The old pergola has gone. But the roof has been flipped over, so with the retained wall and a new set of posts, we have a new pergola. We have lost space, a two metre passage to the road taken over by Gateway as access for its adjacent site. Our front gate has changed too. Half of the old one …

As we have no visitors, we have gone easy on tidying the garden. This non-activity is friendly to wildlife as a very tidy garden denies habitats. In town gardens, one of the biggest enemies of frogs, once they have left the pond, are the mower and strimmer. Another bonus to our laxity are wild flowers. I have found the following: …

I am watching from the community garden as a bulldozer rips out the white buddleia on the next door site. I am mesmerized by the sound and fury. It is so quick, in no time much of the large shrub is flying in the jaws of the beast. Ten seconds, in a piercing engine growl, and the shrub is out …

At last, rain. April, till the last few days, had been absolutely dry, March hardly better. Our water barrels were running low, but a whole day of rain on Tuesday, and rain most days since, have filled them. The pond is a couple of inches higher; the garden sighs with relief. The temperature has dropped, though. Before this spell, we …

There are dandelions in the garden. Which brings up the perennial query, what is a weed? The common answers are: a plant you don’t want, or a plant in the wrong place. A personal answer, either way. So I’ll give my answer; I like dandelions, so they are not weeds. They are wild flowers. I am sure if I showed …

The Japanese cherry is still eye-catching in its froth of flowers, but already petals are falling and the leaves are growing. It’s as if the leaves are offended by all that showing off and so are doing their best to hide the display. The cereals (two wheats, oats, barley and rye) are 6 to 8 inches high. They look much …

As the days are warm, I have moved some trial rice into the greenhouse. I have been growing this at home, and it is pallid, some barely alive. I think it is lack of light, but I can’t be sure. The problem with the greenhouse, which is unheated, is that it gets chilly at night. But there is the added …

I come in, planning to take some photos and water the plants. I leave my bag on a bench, and take out the camera, intending to take a few snaps of the cereal project. I get as far as the birch by the water butt, when I see the fox. I freeze, knowing if I move, it will run off. …

I will blog once a week, so long as it is allowed in the current crisis. My visits to the garden are my outdoor exercise for the day. I do some planting, watering and general garden maintenance. While I am there, only Kevin is present, and we take care to keep our distance from one another. On Wednesday, Kevin did …

A garden in the time of coronavirus. It is impossible to keep up. On Thursday 19 March, I wrote: “With all local venues shutting down, we decided to swim against the tide, at least temporarily, and open up on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, as well as our usual Friday and Saturday morning. Maybe no substitute for the National Theatre, but …