The Working Garden

During April I was very lucky to able to visit a private garden in West Sussex. It was The Working Garden cared for by head gardener Benjamin Pope and team.    On arrival, the raked gravel drive to the house meanders via woody shady planting with shrubby structural greens and seasonal winter colour. The plant of…

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El Brujo de Trinidad, Cuba

Across  the railway by the cemetery were the directions I received from the Brujo. That was where he sold most of his plants. Pushed in his wheelbarrow through the cobbled streets of Trinidad, Cuba was his mobile market offering his latest rosemary, basil and guava plants. Wandering off the tourist radar, as per norm, I encountered…

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Machete and rum.

Rum. Cigars. Salsa. These are three of the main words people associate with the country Cuba. I like to indulge in all three but as a whole, Cuba is so much more. It and its people have so much more to give. I dare you to venture out of Havana or the beach resorts of…

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Christmas trees. The Decision…

It’s nearly December. The John Lewis advert has been on and everyone has shed a slight tear. Anything and everything gets over commercialised and the true meaning of Christmas is overdressed with buy this and buy that marketing from various companies cashing in on the season. Oh and then there is the Christmas tree. Real…

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The Naked Gardener- fundraising for Perennial

Plants are generally deciduous or evergreen. Those which hold onto their leaves are the latter and if I was a plant I would take on this characteristic. Well, I strayed slightly this autumn when I decided to to join the deciduous club, colour up, loose my leaves and bare my skeleton for the public, well…

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Royal Chartership of The Institute of Horticulture

What a momentous day it was. Horticulture has now got a Royal Charter in the form of the Chartered Institute of Horticulture. I am immensely proud of this achievement by the institute for what it means to me and my industry. The celebrations were held in Hatfield House and pictured above are some of my…

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Green fingered blogging

I’m Rocky and I’m a horticulturist based in Northamptonshire. I’m entering into the blogging world for the first time with the aim to be brief, engaging and informative about my ventures working within the horticultural industry, the plants I come across and the people I meet along the way. Like plants it will be rather…

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