A Gardening Woman

Sunglasses needed for Sarah Raven flowers

Just been down to the picking part of the garden in Suffolk and come back with these. The colours are even more electrifying in real life. The gladioli and dahlias are collections from Sarah Raven. Although never the cheapest, she does have a brilliant eye for colour combinations.

It's hard to see because it is so dark but the deep claret dahlia is a gem and has flowered and flowered for weeks. Just in front is the little orange pompom dahlia - not so floriferous but still a fun contrast.

Runner beans of course which should always go straight from the plant to the pot for the freshest flavour. So not a bad start for the first year of growing in Suffolk. It's all got to be moved next week to make way for the new Alitex greenhouse - SO exciting!

Back in the NGS fold

One of the decisions I made on getting the new garden in Suffolk was to no longer open my roof garden in London for the National Gardens Scheme. That was something of a wrench as I've been involved with the NGS since the early 1990s. For many years, I opened my garden in Belsize Park and was an Assistant County Organiser in North London working with the brilliant Penny Snell who is now Chairman of the whole organisation.

You'd think having that job wouldn't leave Penny with much time but as you can see from Trish Gant's photograph of her in her fabulous conservatory, Penny epitomises the saying, 'if you want something done, ask a busy person'!

So when the call to arms came from Penny, I was thrilled to be able once again to join the NGS team,  helping Jenny Reeve and her group in West Suffolk especially around Clare, Lavenham and Long Melford. It may be years before I can even think about opening my own new garden, but in the meantime, I'm delighted that I can try and find lots of lovely new gardens to help raise money for such a brilliant cause. Watch this space to see what I find!