stems as I can cook into crumble (or stew & enjoy with creme fraiche 😋) till June #selfsufficiency #gardening 🌱

Chard has naturalised in my garden 😂 every spring a clump pops up without me doing a thing - I just make sure I leave at least one plant to set seed. The flower spikes can be really tall so need staking to stop them flopping onto other plants; but that's it 💚 #freefood #gardening 🌱

Love a scented leaf pellie! This one is Pelargonium tomentosum and it's my absolute favourite, big soft velvety leaves that fill the air with the scent of chocolatey peppermint 💚 flowers are delicate palest pink. It's overwintered well in my greenhouse & I'll be taking cuttings soon #gardening 🌱