Louise Tomlin tries to get to the bottom of the unique ability of the Hydrangea to change colour There was a point a few years ago when I noticed that a hydrangea bush I was looking at had two different coloured flowers on it, pink and also blue. I was genuinely puzzled once I’d checked that […]Read More

Louise Tomlin takes a looks at the not-so-humble hyacinth and ponders its link to our wild bluebells I’m hoping that by the time you read this that Spring will have well and truly sprung at last. For me it seems to have taken a long time to arrive this year. It’s still pretty nippy now […]Read More

Do you like the the big bearded variety or something more sedate? Louise Tomlin takes a look at the different types of the popular Iris. Searching through my photo library recently I came across some lovely images I’d taken last summer whilst visiting Walmer Castle Gardens in Kent, which is something of a hidden gem, I […]Read More

Louise Tomlin focuses on the bright and cheerful tulip to remind us that spring is just around the corner Louise Tomlin focuses on the bright and cheerful tulip to remind us that spring is just around the corner Here we are in the midst of what the popular news media are dubbing the ‘winter of […]Read More

Louise Tomlin muses on the importance of keeping an open mind and realising there can be more than one right answer out there. Have you ever had a moment when something you know, or think you know turns out to be wrong? It can be unsettling when it’s a long held belief or nugget of […]Read More

A GARDEN FOR ALL SEASONS, FOR ALL THE RIGHT REASONS If gardening in autumn and winter conjures images of rotting fence posts, slippy decking and fading foliage, take another look. A Grono garden is vibrant and stylish all year round. And whether you’re selling it, installing it or maintaining it, it’s effortless! With fresh green […]Read More

Louise Tomlin is hoping for a long, mellow and warm autumn for us all to enjoy our gardens and plants before the cold winter sets in. Maybe it’s because we’ve had such a glorious summer this year, well I say glorious but I’m aware that’s a subjective description as I’d probably define myself as a […]Read More

Louise Tomlin tells us about her love-hate relationship with some of the showiest flowers in the garden, Peonies When I was a young girl if anyone had asked me what my favourite flower was there was a time when I would have said Peony. The huge pinky-red blooms on the peony bushes that were in […]Read More

Louise Tomlin encourages us to be a bit less tidy and go wild in the garden Anyone that has read my ‘up the garden path’ contributions over the last few years will know I’ve been trying to encourage fellow gardeners to be more gentle in their approach to what they do in the garden. This […]Read More

Louise Tomlin encourages us to indulge in colour to help combat the bleak times. There’re a lot of unsettling things going on in the world at the moment, as if the last couple of years haven’t been tough enough with the Covid pandemic, now the extremely worrying war in Ukraine has seen our world rocked […]Read More