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It is always a good thing to look after wildlife and the wider environment.  And there’s no question that plants will generally thrive when they have the conditions they like.  But beyond that there isn’t a right or a wrong way of creating a garden.  The fact is, as with our homes, we have different … Read more

When people ask me how I got into gardening I think back to the garden I grew up in.  My parents were keen gardeners and willing to involve me if I wanted that.  I was offered a small patch to grow my own veg, but the truth was that I much preferred climbing trees, making … Read more

Gardeners sometimes get so absorbed in their gardens that they lose track of time and, at least for a while, are able to forget about things that might otherwise preoccupy them.   It’s a state that psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls ‘flow’.  Csikszentmihalyi noticed how gardeners (as well as athletes, artists, craftspeople and musicians) enjoy total engagement … Read more

Tiny amounts of the bacteria mycobacterium vaccae, which is found found in soil that’s been enriched with compost or manure, has been shown to boost serotonin levels in the brain as well as regulate the immune system when inhaled while we garden.  The soil is full of other strains of bacteria too.  A single teaspoon … Read more

There’s a body of research generally referred to as ‘Mindset Theory’.  It emerges from the relatively new field of neuroscience and challenges commonly held beliefs that our intelligence is a fixed thing determined by our genes.  No one claims that all brains are identical but this research clearly shows that what we do with our … Read more

Meteorological Autumn starts every year at the beginning of September and, like the other seasons, extends over three months.  Phenological Autumn is decided according to a range of signs, such as leaves falling or the migration of birds to warmer climates.  And then there’s the astronomical start of Autumn or the Equinox, when the Earth’s … Read more