We're never satisfied really. A month ago I was moaning about how cold it had been. Although average minimum temperatures are around 6°...

Last autumn I posted about some mystery plants which had suddenly started coming through in a large container on the front balcony. They w...

At the end of 2009, I planted a couple of Crown Imperial (Fritillaria imperialis) bulbs in one of my larger containers. It was a bit late - ...

March - and the month that, here in Milan at least, we can really get going with the serious stuff. The beginning of the month was very mild...

Over the past couple of weeks, the work of uncovering everything on the balcony and cleaning up has gone on. And I've been happily surpr...

In the last few days, temperatures have suddenly shot up. Walking home on Friday afternoon, I suddenly found myself unzipping my jacket and ...

My mother loathed starlings (sturnus vulgaris). She'd always put out bread for the birds, but then spend hours chasing off the starlings...

It has been bitterly cold here for the last few days, with temperatures dropping to -8° at night. And we're not even officially into the...

We're having a cold, nasty January. Temperatures aren't bad - around 2-3°C - but it's been foggy for days. Which means it's ...

When I was a child, growing up in South London, garlic was the epitome of foreignness. My mother wouldn't have touched it with a bargepo...