What's your relationship with your compost bin been like this year? I'm not sure I'd come off well with mine. A soggy summer meant I was reluctant to feed it too many anaerobic grass cuttings (when I did eventually mow the lawn in July, three months after it was laid) and it's had more dedicated years of fastidiously combining browns (cardboard, loo roll tubes, envelopes, twigs and dry leaves) with greens (food waste, aforementioned grass cuttings, green plant matter). If I were on the therapist's couch I suspect I'd be called out for taking more than I gave.
I don't entirely regret this. This year has been one of garden transformation, and about five months in I was able to sit back, witness the growth of it all and think that, all things considered, it wasn't a bad achievement for a year in which I'd also given birth to a baby. In perfectionist terms, this is high praise indeed. Still, as we near the end of the year I'm prone to reflection, and I suppose I'm resolving to be more conscious in my composting next year.
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Field of Dreams - The naturalistic gem Hans Gieszen has created in former meadowlands near Utrecht in the Netherlands is the culmination of a lifelong passion
Ever since his mother gave him seeds as a small boy, gardening has been a passion for Hans Gieszen. He is completely self-taught, relying on garden visits and books for instruction, with one book in particular, Dream Plants for the Natural Garden by Henk Gerritsen and Piet Oudolf, influencing his style. “It was fascinating,” says Hans, remembering his first encounter with the book. “All those photos – pictures with mists and these tall and low plants and grasses. I realised I couldn’t do it in my small garden, but I kept dreaming and reading about it.”
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This superb tour of the world's botanical gardens highlights their vital role in saving the planet's flora, says Claire Masset
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Does your garden have masculine or feminine style, and does it even matter? Head gardener Benjamin Pope unpicks gardening's gender stereotypes
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Gardener, television presenter and author Carol Klein talks about her new book, the books she loves, her current challenges and what she's up to next
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ANDY JASPER
The new CEO of the Eden Project on his excitement about a new chapter, the legacy he's left at the National Trust and his joy at heading home to Cornwall
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In just under nine years, the owners of Arvensis Nursery in Wiltshire have created a mature garden that displays their high-quality perennials
Late summer dreams
From cool pastels and foliage to hot colours, designer Jo Thompson creates three stylish container combinations for autumn
