Cheers to Debby H for getting in touch after her time away in Tenerife (pictures of plants from there here) and coming back to a garden “that has sprung to life” in north London. “There are yellow primroses all over plus a few pink, red and white clumps. We had some last year, but nothing like this and the peonies (below) have sprouted and grown amazingly”. Ours are doing the same here too, which is great.

The below plant is called lamium aka dead nettle. “It’s really a weed but there’s only a small amount so far, so I am letting it stay.” We’re with you on that as it looks great.

She told us that her pear tree is starting to bloom after having some troubles. “This poor tree (below) suffered terribly last year from rust. I wasn’t sure if it would be okay this year, but it looks good so far.”

“The rhododendron (below) is Wine and Roses. I saw it in a garden centre last spring. I loved the colour and its name, and decided to break the habit of a lifetime and pay for a plant.” Brilliant stuff.

“When we moved into this house in 2023, none of the above was visibly growing, except for the pear tree. The plants had all suffered a long period of hot, dry weather. Everything in the garden borders looked dead, except for the trees. The following year, things started growing, and they haven’t stopped since!”

Now that is great to hear Debby. With gardening it’s really what you put in that gives you results, a bit of hard work, a regular water and adding nutrients to the soil etc. As we can see here, it’s all worth the effort. Cheers Debby, the garden is looking like it’s got off to a great start and let’s not forget the indoor plants either (below).