In The Genus Garden

For several days our mornings have been initiated by beautiful sunrises making early starts a joy.  The low sun casts long shadows across the orchard and the local dog fox is often seen trotting along the top of...

Previously we’ve extolled the virtues of keeping circles clear of grass underneath our fruit trees in the orchard.  Without competition from grass the trees establish quickly and the clear area prevents us from getting too close to...

After several hours collecting fallen leaves we found time to get onto the borders and start cutting back the withered annuals and perennials.  Plant supports we hadn’t seen for six months were removed and lined up on the...

It's two weeks later than in previous years, but the leaves have started falling and our work is cut out for the next few weeks.  The large stands of sycamore that punctuate each end of the garden are...

With guests imminent this week we spent some time putting together a vase for the Genus dining table.  Despite being so late in the season and with frosts not far away it’s amazing what can be found...

There was a change in the air this week with cold starts and artful spider webs adorned with pearls of dew.  The low morning sun often above the trees in summer now cuts behind the sycamore copse before...

The two greenhouses at Genus HQ received a bit of much needed attention this week.

Due to their location next to a small copse, several sycamore branches overhang them and aphid activity drops a sticky honeydew...

Our raised vegetable beds have served us well this year and with a number of them now empty we took the opportunity to carry out repairs.  Nearly ten years old, several of the timber edging and supporting pegs...

About five years ago we planted a hornbeam hedge on the front boundary that faces the lane and our neighbours opposite.  Regular mulching and irrigation in the early years meant it has quickly given us a hedge...

With the imminent arrival of autumn we thought we’d better construct a new bin for the abundance of fallen leaves that we get here at Genus HQ.  The upright wooden posts of the MK1 version had become rotten...

At busy times of the year it’s easy for us to forget to enjoy our gardens and spend time simply sitting and looking.  Having done just that, we're happy to say that the Genus garden is full to...

Was it just us or did the subtle scent of mists and mellow fruitfulness pervade the Genus garden a few days ago?  A cooler start to the day, a few fallen leaves, combine harvesters busy to the left,...

We spent some time in the vegetable garden this week.  Comprising more than twenty small raised beds, it’s taken a bit of a back seat in recent weeks and needed some serious attention.  We hand weeded the wood chip...

As we mentioned last week, some time in the borders tidying, dead heading, and tieing-in would be the order of the day.  Many of the dahlias had broken loose from their moorings and were running riot across their...

We’ve paid the price again for having a few days away from the garden.  The lawns are now meadows, the weeds are appearing everywhere, and the perennials in the flower garden are still heading skywards.  In previous years...

Do your gardening clothes look like this?  We're fascinated by what people wear when they're gardening.  Email us your images and tell us what you like/hate about your clothes.  Send to customercare@genus.gs

If we publish them we'll...

This picture of leaves may seem unremarkable but it shows encouraging signs for those of us with who enjoy the glorious sight of a horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) in flower or are lucky enough to have one or...

Fans of alliteration will enjoy recent posts from the Genus garden.  Last time The Chelsea Chop.  This week The Hampton Hack!!   Quite where that name originated we don’t know but it has morphed from The Hampton Court Hack to the simpler...

We’ve written before about the range of climbing plants that envelop the walls here at Genus HQ.  One such plant that we rarely see in other gardens is Schizophragma hydrangeoides (pictured) often known as the Japanese hydrangea vine. ...

Just like everyone else we’ve been experiencing extremes of heat in the Genus garden over the last week or two.  Heavy rains before it all started have meant that soil moisture levels have remained high and grass that...

We spent some time in the Genus greenhouse this week.  Early mornings are always best for this operation before the sun creeps over the trees and makes temperatures under glass uncomfortable.  Some excess tomatoes we’d reserved as spares were...