hello Clare, just to say thank you for your brilliant talk yesterday. So inspiring. The book is a triumph. Wonderful. I've just returned from a year gardening on Tresco and so excited to get back to the plants I missed. Would it be possible to submit a feature idea to you for the magazine? I have written a memoir about becoming a gardener after the loss of my only child. I would love it if you could read a couple of extracts. Thank you, beautiful writing. Jessica
Hi Jessica, thank you so much for coming and sorry I didn’t get to say hello! How amazing that you’ve just spent a year at Tresco, I love those gardens. And Alasdair Moore who organised all the talks at the show is going back to be curator this summer so I hope to go back again one day. I would love to read your article idea - and I’m so sorry to hear about your loss. I imagine the gardening has been a way to heal as much as you can heal after such a loss. It might be difficult to find a slot in the magazine because most of our features are so design led, but I will certainly have a think.
I was sitting right by the books when you came to sign copies but struggle with shyness sometimes. Wish I’d spoken now of course. Silly. Never mind. Cannot imagine where I’d be without gardening. Alasdair is so lovely. Have you seen his wonderful talk on beavers?
One of the reasons I left Tresco was because I wanted someone like him to run the department rather than a non-gardener! long story. Too many battles. He is much needed there. I will private message you Thank you. Can’t wait to buy the beautiful book.
May I ask what’s your thinking behind sowing dahlia seed rather than tubers? My tubers just arrived & hoping for better results in pots than the first attempt in the ground!
I grow dahlias from tubers too - growing them from seed is just a different way of doing it, only you don’t know quite what you’re going to get, and I like the excitement of that. Also, if you find any you particularly like, you can dig up the tubers and grow them again the following year (if you can keep them from rotting over winter, which I’m not always successful with!) A lot of people don’t realise you can also grow them from seed, but it really is easy! Also I just want to add at the end of this message that I love your Roasting Tin books and the Malaysian Chicken with lemongrass and squash is one of our absolute favourite family meals! Had it last night in fact!
Thank you for the link to the Meraki site. It's always so good to have more tomato seed recommendations. This year I'm growing 4 varieties from Tamar Organics. A few years ago we stayed in an Airbnb in Troyes, in northern France. We were in an annexe to the house, so plenty of opportunity for chat with the hosts. Monsieur was a keen gardener. He had several polytunnels crammed with tomatoes and told us he was exchanging seeds with people all over the world. I did wonder slightly about biosecurity, but nothing stops keen tomato-ists! Having ascertained that I was VERY interested in his tomato growing, he presented us with a wooden crate of assorted tomatoes, and another of home-grown figs. It was a bit of a race against time to cart them from destination to destination and still eat them in good condition. Then in the Cognac area we had another gardening host and yes, another crate of tomatoes. (Having done Champagne and Cognac, it won't surprise you that we were also in Bordeaux...)
On the strength of your recommendation I've bought some dahlia seeds and will give them a go for the first time.
Bean sowing coming up shortly here in the north. For broad beans I just push them into the ground and leave them to it. We don't like runner beans, so give them a miss. Climbing French bean Cobra is successful here, but dwarf French are very sensitive about the north of Scotland climate - un peu frileux - so are hit or miss.
Those types of holidays are always the best! Such a lovely thing to be able to share home grown produce, especially warmed by the south of France sun! Interesting that climbing French beans work for you in Soctland but not dwarf - maybe there is a tougher variety that will work.
This was a wonderful read! So helpful & you are so right, 20 minutes here & there more than enough!
hello Clare, just to say thank you for your brilliant talk yesterday. So inspiring. The book is a triumph. Wonderful. I've just returned from a year gardening on Tresco and so excited to get back to the plants I missed. Would it be possible to submit a feature idea to you for the magazine? I have written a memoir about becoming a gardener after the loss of my only child. I would love it if you could read a couple of extracts. Thank you, beautiful writing. Jessica
Hi Jessica, thank you so much for coming and sorry I didn’t get to say hello! How amazing that you’ve just spent a year at Tresco, I love those gardens. And Alasdair Moore who organised all the talks at the show is going back to be curator this summer so I hope to go back again one day. I would love to read your article idea - and I’m so sorry to hear about your loss. I imagine the gardening has been a way to heal as much as you can heal after such a loss. It might be difficult to find a slot in the magazine because most of our features are so design led, but I will certainly have a think.
Clare
I was sitting right by the books when you came to sign copies but struggle with shyness sometimes. Wish I’d spoken now of course. Silly. Never mind. Cannot imagine where I’d be without gardening. Alasdair is so lovely. Have you seen his wonderful talk on beavers?
One of the reasons I left Tresco was because I wanted someone like him to run the department rather than a non-gardener! long story. Too many battles. He is much needed there. I will private message you Thank you. Can’t wait to buy the beautiful book.
May I ask what’s your thinking behind sowing dahlia seed rather than tubers? My tubers just arrived & hoping for better results in pots than the first attempt in the ground!
I grow dahlias from tubers too - growing them from seed is just a different way of doing it, only you don’t know quite what you’re going to get, and I like the excitement of that. Also, if you find any you particularly like, you can dig up the tubers and grow them again the following year (if you can keep them from rotting over winter, which I’m not always successful with!) A lot of people don’t realise you can also grow them from seed, but it really is easy! Also I just want to add at the end of this message that I love your Roasting Tin books and the Malaysian Chicken with lemongrass and squash is one of our absolute favourite family meals! Had it last night in fact!
Clare
Thank you for the link to the Meraki site. It's always so good to have more tomato seed recommendations. This year I'm growing 4 varieties from Tamar Organics. A few years ago we stayed in an Airbnb in Troyes, in northern France. We were in an annexe to the house, so plenty of opportunity for chat with the hosts. Monsieur was a keen gardener. He had several polytunnels crammed with tomatoes and told us he was exchanging seeds with people all over the world. I did wonder slightly about biosecurity, but nothing stops keen tomato-ists! Having ascertained that I was VERY interested in his tomato growing, he presented us with a wooden crate of assorted tomatoes, and another of home-grown figs. It was a bit of a race against time to cart them from destination to destination and still eat them in good condition. Then in the Cognac area we had another gardening host and yes, another crate of tomatoes. (Having done Champagne and Cognac, it won't surprise you that we were also in Bordeaux...)
On the strength of your recommendation I've bought some dahlia seeds and will give them a go for the first time.
Bean sowing coming up shortly here in the north. For broad beans I just push them into the ground and leave them to it. We don't like runner beans, so give them a miss. Climbing French bean Cobra is successful here, but dwarf French are very sensitive about the north of Scotland climate - un peu frileux - so are hit or miss.
Those types of holidays are always the best! Such a lovely thing to be able to share home grown produce, especially warmed by the south of France sun! Interesting that climbing French beans work for you in Soctland but not dwarf - maybe there is a tougher variety that will work.