Annabel in the Garden

So happy to be back in my garden post Chelsea and find everything has burst into flower, even if the slugs have moved into the veg patch. Nothing a beer can't solve (beer trap for slugs that is 🐌🍺) #

The trucks rolling in to signify the end of another and a very long but exciting week!

What a week!

Chelsea Flower Show with Gold Award winners! 🏆Showcasing and selling our fabulous veg seeds. Thank you to our lovely customers, visitors fans and friends we are having a lovely time! 🌱🫘

Chelsea Pensioners in the stand

Hi all don't forget to post any questions on the face book page and I'll be happy to help!

Potting on more tomatoes on another wet day and dreaming of summer 🍅☀️
Put them in deep to make strong roots
Increase pot size gradually don't do a huge jump, 50% bigger is fine

If you've ever seen this beauty in your garden you might be interested to know she's called Bryony: our only native cucurbit, 🥒doesn't she look a bit like a cucumber plant? Sadly poisonous and a total thug, so goodbye!! 👋 I'm sure we'll meet again.....
**ds

Did you know you can increase your dahlia collection by taking basal cuttings as they start to shoot from the parent plant? 🌸=🌸🌸
Simply cut off a shoot low down by the stem of the parent and insert into some compost. Water 💦and it will root quickly. The first year you can plant it out and it will produce a small tuber and after that you're off to the races! 🌸🌸

Absolutely 💚this Lettuce, Speckled Trout from grown for a Cambridge client this Spring. Looking so attractive already.

Pak Choi harvest. Sowed 3 months ago in modules transplanted into the greenhouse happily growing in 2s or 3s. Delish stirfried with garlic and served with Salmon, Mango and rocket 🥬🥬

Planting out leeks today. Three seedling per hole, deeeep! Watered before gently replacing the soil.
Then sadly fine net to protect from the leek miner that is such a pest in this area and will otherwise devastate my dreams of leeks all summer and autumn long.... 🌱

Loving the delicate flowers on my species Pelargoniums.
P.ardens, P.tomentosum, P.sidoides. More coming from soon!

Now is a great time to take cuttings of Penstemons and Salvias as they come into growth! I always follow the rules that the wonderful Jo Cobb, former Head Gardener taught me in my first propagation class many years ago: Not Woody, Not Diseased, No Flowers.
Looking forward to a bumper crop of 'free' perennials later in the summer!

It's all about the bulbs today. This first shot of Tulipa clusiana is an absolute fave, it opens in the sun and closes at night. Bulb lasagne nearly going over but has been great and finally if you're going to plant daffs in a pot go for the shorter tete a tete type and really pack them in.

Now is the time to cut back@your winter stems! ❤️
These Cornus are the result of cutting back about a third of the thickest stems down to the ground. This will ensure plenty of bright 🌟new growth for next winter and a ready supply of supporting sticks for the rest of my garden 💪💪360 degree gardening!

Rhubarb ready!! First harvest of rhubarb yesterday, made a lovely panacotta with rhubarb jelly, rhubarb and gluten free ginger biscuits for my lovely friends 😀☀️

Loving this windowsill propagator 🌱🌱🌱no heat just light and a clear cover that came with it, herb seeds for summer up and running! ☀️

Bergenia emeiensis flowering so prettily in my courtyard, it's white nodding flowers are so attractive, as featured in this month. I don't trust it would be fully hardy in my west facing wind blown garden so this is the best spot for it. My favourite by far of this genus.

So sad to learn of the passing of Dave Myers. The Hairy Bikers have been a strong fixture in our kitchen for so long, he was such a natural, so inspiring.

Onions! 🧅How to plant onion sets:
1. Rake over your soil
2. Put out a cane or string to get nice straight lines
3. Use a dibber to insert the baby onion pointy end up
4. Don't push down too hard, leave it sticking out a tiny bit
5. Gently firm around and leave 10cms between each
6. Label and cover to stop the birds pulling them out
7. Wait for mid summer!!

Hello lovely followers just to let you know I'm now working with helping our founder Lucy manage the propagation and garden side of the business. There's a lot to do! Great to get stuck in today and prick out a lot of little seedlings..... roll on summer when we can enjoy the fruits of our labours! 🌱🌱🌱➡️🍅🍆🌶️

It's been a cold week but the first germination of tomatoes 🍅always makes me feel good! Heirloom Seeds from

Nothing like a visit to on a cold winters day! Sadly too early in the year for most of the snow drops