I’m a passionate gardener with over 30 years experience who wants to inspire others to garden. In particular, to help you to live in harmony with wildlife. Also to grow and plant flowers for pollinators.
In recent years I have become known as the Dahlia Queen. I am fairly obsessed with growing these beautiful flowers. Especially varieties that benefit the bees and the butterflies.
I champion the importance of working in harmony with nature. Supporting wildlife, and therefore creating a better environment for us all.
I am a member of Butterfly Conservation and have added a link below if you would like more information yourselves.
https://butterfly-conservation.org/how-you-can-help/join
Besides helping the pollinators, I have four wildlife ponds in my garden. These are home to frogs, newts, dragonflies and damselflies. In addition, pond skaters, water boatmen and countless other species. Furthermore, places for birds to drink and bathe as well.
I also have a small wildflower meadow area and a nettle bed, a valuable foodplant for butterflies. Any area where grass can be left to grow longer is hugely beneficial for wildlife. Providing shelter, food and an area to breed.
Another part of my garden is christened Stumpy End. This area has buried rotting stumps and a thriving stag beetle population.
I also have a family of grass snakes visiting my garden regularly.
I grow all my own flowers, fruit and vegetables and have a fabulous greenhouse, named Favolosa. Favolosa is a beautiful Swallow Kingfisher greenhouse, the largest in the range at almost twenty one feet long. And she is packed with plants and seedlings year round.
Favolosa is pictured below in the sunset with my beautiful rescue hen, Pickle Pixie Pantaloon.
Gardening for health and wellbeing
One of my aims is to show everyone that gardening reduces stress. Consequently, gardening is so beneficial for physical and mental health and wellbeing.
I have experienced stress and anxiety myself causing a dip in my wellbeing. The main solution to my recovery was relaxing in my garden.
Spending time looking at the flowers I had grown. Sitting and watching the bees and butterflies who visit my flowers. Studying the ponds, watching the frogs and newts.
I still spend a lot of my time gardening but I realised that we all need to have a break sometimes. To sit down and view what we have created and take pride in our achievements.
The blog post Wonderful powers of a flower contains my story.
I’m also particularly committed to helping others to boost their wellbeing through gardening. Consequently, I have been able to help several people. As a result, all have become contented gardeners. And, their stories feature in several of my posts.
One person, the Cosmos Queen, has fallen in love with dahlias too.
Here is the most recent post on her beautiful garden which boosts her wellbeing sky high. The awesome power of the garden
One of my previous posts coincided with Mental Health Awareness Week 15th – 21st May 2023. The theme was Anxiety. Garden to empower, out the anxiety
Another post looks at how positive plants can be. Link here if you would like to check this one out The fabulous positivity of beautiful plants
Being in my garden and especially swooning over my beautiful dahlias works for me. Here is the fabulous Labyrinth.
Companion gardening
I rehome rescue chickens and can often be found with a chicken on my shoulder. They provide endless amusement.
Clearing borders for planting, eating grubs, enjoying themselves immensely.
Some of my blogs feature my fabulous girls Companion planting with beautiful chickens and Beautiful rescue chickens get gardening for England
And the most recent post Gardening with chickens, more fantastic fun
If you are interesting in rehoming some lovely hens, visit the link below.
https://www.bhwt.org.uk/hen-adoption/
See below for one of our cuddles on the sun lounger after some gardening fun. Rafaela and Pickle Pixie Pantaloon are first to arrive on this photo.
I also have one of my beautiful cats in attendance most of the time in the garden and in Favolosa. Check out a couple of the posts featuring Remus Nautilus Companion planting with a beautiful cat and The beautiful black cat who gardens for England
Additionally, taking photographs of my garden brings me great pleasure.
The majority of photographs on my blogs are of my garden. A few have been shared by people who feature in a blog post. These are marked accordingly.
Below are a few photos of some of my flowers attracting the all important pollinators. Several dahlias here!
I hope you enjoy my blogs and are inspired to garden with harmony.
I purchase dahlia tubers from Sarah Raven and the tubers supplied have been of great quality and grew quickly into flowering plants. Also, there are some exclusive collections such as the Raven Dahlia Collection which cannot be purchased anywhere else. If you love dahlias as much as I do, please follow this link for the online shop.
Click here for Sarah Raven dahlias
This blog is an affiliate member of Sarah Raven. If you purchase using the link above, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Here are links to some of my dahlia posts. Did I mention I am quite obsessed with dahlias?
Beautiful enchanting dahlias chosen for you
The best dahlias, my dark sultry beauties
10 zingy dahlias for a truly beautiful garden
Wonderful dahlias, stunning beauty and buzzing bees
10 beautiful dahlia flowers for pollinators
12 of the best dahlias for pollinators
10 beautiful dahlias chosen for you
The Cosmos Queen’s beautiful dahlias
Click here for all my blog posts. Blog posts
I hope you enjoy looking at my posts.
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